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!

Next cultural activity - Exhibition

Cartel Asher B Durand

Landscape + The Dumb Waiter

We're making a group to go to the theatre on 5 November at 9pm. We'll see two short plays by the British playwright Harold Pinter: Landscape and The Dumb Waiter.

If you want to join the group, please let me know before 26 October.

Here's the speech Pinter delivered on winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2005. It's entitled "Art, Truth, and Politics" (It's a bit long but worth watching; this one is with subtitles in Spanish).

Welcome back!

Hi there everybody!

Hope you had a really good summer and that you're ready for the new year
Let's start with a humorous video, how could it be otherwise?
First, you have to watch this piece of news. Here's a talented story teller, no doubt:

And then you can watch the song somebody created based on the story:
Thanks a lot, Míchel!

Ken Loach's Films

Hi there!

The British film-maker Ken Loach has decided to show his films for free on a You Tube channel.

Thanks very much, José, for sharing this with us!

Here's the acceptance speech of the new British prime minister, David Cameron. Political speeches are not hard to follow (basically because we already know what politicians are going to say ;-)).

So listen to the speech and fill in the gaps in the sentences below.

Cameron admits that the previous government succeeded in making the country _____[1]_____ at home and _____[2]_____ abroad.

The most important problems facing the future are a huge _____[3]_____, deep _____[4]_____ problems, and the need of ____[5]_____ of the political system.

If they want to work for the common good of the country, Cameron and Clegg must _____[6]_____ their differences.

When Cameron specifies the tasks the government has to fulfil to rebuild trust he gives three examples: _____[7]_____ expenses, _____[8]_____, making sure people are _____[9]_____.

British citizens have to be aware that they are not only entitled to certain rights but they also have _____[10]_____ if they want real change.

Cameron publicly commits himself to _____[11]_____ the elderly, the frail, and the poorest.

His Government, he promises, will defend the values of _____[12]_____, _____[13]_____, and responsibility.

He expects that governing with a _____[14]_____ will not be easy.

Cameron’s acceptance speech finishes by emphasizing the importance of _____[15]_____ values.

If you need to check the transcript, you can find it here.

Teenage Brains

Yesterday we talked about different stages in life and a discussion broke out about the teenage brain. OK, here's a link where you can listen and read (if you need to) about the reasons why teenagers don't think about the consequences of their acts.

(To read the radio script go to "transcript" on the right of "Listen to the story")