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.)

Is "newspaper English" a totally different tongue?

There's an excellent article in this week's "The Economist" newspaper (don't ask me why, it calls itself a newspaper, not a magazine) about the problem with understanding the kind of English newspaper writers use.

If you've ever tried to read a newspaper and didn't understand what the writers were trying to say....maybe it's not YOU!

(Thanks to Kristine Pommert of the BBC for the link.)

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.

One for the football fans:

Sorry to have been silent so long, guys! Things have been busy around here while we prepare for the communication skills course this weekend and next weekend. In the meantime, here's one for you Barcelona FC fans...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/feb/16/pep-guardiola-barcelona-arsenal

Reading practice: Too funny!!

If you think that you're having a bad time with this cold weather, don't worry. It could be a lot worse.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-11908583

At least you're not facing criminal charges!

(Thanks to Gavin Dudney for the story.)

Past tense practice: Beer made humans civilized

Got this from Andrew Sullivan's blog at TheAtlantic.com. Here's some past tense practice you can work on as you go for your Sunday cañas...

http://tinyurl.com/39be3a3

Enjoy!

America's first Muslim college

There's an interesting feature today on VOAnews.com about the first American Muslim college. For those of you who are thinking about studying in the United States, it's worth remembering that many of the colleges and universities which are famous internationally were started by different churches; Harvard, for example, was started by well-off Protestants who settled in the Boston area and wanted a high-level university for their children.

You can listen to (and read) the feature here:
http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/usa/Americas-First-Muslim-College-Opens-this-Fall-99831529.html

The feature contains some ideas and vocabulary that you might find useful for the listening part of the TOEFL - especially those "not in classroom" discussions that you are tested on.

"Norwegians in Brooklyn"

If you decide to get a private English teacher this fall, I strongly suggest that you ask the person if she or he has ever tried to learn another language. It's not because you should have someone who speaks perfect Spanish (although it certainly helps.) Language teachers who have experience learning a language can often understand those strange little situations that happen to language students - such as what it's like to develop an accent that people don't expect you to have.

James Fallows, a writer for "The Atlantic Monthly", lived in Beijing for a number of years, and understands what it's like to learn a language, since he speaks fairly fluent Chinese. He's also been tracking and organizing stories about how different English accents can happen in the places where you least expect them. The story about the Chinese guy who talks like Deer Hunter actor Christopher Walken is priceless....

http://tinyurl.com/37ay65a

Five for free!

Not taking an English class this summer? Not sure how to practice in your spare time?

Here are five ideas that Paloma, Alicia, Concha, Vero and I came up with in class on Monday morning:

Send a company an e-mail. Pick a hotel, a famous British restaurant and an American department store, and ask them questions. You don't have to ask for really complicated information; you could write to ask about prices, opening hours, locations...

Listen to a podcast. If you use iTunes, go to the iTunes store and look up the subject "English language podcast" or "ESL podcast." I just did this, and I got a dozen different downloadable podcasts, all of which were free.

Learn a complete CD of music by heart. Personal suggestions: Amy Winehouse's "Black in Black" (OK, you may not like her, personally, but the songs are easy to sing); soundtracks to musicals like "Hairspray" or "Chicago" (be sure to write down and practice the phrasal verbs and set phrases you hear!). Try to avoid techno-pop or anything like New Order - yes, the songs are fun, but they don't make any sense!

Get a penfriend, or find someone you can practice your written English with! Try these sites:
http://www.englishjet.com/english_courses_files/people.htm
http://www.eslteachersboard.com/cgi-bin/meeting/index.pl
http://esl-group.com/list1f.html

Speaking of penfriends...here's a free online reading comprehension exercise you can try: http://esl.about.com/od/beginningreadingskills/a/pen_pal.htm

Help tourists who are lost around Madrid. This is helpful for both you and the tourist: The tourist doesn't have to feel ashamed about not speaking enough Spanish to find where he or she wants to go, and you get five minutes of free English practice! But be reasonable; don't harrass the tourist too much or insist that he talk to you for, like, an hour or something.

There are lots of free websites with exercises and advice. My personal favourites include www.esl.about.com (the pen friends exercise above is from there), the BBC World Service Learning English site (http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/index.shtml - check out the photo page that has a picture taken in Toledo!) and www.dictionary.com - especially useful if you want to learn more about the vocabulary you learned in class this year.

Good luck!