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

WEEKLY PICKS - 23

This is a weekly selection of reading articles, free online exercises, YouTube videos, games, quizzes and resources for you to further improve your English language skills and have fun – ENJOY!

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

From BBC CULTURE: Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera: Portraits of a complex marriage, by Kelly Grovier. Mexican artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera painted each other for 25 years: those works give us an insight into their relationship, argues Kelly Grovier.
Seen side-by-side in photographs, they struck an almost comic pose: his girth dwarfing her petite frame. When they married, her parents called them ‘the elephant’ and ‘the dove’. He was the older, celebrated master of frescoes who helped revive an ancient Mayan mural tradition, and gave a vivid visual voice to indigenous Mexican labourers seeking social equality after centuries of colonial oppression. She was the younger, self-mythologising dreamer, who magically wove from piercing introspection and chronic physical pain paintings of a severe and mysterious beauty. Together, they were two of the most important artists of the 20th Century. (Continue reading)

From BBC TRAVEL: The country with 11 official languages, by Denby Weller. Before coming to South Africa, the last thing an Australian would think is that there might be language difficulties.
[...] Discussion of the evolution of the colonial languages of South Africa is controversial, not least because they are just two of the 11 official languages in use today, and neither one is the first language for the majority of South Africans. In the 2011 Census, IsiZulu emerged as the language most spoken at home, followed by IsiXhosa. Afrikaans was a first language for 13.5% of South Africans, while English was spoken in just 9.6% of homes. Yet it is English that has emerged as the lingua franca – albeit a unique, local dialect enriched by the company of the many languages of the land. (Continue reading)

🎬 VIDEO PICKS – Short and fun videos:

LESS-THAN-5-MINUTE VIDEOS:
What causes antibiotic resistance? - Kevin Wu (4:34 minutes)
5-TO-10-MINUTE VIDEOS:
BBC 6 Minute English: What Makes You Laugh? with English Subtitle (6:03 minutes)
A LITTLE LONGER BUT WORTH IT!
How to Survive Long Haul Flights - Travel Tips, Hacks & Tricks (11:42 minutes)
💬 VOCABULARY PICKS:
VOCABULARY: Find out when to write hyphens (6:14 minutes)
💡 GRAMMAR PICKS – Assorted exercises and games:
English Grammar - comparing with LIKE & AS (9:10 minutes)
MORE PICKS NEXT WEEK!
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WEEKLY PICKS - 22

This is a weekly selection of reading articles, free online exercises, YouTube videos, games, quizzes and resources for you to further improve your English language skills and have fun – ENJOY!

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

From BBC CAPITAL: How similar you are to your partner can affect your happiness, by Christian Jarrett. Researchers have found that how similar you are to your partner can affect your happiness – but it’s complicated.
Among many monogamous species, from cockatiels to cichlid fish, studies have revealed a clear pattern: it helps to be more similar to your mate. When mating pairs are behaviourally similar, their reproductive success tends to be higher.
In human terms, this would imply it’s better to be similar to your partner. Indeed, for a long time psychologists and others have argued that similarity is probably beneficial – after all, then we will be more likely to enjoy the same pursuits, values and outlook on life.
But no matter how intuitive the idea seems, for decades nearly every study has failed to support it.
Now, though, a team of psychologists at the University of Amsterdam think they know why. They have taken a far more sophisticated and nuanced look at the issue than in previous research. (Continue reading)

From BBC REEL: Reel: The oldest coffee in the world. From huts in remote villages to internet cafes in the capital city, coffee ceremonies are the centre of social life and hospitality in Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee. (Continue reading)

🎬 VIDEO PICKS – Short and fun videos:

LESS-THAN-5-MINUTE VIDEOS:
How to show annoyance (4:11 minutes)
5-TO-10-MINUTE VIDEOS:
Salary Negotiation: 6 Tips on How to Negotiate a Higher Salary (9:56 minutes)
A LITTLE LONGER BUT WORTH IT!
HISTORY: CONSUMERISM (10:52 minutes)
💬 VOCABULARY PICKS:
VOCABULARY: Words with more than one spelling (6:16 minutes)
💡 GRAMMAR PICKS – Assorted exercises and games:
Learn English: "last year" OR "in the last year" (8:26 minutes)
MORE PICKS NEXT WEEK!
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WEEKLY PICKS - 21

This is a weekly selection of reading articles, free online exercises, YouTube videos, games, quizzes and resources for you to further improve your English language skills while having fun –ENJOY!

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

From BBC CAPITAL: How to avoid awkward work conversations, by Alison Green. BBC World Service contributor Alison Green has been giving workplace advice for over a decade. She is still surprised at how many people avoid difficult interactions with colleagues. [This story is from an episode of Business Matters from the BBC World Service. To listen to more episodes, please click here.] (Continue reading)

From BBC FUTURE: A little bit of boasting could have benefits, by Talya Rachel Meyers. Many cultures tend to praise modesty and humility. But new research has revealed that the tendency to feel, and show, pride evolved for a reason – and plays a key role even today.
Pride is the downfall of many a tragic hero. Mr Darcy has to let his go before he can earn Elizabeth Bennet’s love. Dante listed it as one of the seven deadly sins. And as the famous (and oft-misquoted) verse from Proverbs cautions us, it “goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall”.
There’s no question about it: we’re consistently told that pride makes us obnoxious at best and doomed at worst.
But pride may not entirely deserve this reputation as a destructive force. There’s new evidence that this emotion has an evolutionary function, and that it plays an important role in the way that we interact with the world. (Continue reading)

🎬 VIDEO PICKS – Short and fun videos:

LESS-THAN-5-MINUTE VIDEOS:
Visiting London - Beginner's Guide for Shopping in London (3:48 minutes)
5-TO-10-MINUTE VIDEOS:
HOW TO: Making informal invitations (6:02 minutes)
A LITTLE LONGER BUT WORTH IT!
5 English Pronunciation Tricks EVERY English Student Should Be Using (13:59 minutes)
💬 VOCABULARY PICKS:
VOCABULARY: How to use synonyms (6:08 minutes)
💡 GRAMMAR PICKS – Assorted exercises and games:
BBC Learning English - 6 Minute Grammar - Phrasal and prepositional verbs (6:32 minutes)
MORE PICKS NEXT WEEK!
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WEEKLY PICKS - 20

This is a weekly selection of reading articles, free online exercises, YouTube videos, games, quizzes and resources for you to further improve your English language skills while having fun –ENJOY!

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

From BBC FUTURE: The pill can make the body store more fat – and gain less muscle, by Zaria Gorvett. Many women believe that the pill can cause weight gain. Research hasn’t found this – but it has found that it can change body shape (and fat storage) in other surprising ways. (Continue reading)

From BBC NEWS: Introducing BBC Reel This week, we launched our new video platform that will be the global home for the BBC’s best factual digital output. Here you can find some of the interesting characters and deeper human stories featured on Reel. (GO TO BBC REEL)

From BBC TRAVEL: The most expensive down in the world, by Meg Lukens Noonan. Just south of the Arctic Circle, a few dedicated Norwegians are keeping the tradition of sustainable eiderdown farming alive – and are making some of the world’s most coveted duvets. (Continue reading)

🎬 VIDEO PICKS – Short and fun videos:

LESS-THAN-5-MINUTE VIDEOS:
Polite questions: Stop Saying (2:29 minutes)
5-TO-10-MINUTE VIDEOS:
Do you lead a sedentary lifestyle? Watch 6 Minute English (6:14 minutes)
A LITTLE LONGER BUT WORTH IT!
Visit America - The DON'Ts of Visiting The USA (14:04 minutes)
💬 VOCABULARY PICKS:
Learners' Questions: Using 'actually', 'in fact' and 'well' (2:24 minutes)
💡 GRAMMAR PICKS – Assorted exercises and games:
BBC English Masterclass: Gerund or infinitive? (4:19 minutes)
MORE PICKS NEXT WEEK!
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WEEKLY PICKS - 15

This is a weekly selection of reading articles, free online exercises, YouTube videos, games, quizzes and resources for you to further improve your English language skills while having fun – ENJOY!

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

 From BBC SPORTS: Everyday exercise: How to work out at home (without equipment) Cardio (or cardiovascular) exercise is movement that gets your heart rate up and increase blood circulation throughout the body.
Whether you are looking to improve the condition of your heart (remember it's a muscle), lose weight, clear your mind or just generally improve your health, cardio exercise will help you.
The NHS has a 10-minute home cardio workout to get you started until you are ready to move for longer.
Walking is a great way to get more active and you can literally do it anywhere, and in any way that suits you. If you are ready to take on the next step, the Couch to 5K programme can take you from walking to running or jogging for 30 minutes confidently within nine weeks. (Continue reading)

From OXFORD Living Dictionaries: Top tips for better business writing. This guide will show you the things to look out for when writing for business, to make sure you're always clear, and that you always leave a good impression.
All good writing communicates with readers in a personal way. Good business writing, whether it is a report written for an employer or an email to a client, does that quickly and effectively. You do not need to use overly formal language; it is better to use a neutral style that is akin to conversation, but rather more organized.
Above all, present your information logically and helpfully, so that readers are in no doubt what your message is—and what, if anything, you want them to do in response. (Continue reading)

🎬 VIDEO PICKS – Short and fun videos:

 LESS-THAN-5-MINUTE VIDEOS:
BBC English Class: How to learn and use phrasal verbs (2:32 minutes)
5-TO-10-MINUTE VIDEOS:
How to Argue – Philosophical Reasoning: Crash Course Philosophy #2 (9:42 minutes)

A LITTLE LONGER BUT WORTH IT!
What to Eat in Normandy, France - Visit Normandy (10:30 minutes)

Everyday or every day? (5:18 minutes)

💡 GRAMMAR PICKS – Assorted exercises and games:


MORE PICKS NEXT WEEK!
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WEEKLY PICKS - 14

This is a weekly 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:

From BBC FUTURE: The obsolete tech that children can't recognise, Helene Schumacher. Show your age by seeing if you recognise this list of tech objects from the recent past. A recent study has revealed which kinds of tech have stood the test of time – in terms of recognition, if not use. Would your children recognise these? (And would you?). (Continue reading)

From Mind Tools Blog: Does Your Profession Reflect Who You Really Are?, by Bruce Murray. Toni Morrison is a favorite author of mine, who recently brought to my mind one of life’s fundamental questions: “Does the work that I do define me? Or is the ‘real me’ the person I am outside of my work?” – What Defines You? (Continue reading)

From BBC CAPITAL: This single phrase makes Japan go round, by Yukari Mitsuhashi. “Yoroshiku onegaishimasu” is a term that is heard all the time but hard to define. It’s the Swiss Army knife of the Japanese language, and it goes a long way in any type of situation.
... “It’s a phrase to convey respect and appreciation. It’s usually accompanied by a bow that can range from a little tilt of the head to a full sweeping bow.” Goto adds: “Yoroshiku onegaishimasu is critical to ensure that everyone is appreciated for their different skills. I would say it to the hair stylist that I am planning to see tomorrow. But I would say it much more seriously with desperation if I needed to go see a doctor tomorrow for a medical emergency. Both the stylist and the doctor play a role in society that makes the world go round and it’s really a sort of verbal lubricant.”
Although commonly translated in Japanese class textbooks or travel guides as ‘nice to meet you’ or ‘please take care of me’, these fall far short of truly encompassing its diverse uses and how it embodies Japanese culture and its people. (Continue reading)

🎬 VIDEO PICKS – Short and fun videos:

LESS-THAN-5-MINUTE VIDEOS:
Stop Saying...: Avoiding direct language to sound more polite (3:02 minutes)

5-TO-10-MINUTE VIDEOS:
Learn about cultural differences in 6 minutes (6:12 minutes)
Archetypes and Male Divinities: Crash Course World Mythology #15 (11:45 minutes)


💬 VOCABULARY PICKS:

📌 This week's special ⇒ WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

 Between or Among? (From Learn English with Emma)
After watching the video, take the quiz here ⇒ http://www.engvid.com/between-or-among/

➕ A few more vocab picks:
💡 GRAMMAR PICKS – Assorted exercises and games:



MORE PICKS NEXT WEEK!
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