Glued to the telly

Do you normally get glued to the box? Perhaps, not normally, but from time to time. What I do think is that you've ever left your problems aside with a good movie. Do you remember the last time when you got totally involved into the action and characters of an entertaining film? Here's a listening by the BBC about Movies and Science. I hope you find it helpful and pleasant too. [audio, script]

What makes you happy?

These days, I've tried to look on the bright side of life in class, by making up some positive speaking prompts, as far as possible. So, I think we could also talk about your top little pleasures in life, or if we only raise the question: What makes you happy? 

For further practice about the same topic, please feel free to click on [happiness, audio] 

Making a mountain out of a molehill

Please,  do not panic... we are not going up any mountain today. Don't worry about it. This is just another idiom in English, which is used for exaggerating the importance of something. 

As learning English is like climbing up a mountain, we'll see how to add some meaning for our speech and writing, whenever we need to overstate, inflate or simply clarify what we're talking about. But before we do that, why don't we watch The IT Crowd? 

For more practice about Emphasis and some emphasizers, please click on here.

The IT Crowd Yesterday's Jam from Daniel Rouco on Vimeo.

The IT Crowd Calamity Jen from Daniel Rouco on Vimeo.

Out of force of habit

When something is done out of force of habit, it has become automatic through frequent repetition. For example: "Why do I always park here? It's force of habit I suppose." This is only an English idiom, however, learners shouldn't do grammar exercises out of force of habit, or in other words, they ought to stop and think about the reasons why you should write certain grammar structures this or that way, i.e. is the relative pronoun necessary or not?

Well, in this section we'll learn how automatic or mechanical grammar practice won't be of much help for your language fluency, context and production.


First of all, you'll find the repetitive exercises about the relative pronouns at pages (195-205) and some more theory about the relative pronouns, here. For further grammar theory and practice, please click on here.


Secondly, after talking nineteen to dozen, I mean, after doing so many grammar exercises automatically, mechanically and without being aware of what is going on about their usage, let's stop to consider the following: 

• What are the relative pronouns used for?
• News (to add extra interest to their content) 
• Informal speech (as a kind of parentheses)
• Formal speech and formality (whom)
• To express a possessive relationship (whose)
• Who or whom?
• What about the reduced relative clauses?

Finally, this grammar post is just for you all to reflect upon the importance of language context and everyday usage, which should build your English up from strengh to strengh.

Source:  Making Sense of Grammar, by David Crystal

2011 year in review

2011 year is now over and perhaps you feel like remembering it somehow. This hasn't been an easy year: crisis time and many disasters all over the world, although there must have been something good to be recalled. Well, let's see your views by doing the following tasks with this video below.

For more video watching about the same topic, please click on here.

Elevator Music

This is not intended to be elevator music but all about the English usage through music.

 First of all, let's rely on the BBC learning English and one stop English.com to do some reading and vocabulary practice, as well as some listening & speaking [audio]. How is your English through music going on? Please, feel free to use the commentary section below.


Secondly, we could learn a bit more using some different vocabulary on-line resources like mind maps, word lists, fill-in-the gaps exercises and idioms.


Finally, we could enjoy English learning by having a look at the video below or even have a go and sing some songs, following this karaoke Youtube playlist. 

Happy New Year!

Once again, it's time for us to think about resolutions and achievements all through the past year. Let's be extra positive for a change,  no matter your results or personal goals. 

What makes you happy?

Below you'll find some ways of saying good and well-done to people around you. Always nice to get super feedback from friends, workmates and family.

Dealing with The January "Blues"

Now,  it's time for new resolutions and promises, isn't it? Well, thinking about learning English, let's watch this video before you start writing your never-ending resolution lists. This may be of some help for you.

In today's chat we were talking about people's resolutions for 2012. Some students got lost in this activity, they didn't know what to talk about. Well, I guess this is so simple that I just took it for granted, my fault. I'm very sorry about that. So, here's some more help for your resolutions for 2012, or if you will, your hopes for 2012. [BBC Hopes for 2012, script, audio]

Recycling and Pollution

Are you aware of the main considerations about the topic of Recycling and Pollution? How do you contribute to heal the world?

 And what about? Plastic pollution

Do you recycle?

 Here's a listening from the BBC Learning English:

Join Dan and Kate this week as they talk about pollution. How is plastic affecting the environment and what can we do to make the situation better?
This week's question:
How many pieces of plastic are there in each square kilometre of the world’s oceans? Is it:
a) 22,000 pieces of plastic
b) 38,000 pieces of plastic
c) 46,000 pieces of plastic
Listen out for the answer in the programme!

For further practice on the same topic, you could have a look at this vocabulary handout.

On the other hand, we could also read some about Pollution by the New York Times:

 Obama Seeks to Curb Auto Pollution

President Obama directed the Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider the Bush administration's past rejection of a California application to regulate auto pollution.

By the same token, today we were reading through a text about Organic food, however, we find it a bit complicated, so we'd better work on some vocabulary and words through this glossary, which is organised according to the words'order from the very first word until the last one. I hope you can find the glossary and the answer key useful for the better understanding of the whole text.