Showing posts with label USA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label USA. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Learn English Through Song or Movie Scenes




A generous man called Teacher Frank (not me! A different one…) has created lots and lots of fun lessons which involve listening to songs and watching slide shows or movies on You Tube. He even has free exercises to go with them.
I find the songs and movie scenes are very well chosen and because the level is fairly easy for most of you, it is a nice relaxing way to work on your English. Nevertheless, I am rather confident that in each song or scene there will be a few idioms or phrases that may not yet be in your active, productive English. 
I suggest you try to use these new phrases in sentences of your own. And let others know about the site if you like it. Maybe it's worth a blogging about in your own blog.
Here is an example using a song I like very much, especially on a cloudy day :) I just love the singer's clear mellifluous voice
You can also study the lyrics and respond to your favorite lines. Have a look at the two-page Word handout that goes with it.
Here is the whole list of songs Frank has chosen for you. There are PLENTY of great songs to choose from and the slide shows are often quite amusing. 

Learn English Through Movie Scenes

Also very entertaining. Scroll down to see the script and do the exercise. Use the new words and phrases you learn so you remember them better!

Finally, here is a long playlist at youtube will a lot of the free lessons that Teacher Frank has prepared for your learning pleasure.
Have fun! (and who cares if you start singing along :) )

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Crossword puzzles



Crossword puzzles are a great (and fun!) way to improve your vocabulary.
Many of these puzzles are themed, so you can learn a lot about American culture. 
TIP: You can always print them out and do them with pencil and paper. If you find that too challenging, you can do them online and get hints, maybe a few letters to help you think of the word you are looking for.
It's always good to keep track of the new and useful vocabulary you learn from each puzzle, maybe by adding it to your vocabulary.com lists or your vocab notebook. And remember to use the new words! Use 'em or lose 'em!
Here are a couple relevant for SUK2 students.

  • Cooking
  • The Food Pyramid
  • Health Literacy
  • Nutrition

  • Here are a couple relevant for SUK4 students.
    Mathematics

  • Units of Measure
  • Geometry
  • Mathematics

  • Science
  • Energy
  • The Human Brain
  • Global Warming
  • Genetics
  • Cell Biology
  • Periodic Table of the Elements
  • Space Exploration
  • Scientists
  • The Human Body
  • Weather
  • Insects
  • 20 Years of Science Times
  • Biodiversity
  • Stargazing

  • Technology
  • Web 2.0
  • Inventors
  • Computer Jargon
  • Transportation
  • 20th Century Inventions

  • Language
  • Building Blocks of Vocabulary
  • Women Novelists
  • Scary Stories
  • Literary Terms
  • Grammar
  • American History
  • Asian-American History
  • The Civil Rights Movement
  • The 1960's
  • The 1950's
  • The Declaration of Independence
  • The Pilgrims
  • Westward Expansion
  • The Fifty States
  • Life in Colonial America
  • Thanksgiving
  • Native American History
  • The Civil War
  • The Roaring 20's
  • The American Revolution
  • Independence Day
  • Black History Month
  • Hispanic Heritage

  • Geography
  • Holidays Around the World
  • World Capitals
  • State Capitals
  • Bodies of Water
  • Architectural Marvels
  • Landmarks and Monuments
  • Places and Regions

  • Miscellaneous
  • Baseball
  • Preparing for College
  • Saying ''Thank You'' Around the World



  • Thursday, May 5, 2011

    How the Arch got its Shape

    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...





    Sunday, April 10, 2011

    Late Night Jokes


    Late Night Jokes
    Have 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 Archive

    TASK: Look at the jokes for two or three days in a row. Do the topics change a
    lot? What or who is being made fun of? What do you learn about American
    culture from this resource??

    Friday, March 18, 2011

    What would you like to ask an American about the USA?


    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!

    Thursday, February 24, 2011

    This is America. Text and MP3 Files

    This is America
    Text & MP3 Files

    There are 240 fifteen-minute programs.  That is about 60 hours of listening.
    And reading.

    Here's what I like about this resource:
    1. Great variety of topics about life in the USA.
    2. The English is very easy to understand (VOA's Special English).
    3. You can easily download the mp3 and take it with you.
    4. The transcript shows you exactly what is being said so you know how the words are spelled.
    5. Double-click on the words you don't know and a definition pops up. 
    6. The programs are made by Voice of America radio professionals.
    7. The programs are only 15 minutes long.
    8. You can learn a lot about this interesting country!

    Thursday, April 15, 2010

    Do you speak American?

    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.

    Monday, June 8, 2009

    Germany vs USA




    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/walkaboutlanguages

    From their main page:

    What happens when you take a good'ole, Bible-belt, Mississippi conservative and an urbane, plurilingual, liberal, Euro-German and put them in the middle of San Francisco?

    Germany vs. USA (GvU) explores the contrasts and joys of two unlikely friends, Jim and Alex, as they learn more about each other's cultures, languages, and the greater friendship between Europe and America. Insightful, whimsical, educational and always genuine (not to mention unscripted) the show aims to bring a slice-of-life perspective to viewers around the world.

    Wednesday, February 4, 2009

    Watch some of the best Super Bowls ads ever made

    Which ones do you like best?

    Keep in mind who's most likely to watch the game.

    Monday, January 5, 2009

    Amazing who you meet in airports

     
    Posted by Picasa


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

    Sunday, January 4, 2009

    Why don't I live on the water?

     

    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 sunsets once in a while, like at Christmastime.

    Kinda makes you wonder...

    ... about the wonders in this world.


    I wish everyone who reads this a very wonderful 2009!


    Frank
    Posted by Picasa

    Saturday, November 8, 2008

    Election Maps



    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

    Friday, October 24, 2008

    It don't matter to me...

    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???

    Wednesday, September 10, 2008

    Can the Internet be archived?

    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 archives

    TV ads

    Tuesday, September 9, 2008

    Satire -- American style

    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 lady would become the leader of the free world?!

    God help us all!!

    Of course I also had to check out what the cartoonists are doing with this theme over at cagle.com

    Some good ones here!
    http://www.cagle.com/news/McCainPalin/main.asp

    Saturday, August 30, 2008

    Obama's speech at the DNC

    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 this a wise move?! Time will tell...

    Meanwhile, read this article in the same paper McCain's Baked Alaska to see how one American woman feels about McCain's choice.

    Remember that you just have to double-click on any difficult words in the article to get a definition in English.

    Who would YOU for if you were allowed to vote in this election on November 4th?

    Thursday, May 15, 2008

    Men with Banjos Who Know How to Use Them


    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 Breakdown

    Here's a version featuring other instruments too:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icMTVV5Lwaw

    And 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 Jose Feliciano (on the guitar)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ydy_EakGfY&feature=related

    Monday, March 31, 2008

    The World According to the Simpsons


    The World According to the Simpsons

    It'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 that of Homer S.!

    The topics are often quite interesting, like this one about Bart and Marge and the rest of the gang, especially the cultural programs.

    You can find Jean's blog here, where she discusses the latest shows.

    The forum gives people a chance to add their two cents.

    For this show the questions were:

    * Are the Simpons really the typical American family?
    * How do you feel about Homer and Bart as American ambassadors?


    Then there are the related links which will keep you up way past your bedtime

    * Official site of The Simpsons
    * Wikipedia: The Simpsons
    * The Simpsons entry in The Museum of Television Encyclopedia
    * Matt McAllister
    * Steven Keslowitz and his book
    * Aeon Skoble
    * The Simpsons Archive

    I will end by quoting one Listener's Comments:

    * John 7/19/06: "I think the Simpsons Cartoon demonstrates to the world that Americans have an insight into what's dysfunctional in our own culture by allowing the world to laugh with us at our beer guts and lazy intellect."

    I think that says it all. Americans are not as stupid as they seem to the unsophisticated European.

    Saturday, March 22, 2008

    Obama’s Speech on Race

    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 delivering this speech without ever glancing down at a sheet of paper. And as far as I can tell he is not reading from a teleprompter either.

    I like what he has to say about race in America. It is a complex problem and he reminds us that it is not one that will simply go away.

    Monday, March 10, 2008

    Hillary answers a few questions

    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 her health care plan failed.

    In this video Senator Clinton seems like a person who really truly wants to serve her country for the right reasons. And Chelsea is in it too.