Homophones

Homophones are words that sound the same but have got different meanings and spellings. They are a bit tricky but, don't worry, you only need some practise and common sense. The context will hopefully help you most of the time. Remember to leave your results in your comments!

Homophones- Easy level

Homophones- Difficult Level

Relative Clauses

Learning how to make relative sentences is essential English grammar . It is used very often especially when we want to define something or add extra information. Therefore, it is a good idea to practise them just like Bart Simpson is suggesting. Click on the links below, do the exercises and leave your marks in your comments.

Relative Clauses 1
Relative Clauses 2
Relative Clauses 3

Australia

Australia is both the smallest continent and the sixth largest country in the world. However, we know very little about it. It is much more than surfers, kangaroos and Sydney. Click on the link below and you'll find the information to answer these questions.

Basic Facts about Australia

1.  What are the six states and two territories in which Australia is divided?
2.  Is the weather in Tasmania very different from the weather in Queensland? Explain.
3.  What two names did Australia have in the past?
4.  Why is Camberra the capital of Australia?
5.  Are kangaroos the most common animals?

Picasso

Pablo Picasso is the most famous artist born in Málaga. He is known worldwide because of his personal painting style but also thanks to his private life. Click on the link below to discover more about this Spanish genius. Answer ten out of the fifteen questions provided and leave the results in your comments as usual.

Picasso

Holy Week in Spain

Today is Easter Sunday. This means the end of another Holy Week in Spain. It is a very peculiar religious festival which is celebrated specially in southern Spain. But what do tourists visiting Spain these days think about it? Do they like it? What was their first impression? What all of them have in common?  Read the article following the link below and summarise it. Please leave your answers in a comment!
Holy Week in Spain

Good Manners

Being polite is very important for British and American people. It is a question of both what you say and what you do and it is specially so if you are in a business environment or in a formal situation. Click on the video below and then leave the answers to the questions in your comments!

1.  What do you say if you step on someone's foot?
2. How do you greet someone?
3. How can you cover your mouth?
4. Is it polite to seat next to other people? How do you measure your comfort zone?
5. What is rule number 13? Why is it important?

Reported Speech

Reported or Indirect Speech is very common in any language. We use it whenever we reproduce a conversation that happened in the past. There are usually changes in the verb tenses, personal pronouns and adjectives and in some time/ place expressions. Click on the following links and do the exercises. Don't forget to leave the results in your comments!

Reported Speech Videos
Reporting Statements
Reporting Questions

NBA All-Star 2015

The 2015 NBA All- Star game will be remembered by basketball fans as the first time that two brothers made the opening jump. They happen to be Pau and Marc Gasol and they have enjoyed the experience a lot.
 Click on the link below and find the information to answer these questions.
NBA All-Star 2015

1.  Where did the game take place?
2.  How old are Pau and Marc Gasol? Who is the tallest brother?
3.  How many All- Star games have they played?
4.  Do they play other sports? Which ones?
5.  Why is the hotel important for Pau Gasol?

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year 2015  will begin on 19th February. It is the most important festival for Chinese people, however, we don't know much about it. In this post I invite you click on the link below  and leave the answers to the questions in your comments.

Chinese New Year

Questions:
1.  Which are the twelve animal signs in the Chinese calendar?
2.  What food is eaten during the New Year's Eve Dinner?
3.  Explain three superstitions Chinese people follow during this festival.
4.  What colours bring good and bad luck according to Chinese tradition?
5.  What presents are the most popular?

The year I was born

2015 started a few weeks ago. We don't know yet who will become famous this year, what will happen in the world or in your country. However, you can look for information about the year you were born in. I'll give you some ideas about what may be interesting.

1. Famous people who were born the same year as you.

2. Famous people who died that year.

3. Favourite books, films, TV shows that year.

4. Important news from that year.

5. Something curious that happened that year.

I hope you like the exercise and leave your answers in a comment as usual!

Numbers

This post makes number 100 in this blog, so I thought it would be a good idea to revise and practise how to say numbers, times and dates in English. To begin with, I suggest you to watch the two videos below to revise pronunciation and spelling. Then, you have to click on the exercises and try yourself. These exercises are for intermediate level and they are quite complete. Take your time! I hope you get good results and leave them in your comments as usual!

These are the exercises:
Numbers, time and dates
Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers

The Simpsons

The Simpsons are 25 years old. It is the most watched cartoon series worldwide and it is said that you are not really famous until you appear in one of the episodes. Matt Groening, its creator, made them yellow in order to attract people's attention and he included his initials M and G in Homer's hair and ear.
 Are you a fan? Which one is your favourite character? Why? In your opinion, which is the best episode so far? Why do you think both children and adults like them? Leave your answers in a comment as usual.                                                                                     Happy 25th Anniversary !

Christmas Films

It will be Christmas time again in ten days. Apart from decorations, presents and family dinners, there are many other traditions shown on famous films every year. There are classical films like " A Christmas Carol" based on a story by Charles Dickens ; comedy films like " Home alone" ; cartoon films like " Nightmare before Christmas" or romantic films like " New Year's Eve". Have you seen any of them? What do you like about them? Do you hate them? Explain why? Do you prefer other Christmas films? What are they about?Leave your answers in your comments as usual. Merry Christmas to you all!

Picture Description

Describing a picture is a common exercise when learning any language. In order to get some practice,  I'm going to ask you to choose your favourite picture and try to describe it for at least five minutes. Here are some questions that may help you.

1. Who appears in the picture? Friends or family? Names, Age, Jobs?
2. Where were you? Is it a special place? Why? Were you on holidays? Was it a party?
3. When was it taken? Who took the picture? What was the weather like?
4. Can you describe your/ their clothes and hair? Any other interesting details?
5. Why have you chosen it? Why is this picture special for you?

False Friends

When learning English, false friends can be very tricky. It is very easy to make mistakes if you don't know them, therefore it is a good idea to check or revise the most common ones. Click on the links below to find a very complete list and some exercises. Leave your results in a comment as usual! Beware of False Friends!
False Friends : List
False Friends: Exercise 

Speaking: Telephoning

In my opinion, talking on the phone in English is not as easy as it may seem, you need to know the most common ways to start, maintain and finish a phone conversation. Of course, it will be different if you are talking to your boss, a client or to a friend. Luckily enough, there are some expressions that you can learn if you practice them. If you click on the link below you will find a lot of phrases according to different situations, have a look at them and then write two dialogues in your comment: One of them, making plans for the weekend with a friend and, the other one, phoning to book a room in a hotel. Bye for now!

Telephone English

TV shows

Do you like watching TV series? Are British or American TV shows popular in  your country at the moment? Have you ever tried watching them in their original version? Was it easy or difficult? Obviously, it will depend on the TV show of your choice, but a good start will be choosing what is called a sit-com,  that is a situation comedy. My favourite is the one in the picture: a group of six friends sharing flats in New York City. And yours? Which one would you choose? Leave me your opinion and the plot of your favourite TV show in a comment.

Guy Fawkes and other festivals

Tomorrow is an important day in Great Britain. People celebrate Guy Fawkes' Night on the 5th of November. If you want to learn more about this and other important festivals, click on the video below. And in your country, which one is your favourite festival? Are there any British festivals that you also celebrate? Are there many differences? Leave your answers to these questions in a comment.

Batman

Do you like reading comics? Is Batman your favourite comic hero? If so, follow the link below to read one of the Batman's comics online. You may want to download it or any of the other comics you will find under it. Anyway, you will improve your English and have fun at the same time. Enjoy your reading!

Batman Comic

Writing: Expressing your opinion

From time to time, students are asked by teachers to write a composition. A very common type is an opinion essay. It may seem a bit difficult but if you get some practice you'll be able to write about any topic. Remember to include the following items:

1. Introduction.
2. Advantages.
3. Disadvantages.
4. Your own opinion.
5. Conclusion.

To start with, I suggest you to write about one of these topics. Leave a short composition in your comments.
Topic 1 : Should students wear uniforms at school? Are you for or against uniforms at school?
Topic 2 : Is it fair that footballers earn more money than firefighters? What's your opinion?
Topic 3 : Should children under 12 have a mobile phone? Advantages and disadvantages.