Movies

Best movies ever

Todd talks about his favourite movies for various genres.


Game

Listen and guess what movie they're talking about.

We are the champions

Cameron is new UK prime minister

David Cameron was confirmed as Prime Minister of a Tory-Liberal Democrat leadership on Tuesday night, Britain's first full coalition for 70 years.

Video

And the winner is ...

Drabble Competition Winners

Have a look at the winning drabbles on the School's webpage.

LISTENING PRACTICE 10

You will be given the comprehension exercises that go with this listening practice in class.

Jack the Ripper




Girl Stars: Sandhya





Due May 11 / May 12

Global Grammar Competition

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of English Grammar in Use, Cambridge University Press is giving six students around the globe an opportunity to win a two-week general English course at the Bell International School in Cambridge.

All you need to do is enter their Global Grammar Competition and prove how good your grammar is. Don't miss it!

Things you need to know:

• The competition opening dates are 01 April–30 June 2010.
• The test contains a total of 75 multiple-choice questions at three different levels: Elementary, Intermediate and Advanced.
• To win the competition, students need to get as many answers as possible correct in the shortest possible time.

Not sure how up to scratch your grammar is?

Try Grammar Gremlins. This fun online game is a perfect taster for the test.

LISTENING PRACTICE 9

Relationships

Go to podcastsinenglish.com and listen to podcast 60.

First election debate.- Immigration

The three candidates discuss immigration.



Due: April 28 / 29

Lyrics Training

Lyrics Training is an easy and fun method to learn and improve your English skills through the music and lyrics of the songs. Do you want to try how good you are with "Viva la Vida"?

1. Select the game mode. I'd go for intermediate.
2. Click on "Help" to learn how to play.
3. Start playing.

See how many points you get.

The First Election Debate in Britain

Watch the closing statements by the three candidates in the first televised election debate and feel free to leave a comment.



If you want to see the whole debate click here

Manners And Body Language Across Cultures

Watch this video as homework for our first class next week.


Multicultural Manners:
Manners And Body Language Across Cultures

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE BOOK

The Official School of Languages is having a drabble competition to celebrate the International Day of the Book.

Write your story and take part in it!

You can get a prize and see your story published on the school website!

For more information, click here
New Deadline: April 15

Also, a Charity Market will be held in the School Hall on April 22. Second-hand books, CDs and DVDs will be sold.
So, please, donate your used books, CDs or DVDs in any foreign language. For more information, contact me.

NOTICE FOR THE MONDAY-WEDNESDAY GROUP

We won't be having class next Monday (April 12). Our next class will be on Wednesday, April 14.

Please send me an e-mail so I can e-mail you the handout you need to do your Listening Practice 8.

LISTENING PRACTICE 8

The Tour Down Under cycling race in Adelaide attracts some of the biggest names in world cycling. Watch the video and do the exercise you'll be given in class.

DUE: April 15

Writing a book review

Good writing tips, strategies, and challenges to help you write a book review.

Write a Book Review with Rodman Philbrick

St Patrick's Day

Learn about the history of St Patrick's Day.

Now that you know the facts, watch this nice short film on St Patrick's life.

Ecological footprint

Watch this introductory video.



Take this quiz to find out how many Earths it takes to support your lifestyle.

Oscars 2010

Highlights from the Oscars ceremony

Acceptance Speech: Directing

You can see other Acceptance Speeches by clicking on them.

And just in case you get an Oscar one day, here are some tips you might find useful:

How to Accept an Oscar

Grants for English courses

Orden EDU/425/2010, de 15 de febrero, por la que se convocan ayudas para cursos de lengua inglesa en el extranjero, destinadas a maestros y estudiantes de las enseñanzas conducentes a la obtención del título de Maestro.


Orden EDU/426/2010, de 15 de febrero, por la que se convocan ayudas para cursos de lengua inglesa, durante el verano de 2010, destinadas a jóvenes de entre 16 y 30 años.

Theatre in English: Andrew Marshall

February 25

17.00 Revolting Rhymes (elementary - intermediate)
19.10 English Made Easy (intermediate - advanced)

Always look on the bright side of life

If you feel like singing along, go ahead.

Radio programme

The school has a radio programme on Radio Chinchilla (105.3 FM) every month, Más que mil imágenes. Next programme is tonight, February24 at 23.00. Don't miss it!

You can also listen to previous programmes on the school's website.

April Fools Day

Do you remember the text in our book where they tell about Britain's most famous April Fool hoax? In 1957, the BBC documentary series Panorama showed Swiss farm workers pulling spaghetti from 'spaghetti trees'.

Read about it and watch the video of the actual program:

1957: BBC fools the nation

Comedy

Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry

Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie perform a hilarious short comedy sketch in a police station. A man making a statement has a surname that is pretty hard to pronounce! Watch this classic moment from the ground-breaking comedy sketch show 'A Bit of Fry and Laurie'.




'Mystery' song



'Mystery' lyrics

Monty Python - Job Interview

Interactive Phonemic Chart

Make sure you can pronounce all the sounds in English. Click on each of the phonetic symbols and listen to its pronunciation and the example given. Repeat both the sound and the example as accurately as possible.

Phonetic Chart

As a follow-up, look up the words you've learnt more recently and pronounce them looking at the phonetic transcription.

Reading Books in English

This programme was recorded at Bell London, where we talked with students and teachers about reading books in English. How can reading help your language studies? In what ways can we make the experience more enjoyable or effective? How are different kinds of books described in English? We answer all these questions and find out a little about the recommendations below.

LISTENING PRACTICE 7

Use your English language skills to bluff your way around the law (get yourself around the law in a wide range of situations).

JustCo

Write a summary of the activity and a list of language you've learnt. Give this language in the context where it is used and with its meaning.

DUE: Feb 23 / Feb 24

Reading Club

The Reading Club is meeting on Wednesday, Februrary 24 at 5.00 pm in Room 005. They've just introduced a new book, so it's a great opportunity for you join the club now. I strongly recommend it.

For more information on the book they are reading, click here.

Isabel Allende tells tales of passion

Author and activist Isabel Allende discusses women, creativity, the definition of feminism -- and, of course, passion -- in this talk. I hope you enjoy it.

LISTENING PRACTICE 6

1. Watch an episode of one of the following series:

Web Therapy
Lisa Kudrow stars as a therapist with limited patience for other people's problems in this original improvised Web series.

Puppy Love
A series about dog lovers and the people who love them.

2. Give a summary of the story and a list of the new language you've learnt.

Due February 9 / February 10

Listening and Speaking.- US New Laws

Click on the icon on the left to listen to the instructions for this activity.

School Library

Have a look at the library blog. There's lots of new material. Why don't you drop by and borrow something next week?

LISTENING PRACTICE 5

One-Minute World News

Watch this news programme four days and make a list of the news stories they talk about each day.

Deadline: January 25/January 26

New Year's Resolutions

What is the most common goal for people making New Year’s resolutions? Have you made any? Listen to this 6 Minute English audio on this topic.

CLASSES

Just a little reminder, for group I5-17L classes will start tomorrow, Friday 8th January.