(Avanzado 1 & 2) Bank of podcasts

While I was having a beer with a few of you the other day I started whining as I didn't have the time to cope with so much work. And I remembered that I still kept somewhere a list with the suggestions of podcasts episodes you'd been listening to when I first introduced you to podcasting back in November or so. I got some feedback about what it was you listened to, whether it had been any interesting in your opinion, difficult, easy to understand, if the podcast provided students or listeners with the transcript, how often it was updated and things like that.
I also surveyed what were the chances of having a podcast but unfortunately it didn't come off. Not because you just couldn't be bothered but because I wasn't able to think how I was going to organize the recording sessions while in the classroom, the post-editing and that. Anyway, I got some very interesting ideas about what the contents might be, some people (especially from 1st Avanzado) sounded excited about the whole idea and I've made up my mind that we will have our own podcast next year, whoever my students are, whether I'm a teacher in 4th year or 5th or any other. So if I happen to be your teacher next year you're in for trouble!
But I digress...back to the podcasts. As I was saying I got a list of podcasts, crossed out the ones you didn't like whatever the reason and then chose a few of the best ones in your opinion, which are as follows.

-Podcasts in English
-Listen to English
-6 minute English
-English as a Second Language
-Breaking News English
-Talk about English
-Better at English
-Tu-Ingles
-City by city
-Business English Pod
-Travel with Rick Steves
-National Geographic

These are all web-based so if you click on the title you will be referred to the site and then you'll get all the information about the podcasts and the archives. Remember you can either download or listen to the episodes in streaming and also subscribe to them. For subscriptions you have three options- RSS, or else as they say 'easy does it': get the episodes via iTunes (strongly recommended application for downloading and managing podcasts). If you have problems you can also try Juice ipodder. If you still have problems, let's face it, you're a bit clumsy and state-of-the-art technology is not for you. Buy a transistor radio instead.

And last but not least, some of my suggestions, things I, to be honest, download-every-day-but- never-find-the-time-to-listen-to, well, sometimes when I go running listening to the Geoff's show while I puff my way up the slopes makes being scant of breath a bit more bearable. Most of them are, I'm warning you, not specifically for teaching English as a second language or educational purposes, which might make it a bit too difficult as they're aimed for natives. Actually it's mostly radio programmes which have a podcast as a bonus. You might have a go, though. Here's then a few of the things I sometimes, hardly ever, very few and far between, listen to but I still like:

-Adam and Joe
-Ricky Gervais
-Geoff Lloyd's Hometime Show
-The Larry King Show
-This American Life
-TED talks

I think that's enough, isn't it? Next year we'll take over and our classroom-made podcast will be top-notch!
See you in class...

(Avanzado 1 & 2) Flying penguins (and other stuff)

Well, not so surprising, you might say. After all, vultures were supposed to feed on carrion but this bird of prey reportedly started attacking sheep here in Navarra, despite initial disbelief. Believe it or not, this video is living proof that there are some penguins that can fly. And it's the BBC that provides the footage- camera crews filming near the Antarctic for its natural history series Miracles of Evolution offered a video clip of these flying penguins, which became one of the most viewed videos on the internet. Presenter Terry Jones explained that, instead of huddling together to endure the Antarctic winter, these penguins took to the air and flew thousands of miles to the rainforests of South America where they "spend the winter basking in the tropical sun." Perhaps one of the consequences of global warming? Do you think we could see penguins mingling with the pigeons in the Plaza del Castillo? It may now sound as a stupid joke, but it might turn out to be too true in a few years!



What? You still don't believe it?
Have a look at the calendar...What day is it today? It's April 1st. Or... April Fool's Day!! And of course, this is nothing but a hoax. Brilliantly conceived of and spectacularly filmed, isn't it? Were you taken in by the flying penguins? Of course you're not going to admit it, but I guess a few of you were actually tricked into believing the story.

Can you imagine the Big Ben being given a digital readout? The British National Anthem ("God Save the Queen") replaced by the Euro Anthem, sung in German? And by the way, this video was downloaded from YouTube. Did you know that internal tests have shown that modern computer monitors give a higher quality picture when flipped upside down? Check out the explanation and be prepared to do the flip.
And did you know that this blog is going global? See for yourselves, as the other day I was watching the telly and found this programme and guess what the sentence to get the multimillionaire prize was. But he didn't finally make it. Poor sod...It serves him right, for not reading the blog!















Fascinated by the hoaxes? Go to this link, read through the best hoaxes and send a comment with the funniest or the most ridiculous one.
See you in class.

(Avanzado 1 & 2) This lion can't be a pet peeve

What are my pet peeves? A pet peeve is an idiom that means a cause of annoyance, like, for instance, the English teacher's pet peeve is not having any entries when he posts something and students can't be bothered to answer. It's not that I'm going to tell you off, anyway. By the way, to learn a few animal idioms go to this page and try and match the missing words with the pictures of animals. And anyone who is the teacher's pet? Just kidding...
Since we're dealing with animals and pets (or we're about to, for students in Avanzado 1, that's next week's topic), I just wanted to share a story with you.
This is two friends who along with their girlfriends cared for the lion where they lived in London until it was a year old. Believe it or not they had bought it at Harrod's! Christian's increasing size and cost of care led them to understand they could not keep him anymore. Eventually they asked some conservationists for help, who agreed to reintegrate Christian into the wild in the Kora National Reserve, in Kenya. Christian would even become afterwards the head of his pride.
When friends Rendall and Bourke were informed of Christian's successful reintroduction to the wild they travelled to Kenya to visit Christian and were filmed in the documentary Christian, The Lion at World's End. According to the documentary, they were told that Christian might not remember them.
A video edited from the documentary received worldwide attention more than 30 years after the event, and several versions have been viewed thousands of times. Basically they're all the same but for the music in the background. I'm not a member of RSCPA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), but to avoid further damage I deliberately avoided the video with corny Withney Houston's "I will always love you"!!!. Aerosmith is the poor second best...The video below shows the lion at first cautiously approach and then quickly leap gently onto the two men, standing on his hind legs and wrapping his front legs around their shoulders, nuzzling their faces. What did you expect? Some gory footage?
It seems that for some reason I just don't understand some people are experiencing problems to watch the enclosed video. It that's so, just click on this link and enjoy it.



Isn't it emotional? It is indeed... Sorry about that final sentence in the video, though, which spoils the whole a bit.
See you!

(Avanzado 1) 78 differences

Scientists decoding the human genome have discovered that just 78 genes separate men from women. Only 78?
So Europe is a country and they speak French there, says the bimbo. No wonder then that women can't read maps, or... can they? But, mind you, men can't do two things at the same time, can we?
If you want to read a light-hearted research into the genetic differences between women and men make sure you check out this page, which features some brilliant entries by readers. Then send in your comment either saying which remark was the funniest or feel free to contribute by giving some other differences that you think haven't been mentioned in the article.
For some fun, be sure to check out this video. It features some just slightly different habits when it comes to having a shower.


Are we really like that at all? Next time I have a shower I'll refrain myself from doing those things I usually indulge in...and you'd better, too.
Bye, lads and lasses.

(Avanzado 1) London Calling!

London Calling to the faraway towns...said The Clash. London is calling and we're just going on a trip. Collect the few quid you managed to save the last time, rehearse your cockney accent, as we're off.
The only thing we're going to do today is plan our trip. Some of you will look for accomodation- What do students prefer? A hostel? A low-budget hotel? Some Bread & Breakfast?
Some will watch out for bargains so we can fly cheaper- Easy Jet? Ryanair? British Airways? Where from? And how are we going from Luton/Stansted/Heathrow to central London?
Some others will schedule-are we going sightseeing? Just go and hit the bars? Zoos? Museums? A musical perhaps? A stroll in a park? Shopping in a market? Or rather Harrod's? Do you want to see David Beckham in wax at Madame Tussaud's? The London Eye?
To make things easier, visit London.
To put things in common, we're going to chat so you can make instant decisions. Don't think it over and make up your mind, as we're running out of time.
To finish today's activity, this is the homework:
You have to answer a few questions and facts about London. Go to this webquest and follow the instructions. Who will manage to find all the answers? Solutions next day in class.

See you!

(Avanzado 1) Elllo elllo, you say elllo I say goodbye...

Actually The Beatles said Hello, Goodbye, but they might as well wanted to use this terrific website that I came across a couple of years ago, just by chance, probably browsing through the web expecting to find something else.
The page is called elllo (it stands for English Language Listening Laboratory Online) and offers a wide array of listenings, ranging from interviews to listening games. It is probably the best website for improving your listening skills, in my opinion.
I have just prepared a screencast to show you about how it works and the contents you will find there. Now, don't get me wrong. It's not that I think you are clumsy when it comes to dealing with computers, it's just in case you are one of those who say that computers 'don't love you'. If after watching the screencast you still don't know how to use the page, you're in for trouble in this increasingly technological world...
You'll see a slideshow embedded below. Just watch it. You'd better change to the Full Screen mode so you can read my notes. Eer, yes, if you're one of those the full screen is the icon with the arrows...
Then send a comment for feedback- what do you think about the page? Did you like it? Did you do a lot of listenings? You'll have to anyway, as I'll tell you to do some homework about it quite often from now on.



Clear? Then you know what to do next...
See you in class! You say elllo, I say goodbye, elllo elllo...

(Avanzado 1 &2) I elfed myself

Cor Blimey, it's Christmas again! Doesn't time fly? Not that I like Christmas that much or I'm dying to get the tinsel or the mistletoe wreath, but just for a bit of fun and to wish you a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year you might as well have a laugh at these triplets on the dance floor. Mind you, one of them is more like the Grinch, what with that face...
Enjoy your holidays and I'll see you after Christmas. Any New Year's Resolutions, e.g. little lies, like "I'm going to study English!"?
See you!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

(Avanzado 1& 2) Like peas in a pod...cast

If you missed one of the Friday classes (you probably did, as only a few of you turned up) you didn't hear about podcasts, a portmanteau -some people think- of the words Ipod (Apple's sleek mp3 player) and broadcast. Some others, however, claim that's wrong and podcast comes from the acronym p.o.d. (public on demand) + cast. A podcast is...well, you'd rather watch this video to find out.



Where can you find the podcasts? Probably the best way to download, subscribe to and manage episodes is iTunes. If you haven't got it yet and want to download it you can do it here.
If you are experiencing problems or you're not exactly what I'd call tech-freak, watch this video for troubleshooting.
If you want to browse through the wide array of podcasts available to you, you can either-

1.Once you've downloaded and installed iTunes, go to the Podcasts directory and search for the category you're after. Choose one episode of a podcast to download the programme or, if you really like it so much, subscribe. Problems? If so, watch this video. Otherwise, you might as well skip it.
2.You can also go to some websites which function as search engines for podcasts. Take, for example, Podcast Alley. You can also go to the site and listen to it online, with streamed audio and/or video if you're not interested in subscribing yet.
3.There are also some directories with podcasts specially created for teaching English as a second language. Probably the best is Englishcaster. The good thing here is that you can choose the contents and they're sorted out by levels, target audience, type of accent...

Even though your teacher's explanation has been outstanding -or... hasn't?, do not hesitate to ask him if you can't make head or tail of it and you're stuck.
What do you have to do? Homework (or rather, not more homework, this is fun) for next week is- choose only one of the podcasts you've been listening to and fill in the questions in the file I should already have given out. Do not feel disappointed if you find it difficult, think that some of the podcasts are programmes for native speakers! Choose one that you find suitable, prick up your ears and enjoy yourself.

To finish, why don't you give this one a listen (I'll be watching out for giggles, I'm warning you) then think it over and come to class with a few tips or suggestions?

If you want to check how this audio file looks on a website, you might want to check it here.

That's all, peas in the pod.

(Avanzado 1 & 2) Sing along, it's the jukebox!

If you're a teacher, it's always difficult to choose which song it is that you students will listen to and some of you, barely a few maybe, will even like it!!! You know that I play some music in the background while you're doing some of the activities (for details look out for information and the regular update on the sidebar, at the bottom of the blog-What was the music in last week's class? section), but I'll also play some songs throughout the year because:
a-They're in the book (don't expect much, though, be warned)
b-I can exploit the lyrics to practise vocabulary or grammar we're dealing with in the lesson. Not easy but sometimes a song is clearly about crime, fashion, or whatever, or else there is a lot of passive sentences or phrasal verbs or 2nd conditionals and teachers can use it in class for practice.
But have another look at the title of the post-What is a jukebox, anyway? An old-fashioned gadget that allows to choose with a flick of the finger what to listen to next. Like every year, I've made up my mind that we're going to listen to some songs just for fun, for the sake of listening to songs in English, and that... is your part.
You have to choose the song (if possible) and/or artist (if you just can't decide, you like so much all of his/her/their stuff) you want to listen to in classes. You will have to write a post into the blog about your suggestions. I will check for feedback so that by the end of next week, hopefully, I should have a whole lot of ideas and songs you want me to play.
That's the homework- a collection of students' all-time favourites, that catchy tune you have never been able to get out of your head, that song they were playing when you were lucky to pick up a girl/boy, those lyrics that your poor English prevented you from understanding and always wanted to know what they were saying... Just anything.
Bear in mind, though, that we'll be playing one song every other week or so, that makes a total of about 12 songs altogether. That means you'll have to make up your mind which your definite request is going to be, as only those songs/artists which are most valued by the other students will go into the final selection and be played in class.
Do not forget to write your name (complete with the surname, please), level, and this time the group you belong to, because it might happen that one group chooses different songs from another. Your post should resemble something like this: your name, level Avanzado 1, Group M., my song for the jukebox is...If you want to tell the others why that song is so special, please do.
And that's it. DJ Carl is ready to play your tunes.

(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 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!