Reported Speech

Here are some video lessons for you to learn about the reported speech

Click here to get lots of links to practise the reported speech (theory and practice).

If you want to watch any other video lessons with Jennifer, go to her blog, English With Jennifer.

Pronunciation: Linking Words

The importance of sound linking in English

Note: there is no sound at the beginning of the video

 

Idea taken from Luiz Otavio Barros´s blog

Linking words

I hope this video lesson  - together with our classwork - will improve your knowledge about the use of connectors

Grammar: Be Used To

Here´s a video from Luiz Otavio Barro´s blog to help you remember the grammar construction: be used to + -ing. There is no sound at the beginning of the video, just read and think about the questions the video asks.

Food for thought: International Women´s Day, March 8th, is coming and there´s a lot to say about it, considering the message behind this video

 

In the video before, the actions performed by the husband are introduced by "would". Watch the next video for an explanation of the difference between "used to" and "would"

Pronunciation of Food Terms

Read these food terms; they are all names of foreign origin but used in English. Do you know what they are? how do you pronounce them? 

• pho
• paella
• gyro
• prosciutto
• bruschetta
• gnocchi
• hors d´oeuvre
• flambé
• quinoa
• pommes frites
• Worcestershire
• phyllo dough
• petit four
• foie gras
• gruyère

Now watch the video: read the definition of what each one of them is and check their pronunciation in English; the video is called "15 Common Food Terms That You Are Probably Pronouncing Wrong".

    

Peculiarities of English: Plural Words

A brief history of plural words in English, by American linguist John McWhorter: click on the captions to both hear and read  the lesson

Now, do some listening practice:

To do a multiple choice listening exercise, click here

The Importance of your Accent When Speaking a Foreign Language

Listening to the graduation speeches these days has made me think about lots of aspects related to oral production in a foreign language and I couldn´t agree more with the message in the following video - which is part of a longer one called "Expert Advice on Accent Reduction from Paddy Kennedy."

Paddy Kennedy, the Principal of Kennedy Communication Studio, is a communication coach who describes her job like this: I teach people to say what they mean and mean what they say. I teach people to speak to be heard and to write to be read. 

Her speech can be summarized in these four points:

1. Your accent is not the problem
2. Language has rhythm

3. We speak in "sound units"

4. Homework is important: listen, imitate, exaggerate, say tongue twisters, practice

You can watch this video with captions in English

I first watched this video in the blog "Labor English Zone," so thank you, Álvaro!

Click here and here if you want to hear some amazing people imitating lots of different accents

Linking Words

You all know the importance of linking words (= connectors) mainly for writing but, just in case, here´s a video to remind you of it

Click  here to be linked to a list of resources related to this topic

Irregular Verbs

Dear students, I have seen quite a few of you make big mistakes with the three forms of verbs and that is one of the things that makes your mark go down in written exams or essays. 

How can you learn the three forms of the verbs? Either through practice (through reading mainly but listening is useful, too) or just learning them by heart. There are lots of webpages that can help you, click here to get some links.

Also, I suggest that you should watch this video: you´ll see the verbs with their three forms and you will hear their pronunciation, which will help those of you with either verbal or musical intelligences or both.

Formal-letter writing

Letter-writing practice is one of those topics most students do not like because they find it meaningless; they think they will never need to write a letter, especially a formal one, so why bother to learn how to do it?

Let me see if I can find some reasons why you should learn how to write a formal letter:

• Imagine you become the president of our country and you need to write to the president of a country where English is the official language, you want to do it correctly so as not to embarrass your fellow citizens, don´t you? You do not want to do what François Hollande, current President of France, did when he wrote to congratulate President Barack Obama: he signed off with "Friendly" but he should have finished with a more suitable phrase such as "Best wishes" or "Your friend" (from friend to friend) or a more formal one like "Sincerely" or "Yours faithfully," someone should have told him "Friendly" is never used to close a letter since it is an adjective

    

If you want to see some other letter closings or e-mail goodbyes, click here.

• formal letter writing is an ability native speakers of English learn at a very early age and they practise quite often: here is one example of one kid applying for a job: 

Here´s another example: a 3-year-old kid wrote to Sainbury´s , a famous store in the UK, suggesting a name change for a type of bread. He got this formal letter on the right for an answer.

• what if you become the president of the homeowner´s association in your building? Imagine there is a problem with one of your neighbors and you must let him know what you think; instead of a direct confrontation, writing a letter might help to make things clear -especially if that neighbour is someone important or popular, like Andy Warhol.

• formal-letter writing seems to be useful even to get dates, so you shouldn´t underestimate their importance...

For "serious" advice on how to write a formal letter, click here or here or watch the following video (IELTS =International English Language Testing System): 

For examples of all sorts of letters, have a look at Letters of Note; it is a kind of blog where they show "fascinating letters, postcards, telegrams, faxes, and memos," that´s how they describe the letters and I totally agree: some of them are just fascinating.

Turkey Day

Turkey Day or Thanksgiving: you do know what we are talking about, don´t you? If you don´t, watch this first video:

Here is an activity to commemorate Thanksgiving; I got it from a page called Community.EFL Classroom so it has been designed with students in mind. I think it is very good for self-study, here´s what you can do:

1. watch the episode trying to understand as much as possible
2. pay attention to the culture aspects of Thanksgiving (or Turkey Day) - food, for instance. Here is a list of typical Thanksgiving food: stuffing, cranberrry sauce, turkey, Brussel sprouts, green bean casserole, marshmallow sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, dinner rolls, pie, turduken. Do you know what all those things are? Click here to find out.
3. the episode is divided into parts; after each part of the episode, click here. You will be linked to a pdf. document with different activities for this episode: 

• the transcript (reading)
• information about specific aspects of Thanksgiving in US life
• definition of vocabulary that is used by the different characters in the          episode
• grammar activities related to grammar points emphasized in the episode

This TV series came out in the 1990s in the US; I am sure you´ll notice the difference in everyday life then and now: the way people dressed, the way they related within the family (grandparents, parents and grandchildren), their language... but the pace of their speaking is not at all fast so this will be a very useful activity for those of you who have an "intermediate" level of English.

Happy Turkey Day!

And here are other activities related to this celebration: 

1. You are the Historian: Investigating the First Thanksgiving is an interactive exploration of the facts and myths associated with the story of the First Thanksgiving. Students can explore the facts and myths through the eyes of a Native American child or through the eyes of a female Pilgrim. Through the eyes of each character students discover the culture of giving thanks in the Native American and English cultures. My favorite part of the investigation is "The Path to 1621" in which students hear the perspectives of Native Americans and Pligrims about events prior to 1621. 
2. Thanksgiving game: click here
3. Thanksgiving vocabulary game: click here
4. Do you like cooking? Would you like to learn how to make a pumpkin pie? Rachel is a teacher of American English who focuses on pronunciation in her videos and blog, called Rachel´s English

  5. And after a heavy meal, people need to do some exercises so what about "the gratitude dance" following The Gratitudes. Here´s how they introduce themselves and their dance: 

We started the Gratitude Dance out of moment of celebration at a coffee shop in Victoria, BC while writing our book on Manifesting Awesomeness. Out of this little jig came the idea to film it and put it on Youtube. Little did we know that it was just the beginning of our journey of understanding the power of gratitude and the power it has had on our lives.We are Matthew Ashdown and Brad Morris, known globally as "The GratiDudes" hanks to a guy who gifted us with this name. We are the originators of the silly Gratitude Dance that's spreading across the world!   

Mathew and Brad are thankful for: 

My Friends and Family, music, the Ocean, every penny I have, Law of Attraction, a wonderful world of opportunities, dancing, delicious food, the roof over my head, my health, my freedom, my talents and gifts, the Sun, Moon and the Stars, LOVE, the experiences that make me who I am, Learning new things, my bright future, Peace, Magic, Giving and Receiving, Energy, my Life, Rain Forests, Meditation, the Universe, Hugs and Kisses, my Coaches and Mentors, ME, books, computers, wisdom, smiling, entertainment, Planet Earth, and the Gratitude Dance!

What are you thankful for?