Listen 2 English: my new webpage for you to practise your listening

Hello all,

I've been taking several online courses in Madrid lately and now that I'm about to finish them (at last!), I want to share with you the result of my hard work. 

What I did was create a webpage for you to practise your listening autonomously according to the levels in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2). I have uploaded some self-correctable exercises and I will be uploading more as soon as I get more time.

The page is divided into six different sub-pages: "Inicio", where you have the address to my blogs, and some webpages for you to keep improving your English, and the levels of the Common European Framework of References, with exercises so that you can test your English listening skill. I have included videos of different topics, including songs, and excerpts from various TV series and even movies. 

Have a look at it and tell me what you think.

I'll add it to the list of interesting webpages on this blog (on the right-hand sind, at the bottom). Please, click on the link and give me your real opinion about this webpage. 

LISTEN 2 ENGLISH (by Miguel Ángel Herrero Álvarez).

Next week, I will be showing some other contents that I've been creating recently.

See you around. 

Ted talk: if you want to have it, live it

Fill in the gaps with a maximum of five words:

1. She was so poor that she wore dresses made of ______________________.

2. At 14, she was _______________ by some men.

3. Today when Oprah speaks the world _____________________________.

4. She had to pay €20,000 for __________________________.

5. She got the last €10,000 because ______________________ sponsored her.

6. Oprah spent her days _____________________________.

7. The person looking for the girl of his dreams was at that point _____________ in a job he hated.

8. After a year and a half he ______________________ to quit the job.

9. She enjoyed watching herself become faster, ___________ and _____________.

10. The future ‘you’ has ______________________ you have yet to develop.

The best composition of the month: Virgina Gusano's essay on Spanish national healthcare

Well, our academic year is coming to an end and I'm trying to hurry so that you're fully prepared for the upcoming exam in May. Now that I'm going over your essays, I thought it would be a good idea to show you a very good essay that one of your classmates wrote, no other than Virgina Gusano's essay. Please, read it and have a look at the highlighted expressions:

Is Spanish national healthcare as good as it looks like?

               It is undeniable that healthcare assistance must be a fundamental human right, regardless of people's economic status. Spanish state healthcare system is financed by taxes and it is universal, that is to say, it serves the entire population, but, is it such a good system?

               First and foremost, Spain has many qualifies professionals in medicine, as well as a lot of renowned hospitals. Some examples of leading hospitals being well regarded both nationally and internationally include La Paz hospital (excelling in maternity and transplants), Gregorio Marañón's (outstanding in oncology) and Saint Joan de Deu's (specialized in pediatrics). What is more, our country is the world's leader in donations and transplants. In fact, in 2017, more than 5,000 procedures were carried out. Another point in favour of the Spanish system is that Spain is fully aware of research to discover new treatments for many other deadly diseases. In addition, the latest technological breakthroughs are successfully being applied, resulting in a high quality service. 

        

                However, one of the main drawbacks of Spanish national healthcare is the long waiting lists. If you make an appointment with the doctor, you are likely to wait for several months for the consultation to take place. This is a real problem, especially if is a life-or-death issue. Therefore, some people end up resorting to private health insurance. Anoher drawback is that hospitals are overcrowded given that there are not enough resources for all the patients. 

                 On the whole, although our national healthcare has some downsides, in my view, it is a high-quality system. Its shortcomings could be improved if the state invested more money in healthcare. Nevertheless, this might be more complex than one can imagine. 

Cleft sentences exercises. Use a cleft sentence to correct and emphasize the following sentences

a) The most important thing in life is money

b) The best thing after waking up is to use the Internet. 

c) In Spain, the most important person is the king. 

d) To live longer, you must study hard. 

e) When you are depressed, you need to read a book. 

f) The most serious downsides in the Spanish educational system are the teachers. 

g) The main cause of death today is the flu. 

h) The most faithful animal is the gorilla. 

i) The best football team in the whole world is Recreativo de Huelva.

The Real Hustle and some incredible scams

Dear students,
Now that we are seeing crimes in class, I thought it would be a good idea to watch these videos about The Real Hustle. It's a programme where thieves show how they trick people to get their money while they are filmed by some hidden cameras. Here you have three short videos about the programme : the laptop scam, the speeding fine scam and the credit card switch. 

Watch the videos and answer the questions : 

1) Where does the scam take place ?

2) How many people are involved in the scam ?

3) What crime is committed ?

4) Can you explain the scam with your own words ?

5) What do the thieves get ? 

Did you enjoy the video ? Why don't you watch the rest of the videos and post a comment ?

Stupid laws

April Fools' Day: true or false?

From the book : All About Britain

"April Fools ! " Should you hear these words, it means two things : 1) it is April, 1st; 2) someone has just pulled a prank on you ! Why ? It's April Fools' Day. On this day, people pull pranks and spread rumours and hoaxes. The media also invent some fake -flabbergasting - news and some people usually fall for them or buy them ! Yeah ! This is similar to Spain's Innocents' Day (28th December). This day goes back to the year 1957, where the BBC broadcast people picking spaghetti from plants. The audience thought it all was true and phoned the station to buy these plants ! Here you can watch it in the video : 

1. Now I will propose you a little game. I will enumerate five 'news items' and you will have to decide which one of them is TRUE ! Four of them will be hoaxes. Ready ?

a)  UFO lands in London

From : http://hoaxes.org/af_database/permalink/ufo_lands_near_london

b) Queen Elizabeth sent her first email in 1976

From : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-34185586

c) A new race of penguins that can fly have been discovered 

d) Big Ben will go digital in 2020

From : https://currentopinionsofnews.wordpress.com/2014/02/16/big-ben-to-go-digital/

e) Mummified fairy discovered ! 

From : https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lebanoncircle/the-derbyshire-mummified-fairy-ooak-kit-and-dvd-wo

Answers: Only one of the news is true. Which one ? Well, letter b, indeed, surprising though it may sound ! If you want to see some of the most famous hoaxes of all time, click on this link.

2. Now let's learn some vocabulary for this day, related to tricks :

- Tell jokes / crack jokes = 'contar chistes'

- Trick someone / deceive someone / fool someone = engañar a alguien

- Play tricks on someone / pull pranks on someone = gastarle bromas a alguien

- Fall into a trap = 'caer en la trampa'

- Take the bait = 'picar el anzuelo'

- I don't buy it / I haven't fallen for it = 'no me lo trago' / 'no me lo creo'.

- He is a prankster / joker / jester / quipster = 'Él es un bromista.'

- April Fools ! = '¡ Inocente !' 

- April Fool pranks = 'inocentadas.'

- Spread a hoax = 'extender un rumor.'

3. To finish with, if you are much of a prankster, here you have a compilation of some interesting pranks of April Fool's Day. 

4. This video will prompt you to pull pranks on others. I hope you never put these "inspiring" ideas into practice.

I hope you have learnt a lot about April Fools' Day. Which is your favourite prank ? Post it on a comment !