Wishing you all the best as the countdown begins for the holidays. If you are feeling curious and want some fun topics for the dinner table, check out this video on the History of Christmas
And if you are in the singing mood and want to impress your family with some Christmas Carols, take a look here
Finally, 20 bizarre Christmas traditions from around the world and 29 Heavenly Christmas foods from around the world.
Happy Holidays to all of you and may you be surrounded by your loved ones!
Happy Friday Readers!
I don’t know about you, but I tend to be much more motivated in the Fall (Autumn) than any other season. I am usually excited about having an excuse to grab a great novel, make some hot chocolate and cover up. It is also a great time to pick up (start) a hobby or focus on learning something new and preparing to host (have/invite people to) dinners at home since it gets dark and cold so early!
So this post is about learning, listening and becoming just a little smarter.
http://explore.brainpickings.org/
Want to know the benefits of knowing a second language? Watch this video: The benefits of a bilingual brain
Fascinating article from The Guardian on making ourselves more intelligent. Did you know we only use 15% of our neurons? Read this article: Can we make ourselves more intelligent?
and for fun, test yourself on how smart you are: Personality Test
And the director, Luc Besson speaks about his film last year on Lucy. Watch a video on him explaining his reasons for the movie: Luc Besson’s celebral sci-fi
Finally, if you want to get into a great book, but prefer to listen to it. Try audio books. A great way to listen and even read at the same time: Audio Books
Or try my favorite, Podcasts. These two are on my top list: The Hidden Brain and Ted Radio Hour
Have a wonderful Autumn weekend!
Have a wonderful summer and thank you for another fabulous year.
Stay tuned for some more surprises this September. In the meantime, try some Duolingo this summer to keep your skills up to par.
Listen to some news on BBC Learning English or on NPR News
And practice your grammar on our favorite website: Perfect English Grammar
See you in September!
Our next objective on your list is watching or listening to English more frequently. I know we cannot tell you enough times how important it is to listen to English as much as possible, but we really do want to emphasize this. So, this post will be on doing just that…watching something, anything, in English at least 30 minutes a week. C’mon, I know you can do that!
Here is what we suggest:
Claire Suggests:
If you fancy watching a film to challenge and improve your listening skills go to the cinema and watch Selma in original version. It’s a phenomenal film full of history, amazing acting and great for your English skills! Enjoy!
(Heidi adds: Just go to the cinema and watch anything in original version…it really is not that bad!) Here are some cinemas that show original version movies in Barcelona:
In Barcelona, many cinemas offer half price ticket deals on a Monday night. This is subject to change and depends on the individual cinema. If you are looking for the half price deals it is best to check the website of the cinema that you are heading to and see if they offer the Monday deal.
Madeleine Recommends:
For learning useful phrases and slang: BBC Podcasts-The English We Speak
If you fancy a change from TED talks, I would recommend watching some of these “Do Lectures.” They focus on similar subjects, but the whole set up is much less formal, (normally the speakers spend the weekend on a campsite together!). The series travels from Wales in the UK, to Australia and the U.S., so it’s good for testing your comprehension of different accents.
The School of Life is a fantastic project and the Sunday Sermons are a series of talks from invited writers, psychologists, philosophers. My personal favourite is this talk from the great Ken Robinson: http://youtu.be/-
This short film on TedEd from the film festival Tropfest
Heidi Recommends:
StoryCorps Animations–-Real stories about real people. Sometimes a little emotional, but really so lovely and you get to hear real people speaking.
Aeon Video–Amazing stories and documentaries on and about people.
Soul Pancake are feel good videos that make you smile
BBC’s One Minute English News (Yes, ONE minute…I am sure you have that free in your schedule)
TedEd You can learn about anything and everything in under 10 minutes.
Ted.com is always a winner in class
And as many of you know, I am a F-A-N of podcasts. It is another way of listening and really having to listen. Here are a few of my favorite, but I have more if you want:
You really have NO excuses now…So, who wants to go to the movies with us?
What if you were the last person to speak your language?
Did you know that over 7,000 languages are endangered (in danger of extinction) and at least one language dies every two weeks! Read this article for some interesting facts
This woman is the last woman to speak Wukchumni, a Native American Language. She is the LAST one! Watch her fascinating story HERE (advanced video)
And check out this interactive map on the languages that are disappearing.
The 25 most endangered languages in the world…
Finally, fascinating maps of languages
So, what’s your opinion? How does this affect us? What would you do to save a dying a language? Do you or anyone you know speaks an endangered or at risk language?
Photo Source: http://unescoeducation.blogspot.com.es/2009/03/unesco-courier-endangered-languages.html
Just in case you are wondering, a short history on Halloween and why we do what we do: Happy Halloween! and Happy Autumn Festivities! (Video Level B1 and up)
Photo source: Le Halloween Postcard Vintage Style
In the world of business and frequent meetings, you will receive a lot of information. So, we always suggest you to stay away from (avoid/don’t use) the sentence, “I don’t understand.” That can so easily be interpreted as, “I don’t speak English” and we know that you do speak English and are trying your very best when doing it.
So, let us recommend some expressions you can use when you don’t understand something:
From Formal to Informal:
I beg your pardon?
I’m sorry, could you run that by me again?
I’m not sure I understand your point.
I’m not sure I know what you mean.
Could you be more specific?
Could you elaborate on that?
Would you give me an example?
Excuse me?
Important! Avoid using “What?” It is considered very rude or impolite
If you think you heard it, but want to make sure it is correct:
If I understood correctly, you have said…
Let me see if I have that right…(repeat what they have said to you)
Do you mean…?
In other words, what you are saying is…
Finally, if someone does not understand you, here are some helpful expressions:
Allow me to explain myself.
Let me put it differently. What I was trying to say was…
In other words…
Sorry, let me say that again.
A short video on 5 ways to listen better (a fascinating video for levels B1 and up)
A short podcast on asking for clarifications (Level A2 and up)
Great tip on how to take control of the English Language
Photo Source: http://notesondesign.tumblr.com/page/18
Welcome Back Everyone! We are on a roll here teaching and learning business English and this is more than perfect timing to remind you why languages are so easy to love. But before we do that, do you know what the quote above means? Do you have something similar in Spanish or Catalan?
So let’s talk about Linguistics. What is linguistics anyway? And why is it so fascinating? According to Webster, linguistics is the study of language and of the way languages work.
Learning a language is not just memorizing it and it is not done overnight. It is going beyond the book in your hand and exploring the language, the culture and history. So, let’s explore!
This video on Linguistics explains how languages evolve, because, they are a living thing, aren’t they? (B1 and up)
Just to prove my point, here are 10 Spanish words that you cannot translate to English words. Can you guess what they are before you click on the link?
More of our favorite Spanish words…
And a fabulous visual dictionary that shows you all the uses of a word in English
Finally, just for fun, the language of food! (reading and listening)
Have fun exploring and living the language!
Right in time for Spring, can you hear the colors? First of all, which color most identifies you?
What if you couldn’t see color? What would you do? Watch this Ted Video by Neil Harbisson, Catalan raised but British born, who found a way to hear color with an Eyeborg!
And what if you could find what your color scope says about you? Click here and try it!
Finally, did you know that in American English we spell Color with an “o” and in UK English they add a “u”: Colour
Happy Spring Holidays to all!
Last month we took a look at how to greet someone.
This month, we want to remind you how to say goodbye, which is always just as important to leave a lasting impression.
Farewell, is used only when you know you will never see the person again. Similar to Bon Voyage!
The most common expressions you will hear when someone says goodbye are (formal to informal):
If they say: You say:
Good-bye Good-bye
It was nice seeing you. It was nice seeing you too or Likewise
It was great/nice/ a pleasure meeting you. Likewise/You too
I’ve enjoyed talking with you Likewise/ Me too.
Stay in touch Will do/You too
I hope to see you soon Likewise/Me too
See you See you later!
Take Care! You too!
So Long! Alright then, have a good one!
We also like to wish our listener a good day/weekend/trip:
Have a great day! You too/Likewise
Have a safe flight/trip. Thank you*
*(if you are the only one travelling simply say thank you…if they are also travelling you can say, “ you too”.)
Enjoy the rest of the day! Thanks, you too!
Finally, if you are in a conversation that you need to get out of or you are in a hurry to leave:
I’m really sorry, but I have to leave. Of course, we’ll talk later.
I hate to interrupt, but I must go. No problem.
Oh, look at the time! I should get going. Okay. We’ll catch up later.
I really must be going Yes, me too. Have a nice day!
It’s getting late. I need to go. It is, nice talking with you.
Here’s a mini test for you to try
Photo Source: http://colormecaitie.blogspot.com.es/2013/07/weekly-doodle-44.html
