Here you are a link to the ELLA lesson you started in the ICT Lab last Monday.
Listening
Stephen Fry on copyright laws
I’ve admired Stephen Fry for a long, long time both as an actor, as a writer and more recently as a blogger and podcaster … , and on Twitter too! I’ve read all his books, I’ve seen most of his acting, from the wonderful Peter in Peter’s friends to the psychiatrist Gordon Gordon Wyatt in the American TV show Bones. Basically I read him and watch him whenever I can because in my opinion he is very bright and also witty and very funny.
In one of hispodcasts he gives an overview of all the main breakthroughs in the history of communication technologies, how copy right started, how it got to our days and how the music and film industries are (not) coping with the new situation.
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After his speech he answered questions for half an hour: how he feels about his work being pirated, what’s the last thing he has downloaded from the internet … You can listen to the whole podcast via iTunes here, it’s worth it!!
Cultural Diversity
This is an activity in Shall we Blog that you may find interesting. It links with the cultural awareness and manners across the world issues we’ve been discussing in class last week.
Watching films…
Hello everybody!
I’m Tania, from the 5pm group. Last week I was quite busy (this one too…) so I’ve been unable to attend the classes, but thanks to the blog I can follow easily what has been done there. I can follow the lessons and do the exercises, which is not the same as in class where the teacher helps us, but at least it’s another way to practise on the days I can’t go to Mieres. And I have another opportunity for practising my writing by publishing a post here.
Another thing I normally do to improve my English is watching films in original version. Sadly, most of the time I need subtitles, but I notice that the longer I’ve been listening to it, the less I have to read the subtitles. So I think it’s a good way to “open my ears”.
The last film I saw was “Scoop”, by Woody Allen, starring the film director, Scarlett Johansson and Hugh Jackman. Woody Allen’s films are always different. This one is about a serial killer, who hasn’t been caught. Scarlett, with the help of Woody and a dead journalist who appears as a ghost, investigates the crimes, and discovers that Hugh’s character is somehow involved.
The film, which could be a common thriller turns into an unusual comedy thanks to Woody Allen’s humor. So I recommend this amusing film, very well done and with intelligent dialogues, and always perfect for a rainy day like today. If you want to have a look, here is the trailer:
See you!
New lessons in ELLA
English Language Lab Asturias is a project I’ve been working on for a couple of years, together with other colleagues/ friends. We have just released the first brand-new lesson of this season: How to tie a tie, which is for Elementary students. We will release 12 new lessons this year, one every 10 days or so, alternating elementary, intermediate and advanced units.
Check it out from time to time, and tell us what you think!
Obama reaches out to the muslim world
He is good, very good. His speech in Cairo was brave: he addressed all the issues that lie unsolved between Islamic and Western worlds, he didn’t mince his words, in his calm conciliatory voice he spoke frankly of Afganistan, Irak, Guantanamo, the Israel and Palestine conflict, violent extremists, democracy, nuclear weapons, women equality and technological progress … he pointed out the mistakes made on both sides but urged everyone to forget about our differences and focus on what we have in common, to move forward, to re-imagine our world …
You can watch the speech here, it’s nearly an hour long but I think it is worth it:
You can also read the transcript
More listening practice
For those of you who have asked for more listening practice, you can go to Javier’s English Corner and give these activities a try:
Audio books
I’ve found two interesting pages in which you can download audio books for free, these are the links:
http://www.audiolibra.com/free.html
http://freeclassicaudiobooks.com/
I would like to add another link, it’s a good page if you are looking for how a word it’s pronounced:
I hope you find it useful.
Education
This was what we did in class today. It is a lesson based on the commencement speech Steve Jobs gave at Stanford University.
It also includes an activity based on the song twenty something by Jamie Cullum.
13th January: Murder mysteries in the 21st century
Is it possible to commit the perfect murder?
Are you a good Crime Scene Investigator?
Do you know who wrote the lyrics for the popular song Mack the knife?
Find the answers to these questions and much more in this activity!
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