Storing links on Storify

Just a quick note for those of you who are doing set classes this year (rather than conversation classes)...

I know it's hard to organize all the links that we talk about and use in class, especially if we're talking about extra reading or radio broadcasts that are related to the topics that we cover. So I've started an account with Storify.com, which helps people organize links around topics. (I know Pinterest does it, too, but I found Pinterest wasn't as good with YouTube videos, and was just .) So here goes! 

• For those of you who are studying for the Cambridge First, here are links that are connected to "The Perfect Storm", which is this year's set text for First, Advanced and Proficiency.
• For those of you who are doing Proficiency for Professionals, here is the story that contains links on culture in the work place. (This one is a little short, but will continue to grow as the course grows. Be sure to check back in to check out new links as they come up.)

Could I ask you for two minutes of your time?

I know, I hate it when people stop me and ask me to answers questions for a survey - so I hate asking you folks, too....however....

I'm trying to get more information about how people feel about taking English classes over the Internet, so I've created that asks people what they think about English classes over Skype. The survey is totally anonymous - I won't ask you for your name, e-mail address or anything like that - and there is no obligation to buy anything after you take the survey (since I won't know who you are.)

Thanks in advance for your help!! The survey is located at the very bottom of this web page - scroll all the way down to the end and you'll see it there.

FREE English course for medical people!

No, not me, unfortunately. I can't afford to give my stuff away for free (yet.)

It's from someone who's a lot better at teaching medical English than I am: the University of Pittsburgh, through Coursera.org, is offering a six-week course for medical people who want to learn more about English and medical-clinical terminology. It's free (though there are limits to the number of people who can take part), and there's no start date for the next session.

For those of you who are looking to practice abroad, however, this might be an excellent place to start fine-tuning your medical English.

Looking for listening practice?

Since next week is going to be a little quieter, I thought I'd start looking for different websites for different....well, stuff. And in the course of researching information about Moodle, I found ELLLO, where you can practise with recordings of people from all over the world, speaking in English.

Very cool. Plus it's a Creative Commons website, which means you're free to download and practise however you want.

Best Five Websites for Intelligent Reading

Since Ana's not continuing her classes this semester, I sent her a list of websites where she could practice her reading (advanced level.) I thought I'd share them with you, too.

The New Yorker - The website also features a number of very interesting podcasts - the monthly fiction/short story podcast is especially good.

The Independent - Good, in-depth reporting.

The Atlantic Monthly - A wide variety of different subjects, but especially strong on economy, American history, politics and urban planning.

Parents Monthly - A favourite magazine and website for my friends who have kids.

The New Internationalist - A British magazine dedicated to topics about global development. If you enjoy thought-provoking articles about the world at large, you'll probably enjoy NI. It's also an exceptionally good source of vocabulary for people who need vocabulary that focuses on international relations and economics.

Some of you will ask why I didn't include "The New York Times". Unfortunately, the "Times" has adopted a new policy that only gives you twenty free articles per month, and while most students won't read more than twenty articles, I think it's a good reason to start looking elsewhere for things to read.

If you only consult one web page to help you learn English...

...consult this one. Over the past ten years, Kenneth Beare has worked his tail off to create one of the best general English-learning sites on the Internet:

http://esl.about.com/

Be sure to sign up for the English learning tip of the day!

Attention Facebook users!

STOP SPANGLISH is now on Facebook! Come on over, visit us, leave a comment or two, and join our online community!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=44477&id=174953225867832#!/pages/Stop-Spanglish/174953225867832

Need extra help with pronunciation? A gem from MIT

Pronunciation is one of those skills that a lot of teachers know that they should do, but they don't. Sometimes it's because they're not sure themselves of how it works; sometimes, pronunciation doesn't fall in neatly with a subject; and, unfortunately, there are teachers who just don't think it's important.

Those of you who have had class with me have probably suffered...er, studied...pronunciation. For those of you who don't have a lot of experience with pronunciation, or who would like to practice on your own, check out Isaiah Woo's Listening, Speaking and Pronunciation class. While MIT hasn't put the complete course online, you'll get a lot from the video exercises (which are also available through YouTube.)

http://tinyurl.com/36c9svk

Okay, THIS is seriously cool.

I love the Massachusetts Institute of Technology! Not only are they one of the best schools in the States...a lot of their past courses are now available free, gratis and open...online!

Check this one out:

http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/foreign-languages-and-literatures/21f-223-listening-speaking-and-pronunciation-fall-2004/#description

This is a great course for those of you who want to practice your listening and speaking skills for TOEFL...