Interesting Sites For Improving Your English – EuroNews Lessons With Tell Me More

EuroNews and France 5 propose a weekly online lesson you can access. You’ll watch a short news video followed by comprehension questions and exercises. Five languages are offered: English, Spanish, German, French and Italian. Access the site by clicking on the image below.

Internet Sites For Improving Your English : Living English (Australia Network)

A few days ago I posted a link to the Australia Network’s page for learning English.

They have an entire online video course for elementary learners entitled Living English that is free!!!

I just took a look and it is very well done. Just click on the image or link above to access the site.

Interesting Sites For Improving Your English : Australia Network

Australia Network is an international television and radio network which is raising awareness about Australia.

They also have a whole site dedicated to learning English with video podcasts and learning programs you can subscribe to. To visit the “Learning English” page, go to : http://australianetwork.com/learningenglish/

Vocabulary In The News : Arctic Blast Freezes Northern Hemisphere

From this video you’ll get some excellent vocabulary for talking about winter weather.

For the full transcript, go to: http://www.newsy.com/videos/arctic_blast_freezes_northern_hemisphere

Vocabulary

an arctic blast	-	un coup de froid arctique
to make headlines	-	faire les gros titres, faire la une
to blanket (snow, etc.)	-	recouvrir
to bring to a standstill	-	paralyser
a cold snap	-	un coup de froid
a deep freeze	-	une gelée rigoureuse
to jeopardize	-	menacer
the citrus industry	-	l’industrie des agrumes
the wind chill	-	le refroidissement éolien, le facteur vent
to be off the charts	-	dépasser les limites
a cold streak	-	une vague de froid
to set in	-	s’installer
to linger on	-	persister
a heavy snow	-	une neige abondante
a forecaster	-	un météorologue, un météorologiste
stranded	-	bloqué, isolé
to huddle together	-	se serrer les uns contre les autres
a snow drift	-	une congère
a blast of winter	-	un coup d’hiver
to make too much of something	-	attacher trop d’importance à quelque chose
a big deal	-	un grand-chose

Vocabulary In the News Video : CDC announces H1N1 poses no major side effects

I’m experimenting with a new program for the Vocabulary In the News and perhaps for other postings as well. This is a work in progress but I would appreciate feedback from my students.

CDC announces H1N1 poses no major side effects
envoyé par josephboen. - L'actualité du moment en vidéo.

Video Lesson : English Vocabulary for IT & Computing - Web 2.0

Internet Sites For Improving Your English – English Central

I’ve discovered a new site where you can improve not only your listening skills but also your pronunciation skills!! English Central (Beta version) is absolutely free!!!

You can listen to a video where you will see subtitles of the speech. You can click on each word to hear how it's pronounced and then you can record your voice saying the same line.  The voice recognition program will grade your speech and tell you where you need to improve. Check it out by watching the demo first!! You only need a microphone!

Various topics are available such as business, daily life, movies & TV, sports, travel, etc..

http://www.englishcentral.com/en/home

Culture Spot : SAT Reasoning Test (America’s equivalent of the Baccalaureate)

In this video, you’ll hear about America’s equivalent of the Baccalaureate exam. Like the Baccalaureate, the SAT exam is a requirement for entry to college or university, however it isn’t a requirement to successfully complete high school. You can obtain your high school diploma with taking the SAT. Even though on a national level all American universities and colleges require a SAT exam for entry into their institution, the test isn’t administered by either the federal or state governments.

The video studies how the latest SAT results seem to vary according to social status and race in the United States.

From September 2, 2009 - SAT results from the class of 2009 show several interesting changes in the U.S. educational landscape.

a gap	-	un écart
to narrow	-	réduire
insight	-	un aperçu
a press release	-	un communiqué de presse
to lag behind	-	être à la traîne
an achievement	-	une réussite
lower performing	-	moins performant, de faible perfomance
to point out	-	montrer, signaler
online tutoring	-	le tutorat virtuel
unfair	-	injuste
income	-	le revenu
score	-	une note, un résultat
to take something a step further	-	aller plus loin
likelihood	-	la probabilité, les chances
curriculum	-	le programme
pattern	-	un modèle
the playing field	-	le terrain de jeu (les circonstances)
an op-ed (abbreviation for opposite the editorial page)	-	une contribution, une tribune libre, une opinion
the (learning) curve	-	la courbe d’apprentissage
the issue	-	le problème, la question
a dropout	-	un lycéen qui abandonne ses études

The SAT Reasoning Test (formerly Scholastic Aptitude Test and Scholastic Assessment Test) is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a non-profit organization in the United States, and was once developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). ETS now administers the exam. The College Board claims that the SAT can determine whether or not a person is ready for college. The current SAT Reasoning Test takes three hours and forty-five minutes and costs $45 ($71 International), excluding late fees. Since the SAT's introduction in 1901, its name and scoring has changed several times. In 2005, the test was renamed to the "SAT Reasoning Test" with possible scores from 600 to 2400 combining test results from three 800-point sections (math, critical reading, and writing), along with other subsections scored separately. (taken from Wikipedia)

Visit the College Board’s official webpage for the SATs : http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/about/SATI.html

Could you pass the SAT, try out a daily question : http://apps.collegeboard.com/qotd/question.do

Learn more about the SAT at : http://www.howstuffworks.com/sat.htm

Internet Sites For Improving Your English : CNN Student News

Brought to you by CNN International, these daily, approximately 10-minute long videos have almost everything you need to improve your listening skills. Accompanying the news video, you have access to the full transcript which you can used to improve your vocabulary.

To check it out, go to: http://edition.cnn.com/studentnews/

Culture Spot: On This Day . . . 24 July - Loony Tunes character Marvin the Martian makes his debut

On this day in 1948, Marvin the Martian made his first appearance in Haredevil Hare, a cartoon with Bugs Bunny. Even though Marvin the Martian only appeared in five original cartoon shorts, he attracted a cult following and quickly became one of Loony Tune’s favorite characters. The likeness of Marvin the Martian even appears on two rovers sent to Mars – Spirit and Opportunity.

Chuck Jones created this character as an opposite personality to Yosemite Sam who Bugs Bunny was always able to outwit. Unlike Yosemite Sam, Marvin was soft-spoken and who had plans, that if carried out, would be very destructive. His look, which reminds us of a Roman soldier’s uniform, was fashioned after Mars, the Roman god of war. He was sometimes accompanied by his sidekick and pet dog, K-9 (a character designed after Disney’s Pluto). The name, Marvin the Martian, didn’t come about until many years later for the purposes of marketing Loony Tunes merchandise such as t-shirts, mugs, toys, etc.. In the original cartoons, he was never given a name though in the 1952 cartoon The Hasty Hare in which he was simply called Commander, Flying Saucer X-2.

‘Haredevil’ is a play on words for ‘daredevil.’ A hare is a type of rabbit. You can watch the cartoon at the end of this post! Here is the summary of the cartoon taken from Wikipedia:

Chosen to be the first rabbit shot into space, Bugs is literally dragged to the launching pad -- protesting in a panic "I got a wife and kids! Millions of kids!" -- but when the rocket is loaded with carrots, he becomes more cooperative. When he lands on the moon he finds an unnamed Martian (later known as Marvin) set to blow up planet Earth. Bugs luckily defeats the Martian but has a bit of a problem afterwards when he is unable to leave the moon, having blown it up and reduced it to a crescent (from which he, the Martian and the dog precariously hang) to thwart the Martian. When the technicians contact him, asking for a statement to the press, he says the last line ever spoken in a "pre-August 1948" cartoon: GET ME OUT OF HERE!

 

This is the mission patch created for Mars Exploration Rover!

References:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_the_Martian & http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haredevil_Hare

Visit an online Marvin the Martian fan site!!

Unofficial Marvin the Martian Homepage

 

 

CBS news anchor Walter Cronkite’s live coverage of Apollo 11 Moon landing – 21 July 1969

Here is actual "as-it-happened" footage from CBS, with Walter Cronkite reporting on the historic moon landing of Apollo 11 in July, 1969. And you'll see the first electronic "character generators" in action, they were developed about this time. Video is divided into 8 parts.

 

 

American Legend and Journalist, Walter Cronkite Dead at 92.

Legendary news anchor Walter Cronkite has passed away in New York at the age of 92. His journalistic career covered such historic events as the coronation of Queen Elizabeth, the assassination of JFK and the first man on the moon.

Mr. Cronkite was the most familiar voice in American homes until his retirement and he was considered, in the absence of today’s accessibility to modern media, as the most trusted and most credible man in America, surpassing even the President of the United States. His credibility was so well founded that when Cronkite reported on television that the US should negotiate an honorable retreat from Vietnam, President Lyndon B. Johnson was reported to have said, “If I’ve lost Walter Cronkite, I’ve lost America.”

America has lost one of her greatest all-time legends and Walter Cronkite will be greatly missed by Americans.

Watch CBS Videos Online

For full coverage (more vides and articles) of the passing of this iconic legend, go to: http://www.cbsnews.com/2718-201_162-169.html?tag=wc5170638

Read his biography at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Cronkite

NOTE: On July 21st, I will post the video coverage of Walter Cronkite’s CBS broadcast of man’s first landing on the moon!

Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr.

(November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009)

Culture Spot: On This Day …. 15 July 1979 – President Jimmy Carter’s “Crisis of Confidence” Speech

Exactly thirty years ago, President Jimmy Carter gave his famous "Crisis of Confidence” speech, also know as the “Malaise” speech. At that time, the United States was also going through a major economic crisis which would also lead to Carter’s defeat for reelection to Ronald Reagan in 1980. Here in a short excerpt from that speech.

To read the entire speech, go to: http://www.usa-presidents.info/speeches/malaise.html

Video of the Moment: The Bare Essentials of Safety from Air New Zealand.

Air New Zealand staff bare all to get flyers' attention

In this new funny video that is actually being used on board the airline fleet of Air New Zealand, they are taking a new approach to get passengers to pay attention to the safety instructions. You’ll also get to enjoy a New Zealander accent or as it is locally known, a kiwi accent.

VOCABULARY

to bare all	to show yourself naked
to wing one’s way	to go or be sent quickly from one place to another We’ll be winging our way to our next port of call.
port of call	(informal) one of the places you visit on a trip
to lift off	(phrasal verb) when an aircraft or space vehicle lifts off, it goes up from the ground into the air But before we lift off, we’d like to give you what we call ‘the bare essentials’ of safety aboard this flight.
the bare essentials	what is basic and absolutely necessary for something. This is also a play on words with ‘bare’ which also has the meaning of being naked.
to tuck away	(phrasal verb) to store something in a safe place All baggage should be tucked away overhead.
to require	to impose an obligation We require all passengers to follow crew member instructions and lighted signs.
to happen to do something	to do something by chance If we happen to switch on the seat belt sign, please return to your seat and fasten your seatbelt.
to fasten	to close something such as a piece of clothing or a bag using the buttons, zipper, clip, etc. on it
snug	fitting closely to your body, or fitting closely into a space Not so tight as to lose the feeling in your legs, but enough to ensure that it’s snug and fits low across your hips.
to tighten	to pull something such as a rope or a belt until it is straighter or until it fits more tightly around something Tighten by pulling on both sides of the elastic.
to inflate	to fill something with air or gas so that it becomes the right shape and size for using Don’t worry if the bag doesn’t inflate, oxygen will flow through it automatically.
to brace oneself	to push your body, or a part of it, against something solid and strong in order to support yourself or to avoid falling If an emergency were to happen during takeoff or landing, brace yourself either on the seat in front of you or…
coincidentally	used for saying that something happens by chance Coincidentally, this is the perfect place to find your life jacket.
to be on hand	to be present or available to do something And we will be on hand to provide life jackets to babies, if needed.
to be plum out of something	(idiomatic) to not have something at all If you find yourself wanting to smoke while on board; sorry, but you’re plum out of luck. - Note: plum is used as an intensifier. So, if you want to say that you’re very tired, you might say, “I’m plum tired.”
to pop back	to clip or snap back into place During takeoff and landing, we’d ask that you’d pop your tray table back
upright	straight and tall Make sure your seat is upright.

Video Lesson: NASA prepares to send mankind back to the moon

http://www.france24.com/en/20090618-nasa-probes-atlas-send-mankind-back-moon-space

 

Watch the video and answer the following comprehension questions. When finished read and exam the article at the above link to find your answers.

1. How far is the journey of the Atlas rocket to the moon and how long will it take to get there?
2. What is the first reconnaissance probe designed to do?
3. When would NASA like to set up a lunar base and why?
4. On what does the goal of setting up a lunar base depend?
5. What kind mission is the second probe on?
6. What will the first floor of the rocket do first before the second probe starts carrying out its mission?
7. What is the mission of the second probe?
8. What is unique about this new mission to the moon?

Culture Spot: Texas Poet Laureate Celebrates Southern Style (VOA News)

http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-06-20-voa13.cfm?rss=topstories

The state of Texas boasts a long line of famous story tellers and poets. The state has also inspired poetry. Each year, the legislature selects a resident bard to serve as Texas Poet Laureate. This year, the honor went to a son of the deep South who came to Texas more than 30 years ago and feels right at home. His name is Paul Ruffin.

FreeVideoCoding.com

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:

Paul Ruffin may not fit the image many people have of a poet. He's a proud member of the National Rifle Association and he fits right in here in the woods of eastern Texas.

When he is not writing or teaching classes at nearby Sam Houston State University, Ruffin does chores around his home. He prefers a rural life style over city life.

I wanted more land and I wanted out of the city. I am out in the county now where I can be a little more relaxed, I can shoot guns in the back yard if I want to," he said.

Ruffin has a collection of guns that he uses for sport shooting, a popular pastime in rural America.

One of his ancestors fired the first cannon at Fort Sumter in 1861, starting the Civil War. Ruffin says such men and their deeds inspired the first recitations of verse.

"Poetry began in the oral tradition," he explained. "You would have these warriors or hunters come in from a hunt or battle and they would re-enact the hunt or battle and do it in poetic form."

Ruffin grew up around rough rural people often called "rednecks."

He discovered he had a knack for writing poetry as a child. At university, he studied literature. "I know that there are people who, upon encountering me out somewhere, would consider me a redneck - and I can talk the language too - but I am equally capable of sitting down with the most educated people and carrying on a conversation."

Ruffin uses the culture and language of rural southerners to enrich his poems and stories.

"I love writing in the Southern idiom. I love Redneckese, quite frankly," he noted.

Now that he is the Texas Poet Laureate, Ruffin has more opportunities to share his stories with audiences.

Ruffin has published 800 poems, two novels and several collections of essays and short stories.

And he's working on a new book of poems, to be published next year.

Paul Ruffin’s page at Mississippi State University

Paul Ruffin at Amazon.com

Video Lesson / Humor Spot: Looking Cool Driving a Minivan

The Guy's Manual – A very funny video that contains some great idiomatic expressions. Other great funny videos can be found at the before mentioned link.

I recommend that you go through the vocabulary and expressions first before watching the video. If you enjoyed this video and/or you have questions, don’t hesitate to leave a comment at the end of the post.

1. a ride – This term is used for your vehicle or other mode of transportation. For example if you just bought the fastest and coolest sports car, you might ask your friends, “What do you think of my new ride?”

2. to have an edge – This expression is used to say that something has a strange quality that makes it interesting. Imagine a new cd comes out by your favorite singer and you find there is something about that is better than his previous cd, you might say, “There is an edge to this album that wasn’t there in the last one.”

In the video, the presenter states that the ride has all the edge of cottage cheese. In other words, there’s nothing esthetically interesting about a minivan! You can replace ‘cottage cheese’ with any other word or expression you like. For example, I might say just for fun, “That TV film had all the edge of watching paint dry.” In other words, it was uninteresting and boring.

3. the fast lane – If you live or travel in the fast lane, you have a wealthy, stylish and fast lifestyle. This would be like the fast and furious lifestyle of a Hollywood star always on the go, always going to parties and always travelling. The term comes from the lane of traffic on a highway used for those cars driving at higher speeds and need to go around slower moving traffic.

4. a nugget – You’ll recognize the term from McDonalds. A nugget also means a small piece of information or advice that can be useful, helpful or important. In the video you heard the presenter say “a nugget of wisdom.” You can also say a “a nugget of advice,” “a nugget of truth,” etc..

5. to hang in (on) there – This informal expression is used to express endurance, to continue doing something with determination in spite of difficulty or obstacles.

6. to mean business – This is an excellent and very common, informal expression to use when you seriously intend to do what you say you will do. You say this when you are very serious about something. “I don’t think he was joking this time, I think he really meant business when he said he’ll quit if doesn’t get a raise.”

7. tasteful – Showing good judgment about what is attractive or suitable

8. dashboard – This is the part of the car where you find your speedometer and other instruments such as your radio, CD player and cigarette lighter.

9. street cred – This is an urban slang expression indicating that you have respect on the streets, you know your environment and that you are just very cool! Cred is short for credibility.

10. a tip – A useful suggestion.

11. in-van entertainment – Here the presenter is referring to the music and nowadays the DVD players that can be found in our vehicles!

12. to go a long way towards doing something – If you say something goes a long way towards doing something, you want to say that it helps to achieve something. In the video, the DVD players go a long way to keeping the children quiet in the back of the van.

13. to richly deserve – This is a great expression to mean completely. “He gave them the credit that they so richly deserved.”

14. carpool lane – In many large cities throughout the United States you have a special lane reserved on the highway uniquely for those who carpool. To carpool is when two or more people, usually work colleagues, get together and use the same car to get to work. In some cities, such as Atlanta, the carpool lane is also known as the HOV lane (or high occupancy vehicle lane). If you are caught in this lane and you are alone in your car, you will be ticketed by the police. The act of sharing a car is called carpooling and those who practice this are simply called carpoolers.

15. (just) the tip of the iceberg – This wonderful expression is used to say a small or minor problem could in fact be the result of a more serious or deeper problem which we don’t see or of which we are not aware. Now, in the context of the video, the presenter used it to say that he knows a lot of things but the tips and advice he gave about looking cool in a minivan are just a small part of his knowledge. He knows a lot more about a lot of other things, however his iceberg is melting he jokes!

English/Scottish Folk Song: The Water is Wide

"The Water Is Wide" (also called "O Waly, Waly") is thought to be an English or Scottish folk song that has been sung since the 1600s and has seen considerable popularity through to the 21st century. (Wikipedia)

This is probably one of the prettiest folk songs that exists. Here it is sung by a world famous New Zealander Hayley Westenra. In 2006, she joined Celtic Woman.

The water is wide, I cannot get over And neither have I wings to fly Give me a boat that will carry two And both shall row, my love and I

Where love is planted O there it grows It grows and blossoms like a rose It has a sweet and pleasant smell No flower on Earth can it excel

The ship there is and she sails the sea She's loaded deep as deep can be But not so deep as the love I'm in I know not if I sink or swim

Oh love is gentle, love is kind The sweetest flower when first it's new But love grows old and waxes cold And fades away like morning dew

Video of the Moment: Arches National Park, Utah – Delicate Arch

Video of the Moment: Bumpass Hell at Lassen National Park, California