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Showing posts with label EXERCISES. Show all posts
Showing posts with label EXERCISES. Show all posts

WEEKLY PICKS - 6

This post offers you a selection of recommended free online exercises, games, videos and resources so that you can improve your English language skills while having fun! ENJOY!

📜 READING PICKS – Articles, blog posts, quizzes and more:

Article from BBC TRAVEL: The Mysterious origins of Europe’s oldest language
When Francisco Franco banned the use of the ancient Euskara language, residents of the Basque Country fought to keep it alive. (Continue reading)

Article from BBC FUTURE: The people who cannot smile, by Neil Steinberg
Smiling is a fundamental part of how we interact with other people, but what if you were not able to do it? (Continue reading)

Article from BBC CULTURE: The Hitchcock film tooshocking to be made, by Nicholas Barber
Inspired by a real-life serial-killer case, Hitchcock’s vision for Kaleidoscope was deemed too gruesome and sexually explicit for its time.
For all of his phenomenal achievements, Alfred Hitchcock is probably best known for Psycho, and in particular the scene in which – spoiler alert – a man dressed in his dead mother’s clothes stabs a naked woman in a motel shower. Audiences in 1960 were traumatised. In a recent documentary about that one scene, 78/52, Peter Bogdanovich remembers the “sustained shriek” that filled the cinema when Psycho premiered in New York. But Hitchcock had an even more shocking film planned just a few years later. It would have been called Kaleidoscope. (Continue reading)

🎬 VIDEO PICKS – Short and fun videos:

LESS-THAN-5-MINUTE VIDEOS
5-TO-10-MINUTE VIDEOS:
A LITTLE LONGER BUT WORTH IT!
💬 VOCABULARY PICKS:
💡 GRAMMAR PICKS – Assorted exercises and games:
  • Random Phrasal Verb Quiz (Test your understanding of phrasal verbs with these random phrasal verb quizzes. Each time you 'start again', it will show you a new quiz generated from a phrasal verbs database.)


MORE PICKS NEXT WEEK!
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WHAT DO THEY REALLY MEAN?

From Friday: The Experiment, BBC Learning English - [Images: GETTY IMAGES]

'What They Really Mean' shows how misunderstandings can be caused when people say things indirectly.

Each of these 5 episodes shows you how to avoid these misunderstandings.

 🎬 EPISODE 1 ⇒ QUESTIONS AS WARNINGS 
Mark can't understand why Chloe is asking about his hat. She's trying to warn him about something - but he just doesn't understand. Watch the video and learn how to tell when someone's questions are trying to warn you.
(For a full transcript, a quiz and much more, CLICK HERE)

🎬 EPISODE 2 ⇒ SUGGESTIONS AS INSTRUCTIONS
Mark can't understand why Chloe is annoyed. She had been giving him instructions - but he just didn't realise. Watch the video and learn how to tell when someone's suggestions are really instructions.
(For a full transcript, a quiz and much more, CLICK HERE)

🎬 EPISODE 3 ⇒ EUPHEMISTIC FEEDBACK
Emily didn't like Mark's ideas. She tried to tell him, but he didn't realise. Watch the video to find out why. It shows you how to identify euphemistic feedback. This is where people try to say to something negative without causing offence.

(For a full transcript, a quiz and much more, CLICK HERE)

🎬 EPISODE 4 ⇒ SARCASM
The British summer's fantastic, isn't it? Mark thinks Chloe is trying to trick him. Watch the video to find out why he got it wrong. It shows you how to identify sarcasm. This is where people say the opposite to what they mean.

(For a full transcript, a quiz and much more, CLICK HERE)

🎬EPISODE 5 ⇒ DISGUISED REQUESTS
Olivia's had a house party. It's late at night and now she just wants everyone to leave so she can go to bed. She uses disguised requests to let Mark know she wants him to leave. But he doesn't realise.

Disguised requests are questions people ask to gently suggest that another person should do something. Olivia says "Is it 10 o'clock?" but what she means is, "go home." Watch the video to find out how to identify disguised requests.
(For a full transcript, a quiz and much more, CLICK HERE)


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WEEKLY PICKS - 5

This post offers you a selection of recommended free online exercises, games, videos and resources so that you can improve your English language skills while having fun! ENJOY!

📜READING PICKS – Articles, blog posts, quizzes and more:

Article from Mind Tools: Beating Self-Sabotage: Recognizing and Overcoming It
"You can't do that!" "That's way too difficult!" "If you try, you'll probably just fail anyway." These statements sound as if they're coming from a tyrannical and cruel person with a mission to destroy self-confidence. Unfortunately, all too often, we can be the tyrant and our target can be ourselves. (Continue reading)

Article from BBC TRAVEL: The end to a French cheese tradition?
After years of lobbying, industrial producers are now allowed to make camembert with pasteurised milk. As a result, one of France’s beloved cheeses may be disappearing for good. (Continue reading)

Article from BBC CAPITAL: Why suppressing anger at work is bad
How faking your feelings at work can be damaging – We all put on a front a work, but researchers have found that burnout can relate closely to how employees manage their emotions during emotional or stressful interactions. (Continue reading)

🎬 VIDEO PICKS – Short and fun videos:

LESS-THAN-5-MINUTE VIDEOS
5-TO-10-MINUTE VIDEOS:
A LITTLE LONGER BUT WORTH IT!
💬 VOCABULARY PICKS:
💡 GRAMMAR PICKS – Assorted exercises and games:
❓ QUIZ ⇒ Random Phrasal Verb Quiz (Test your understanding of phrasal verbs with these random phrasal verb quizzes. Each time you 'start again', it will show you a new quiz generated from a phrasal verbs database.)

    MORE PICKS NEXT WEEK!
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    GRAMMAR PILLS: ORDER OF ADJECTIVES

    First things first… 

    What’s an adjective?

    An adjective is a word or a structure that describes, qualifies or modifies a noun (= NOMBRE / SUSTANTIVO) or pronoun. 

    ¿Por qué es necesario estudiar el orden de los adjetivos en inglés? 

    Porque los adjetivos se colocan normalmente en un orden en particular según el tipo de adjetivo que sea (por ejemplo: opinión: interesting/beautiful, forma: square/round, material: wooden/gold, etc.). 

    Básicamente, los adjetivos se colocan en 2 posiciones: 

    1) ATTRIBUTIVE ⇒ BEFORE THE NOUN (as an attribute):
    → [That blue car] is mine.
        adjective + noun

    2) PREDICATIVE ⇒ AFTER THE VERB (in the predicate):
    → My car [is blue].
               verb + adjective

    💡Tip: La mayoría de los adjetivos pueden usarse en ambas posiciones, pero algunos pueden usarse solo en 1 de las 2 (attributive or predicative):

     ✅ It was our main problem. [‘main’ ⇒ attributive = before the noun]
    ✅ The children were alone at home. [‘alone’ ⇒ predicative = after the verb]

     These sentences, on the other hand, are not correct:

     ❌ Our problem was main. [‘main’ cannot be used in the predicative position]
    ❌ Some alone children [‘alone’ cannot be used in the attributive position]

     🔗 Click here for more examples

    Además, hay una 3ra posición: 

    3) POSTPOSITIVE ⇒ AFTER THE NOUN:
    → All candidates present on the test day...
                  noun + adjective

     🔗 Click here for more examples + an exercise

    ORDER OF ATTRIBUTIVE ADJECTIVES

    Cuando colocamos más de un adjetivo en attributive position, debemos seguir un orden: 1ro van los adjetivos que expresan opinión (lo que pensamos de algo, nuestra percepción subjetiva, como beautiful, interesting or cute) y luego, los que expresan un hecho (fact), es decir que son objetivos, como el tamaño, la forma o el color.

    Según Cambridge English Grammar Today, el orden más común en el que colocamos attributive adjectives es el siguiente (esto podría modificarse en frases enfáticas):

    💡 ALSO READ 1: Adjective Order (Englishclub) ⇒ Check out the Table! ⇒ Then, take the quiz ⇒ Adjective Order Quiz


    🎬 VIDEOS:
    ORDER OF ADJECTIVES (It only takes 2:17 minutes!)

    Never Break This Grammar Rule - Adjective Order (3:34 minutes)

    💡 Further Practice:

    Georgina Jacobs
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    LEARN ENGLISH THROUGH SONGS AND MUSIC

    Do you like music? Would you like to practise your English skills using songs?

    🎼 THIS is a great tool to learn English and other languages through music and the lyrics of your favourite songs.

    🎼 You can practise your listening skills and enjoy listening to your favourite music videos at the same time. (Of course, it's free, and you don't need to sign up (if you don't want to) to be able to play! ⇒ Lyrics Training)

    🎼 JUST FOLLOW THESE 3 EASY STEPS: 
    • Step 1 ⇒ Choose a language and a video. Then, click on “Play now” (you can browse for songs/singers you like as well) 
    • Step 2 ⇒ Choose you level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced or Expert 
    • Step 3 ⇒ Decide whether you want to “click on” or “type in” the missing words, and PLAY!

    🎼 Keep in mind that the language used in songs is informal, and HAVE FUN!

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    WEEKLY PICKS - 4

    This post offers you a selection of recommended free online exercises, games, videos and resources so that you can improve your English language skills while having fun! ENJOY!

    📜 READING PICKS – Articles, blog posts, quizzes and more:

    Article from Mind Tools: 10 Common Time Management Mistakes
    Avoiding Common Pitfalls - How well do you manage your time? If you're like many people, your answer may not be completely positive! Perhaps you feel overloaded, and you often have to work late to hit your deadlines. Or maybe your days seem to go from one crisis to another, and this is stressful and demoralizing. (Continue reading)

    ❓ QUIZ from Mind Tools ⇒ How Good Is Your Time Management?
    Discover Time Management Tools That can Help you Excel

    Article from BBC CULTURE: The writers who defied Soviet censors 
    Underground publishers in the USSR broke rules in ingenious ways – such as hiding books in fake binding and making records on X-ray film, writes Benjamin Ramm.
    In anticipation of the poet’s arrest, his creations were concealed by inventive means – sewn into the insides of cushions and shoes, or hidden in mattresses and saucepans. The police confiscated most of his papers, but others were smuggled out, or hidden surreptitiously in obscure locations. The most important poems were inscribed where even the wiliest investigator could not find them – in the memory of a devoted reader, who would pass them on.  (Continue reading)

    🎬 VIDEO PICKS – Short and fun videos:

    LESS-THAN-5-MINUTE VIDEOS
    5-TO-10-MINUTE VIDEOS:
    A LITTLE LONGER BUT WORTH IT!
    💬 VOCABULARY PICKS:
    💡 GRAMMAR PICKS – Assorted exercises and games:


    MORE PICKS NEXT WEEK!
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    WEEKLY PICKS - 3

    This post offers you a selection of recommended free online exercises, games, videos and resources so that you can improve your English language skills while having fun! ENJOY!

    📜 READING PICKS – Articles, blog posts, quizzes and more:

    Article from BBC CAPITAL: The science of being charming, by Tiffanie Wen
    From the first moment you walk into a room people are making judgements about how much they like you. Fortunately, there are ways to improve your chances.
    Charmers. What makes these lucky individuals so effortlessly likeable when many of us have to work so hard at it? While many would have you believe social grace or winning people over is something of an artform, there is a surprising amount of science behind it, too. (Continue reading)

    Article from BBC TRAVEL: We may have cracked the mystery of Stonehenge, by Vivien Cumming
    The more archaeologists study Stonehenge, the more mysteries unfold. But a coherent story is beginning to emerge. (Continue reading)

    🎬 VIDEO PICKS – Short and fun videos:

    LESS-THAN-5-MINUTE VIDEOS
    5-TO-10-MINUTE VIDEOS:
    A LITTLE LONGER BUT WORTH IT!
    💬 VOCABULARY PICKS:
    💡 GRAMMAR PICKS – Assorted exercises and games:


    MORE PICKS NEXT WEEK!
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