Pronunciation and Vocabulary Practice

Hello students,
Below you can find two web-links to British Council practice activities.
Try out your ability to create words with this fantastic 'Word Shake' game.

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/vocabulary-games/wordshake


There's also this pronunciation chart to help you understand how English sounds work.

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/mobile-learning/sounds-right

BBC Learning

Hello everyone,
I've posted the link below to the BBC Learning English pages where you can find some useful material for home-practice.

Choose from a large range of topics and test your knowledge with these multiple answer quizzes

Listen and watch authentic material in the comfort of your own home and improve your pronunciation with BBC pronunciation tips.















BBC Learn English Homepage

From the main menu on the left you can choose from activities such as quizzes, listening, crosswords, pronunciation and grammar etc.

BBC Learning English features up-to-date material with a range of interesting and contemporary topics.

Check out my first British recipe - try it yourself at home

Today's

'Good idea - Great British food.'

Toad in the Hole

Simple ingredients, easy to prepare

and just scrumptiously delicious

Ingredients:

100g of flour

1 egg

150ml of milk

6 pork sausages

1 tablespon of olive oil

pinch of salt

pepper

.......................................................................................................

Method:

Mix flour and egg in a bowl. Add salt and pepper.

Gradually add milk while beating mixture, then leave to rest for 20 minutes.

Brown sausages in a roasting dish for 15 minutes together with oil.

Pour mixture over sausages and cook for a further 20 minutes until brown.

Serve with boiled or mashed potatoes and greens.

Garnish with parsley.

'Good idea - Great British food.'
Take a look at the recipe page regularly to find out what your English teacher has for dinner. You will find more delicious recipes in the following weeks.

Grammar Exercises for all levels

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/grammar-exercises

British Council Grammar Reference

Not sure about something?
Want to know the rules?
Consult the British Council grammar reference page


Choose from the 48 different areas of grammar listed alphabetically. Click on the title and you'll find a complete and concise explanation of your chosen area.

Click here to go to the above link

BBC Skill Wise

Skillwise English

Put your skills to the test and practise real-life situations with your English knowledge using these exercises and games

Learn how to enhance your applied communication skills and discover tips from experts

http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/english

Common European Framework Reference (CEFR)

Where do you stand?
Common European Framework Reference


Here's a graphic guide to knowing your level of English and where you stand on the common European scale.

English Exercise

"Looking back"
Exercising your English

Are you getting enough exercise?

What about your English?

This is Gabriella, a former Cambridge ESOL student at Loughborough College, in the heart of rural England.

What can we learn from her learning experience?

"I moved to the UK in 2007, where I studied English at Loughborough College for over a year.

Cambridge ESOL offered me a 'Skills for Life' course, which included basic skills such as numeracy and computer skills - abilities needed in every-day life."

"Learning English in a native English speaking country allowed me to practise in the real world with other speakers of English, both native and non-native.

I shared my experience with other students from different countries and cultural backgrounds."

"At first, living in a country where you have difficulty communicating with others is very frustrating, but after I learned basic English, I was able to cope alone with things like shopping or asking for information - even talking on the phone."

"Cambridge ESOL exams prepared me for essential necessities in the use of English language such as writing a CV, being interviewed, making a complaint and writing a letter to a friend."

"Now I live in Catania again but I have gained much more confidence and autonomy through learning English, and I enjoy travelling and visiting my new English speaking friends."

Loughborough Technical College, UK (click to enlarge)

Cambridge Certificates for academic studies

Cambridge Day - Catania

Giga teachers take time off for development

Teachers from all over Catania got together on Friday 27 October for an important appointment with Cambridge Italy.

The venue was the Sheraton Hotel Catania, and Michael McCarthy, author of contemporary Cambridge University publications, gave a presentation on the use of English Corpus in the study and development of learner English today.

Michael McCarthy

Michael McCarthy is Emeritus Professor of Applied Linguistics at the University of Nottingham, UK. He is also Adjunct Professor of Applied Linguistics at the Pennsylvania State University and at the University of Limerick, Ireland.

He is the author of many titles of interest to teachers, including Spoken Language and Applied Linguistics. Well known as an expert on the teaching and learning of vocabulary, he is a co-author of the basic and upper-intermediate levels of Vocabulary in Use, and is also Academic Consultant to the Cambridge International Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs and the Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms. He is co-author of the 2 latest successful corpus-informed publications by Cambridge University Press: Touchstone and Cambridge Grammar of English.

http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/

click to enlarge

Mobile Apps from Cambridge English Online

Have you got an iPhone?
Do you want to practice your pronunciation skills?
You could download these friendly little apps form the App Store onto your smartphone and put yourself to the test any time and anywhere.

 Phonetics type & text 

· Phonetics Typer
· Phonetics Mixer
· Phonemic Chart
· Flashcards




                                                     

 Phonetics focus


· Phonemic Chart  · Phonemic Chart iPoster
· Listen & Record  · Phonetics Typer
· Name that Phoneme!  · Phonetic Flip
· Phonetic Flip· Phoney Phonemes Quiz
· Missing Phonemes Quiz  · Minimal Pairs 
· Phonetic Spelling Test  · Which Phoneme?
· Odd Phon' Out  · Phonemic Symbols
· Phon' Spellings


Go to the link and select your mobile apps from the scroll menu at the top of the homepage - 


http://www.cambridgeenglishonline.com/

Blog creation

Hello everyone, welcome to my blog.
Follow this blog regularly to keep updated and look out for interesting links to English language resources, and leave your comments.