I love running and maybe some of you do to. Here are some links to some websites about running in English. Competitor Is about running and covers training, nutrition and shoes and equipment. Running Times is the website of a popular running magazine. There are stories about running as well as tips.
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4 is a story of Adrian Mole, a young boy in England in the 1980s.
A lot of students have difficulties using -ed and -ing adjectives. These can help you. -ed The Pointer Sisters – I’m So Excited The Kinks – So Tired -ing Amii Stewart – Knock On Wood (“The way you love me it’s frightening”) Pet Shop Boys – Being Boring
YouTube is an excellent way to learn English in small clips from popular movies. Here are a couple of examples. Don’t be afraid to repeat the clips over and over. High Fidelity – “I haven’t seen Evil Dead 2 yet.” Present perfect and the adverb ‘yet’. Speed – “There’s a bomb on a bus.” Practice … [Read more…]
I’m writing this in reply to a Twitter conversation. When you listen to a video or a CD and don’t understand, how many times should you repeat it or replay it? As many times as it takes. However, are you taking notes? Can you check words in a dictionary. Can you repeat what the speaker … [Read more…]
Paris Map by Stefano Creative Commons: Attribution Some cities have slightly different names in English to the way their names in other languages. Some of these are different pronunciations of the same spelling, such as Paris; others are wildly different, such as Florence and Prague. This week’s podcast teaches you how to say different city … [Read more…]
Previously I’ve written about studying what you find interesting. This has built-in motivation and will help you talk about the things you do every day. However, sometimes you want to learn new things. To do this, become a ‘specialist’. Focus on a topic and learn vocabulary about it by listening and reading about it. This … [Read more…]
Comfort Zone: a place or situation where everything is comfortable and familiar. You can already read English well enough to understand this blog. This blog is not reading practice; it is part of your reading practice. I know that ‘real’ English (as opposed to ESL textbook English) is difficult but life is difficult, too. If … [Read more…]
In this week’s podcast I talk about describing food. This is useful when ordering in restaurants or helping friends know what to order. 12th Feb 2014 – Food Descriptions
One of the most pleasurable ways to develop your vocabulary is to read poetry. A short poem can give you something interesting to think about and you can see different ways to describe things, people and feelings than you might have thought. A poem can be read on a short commute, in line at the … [Read more…]