(Avanzado 2) TLK2UL8R

Er...elephants using text messages? If you think that this can only be a joke read the transcript of the BBC article that we listened to in class (October 30) and find out whether the latest gadget might actually turn out to be handy sometimes.
Do you think banning mobile phones (cell phones or cellulars in the US) in some places, e.g. restaurants, would be a good idea? It bugs me when people start speaking loudly so you can't help noticing them, but there are more important reasons to ban mobiles in some other places or to some other people. You have the transcript for the other listening here.
I know this is not South Korea but students are quite alike everywhere. I hope I'm not giving you any ideas about cheating in my exams if you read and listen to another article. Just in case I'll cut you off...

Also, here's the first issue this year of The Guardian Weekly. We'll be doing this some time so as to improve your reading skills, especially if you've set out to get the Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English (CAE). As usual, it's authentic material, not abridged or adapted, taken from The Guardian newspaper. Just read it for practice. We won't be reading this in class, we'll just deal with problems or doubts (if any, I might be underestimating you...) Click on the link below and download the reading in pdf format (you will need Acrobat Reader, if you don't have it get it here). You have the key at the end of the document so all you have to do is simply check how well you did.
Emoticons_advanced-1.pdf

What's the homework? Send a comment either about noises or situations which bug you, annoying things which really piss you off, e.g. mobiles ringing in the middle of a film, or- send a comment about a time you cheated in an exam, like the students in the article. Did you get away with it or you had to go through the embarrassment of being caught out by the teacher?
Thats's all. CU ;-)

(Avanzado 1) Gossips, gossips!!

Why don't we do a bit of gossiping? We've just read about the things the members of Abba had to go through, the problems they had with the media.
If you really want to see the difference between the so-called tabloids and more serious newspapers, check these ones- The Sun and News of the world online editions with dramatic, big headlines and fascinating stories, and something quite the opposite but a very good newspaper, The Guardian.
This is what you have to do. Flick through a few pages or headlines of the tabloids and choose your favourite juicy gossip to send in a comment and tell your partners about it. Also, page 3 is quite famous in The Sun. You'll have to find out why (but don't get too carried away by imagination, boys)
Finally, if it's not personal, have you ever been the subject yourself of some gossip, true or not? You know neighbours make up stories, acquaintances spread rumours, especially if you come from a village. Anything you were involved in, according to the rumour mill?
That's all. We'll gossip a bit next class!

(Avanzado 1 & 2) There are not sex symbols in the band!

Or there are not six cymbals in the band?
Oops, phonetics is important or else you might be saying something rather embarrassing. Do you like the piss and quiet or the peace and quiet? Or someone asks you after the show what you think of the drummer...or the drama? And what you can see over there is a ship or, rather, a sheep? Have you got two uncles or two ankles?
We've just started with phonetics, so don't fret. You'll soon become familiar with those strange symbols.
Whenever you want to hear the sounds of English language you can go to a few pages I recommend- you can get some practice with vowels, diphthongs, stress or intonation in this Cambridge site, in Fenetiks and Antimoon.
For those who are more into getting a very distinctive American accent (a few cases in Avanzado 2 I can think of), you can try this dictionary of American pronunciation.
Also, you can look up in Howjsay the pronunciation of words you don't know the meaning of or you have doubts about how to say it correctly.
I've got a friend who's got a friend who knows someone...well, it was me, I admit it- Once I happened to be in a flat alone and the plumber came over to fix the heater. He asked me for a cloth with a strong Wolverhampton accent and even though I didn't understand what he might need it for I fetched him a...clock! Have you got any other embarrassing misunderstandings, a gaffe you can recall because of mispronouncing? Send in a comment with an anecdote.
See you!

(Avanzado 2) Tag this question

You are students, aren't you? And I'm your teacher, aren't I? And you want to improve your pronunciation, don't you? And now we've done some exercises about question tags, you can tell the difference between rising and falling, can't you?

Well, go to this page, read and listen about Giovanni's problem and see if you finally understand when and why to use which intonation.
Why don't you send in a comment to the blog telling your partners what it is that makes English a bit more difficult for you?
Was the listening difficult? It shouldn't have...
See you!

(Avanzado 1) What's in a name?

Superman? Arsenal? Gandalf?
You must be kidding! How could you name your child after your favourite football team? Read this article (notice that you can also listen to it at the same time) about parents deciding names on a whim and then send your comment telling if you think it should be allowed to name your child after anything you come up with or if there should be some restrictions.
I remember we had, for example, a female sheep, 'ewe' (Inés) and a 'poem or song' (Carmen) in Latin and another 'ewe' (Raquel) in Hebrew in class. If you want to know the meaning and history of your name, go to this link and find out what exactly you are saying when you say your name.
Then do a game about names. Go to this page and on the left handside you will see different things you can do about this theme- an article, a word game, trivia, links... Click on "word game" and you will learn a few idioms, as long as you can work it out! It's a drag and drop game. You will see different squares and you have to drag them to the grid on the right so you can form sentences. Then send a comment telling the others about one of the idioms and its meaning.
That's all about names!