Podcasts for Advanced English Learners

Podcasts are a great way to improve your understanding of spoken English. You can listen to them WHEN YOU WANT and WHERE YOU WANT.

Listen to podcasts about subjects which are INTERESTING, RELEVANT and USEFUL for you. If you want to be successful in the business world, listen to business podcasts. If you love football, you can  listen to football podcasts. Exposure to authentic English is essential for students who want to take advanced qualifications, such as the CAE and these podcasts will help you prepare for the listening parts of these tests. Pause and repeat to check your understanding.

PODCASTS ARE GREAT FOR STUDENTS PREPARING FOR LISTENING EXAMS

The BBC has a fantastic collection of podcasts. Some of them are produced for an international audience so you can hear interviews with non-native speakers of English. These are usually found on the BBC World Service channel. Other podcasts are produced for a UK audience. These are ideal for those of you living in the UK or who want to live in the UK. Listening to British English speakers will make understanding English which is spoken in the UK easier. These are produced by BBC Radio 4 or Radio 5.

Here is a list of podcasts which may be useful for higher-level English learners. 

·         6 minute English. Learn new phrases about a variety of topics. (6 minutes) http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/6min

·         The English We Speak. Short podcasts about real English phrases or items of slang. (3 minutes)http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/tae

·          The Why Factor. Learn the extraordinary truth about everyday actions. (18 minutes)http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/whyfacto

·          Click. All about the latest digital technology. (30 minutes)http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/digitalp

·          Forum. Great for practising short presentations and EAP students. Global thinkers present new political, cultural and scientific ideas. (7-8 minutes).http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/forum60sec

·          Global News. Best stories from around the world. (30 minutes)http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/globalnews

·          Discovery. Analysis of latest ideas and discoveries in science (25 minutes) http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/discovery

·          Health Check. Good for medical professionals. (25 minutes)http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/healthc

BBC RADIO 4

·         Analysis. This podcast examines policies and ideas. ( 30 minutes)http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/analysi

·         Desert Island Discs. Interviews with famous and successful people about their lives and favourite music. (35 minutes)http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/did

·         A Point of View. Short reflections on topical issues   ( 9 minutes)http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/pov

·         Front Row Daily. Interviews with writers, artists, musicians, actors and directors. (30 minutes)http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/frontrow

·         Profile. Biographies of people making the news. (14minutes)http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/profile

·         The Listening Project. Interviews with real people in the UK. Great for listening to different British accents and learning about British culture (14 minutes)http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/bbclp

CAE: Use of English

As I believe PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT, I'm going to start posting some exercises for my CAE students, and some specifications about the different parts of the exam. I've decided to begin with the USE OF ENGLISH section (just click on the link).
If you have any questions, use the COMMENT section below. And be patient! ;)

What is the CAE Use of English test like?
The test has five sections and takes 60 minutes:

1. Part 1 - Multiple-choice cloze 
2. Part 2 - Open cloze
3. Part 3 - Word formation
4. Part 4 - Gapped sentences
5. Part 5 - Key word transformations

Scoring

There are 50 questions in the CAE Use of English Test. It makes up 20% of the entire exam.

How to prepare for the CAE Use of English test

• The Use of English paper tests your knowledge of vocabulary and grammar.
• Read as much as possible, and use a dictionary to help you learn new words
• Use a grammar book to help you understand sentence structure
• Read the instructions carefully before you start each section
• Look at the example question at the beginning of each section
• Correct spelling is necessary. Get into the habit of checking the spelling of words
• Read the surrounding context before giving an answer
• Don’t give alternative answers for any questions

http://www.examenglish.com/CAE/cae_use_of_english1.htm

Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE)

Here's a summary of CAE exam, I hope you'd find it useful.

Who is it for? If you can communicate with confidence in English for work or study purposes, this is the exam for you. CAE is taken by more than 60,000 people each year in more than 60 countries.

What is the CAE test like? The test has five sections:

1.     Reading - 75 minutes

2.     Writing - 2 or 3 tasks , 120 minutes

3.     Use of English- 5 tasks with 50 questions - 60 minutes                                   

4.     Listening - 40 minutes, 30 questions

5.     Speaking - interview, normally with another candidate, 15 minutes

Difficulty level: C1 

Score:
A, B, C (pass), D, E or U (fail)

The Reading, Writing, Use of English, Listening & Speaking sections each count for 20% of the marks.

You will receive a Statement of Results. If your performance ranges between CEFR Levels B2 and C2, you will also receive a certificate.

Pass grades: 
Grade A (C2), Grade B (C1), Grade C (C1)

If you do not pass, but still do reasonably well you are issued a B2 certificate.

Some simple lifestyle changes that will increase your English learning

It’s the start of a new year. You can really use 2014 to improve your English, take it to a new level, and make it a part of your life! Make this YOUR year for English Fluency.

Getting fluency is not as difficult as you may think. It all depends on making and keeping good habits. These habits are quite simple, and more importantly, they’re FUN!

1. Download a Podcast

The first lifestyle change that you can make that’s going to help increase your English learning is to download a podcast, for example, the RealLife English podcast or one of thousands of other podcast that exists in English and for English learning. Start listening every day a little when you’re in your car, on the bus, walking around different places, cooking, in the shops…. Use convenient moments in your day to start listening to more

2. Create More Habits in English

The second one is to change habits that you have in your native language for habits in English. For example, if you read the newspaper everyday in your native language, you could start reading the news in English.

Another thing you could do is, if you look at twitter every morning, instead of reading a bunch of tweets in your native language, follow more websites that put their tweets in English. The same with Facebook

You can also start watching English TV shows, English films, anything that you do in your daily life, in your native language, try to switch it to things that you’re doing more in English.

This, on the long run, is going to make a HUGE difference in your ability to speak and understand English.

3. Get Applications that Improve Your English

The next thing is using your mobile, change games and apps on your phone like Candy Crush or other time-wasters to apps that will help you with your English.

There are a lot of free apps that are designed to English learners, and there are also other apps, like Anki, which is for memorizing new vocabulary that you learn. And if you start doing this it’s going to be very useful for those of you who have problems memorizing new vocabulary. So anytime you have five minutes, instead of doing something that’s perhaps a waste of time, you can be improving your English.

4. Speak More!

Obviously, this is very, very important. And a lot of people might think that there are not enough opportunities, but with the invention of the Internet there are so many opportunities for you to start speaking more English with native speakers and non-native speakers.

So you can do different things like using Meetup.com or CouchSurfing to meet native speakers in your city or you can use things like iTalki.com or Verbling to meet native speakers and non-native speakers online. You can also join the RealLife English Facebook Community so you can start meeting people to chat with. Maybe via the messenger in Facebook, or Whatsapp, or even by Skype.

Also, you can find more people, groups of people, who are learning your native language and do exchanges (In Malaga, have a look at www.pachange.net, although there are a lot more) This is a really great way to meet people who can help you with your English and you can help in return.

5. Listen to English Whenever Possible

The last tip that I have for you of a lifestyle change that you can make to start improving your English more this year is to start listening to English whenever possible.

So, for example, if you have a desk job, if you’re working on the computer, you can put the radio on in the background using TuneIn.com, and you can listen to any radio station in the world. This is a great way to practice listening to native speakers. Even if you’re not paying attention and you don’t understand everything you’re still training your ears to the native language.

You can also listen to music. Especially learn the lyrics. Sing when you’re in the shower and in your car (if you’re driving alone…)

And, of course  download podcasts because you can listen to these all day long.

                                                                                              Adapted from Realife English

Test your Level of English

A short and interesting way to check your level. I'm afraid you won't be able to see the correct answers to the questions but it is good practice anyway.

You've got 2 tests which you can do separately just by clicking on them.

Questions get easier or harder according to how well you do. If your English is very good you will answer more difficult questions than someone whose English is not as good. 

At the end of each test your level will be assessed at a CEF level (A2 to C2)

You should complete the grammar / vocabulary test in about 10 minutes.

You should complete the listening test in about 10 minutes.

Good Luck and Have Fun!

Grammar & vocabulary level test

Listening level test

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Common mistakes

More mistakes that you should avoid. I hope you learn from this video. 

If you’re in the process of learning the English language, you may come across some of these idioms and not be sure what they mean. Here’s a list of 20 that you’re likely to come across quite often:

1. A Chip on Your Shoulder: To have a chip on one’s shoulder implies that the person is carrying around some  bad feelings about something that happened in the past… like having walked through the wreckage of a building, and ended up with a chip of that building stuck to them for years afterward.

2. Bite Off More Than You Can Chew: Like taking a HUGE bite of a sandwich that will fill your mouth up so much that you can’t move your jaw, this idiom implies that you’ve taken on more than you can handle successfully. An example would be agreeing to build ten websites in a week when normally you can only handle five.

3. You Can’t Take It with You: You can’t take anything with you when you die, so don’t bother hoarding your stuff or not using it except for “special occasions”. Live now, because all your stuff is going to be around long after you’re gone.

4. Everything but the Kitchen Sink: This implies that nearly everything has been packed/taken/removed. For instance, if someone said: “The thieves stole everything but the kitchen sink!” it meant that they took everything they could carry

5. “Over My Dead Body”: When the only way you’ll allow something to happen is if you’re no longer alive to stop it.

6. Tie the Knot: To get married. This is left over from the old tradition of handfasting, wherein the hands of the bride and groom would be tied together with a length of ribbon to symbolize that their lives were fastened together permanently.

7. Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover: Things aren’t always what they appear to be at first glance, so it’s a good idea to give something a chance, even if its appearance isn’t immediately attractive.

8. When Pigs Fly: This means “never”. Pigs aren’t about to sprout wings and take flight anytime soon, so if someone says to their kid that they can get a forehead tattoo when pigs fly, it’s not going to happen.

9. A Leopard Can’t Change His Spots: Basically: you are who you are. Just like a leopard can’t concentrate really hard and change the pattern on its skin, people can’t change who they really are at heart.

Winter Expressions

Here are some expressions which can be confusing. Using some of them will make you sound more natural, so try them out with English speakers.

•   To have a snowball’s chance in hell (informal) - to have no chance of doing or having something

     Ex. You have a snowball’s chance in hell of winning the lottery.

•    Snowed under - with too much work to deal with                                   

         Ex. We’re snowed under with applications for the job.  

                           

• Put something on ice (informal) – to delay something

      Ex. The negotiations were put on ice when the market fell sharply.

• To break the ice - to make people feel less nervous in a social situation

     Ex. He told a few jokes to break the ice.

• On thin ice - at risk of annoying someone

      Ex. I’m warning you, you’re on thin ice.

•   To get cold feet - to get too frightened to do something which was planned        

Ex. She cancelled the wedding because she got cold feet.

• Pure as the driven snow - to be completely innocent (often used to suggest the opposite)

     Ex. I don’t think she is as pure as the driven snow.

• In the cold light of day - to think about something clearly, without emotions, and often feel ashamed afterwards

     Ex. The next morning, in the cold light of day, Susan realized what an idiot she had            been.

• To break into a cold sweat - to become scared about something

     Ex. Tim broke into a cold sweat when he realized the losses he had made.

         

         From LanguageandtheCity

MERRY CHRISTMAS in 24 languages

Para todos mis alumnos del Edificio Ovoide, aula nº6. ¡Felices fiestas a todos!

Food packaging

Food packages

Spaniards in London

Capitulo uno de la serie Spaniards in London. Una webserie sobre algunos de los miles de emigrantes españoles que viven en Londres. Muy divertido!

Common mistakes in English

Here there are 10 of the most common mistakes made by many students when speaking English. I quite agree with the teacher, that's why I've decided to share it. Have a look and make sure that you don't make them too!