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22/03/2013

London Markets

Dear NI2, 
here's the audio file with which you can do a listening comprehension exercise. The gaps to fill are in a photocopy I gave you in class (the one with the cloze text called "Taking Risks" on one side). You can find the key in the comments and the transcript here.
Have a great holiday!

13/03/2013

What inspires you?

Dear All,
here's the video we saw yesterday in the NB2 class, in case you want to listen to it again. 
The sentences below are for NI2. The answers are in the comment section.

Complete the sentences:
1. When Ken was a child, everybody thought he was going to be a ____________ (2 words).
2. When he got polio, his father immediately saw he had other ____________. 
3. When Ken was nine, his father had an accident, he ____________ (3 words).
4. Ken's father behaved as the _______________ (2 words) of the family.
5. Ken describes his father as a funny, __________, independent, _____________, man.
6. Ken devotes his life to education because his father _____________ him __________ into it.
7. Ken's father taught him it was important to __________________ (3 words) to be yourself.
8. He wasn't just Ken's dad, he was an _______________ to him. 

I asked NB2 to write a short piece titled "Who or what inspired you?" for next Tuesday. You can follow these points to organize your text (80-100 words):
1. What did you want to be when you were a child?
2. Did anybody encourage you to do/study something in particular?
3. What was that person like?
4. Did you change your opinion about what you wanted to be at some point?
5. What happened in the end? Did you become the person you thought you were going to be?

08/03/2013

NB2 - Education in Finland

Dear NB2,
here's the video and questions I told you I would post for you. 
First, read the sentences below.
Then, listen to the video twice and complete the sentences. 
After listening, check your answers in the comment section below.
Finally, if you still need to listen to the video more times, do so until you identify the missing information. 


1. Between the administrators and teachers, there is a relationship of __________.
2. In Finland, every teacher has to have a __________ degree.
3. In this country teachers are __________, valued.
4. Teachers work __________ hours in the classroom.
5 & 6. In the Finnish system, the important subjects are not only Math and Literacy, but also __________, art and __________ are integrated.
7. The important thing is not winning an argument, but __________solving.
8. The system makes sure teachers __________ what they need to accomplish their task of educating.

07/03/2013

NI2 - Listening practice

Hi there!
Here's the audio file for the homework I asked you to do yesterday. Once you've read the text titled "Japan's children play safe", listen to the interview and fill in the gaps (p. 47 of your book).
You can check the answers in the comment section below.

01/03/2013

Listening Practice

Dear All,
some of you asked me to make it easier for you to access good links to listening comprehension exercises.
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/listen-and-watch  (With all types of listening exercises)
http://www.ted.com/ (Great videos with the possibility of playing subtitles)
http://elllo.org/ (Different accents and types of exercises)

I'm writing this post for both NB2 and NI2, since it's best to go to the different pages and try different exercises until you feel comfortable doing them. 

NI2 - Housing facilities at the university

And here's another exercise, a bit more challenging for the brave at heart ;-)

NI2 - Are tests important?

Hi NI2s!
Here's some listening comprehension practice. In this link you'll hear several people talking about the importance of tests. Choose the "Audio Slide Show" tag and answer the questions in the "Vocabulary check" and "Comprehension check" (to the right).  

NB2 - What makes a good date?

Hi NB2s!
Here's some multiple choice listening practice: just go to this link and listen twice (more times if necessary), to answer the questions. You can check the answers on that page, too.