BBC Listening + Most Valuable Brands

In today’s lesson we had a discussion on the most valuable brands, according to the Marketing consultancy company Interbrand. We had the chance to practice listening (gist, comprehension), grammar (reformulation of the text and grammarising the summary), finding and understading vocabulary connected to the tapescript. As homework I asked you to rewrite the text using the chunks we have learned and some information from the original article. I’m sure some of you might have found the lesson a little bit difficult and that’s the reason why I’ve decided to upload some material connected to what we learnt this afternoon. Here’s a list of some resources you can listen to, read, and practice as homework.

* Interbrand list of the 100 best global brands

* BrandZ top 100 ranking of the most valuable brands in the world

* Transworldnews article: The Coca-Cola Company Will Host a Conference Call to Discuss Financial Results

* BBC Learning English – Words in the News – Listening (With audio and tapescript)

* BCC News – Google Brand “on the rise”

* Top Brand values fall in recession (BBC Video)

Finally, a video with two business analysts discussing the ingredients Interbrand take into account when ranking the world’s most valuable brands among other things. Take a look.

Podcast – Music

Since this week our topic is music, I’ve decided that our podcast should be somehow connected to music. So, let’s not waste time and get things going by clicking here to listen to the podcast.

Your task is to write about a concert or show you’ve been to recently or a while ago. But, if you haven’t been to a concert you can easily make one up.

Here’s the list of vocabulary and chunks that I might be useful while you are writing your comment.

* venue

* bad seat in the house

* street parking

* snag a spot

* bouncer

* get to the head of sth

* check one’s tickets

* put a wrist band on sb

* roped-off section

* VIP

* groupies

* opening act

* start boo-ing sb

* rowdy

* riot

* headlining band

* cheer

* happy camper

* turn out to be + noun

Don’t forget to leave your name and email when leaving your comment. Thanks!

Podcast – Talking about Books

Today’s podcast is about books, especially because this week we are going to talk about reading habits and trends.

So, basically all you have to do is click here and you will be redirected to the ESLPODCAST website.

Your work is to listen to it and write about a book you read recently or about books in general. Here’s a list of the chunks you might want to use while writing.

• like sth well enough
• a glowing recommendation
• to start off with a bang
• can’t put sth down
• relate to sth
  
• plot drags
• pull sth off
• ending + be (is/was…) + adjective (laughable/brilliant/etc)
• that makes + one/two/three + us
• can’t wait for + noun (sequel)

Don’t forget to leave your name and email when leaving your comment. Thanks!

Dictionaries & Thesaurus

Here’s a list of my favourite online dictionaries & thesaurus. They will be of great help while you are studying English online and writing and doing tasks. Check them out by clicking on the links.

Dictionaries

• Dictionary.com (My favourite one. It is considered the largest free online dictionary and  you can also check out the audio pronunciation feature)
• Cambridge Dictionaries Online (good for students and it also includes a phrasal verb & idiom dictionary)
• alphaDictionary (This one has a lot of features free English dictionary, grammars for 350 languages, crossword puzzles, word games, language jokes, and the “Word of the Day” kinda thing! worth checking)
• The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (good for teachers and students as well. Some things you might like are audio pronunciation features, illustrations and word-root appendixes)
• Infoplease (Another free dictionary with  encyclopedia, almanac, atlas, dictionary and much more)
• AllWords.com (English dictionary with multi-lingual search – French, Spanish, German – as well as links for word lovers and crosswords)
• Urban Dictionary (by far my favourite one – click here and check out why)
• The Compact Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford always has the best dictionaries and this one is not different. Thus, you can check out the writing tips)
• Fact Monster (A good free reference site for students, teachers, and parents. It includes other things such as sports, science & math)
• Webster’s Online Dictionary (This one claims to be Earth’s largest dictionary with 90 modern and 10 ancestral languages. Plus, word of the day, hour & minute)
  
• Rhyme Zone (This one is not only a dictionary and thesaurus but also a thesaurus and it includes the functions of a rhyming dictionary & spelling checker. How cool is that?)
• Wiktionary (Wiki dictionary from the Wikimedia Foundation – more of a complement to Wikipedia)
• Ultralingua Online Dictionary (What I like about this one is the fact that you can download it to your Iphone, laptop, etc.)

Thesaurus

• Thesaurus.com (It is claimed to be the largest free online thesaurus including antonyms)
• Roget’s II: The New Thesaurus (Contains more than 5000 synonyms and over 250000 cross-references. Thus, an alphabetical Index list)
• Aiksaurus (not one of my favourites but still somehow useful)
• Merriam-Webster Online (both dictionary and thesaurus)
• yourDictionary.com ( Another free online dictionary/thesaurus that offers definition search from Webster’s dictionary for word meanings and thesaurus. It also has forums and language articles, not mention brain games)
• Dictionary – MSN Encarta (It’s a dictionary, thesaurus and also contains a translation section. To my view, it is very limited)
• TheFreeDictionary (What I really like about this one here is the fact that you can create your own homepage by adding or removing things such as quotes, words, weather, etc)
• Wordsmyth (The only turn off of this one is that you’ve got to create an account)
• WordWeb (downloadable dictionary and thesaurus. Can be used offline. Pretty good)

The last dictionary/thesaurus I want to mention is actually my favorite one among all of the other ones I have talked about. It is called VisuWords. It is a graphical dictionary and thesaurus that uses word webs to find meanings and associations with other ideas and concepts. Here’s an example with the word “plausible”

Heroes – Che Guevara

In our lesson today we talked about heroes in general. Some of you mentioned sports heroes, celebrity heroes, history heroes among others. However, we decided to focus on one hero in particular, i.e. Che Guevara.

Some people considered him a hero while others though of him as being a ruthless disciplinarian. No matter what people say about him Guevara remains an admired, controversial, and significant historical figure.

Your task is to basically watch this documentary and write an essay based on the documentary. You must support an opinion – Was Che Guevara a hero or an assassin? Watch the documentary and draw you own conclusions.

Here are some more links about Che Guevara to give you some more background information about him.

* Che Guevara – A Web site dedicated to promoting the ideas and accomplishments of Che Guevara.

* Time Magazine – an article that named Guevara one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.

Pronunciation III

Here’s another post and more links and videos, as requested. I will not stop posting about pronunciation, but the next posts will be about different subjects, including our book club.

If you haven’t tried the BBC Learning English website, you have no idea of what you are missing. The website is complete and has a section entirely devoted to pronunciation. It includes:

• The sounds of English – all those weird symbols that I keep teaching in class and students are always complaining about how hard it is to memorize them;
  
• Features of English – lots of information about different elements of English pronunciation;
• Quizzes – tons of quizzes to help you improve your knowledge of English;
  
• Programmes – A couple of radio shows that you can download to your computer (all with audio and tapescript)

Another interesting pronunciation video is this one that became a huge hit on YouTube a couple of months ago. Amy Walker, 25, posted a clever video on the Internet of her performing 21 English-language accents not long after moving to Philadelphia recently. In this video, she does a little tour of 21 accents in 2 1/2 minutes. Accents vary from UK to Ireland. Can you spot some of them? (Tip: She does the Torontonian accent)

Finally, a video that will make you laugh (especially if you are into accents and are not easily offended). It features Canuck comedian Russel Peters making fun of different accents. Enjoy!

Podcast + Writing

Some students have complained that it’s been taking me too long to update new material on the website. All I can say is “I’m sorry”. Lately I’ve been really busy with some side projects and haven’t had the chance to update it daily – as I promised – but I promise that from now on I will try my best.

Today we have another podcast from ESLPOD website and the topic is MOVIES!

You know how this works, uh? Listen to the podcast by clicking HERE. Then, after listening carefully write down a situation or an anecdote (e.g. a movie you watched lately) using the vocabulary & chunks below:

• to fit the bill
• road block
• lead actor
• supporting cast
• comic relief
• villain
• love to hate
• happy ending
• predictable
• to not go out of one’s way
• slapstick
• throw you for a loop
• figure out sth
• plot twist
• screenwriters
• directors
• pull sth off
• classics
• nail-biters
• main character
• a shocker
• spoil the ending
• thumbs up
• fain-hearted

Don’t forget to write your piece on the comments section.

Podcast + Writing

I think I have already mentioned that ESLPOD is by far one of the best ESL resources available on the Internet. The website has tons of podcasts with different topics and valuable vocabulary for students.

I’ve been using ESLPOD with my students for quite a while and the feedback was always positive. Mainly, I used to send them to my students who would listen to it, make notes of any useful expressions, and write something similar following the topic and preferably using the expressions they have learned.

So from now on all you have to do is listen to the podcast of the week from ESLPOD (I will choose one and post it here) and write your own essay based on the same topic and using the vocabulary (I will also post the vocabulary chunks here in order to make your life easier)

Here’s your first podcast of the week – Tell me about yourself <– (click here to listen)

And the vocabulary (you should listen to understand the usage and meaning of the expressions)

• born and raised
• spring chicken
• to be spoiled
• happy/sad childhood
• to keep up with the Joneses
• grade/high/elementary school
• go on to
• to learn the ropes
• to become + a + noun
• professional student
• finish up something
• to be happily married 

Don’t forget to write your paragraph on the comments.