Teachers TV - On bullying girls

I've just added a new link on the right column, under "Good links to check." It's a link to "Teachers TV", a web page that many of my students this year will like, since so many of you are teachers. To give you an example of how the web page can be used, (and to give you some extra listening comprehension practice) let me pose the following questions to the video you can find here (You can react to the programme by writing a comment):

A. Before you listen:

1. What is "bullying"? If you don't know, look it up in the dictionary. Words related to the topic are: the bully; the bullied boy / girl. Do you understand these terms?

2. Is bullying a problem in the school you teach? Or, if you're not a teacher, was bullying a problem in the school you studied in?

3. What vocabulary do you expect to hear in the programme?

B. While you listen:

4. The Director of Kidscape (an anti-bullying charity), Michelle Elliot, says that now the effects of bullying on girls can be __________.

5. The work that Valerie Besag does involves helping girls __________ that they're being bullied.

6. The expressions "It tears me apart" and "It rips me up" are used when somebody says something __________ to another person.

7. When bullying others, boys simply want to __________ their power.

8. Why is bullying different among boys and among girls?

C. After you listen:

9. Do you agree with the experts that bullying is even worse when it's between girls?

10. What measures can be taken to prevent children / teenagers from bullying others? ("para evitar que los niños / adolescentes acosen a otros")

Practice listening with songs!

Hello!

I've come across a great page where you can do all the gap-filling exercises you want with songs.

Just click on the name of the song or the image of the video and then choose the difficulty (for NB2 students, it's probably good to go to "Beginner"). The song stops if you don't write the correct word, so you'll have to listen carefully! ;-)

Dancing under the Gallows

Here's the promotional video of a documentary on the oldest Holocaust survivor. My colleague Míchel draw my attention on it, and I must say that it's really moving and worth watching.

The importance of consonant sounds

Hello!

Yesterday we dealt with the last consonant sounds of English and I promised to show you why these sounds are very important to make yourself understood. Here's a famous song that the Príncipe Gitano sings unable to pronounce the consonant sounds well. It's sacrilegious but very funny at the same time. When you listen to it the first time, try to understand the words without reading the subtitles. You'll be very imaginative if you can understand something at all. Enjoy!