tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18200641502479891922011-11-25T00:53:19.136+01:00The best links for learning more about English, fun ways of learning the language, more about the language itself and the cultures of the people who speak it.fnnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1931100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-50046158688698369312011-05-05T22:33:00.001+02:002011-05-05T22:33:26.347+02:00

This is a pretty cool video. I learned the word catenary from one of my TU students who studies architecture.Do you know how to pronounce it? Now the culture question: In what American city can you see such an arch, a really big one?Watch the second video to learn more...

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-57819307325405906532011-04-23T21:57:00.001+02:002011-04-23T21:57:36.370+02:00

Marcus du Sautoy: Symmetry, reality's riddle Radiolab Presents Symmetry

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-7882000860181567882011-04-10T14:40:00.000+02:002011-04-10T14:40:01.020+02:00

Rebecca Linquist is an American teacher who is an expert on teaching people how to improve their pronunciation.Have a look at some of her videos!Start with this one perhaps... She has made many more.http://www.youtube.com/user/rebeccalinquist#p/u

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-6655566759759026132011-04-10T14:27:00.001+02:002011-04-10T14:29:52.512+02:00

Late Night JokesHave you ever heard of Jay Leno, Conan, David Letterman, Craig Ferguson, Jimmy Kimmel, or Jimmy Fallon?Well, you can subscribe and have their best jokes emailed to you everyday.Or you can look at the jokes in the archive and see who and what was the butt of their jokes over the past days, weeks and months...Late Nite Jokes ArchiveTASK: Look at the jokes for two or three days in a

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-39874894430423193262011-04-10T14:17:00.002+02:002011-04-10T14:31:39.207+02:00

If you like English, the pieces written by this very funny English teacher will keep you amused for hours. Or three...;)http://www.jewishworldreview.com/richard/lederer1.asp

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-68924412554443508412011-03-20T10:08:00.002+01:002011-03-20T10:09:04.999+01:00

My daughter really likes this one because she loves to sing in both Spanish and English.It's fun listening to songs and then typing in the missing lyrics. The cool thing is that the song waits for you to finish typing the missing word or phrase. Different levels. Highly recommended!To watch a screencast made by an English teacher named Russell explaining exactly how the site works, click here.

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-61110414859681401812011-03-18T18:19:00.003+01:002011-03-20T10:11:09.234+01:00

Sean Banville is a man with a lot of questions...Even though he is actually British, he has written this question and 19 others that are bound to get you and your speaking partner talking about that little insignificant stretch of land between Canada and Mexico.For more than 13, 000 other questions, go to Sean's complete index of over 650 topics!

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-56569973234831381152011-03-18T18:03:00.002+01:002011-03-18T18:22:00.202+01:00

Both of these games fun and challenging.The main difference:knoword.com gives you the dictionary definition of a word and the letter it starts with. You type in the word being defined. You try to score more points by guessing correctly and quickly.freerice.com gives you just one word and a choice of 4 other words. You click on the one closest in meaning. The more you get correct, the harder they

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-6545097522399659412011-03-16T22:14:00.001+01:002011-03-16T22:17:36.194+01:00

Do you find this a little funny or a lot funny?Which word play is really clever in your opinion?

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-11547982755840620622011-03-13T19:23:00.002+01:002011-03-20T15:02:01.272+01:00

Here is some feedback on the homeworkThe United States IS part of North America but not Latin America. MoreA number of problems HAVE arisen recently. MoreGrasshoppers taste GOOD; at least some people think so.Do you have too many? No, not enough!What are some ways of translating bekommen ?Ethnic is a word; ethnical is not.I have trouble rememberING her name.Admittedly is a FORMAL word!How do we

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-65874043896994249772011-02-24T19:07:00.002+01:002011-03-20T15:04:48.577+01:00

This is America Text & MP3 FilesThere are 240 fifteen-minute programs.  That is about 60 hours of listening. And reading.Here's what I like about this resource:Great variety of topics about life in the USA.The English is very easy to understand (VOA's Special English).You can easily download the mp3 and take it with you. The transcript shows you exactly what is being said so you know how the

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-43094603279483417472010-12-05T20:58:00.004+01:002010-12-05T21:24:56.501+01:00

Subzin.com is a pretty awesome way to see language in a spoken context.Try typing in a few words.. like "Frankly my dear I don't give a damn"What famous movie is that line from? The answer is here....or even one word like SHRIMP. Guess what movie pops up first? I'm sure it's one you all know...Unfortunately the search engine can't find the film one of my favorite words comes from. It's one I

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-4115427375358927612010-06-13T11:50:00.002+02:002011-11-13T20:49:03.087+01:00

Everyone interested in reading and learning and becoming a better person should read one of the best newspapers in the world, the New York Times. Show me another newspaper that does a better job. How many prizes have NYT journalists won?According to wikipedia, the New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization.The link will give you some ideas of the parts of the

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-20967655914340611732010-04-15T12:55:00.003+02:002010-04-15T13:09:03.824+02:00

Use this map to listen to radio stations around the United States.Do people in South Carolina talk any differently than people in, say, Hawaii?More information about American English here.

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-66354834945032605682010-04-15T00:46:00.003+02:002010-04-15T13:07:57.397+02:00

This has got to be the best song about adverbs ....EVER!(And I'm not LY-ing!):)You can listen to many more songs and see the lyrics here.Funny thing is that Tom Lehrer soon left the business of writing funny, if somewhat strange songs, and spent the rest of his life as a math professor. He turned 82 just a few days ago.

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-19387698635637521812010-04-14T18:58:00.002+02:002010-04-15T13:17:01.410+02:00

I strongly recommend you listen to this interview with Greg and a famous American journalist named Bill Moyers about the humanitarian work Greg and others are doing in Afghanistan building schools for girls.I also strongly recommend you read Greg's books, THREE CUPS OF TEA and his most recent one, STONES INTO SCHOOLS: PROMOTING PEACE WITH BOOKS NOT BOMBS, IN AFGHANISTAN AND PAKISTAN.If only there

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-31299452523684273452010-04-02T17:48:00.002+02:002010-04-15T13:18:12.883+02:00

160 Greatest Arnold Schwarzenegger QuotesNothing too complex here ...;)

fnnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-33376355246766981882010-01-07T20:26:00.003+01:002010-01-07T20:45:33.993+01:00

GermanEnglishWords.comThis is a dictionary of some German words used in English (Germanisms), each with a literal or German meaning, English definition and actual sample sentence(s) from literature and the Internet.A simple list can be found at http://german.about.com/library/blvoc_gerloan.htmRemember, it's a little tricky because just because a word has been borrowed into in another language

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-45676203146952265692010-01-06T20:23:00.002+01:002010-01-06T20:25:07.506+01:00

Linguists Weigh Costs and Benefits of AccentsListen to this interesting (and short) NPR (National Public Radio) piece about something we all have when we speak English...an accent.

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-24342269520865104462010-01-06T20:07:00.004+01:002011-01-30T21:22:41.243+01:00

Watch some of these excellent videos to learn how to speak with more of an American accent. The teacher's name is Rebecca and she is brilliant!Some are aimed at speakers of specific languages like Arabic or Korean, but others contain great advice for ways of improving your accent and sounding like a native.A must for all serious language students, especially those who want to work on  "accent

fnnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-6405733698004703042009-11-02T00:52:00.001+01:002009-11-02T00:52:17.238+01:00

Ever wonder how a word has been used by native speakers?All the time?Well check out this amazing resource. I'm just getting to know it a little myself, but so far I'm very impressed.American English, British English, Spanish and Portuguese.http://view.byu.edu/

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-3278291884633032142009-10-27T00:51:00.001+01:002009-10-27T00:51:54.601+01:00

There's something about this new tool I really like. Just type in a word or phrase in German or English and see what happens. I think you will like it!Self-description:Linguee ist mehr als ein Wörterbuch für Deutsch und Englisch. Durchsuchen Sie Millionen von Sätzen, die von anderen Menschen übersetzt wurden.http://www.linguee.de/

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-46030318558795289062009-10-15T23:32:00.003+02:002009-10-15T23:38:31.664+02:00

Nik Peachey has hundreds of cool ideas how you can use Web 2.0 to learn and teach English better. I can't wait to explore them and his free e-book!http://www.scribd.com/doc/19576895/Web-20-Tools-for-Teachers

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-65876163135633897082009-10-09T11:40:00.007+02:002009-10-09T11:59:46.514+02:00

I know it has been quite a while since my last post but things were, have been, and still are pretty busy at the uni. But if you're gonna have a blog, you gotta post, right?So I'd like to kick off the season so to speak with something that has more to do with artistic expression than language and language learning, although many people say that music is the universal language.http://

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-84429812785571576672009-08-26T19:33:00.003+02:002009-08-26T19:45:41.295+02:00

This is the funny title of a new book about idioms around the world. Some of the them are pretty humorous, even the German ones ;), especially when they are translated literally into English.You can take a Guardian quiz hereI managed to correctly half of them. I could have guessed more had I thought like a Brit. That one about the British dinner, for example...Have fun!

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-55519739342318237492009-08-03T12:08:00.002+02:002009-08-03T12:10:12.635+02:00

I found this pretty interesting, especially the comments people made on the article and the issue.

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-57653909739760965562009-06-08T18:22:00.004+02:002009-06-08T18:30:41.328+02:00

Today I was looking for a short video that explained some of the main differences between the school system in the States and in Europe. I stumbled upon a fun-to-watch youtube video channel where 2 guys talk freely about their respective countries. http://www.youtube.com/user/walkaboutlanguagesFrom their main page:What happens when you take a good'ole, Bible-belt, Mississippi conservative and an

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-20009541697070805452009-02-27T10:15:00.002+01:002009-02-27T10:18:44.087+01:00

The New York Times calls LiveMocha "A powerful opportunity for people around the world to connect with language partners"All I can say to you is if you are looking for a way to practice English while helping someone learn German or whatever language(s) you know well, then this might be worth looking into. It's free, so what do you have to lose?!http://www.livemocha.com/

fnnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-20403117846783355862009-02-19T18:37:00.004+01:002009-02-19T23:23:00.238+01:00

http://www.onehourtranslation.com/...a new site that tries to match people who need stuff translated with people who can translate this stuff. The translators get paid (a little) and the people who need the translations get their texts translated quickly, cheaply, and well... by a human being and not a machine.so everybody wins... but would you pay? would you translate stuff?What do you think? Is

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-885898783922629422009-02-04T14:59:00.003+01:002009-02-09T18:46:39.178+01:00

Which ones do you like best?Keep in mind who's most likely to watch the game.

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-37418254670271412572009-01-05T14:54:00.001+01:002009-01-05T14:57:00.225+01:00

 There I was at the Washington DC airport, just minding my own business, when this guy in a suit wanted to shake my hand...

fnnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-76538803580295674652009-01-05T01:23:00.002+01:002009-01-05T01:30:23.973+01:00

This is a classic sketch on a fascinating topic -- punctuation.Victor Borge is such a genius that I'm sure you'll like it.Below is the transcript, which you will not be able to understand unless you watch the video, so watch it here! Part one:Phonetic punctuationI invented it many years ago, when I first noticed that people who speak together often fail to understand each other clearly. When we

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-68861539215159364662009-01-04T17:49:00.001+01:002009-01-04T17:53:59.301+01:00

 This picture was taken by my son Chris in Sarasota, Florida two days after Christmas from the deck of a house belonging to Terry, a friend of my father's. You won't believe this, but at the exact same time this picture was taken there was a snowstorm raging in New York. Terry lives and works in New York most of the year and only gets a chance to sit on this wonderful deck and enjoy such awesome

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-58146141206607370142008-11-18T13:56:00.003+01:002008-11-18T14:05:42.889+01:00

By documentaries I'm not talking about those films Michael Moore makes...But the genre can be pretty educational since a lot of them don't have a happy ending where the hero rides off into the sunset. Just like life.I like watching documentaries because many of them make me think about what is really true, what can I really believe?This site has a pretty good list of documentaries you can watch

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-41286642479681297652008-11-10T19:37:00.005+01:002008-11-10T19:57:43.885+01:00

Toytown is an interesting website for people who like to walk the line between German and English. It is primarily in English, and the quality of the English is very high, so it is useful for native speakers of German who are learning English. Austria is a bit too small for such a site I guess.But in Germany there is apparently a rather large community of close to 10,000 people from

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-42014715104791393612008-11-10T16:39:00.004+01:002008-11-10T16:43:20.693+01:00

20 QuestionsListen to the phrase, repeat using your best "American" accent, and then guess which of the 3 German translations is the right one.Doesn't seem too hard to me... };)https://ssl.sueddeutsche.de/reise/spiele/quiz/245/137964/1/?go=1

fnnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-16628539455011033052008-11-08T01:03:00.004+01:002008-11-08T01:16:56.025+01:00

A guy named Mark Newman (no relation that I know of) has made some pretty cool maps showing the results of the most recent election.He also explains that a cartogram is a map in which the sizes of states are rescaled according to their population. As you know red plus blue makes purple.This is the map that makes the most sense to me

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-73665993099060811242008-11-03T12:27:00.001+01:002008-11-03T12:30:39.200+01:00

The International Herald Tribune http://www.iht.com/You may have seen this newspaper at the airport or at the better newsstands around town. It has many good quality articles and most importantly in the online version, two features students have found quite useful. Here's how you can get more out of your reading experience.Click on an article you would like to read and then look in the little

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-23945399210387283852008-10-24T16:00:00.004+02:002008-10-24T16:29:30.136+02:00

Eureka!!So what can you do with this tool?Basically, you can link any text you are reading to a variety of dictionaries. This saves a lot of time looking up words.How do I use it?It's very easy to use. 1. First go to http://www.esldesk.com/esl-reading/esl-reader.aspx and paste in the text you want to read and click the "Read Text" button.2. Use the References drop-down menu to choose "Cambridge"

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-28817186123331775862008-10-24T13:55:00.003+02:002008-10-24T14:01:18.706+02:00

Half of all all Austrians polled recently by Gallup said that who is elected U.S. president in November makes no difference to their country. But almost all the people I have spoken with seem to favor Barack Obama. Why should they care who wins???

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-73044961624175107852008-09-15T12:06:00.002+02:002008-09-15T12:10:01.113+02:00

Challenging kind of quiz where you watch a short video of a speaker reading a portion of the Rudyard Kipling poem “If.” You’ll then be asked which country he or she is from; answer correctly and you may be able to score bonus points by identifying the speaker’s home city or region. Think you can tell the difference between an Australian, a South African, and a New Zealander?Not as easy as it

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-52639322721859876392008-09-10T23:51:00.000+02:002008-09-10T23:51:29.149+02:00

Learning technology teacher development blog: Creating a personal homepage

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-42671014004576369542008-09-10T17:08:00.006+02:002008-09-10T17:53:50.681+02:00

In one word...AWESOME!From the site:The Internet Archive is building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Like a paper library, we provide free access to researchers, historians, scholars, and the general public.Tag cloud for Preminger archivesTV ads

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-60765478068556267532008-09-09T21:55:00.004+02:002008-09-09T22:27:11.309+02:00

I'm probably not the only one who finds this blog (maybe the French word "blague" is a better name for it!) very funny...The sad thing that I'm afraid it's actually going to cause more folks to vote for the little lady than to steer clear of her and her "policies". What the heck is gonna happen if McCain gets into the White House and then falls down the stairs or chokes on a pretzel?! Then this

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-10066020210697770422008-09-07T21:59:00.002+02:002008-09-07T22:08:34.215+02:00

Want to learn about * the differences between spoken and written English; * the factors that influence use of grammar and vocabulary in speech and writing; * the different ways in which grammar has been described.Try this Open University site.

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-69419494789690649182008-08-30T21:50:00.004+02:002008-08-30T23:07:49.562+02:00

The great thing about watching and listening to this man speak is that you can learn from someone who has absolutely mastered the English language. The NY Times has synchronized the video and the transcript and added a kind of table of contents so you can jump to whatever sections sound interesting. Truly amazing to watch (and read along). And then McCain picked Sarah Palin to be his veep. Was

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-44588583390553597822008-08-18T00:02:00.004+02:002008-08-18T01:06:41.214+02:00

This is a great time-saver that makes reading even difficult texts in English very easy.Just copy any English text into the box and click on Read Text. You can then easily get definitions and/or translations for any words in that text since each word is automatically turned into a link. I suggest you look up new words in the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary first to get an understandable

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-14317458096013239202008-08-14T17:04:00.002+02:002008-08-14T17:09:09.384+02:00

Larry is a teacher in California. He must be a very busy guy. And his students must have a lot of fun learning English because Larry's always on the lookout for websites that make learning English fun.Have a look and see what you can discover!http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/about/websites-of-the-year/

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-14219526226411184262008-05-15T16:41:00.007+02:002008-05-15T17:12:25.308+02:00

Steve Martin and Earl Scruggs, along with some other guys who know what to do with a banjo.The song is a bluegrass classic called Foggy Mountain BreakdownHere's a version featuring other instruments too:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icMTVV5LwawAnd another classic tune called "Earl's Breakdown" played first by some hillbilly http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reT_pg5s10s&feature=related...and then by

fnnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-54455205115312871812008-05-02T16:35:00.004+02:002008-05-02T16:55:41.988+02:00

I know (some of) my students are studying for their midterm exam on Tuesday, so just in case you need to take a break from all your "learning", here are two rather amusinglinks to distract you (or maybe inspire you to get back to your books immediately?!..)http://www.isnichwahr.de/r80879022-schwarzeneggers-englishskills.htmlhttp://growabrain.typepad.com/growabrain/schwarzenegger/index.htmland I

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-69348674598305183512008-04-22T10:02:00.002+02:002008-04-22T10:16:55.956+02:00

Tim Howe is the perfect antidote to Frank Newman.He's started a wiki, but you won't find anything about baseball in there or other American topics.Tim covers the British bases, so to speak.My first impression is a positive one. Tim's wiki is brand-new and full of interesting articles, links, comments, ideas, tips, and Britishness (Tim detests Americanisms, for example).After surfing his wiki and

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-44393699714378309772008-04-16T21:16:00.004+02:002008-04-16T21:26:13.356+02:00

Some of you will know Paul Smith and his great website aimed at German speakers struggling with the finer points of the English language.http://owad.de/OWAD stands for One Word A Day, by the way...Paul has a nice little Guide to "Die häufigsten (und peinlichsten) Deutsch > Englischen Übersetzungsfehler und wie man sie vermeiden kann"You can download the pdf or (first) view what he has to say

fnnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-15619319966765968312008-04-07T18:52:00.003+02:002008-04-07T19:06:55.604+02:00

Jim is a professor at the University of Northern Iowa and apparently loves collecting language learning links.I found several nice ones at his multilingual sitehttp://www.uni.edu/becker/For English:http://www.uni.edu/becker/TESOL_ESL2.htmland he even has a page full of Travel linkshttp://www.uni.edu/becker/Travel2.html

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-40353987686543836512008-04-07T18:31:00.001+02:002008-04-07T18:32:20.125+02:00

Use this http://bestofcyberopps.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rssif you want to subscribe to this blog.

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-11259139580563177892008-04-02T20:34:00.002+02:002008-04-02T20:39:35.381+02:00

There are some interesting cultural observations here in this post I found on a newsgroup frequented by mainly American expats living in Germany. It would interesting to see how this list would differ if the subject were You know you're in AUSTRIA when ...You know you're in Germany when ...- you hear "Na, Du" every two seconds- porns are on normal television- there is 60 kg of Butter on one

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-979829100353026982008-03-31T19:48:00.003+02:002008-03-31T20:04:31.539+02:00

The World According to the SimpsonsIt's about time I introduced one of my favorite radio programs of all time: Here on Earth: Radio Without Borders. It's hosted by Jean Feraca and in this show, her guests discuss the impact of the Simpsons around the world.She always has intelligent people (professors, authors, and other non-yellow characters) on the show whose IQ must be double or even triple

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-23436488057235350492008-03-26T19:55:00.003+01:002008-03-26T20:11:00.010+01:00

This website is new and has a lot of great features for language learners. I have already set up an account and am amazed at what I can do at Read The WordsWith Read The Words you can quickly convert any text into audio and choose from a variety of voices. Just copy and paste something you're writing to hear if it sounds right. Or paste in a list of vocabulary words and listen to them and their

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-50768639934239009412008-03-26T13:28:00.006+01:002008-03-26T16:10:22.286+01:00

New site that uses social networking to help you connect with other people around the world who are interested in learning foreign languages as well as friendly native speakers of those languages who are willing to help you practice your skills.From what I can see, your level of English will probably be much higher than the level of German most learners of German have, but that should not be a

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-89492547417377814492008-03-26T13:00:00.003+01:002008-03-26T13:05:49.306+01:00

Watch this 5 minute video by Jimmy Ruska and see if there is something you want to try out. They look like fun things to play around with. The last 3 in particular might be good for language learners. SpongeFish - Look smart. Get smarter.Thinkature - Real-time collaboration for the webFlashcards: The world's largest library of printable flash cardsBuildQuiz.com: Quick Free Academic Quiz

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-24554034383080118922008-03-22T16:04:00.005+01:002008-03-26T18:12:46.029+01:00

This link will take you to an interactive video and transcript of Senator Barack Obama’s speech in Philadelphia on March 18, 2008.It is a long speech (37 minutes) but you can jump to the various sections of it and read along with the transcript as Obama speaks. Listen and read for a few minutes and you will see what a fantastic speaker this man is.The man is an amazing speaker. He appears to be

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-13588300672828304642008-03-10T23:35:00.003+01:002008-03-10T23:45:16.687+01:00

In the interest of fairness, I thought it would be interesting to post this video about Hillary Clinton running for President of the US of A. It is an exciting idea really to think of a woman calling the shots in the White House. She has a lot of experience, that's for sure, and even as First Lady, the better half of Billary some say, she wanted to do a lot more than just bake cookies. Too bad

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-62037412104150493262008-03-07T22:42:00.002+01:002008-03-07T22:46:22.368+01:00

http://www.fonetiks.org/· Online pronunciation guides to 9 varieties of the English language and 9 other languages · Instant sound· Pronunciation samples by over 40 native speakers · All 1,000+ pages free · Click on a flag to open a dictionaryWhy can't all language websites as good as this one!?

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-48443006198310020492008-03-07T21:23:00.008+01:002008-03-07T22:34:11.296+01:00

Who is this famous Austrian?If you're not sure, you can explore these websites, in English of course! and find out. Austrian web face to the English-speaking world.I have also found out that you can get podcasts from Reality Check and Radio Austria International's Report from Austria, both of which will give you excellent listening practice since you sould be familiar with most of the

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-63156113120610030872008-02-29T12:25:00.006+01:002008-02-29T16:06:47.953+01:00

Because I am a word freak, I like this dictionary for many reasons.The feature I want to share with you today is both fun and educational. It's called Spelling Bee.Here's how it works. 1. You go to http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ and look for the Spelling Bee box.2. Set difficulty level to "easy" so you don't get too frustrated too quickly and you get more common words that people actually use

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-73338018899909096912008-02-19T16:21:00.004+01:002008-02-19T17:13:03.129+01:00

This seems to be a very popular show and it is even being shown in English on Austrian TV (will wonders never cease!)Many students claim to be doing something good for their English by plopping themselves down in front of the TV and sitting there passively "improving" their English.But that's about as effective as sleeping with a dictionary under your pillow to improve your vocabulary.Here's what

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-78651014078336940972008-02-08T19:16:00.001+01:002008-03-05T23:49:52.433+01:00

Barack Obama’s Yes We Can Music VideoThe man seems to be a good speaker and a lot of people are ready for a change, especially Americans who are not happy with the Administration in power since 2001. But we have to wait a few more months to find out whether the American voters sayYes he can lead the country.or Yes she can...or "Mac" can.

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-84414519925676453582008-02-07T14:34:00.000+01:002008-02-07T14:39:49.226+01:00

How are Southerners different from other Americans?Read a chapter from a book from a book called "The Politically Incorrect Guide to The South" by Clint Johnson.The Biggest Myths About The South The South is unsophisticated compared to the North and West Coast. The truth is Southerners invented musical forms like rock and roll, jazz, blues and bluegrass. We created the motion picture

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-867724934584290882008-02-05T18:28:00.000+01:002008-02-05T18:39:48.332+01:00

Sound Scripting is a technique developed by Mark Powell to help learners become more expressive when doing presentations by taking sentence intonation skills to the next level.Paragraph with Sound Scripting MarkupOur school is the BEST in town. The teachers are friendly, and VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE about English. I've studied at the school for two years and my English is becoming VERY GOOD. - Listen

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-63010730877175552312008-02-05T15:26:00.000+01:002008-02-05T17:07:51.636+01:00

There are some viable alternatives, you know...For example, you can test your vocabulary at the main page of http://www.dict.cc/You get an English word and 4 possible German translations. Click on the one you think is right.If you get it wrong, you get the correct translation immediately and can add it to your Vokabeltrainer.Spending a few minutes setting up your Vokabeltrainer will pay huge

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-78459708056259712452008-01-27T19:02:00.000+01:002008-02-05T17:11:15.678+01:00

Albert had great hair, but Ted Power is a great name, don't you think?And he seems to be a great man too. (I hope it doesn't take getting hit by a car like Ted was for me to sort out my language teaching ideas and make some of them available on the web.)One part of Ted's site I really like and would like to share with you works like this:"Watch Your Particles!" is a set of worksheets designed to

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-4333859797868899502008-01-22T21:05:00.000+01:002008-02-05T17:16:53.578+01:00

He spiked his hair, she spiked the ball, and he spiked the punch.Spiked has many meanings.I ran across this British site while trying to find out more about gun control and I liked the refreshing way European and American writers were writing about the US, including Barack Obama, immigrantsand"a day without immigrants"and a long article titled "Why people hate fat Americans"Hope you learn

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-83461696467551365432008-01-12T00:16:00.000+01:002008-01-12T00:25:13.843+01:00

Redneck humorAh found this here joke pretty funny...what about you?

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-2719326447650479582008-01-03T15:48:00.000+01:002008-01-12T00:26:08.309+01:00

Listen and read one of the classic essays of all time about German. Just be glad you "got it for free" (acquired it naturally) and didn't have to go through the agony of learning it.http://librivox.org/the-awful-german-language-by-mark-twain/

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-3822274108204396682008-01-03T14:56:00.000+01:002008-01-03T15:00:34.065+01:00

Not very difficult crosswords that can be done online (with hints) or printed out. Good way to expand your vocab!Word Web CrosswordsAirport: At the AirportAnimals: A World of AnimalsCars: Cars and Car PartsComputer: Computer TermsDairy: Down at the DairyEntertainment: Words are EntertainingFactory: Working at the FactoryFood: Food for ThoughtFlowers: The Flower ShowFruit: Fruit SaladGarden:

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-53331667417328862462008-01-03T14:49:00.000+01:002008-01-03T14:54:19.431+01:00

ACTIVITY GUIDEThis 66 page pdf will definitely boost your vocabulary!People sometimes forget how much information is included in a dictionary,so we put together this Activity Guide to introduce you to The NewburyHouse Dictionary of American English. As you complete the activities inthe guide you will accomplish two important things: (1) learn how to find many different kinds of information and, (

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-40910332919638986812008-01-01T20:23:00.000+01:002008-01-01T20:41:56.874+01:00

This game is lots of fun and a real challenge, even for those of us who have circumnavigated the globe and think they are pretty good at geography. Here's how it works: You have a world map in your browser. After you click START! you are shown the name of a city, for example Paris, and you have to click on the map, hopefully somewhere in the center of what you know to be France. The points you

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-48333445000352173622007-12-18T12:16:00.000+01:002007-12-18T13:03:41.997+01:00

Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.Do you understand this perfectly grammatical English sentence?Well, I didn't either at first.But if you read the wikipedia article and try really hard you will see the light...And here's a link to the spoken word version (read by a native speaker, NOT a computer!) If a non-American can read the Declaration of Independence, then I see

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-481692722781970442007-12-17T22:14:00.000+01:002007-12-17T22:41:13.879+01:00

A summary of Geert Hofstede’s ideas about national culture differencesHofstede’s ideas were first based on a large research project into national culture differences across subsidiaries of a multinational corporation (IBM) in 64 countries. Subsequent studies by others covered students in 23 countries, elites in 19 countries, commercial airline pilots in 23 countries, up-market consumers in 15

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-66014602021418021202007-12-17T19:06:00.000+01:002007-12-17T21:27:20.480+01:00

ON-LINE CULTURAL TRAINING RESOURCE FOR STUDY ABROADThis material was developed to support and enhance a student’s ability to make successful cultural adjustments both before going overseas and upon returning home from studying abroad. It was produced primarily for traditional-aged, undergraduate US-American university students. Those preparing to participate in a study abroad program will find

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-55813159845508584802007-11-19T08:59:00.000+01:002007-11-19T09:24:39.221+01:00

This site enables you to simply hold your cursor over a picture to hear a native speaker pronounce that word and see how it is written. Good way to review the basic vocabulary.You can also do the same for French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, not to mention Chinese and Japanese,and a few other exotic languages like "German", not the Austrian variety, mind you!Isn't it time you learned how to count

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-38968305065689356222007-11-18T22:00:00.000+01:002007-11-18T22:40:45.117+01:00

It's hard to get more multilingual than this site! 2750 entries in 108 languages!I have many favorites. This one for example is good fun:I am a mother pheasant plucker,I pluck mother pheasants.I am the best mother pheasant plucker,that ever plucked a mother pheasant! Just don't say it in front of your mother...And this one's not easy to say three time fast either:Six thick thistle sticks. But

fnnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-20752966770071755902007-11-05T10:21:00.000+01:002007-11-05T10:27:37.226+01:00

Interesting way to improve your vocabulary while at the same time making the world a better place. Food for thought, so to speak. Thanks for the tip Ursula!I was starting to get a little frustrated because since I kept getting them right, ie guessing the correct meaning of some really hard words, I kept getting EVEN HARDER words! I somehow got the first 19 right before I guessed wrong on "

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-16935788798327182432007-11-05T09:40:00.000+01:002007-11-05T09:54:59.624+01:00

Go ahead. Go to http://www.answers.com and type in a word.You not only get a definition and a few synonyms, but much much more.See also http://bestofcyberopps.wetpaint.com/page/vocab02Go to voycabulary.com and paste in the list of words you want to work with.Choosing answers.com as the dictionary to link these words to, I discovered a wealth of very interesting information about these seemingly

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-22236400850659813702007-11-05T09:29:00.000+01:002007-11-05T09:34:07.207+01:00

I haven't actually met her yet, but Rebecca seems like someone I'd like to get to know. She's currently teaching English in Austria and blogging about her experience doing so.But what I really like is the name of her blog. Click on this link and find out what she has called her "study of all things Austrian".

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-51991428473285412952007-10-26T20:27:00.000+02:002007-10-26T20:32:13.577+02:00

There is a speaking activity I know where students have to answer the following question:If you could wake up tomorrow with one talent, what would it be?Well, I think I have found the answer I would give if somebody asked me that question...I would like to be able to play the guitar like this guy..What talents would *you* like to have?

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-36716073465157609472007-10-23T23:33:00.000+02:002007-10-23T23:38:56.234+02:00

My brother Eric emailed me this thinking I might be able to use it for, as he put it, "a confusing lesson". I mailed back and said "Don't worry. My lessons are already confusing! Anyway, enjoy the wordplay! I sure did!HUMOR FOR LEXOPHILES (LOVERS OF WORDS): > > I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me. > > Police were called to a day care where a three-year-old was

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-5877593416860993792007-10-21T20:22:00.000+02:002007-10-21T21:21:42.203+02:00

Why do my friend Ian and I sometimes not really understand each other although we supposedly speak the same language?As you know, there are some differences between the way English is spoken in the US and the UK. You should choose one variety and try not to mix them up too much, but you will have to be aware of both varieties. And if you ever go to Australia, well...Good Luck! Here are a few

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-14648137763983952152007-10-18T13:17:00.000+02:002007-10-18T13:35:05.563+02:00

If you're sick of trying to learn English, then why not invent your own damn language.Good luck trying to get other people to speak it!Seriously, this is a topic that interests the linguist in me.And I also found WikiHow, a wiki that has lots of HOW TO information Great potential for us to share what we know about how the world works.Actually, that's exactly what sites like videojug, for example,

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-6062213516090808432007-10-09T19:39:00.000+02:002007-10-09T20:14:55.687+02:00

For me, and many other people around the world, this is the best newspaper in the world.The good news is that recently the good people at the NYTimes website have made their entire archives (back to 1981!)freely accessible.This is an incredible resource for everyone who appreciates good writing.A little anecdote: I was cleaning my office today and came across an interesting newspaper clipping I

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-24324422591556866742007-10-02T17:57:00.000+02:002007-10-02T18:02:52.785+02:00

I have always like euronews.net because you can get the same video and text in 7 different languages. Today I saw that they offer free language lessons now using one of their current videos. There's a new lesson every week.TELL ME MORE® offers 3 languages: British English, Spanish and French. Each lesson lasts 30 minutes and is based around a video from EuroNews in its Original Language, in a way

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-2239015427721638172007-10-02T17:04:00.000+02:002007-10-02T17:40:30.226+02:00

Charles Kelly has one of the best EFL sites on the net.It's called manythings.orgWhat better way to give your vocab a workout than to play games?Most of the site is a bit too easy for learners at Austrian universities (apple, banana, etc)But when you take one of the large lists, it quickly starts to get challenging.Take, for example, Alan Beale's Core Vocabulary Compiled from 3 Small ESL

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-67912955925049034402007-09-30T15:54:00.000+02:002007-09-30T16:15:30.893+02:00

This is a conceptual model by Dr Helen Barrett that I like very much. It suggests using Google tools to facilitate an online learning portfolio. It's very much "putting all your eggs in one basket" kinda thing, but there is something to be said for the convenience of having just one basket...and we all know Google is fast and good.It is similar to what I have been working on this summer which

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-76055421967511802322007-09-30T15:30:00.000+02:002007-09-30T15:33:54.799+02:00

Watching videos can be a great way to learn something......YOU decide WHAT!

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-22625521129805695572007-09-30T15:11:00.000+02:002007-09-30T15:30:13.438+02:00

...Mr G's English leaves something to be desired...The Guardian was not too impressed by Mr G's "application" as you can see here...;-)Scary, isn’t it?

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-51022338632509081362007-09-29T01:20:00.000+02:002007-09-29T01:21:33.525+02:00

Some are educational...Most are not...

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-6120437936591258962007-09-29T00:13:00.000+02:002007-09-29T00:21:14.881+02:00

This little gem of a resource should make it very easy for you to actually learn while watching TV.Even if you don't even have the video or audio element, I think it's still great for finding out how people SAY things in English. Dialogues coming out the wazoo!

fnnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-45938860024218921422007-09-28T21:39:00.000+02:002007-09-30T15:36:53.071+02:00

How well do you know the languages spoken in Europe?Try this little guessing game to find out!

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-63615441355933215012007-09-28T14:09:00.000+02:002007-09-28T18:50:38.653+02:00

Seems it'll be a while before human translators are replaced by machines!There are some really funny translations here.

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-78825926664609651342007-09-28T13:59:00.000+02:002007-09-28T14:07:16.339+02:00

Dylan.aka Robert Zimmerman...which all you trivia buffs already knew of course...This man made some really good music.Check out this cool way to send your friend a message ,in a rather unique way, with Bob d.'s help...

fnnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1820064150247989192.post-83841964140912691052007-09-24T18:35:00.000+02:002007-09-28T18:58:29.228+02:00

http://betabloggerfordummies.blogspot.com/If you have a Blogger blog, then this is the place to learn stuff that will really "pimp it up"!!

fnnoreply@blogger.com0