You can read a full transcript of the programme here or activate the CC subtitles on the lower side of the screen.
domingo, 21 de abril de 2013
Extensive listening: China's real estate bubble
On our regular Sunday feature of extensive listening we are showing the CBS segment for the programme 60 minutes China's real estate bubble, aired in early March, where reporter Lesley Stahl informs about how China's economy, despite having become the second largest in the world, may have created the largest housing bubble in history due to its rapid growth
sábado, 20 de abril de 2013
The history of English Language
This is a wonderful infographic about the history of the English language provided by of Brighton School of Business and Management. You may read it more comfortably on VisualLoop.
For a collection of videos from the Open University about the history of the English language click here or on the tag "History of English" on the right.
For a collection of videos from the Open University about the history of the English language click here or on the tag "History of English" on the right.
‘The History of the English Language’ courtesy of Brighton School of Business and Management.
viernes, 19 de abril de 2013
What most schools don't teach
This video clip, released by CodeOrg, presents coding (associated with computer programming, coding is the process of assigning a code to something to classify or identify it) as the new "superpower" in today's world, something that isn't being taught in most schools round the world.
Watch Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, will.i.am, Chris Bosh, Jack Dorsey, Tony Hsieh, Drew Houston, Gabe Newell, Ruchi Sanghvi, Elena Silenok, Vanessa Hurst, and Hadi Partovi describe the way they first learnt how to code and how important coding is for today's world and will be for tomorrow's world.
If you want to learn, teach or simply find out a bit more about the code campaign, drop by CodeOrg.
Self-study activity:
No task today. Simply enjoy the sheer pleasure of watching and listening to some of the most outstanding pioneers of today's world and listen to their advice.
You can find the transcript below. Remember you can double click on any word you don't understand to get its definition.
I was 13 when I first got access to a computer.
My parents bought me a Macintosh in 1984 when I was eight years old.
I was in the sixth grade.
I learnt to code in college.
Freshman year, first semester, intro to computer science.
I wrote a program to play tick-tack-toe.
I think it was pretty humble beginnings, I think the first program I wrote asked things like what’s your favorite color, or how old are you?
I first learnt how to make a green circle, and a red square appear on the screen.
The first time I actually had something come up and say, hello world, and it – I made a computer do that, it was just astonishing.
Learning how to program didn’t start off as wanting to learn all of computer science or trying to master this discipline or anything like that. It just started off because I wanted to do this one simple thing, I wanted to make something that was fun for myself and my sisters. And I wrote this little program and then basically just added a little bit to it. And then, when I needed to learn something new, I looked it up, either in a book or in the internet, and then added a little bit to it.
It’s really not unlike kind of playing an instrument or something or playing a sport. It starts out being very intimidating, but you kind of get the hang of it over time.
Coding is something that can be learned, and I know it can be intimidating, a lot of things are intimidating, but you know what isn’t?
A lot of the coding that people do is actually fairly simple. It’s more about the process of breaking down problems than you know sort of coming up with complicated algorithms as people traditionally think about it.
You don’t have to be a genius to know how to code, you need to be determined.
Addition, subtraction, that’s about it.
Should probably know your multiplication tables.
You don’t have to be a genius to code, do you have to be a genius to read?
Even if you want to become a race car driver or play baseball or you know build a house, all of these things have been turned upside down by software.
But it is this, you know computers are everywhere. Do you want to work in agriculture? Do you want to work in entertainment? Do you want to work in manufacturing, you know it’s just all over it.
Here we are 2013. We all depend on technology to communicate, to bank, information, and none of us know how to read and write code.
When I was in school, I was in this afterschool group called the Wizkids and when people found out, they laughed at me, you know all these things and I am like, man, I don’t care, I think it’s cool and you know I am learning a lot, and some of my friends have jobs.
Our policy is literally to hire as many talented engineers as we can find. The whole limit in the system is just that there aren’t enough people who are trained and have these skills today.
To get the very best people we try to make the office as awesome as possible.
We have a fantastic chef.
Free food.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Free laundry.
Snacks.
Even places to play and videogames and scooters, there is all these kind of interesting things, around the office, places where people can play or relax or go to think or play music or be creative.
Whether you are trying to make a lot of money, or whether you just want to change the world, computer programming is an incredibly empowering skill to learn.
I think if someone had told me that software is really about humanity, that it’s really about helping people by using computer technology, it would have changed my outlook a lot earlier.
To be able to actually come up with an idea and then see it in your hands and then be able to press a button and have it be in millions of people’s hands, I mean, I think we are the first generation of the world that’s really ever had that kind of experience.
Just to think that, I mean, you can start something in your college dorm room and you can have a set of people who haven’t built a big company before, come together and build something that a billion people use, is part of their daily lives, it’s just crazy to think about it, right? It’s really humbling and that’s amazing.
The programmers of tomorrow are the wizards of the future. You know you are going to look you have magic powers compared to everybody else.
I think it’s amazing, I think it’s the closest thing we have to superpower.
Great coders are today’s rockstars. That’s it.
Watch Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, will.i.am, Chris Bosh, Jack Dorsey, Tony Hsieh, Drew Houston, Gabe Newell, Ruchi Sanghvi, Elena Silenok, Vanessa Hurst, and Hadi Partovi describe the way they first learnt how to code and how important coding is for today's world and will be for tomorrow's world.
If you want to learn, teach or simply find out a bit more about the code campaign, drop by CodeOrg.
Self-study activity:
No task today. Simply enjoy the sheer pleasure of watching and listening to some of the most outstanding pioneers of today's world and listen to their advice.
You can find the transcript below. Remember you can double click on any word you don't understand to get its definition.
I was 13 when I first got access to a computer.
My parents bought me a Macintosh in 1984 when I was eight years old.
I was in the sixth grade.
I learnt to code in college.
Freshman year, first semester, intro to computer science.
I wrote a program to play tick-tack-toe.
I think it was pretty humble beginnings, I think the first program I wrote asked things like what’s your favorite color, or how old are you?
I first learnt how to make a green circle, and a red square appear on the screen.
The first time I actually had something come up and say, hello world, and it – I made a computer do that, it was just astonishing.
Learning how to program didn’t start off as wanting to learn all of computer science or trying to master this discipline or anything like that. It just started off because I wanted to do this one simple thing, I wanted to make something that was fun for myself and my sisters. And I wrote this little program and then basically just added a little bit to it. And then, when I needed to learn something new, I looked it up, either in a book or in the internet, and then added a little bit to it.
It’s really not unlike kind of playing an instrument or something or playing a sport. It starts out being very intimidating, but you kind of get the hang of it over time.
Coding is something that can be learned, and I know it can be intimidating, a lot of things are intimidating, but you know what isn’t?
A lot of the coding that people do is actually fairly simple. It’s more about the process of breaking down problems than you know sort of coming up with complicated algorithms as people traditionally think about it.
You don’t have to be a genius to know how to code, you need to be determined.
Addition, subtraction, that’s about it.
Should probably know your multiplication tables.
You don’t have to be a genius to code, do you have to be a genius to read?
Even if you want to become a race car driver or play baseball or you know build a house, all of these things have been turned upside down by software.
But it is this, you know computers are everywhere. Do you want to work in agriculture? Do you want to work in entertainment? Do you want to work in manufacturing, you know it’s just all over it.
Here we are 2013. We all depend on technology to communicate, to bank, information, and none of us know how to read and write code.
When I was in school, I was in this afterschool group called the Wizkids and when people found out, they laughed at me, you know all these things and I am like, man, I don’t care, I think it’s cool and you know I am learning a lot, and some of my friends have jobs.
Our policy is literally to hire as many talented engineers as we can find. The whole limit in the system is just that there aren’t enough people who are trained and have these skills today.
To get the very best people we try to make the office as awesome as possible.
We have a fantastic chef.
Free food.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Free laundry.
Snacks.
Even places to play and videogames and scooters, there is all these kind of interesting things, around the office, places where people can play or relax or go to think or play music or be creative.
Whether you are trying to make a lot of money, or whether you just want to change the world, computer programming is an incredibly empowering skill to learn.
I think if someone had told me that software is really about humanity, that it’s really about helping people by using computer technology, it would have changed my outlook a lot earlier.
To be able to actually come up with an idea and then see it in your hands and then be able to press a button and have it be in millions of people’s hands, I mean, I think we are the first generation of the world that’s really ever had that kind of experience.
Just to think that, I mean, you can start something in your college dorm room and you can have a set of people who haven’t built a big company before, come together and build something that a billion people use, is part of their daily lives, it’s just crazy to think about it, right? It’s really humbling and that’s amazing.
The programmers of tomorrow are the wizards of the future. You know you are going to look you have magic powers compared to everybody else.
I think it’s amazing, I think it’s the closest thing we have to superpower.
Great coders are today’s rockstars. That’s it.
jueves, 18 de abril de 2013
Communication is aid
The infosaid project -funded by Internews and BBC Media Action- had as a goal improving the quality of humanitarian assistance through information exchange between crisis-affected populations and aid agencies.
The project is over now, but a number of resources are still available on their site at http://www.infoasaid.org/ .
Here is one of the videos they used in their campaign.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and complete the blanks in the transcript with the missing words. The activity is suitable for intermediate students, although strong Básico 2 students can give it a try or enjoy it while listening and reading at the same time.
Communication. It's talking to a neighbour. It's e-mailing friends. It's (1) ... ... with the news. We all depend on giving and receiving information to share our experiences and feelings, (2) ... our lives, and join us to our communities. In the (3) ... of a crisis, whether it's natural or man-made, the communication networks that support every community can shatter along with (4) ... and lives. And when all we rely on is turned (5) ... ... , we need information more than ever. It's as crucial as food, water, (6) ... and medicine.
Where can we go for help, or danger should we be (7) ... of? How can we find our missing families and friends? And who will listen to our (8) ... , and give us the advice we need? Insufficient or even conflicting information can cause confusion and worsen the feeling of (9) ... . And if we don't know and trust the sources, even the most vital messages can miss their mark.
Lives can be saved with accurate, timely, and well-(10) ... information. When our voices are heard and we know what to expect, we can start to make our own decisions and get back in control of our lives. And once we can rebuild our familiar communication networks, and then reconnect with the (11) ... ... , the process of recovery can really accelerate.
The right information, at the right time through the right channels, can save families, (12) ... , and lives. It can give people back their futures. Communication is aid.
Key:
1 catching up 2 stir 3 eye 4 resources 5 upside down 6 shelter 7 aware 8 concerns 9 isolation 10 targeted 11 wider world 12 livelihoods
The project is over now, but a number of resources are still available on their site at http://www.infoasaid.org/ .
Here is one of the videos they used in their campaign.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and complete the blanks in the transcript with the missing words. The activity is suitable for intermediate students, although strong Básico 2 students can give it a try or enjoy it while listening and reading at the same time.
Communication. It's talking to a neighbour. It's e-mailing friends. It's (1) ... ... with the news. We all depend on giving and receiving information to share our experiences and feelings, (2) ... our lives, and join us to our communities. In the (3) ... of a crisis, whether it's natural or man-made, the communication networks that support every community can shatter along with (4) ... and lives. And when all we rely on is turned (5) ... ... , we need information more than ever. It's as crucial as food, water, (6) ... and medicine.
Where can we go for help, or danger should we be (7) ... of? How can we find our missing families and friends? And who will listen to our (8) ... , and give us the advice we need? Insufficient or even conflicting information can cause confusion and worsen the feeling of (9) ... . And if we don't know and trust the sources, even the most vital messages can miss their mark.
Lives can be saved with accurate, timely, and well-(10) ... information. When our voices are heard and we know what to expect, we can start to make our own decisions and get back in control of our lives. And once we can rebuild our familiar communication networks, and then reconnect with the (11) ... ... , the process of recovery can really accelerate.
The right information, at the right time through the right channels, can save families, (12) ... , and lives. It can give people back their futures. Communication is aid.
Key:
1 catching up 2 stir 3 eye 4 resources 5 upside down 6 shelter 7 aware 8 concerns 9 isolation 10 targeted 11 wider world 12 livelihoods
miércoles, 17 de abril de 2013
Talking point: Global English
This week's talking point is English as a global language. Before getting together with the members of your conversation group, go over the questions below -taken from Speakout, Pearson Longman- to think about the answers beforehand and to work out any vocabulary problems you may encounter.
Why do you think English has become a ‘lingua franca’?
What factors contributed to its rise as a global language?
Think of three ways to improve your command/grasp of a language.
Think of one situation where you need to 'mind your language'.
What happens when you experience a language barrier?
Do you think these will still exist in the future? Why (not)?
Can you name a dead language?
Can you name a country where the official language is different from the everyday language?
Do you think this is a problem?
How do you think English will change in the next 200 years?
To gain further insight into the topic, you can also watch professor David Crystal discussing the importance of English in today's world and how English is changing these days. I have devised two listening activities around the videos, but you may choose to forget about them, as it is really pleasurable to watch and listen to professor Crystal and we may not want to be distracted by tasks.
Should English be taught as a ‘global’ language?
What should the aim of teaching English be?
What does global English mean in relation to English teaching?
What shock can English students get?
What does ‘standard’ mean in the context David Crystal is talking about?
What’s the problem with vocabulary learning?
What should students get as much exposure as possible to?
In what ways is production different?
How is the Internet changing language today?
What examples does Professor Crystal give of technology changing the language?
What makes internet different from the other types of technology?
What are the technological variations of internet he mentions?
What does each of these mediums bring about?
What has changed in the language as a result of the Internet?
Why do you think English has become a ‘lingua franca’?
What factors contributed to its rise as a global language?
Think of three ways to improve your command/grasp of a language.
Think of one situation where you need to 'mind your language'.
What happens when you experience a language barrier?
Do you think these will still exist in the future? Why (not)?
Can you name a dead language?
Can you name a country where the official language is different from the everyday language?
Do you think this is a problem?
How do you think English will change in the next 200 years?
To gain further insight into the topic, you can also watch professor David Crystal discussing the importance of English in today's world and how English is changing these days. I have devised two listening activities around the videos, but you may choose to forget about them, as it is really pleasurable to watch and listen to professor Crystal and we may not want to be distracted by tasks.
Should English be taught as a ‘global’ language?
What should the aim of teaching English be?
What does global English mean in relation to English teaching?
What shock can English students get?
What does ‘standard’ mean in the context David Crystal is talking about?
What’s the problem with vocabulary learning?
What should students get as much exposure as possible to?
In what ways is production different?
How is the Internet changing language today?
What examples does Professor Crystal give of technology changing the language?
What makes internet different from the other types of technology?
What are the technological variations of internet he mentions?
What does each of these mediums bring about?
What has changed in the language as a result of the Internet?
martes, 16 de abril de 2013
Real English series: Achievement
Our Real English video series is coming to an end today after twenty-three weeks. We haven't dealt with all the videos on the Real English site by any means, but I feel that most of the remaining clips and lessons are oriented to advanced learners and touch on topics like English learning, poverty, homelessness, music, and so on that we have already posted about on the blog.
The main purpose of the 'Tuesday's posts' is trying to provide English learners at lower levels with some kind of listening input that helps them in their learning process, and I am really grateful to Michael Marzio and all the staff behind Real English for all the work they have put it on the site and for their generosity in sharing their work with all of us.
Today's videos revolve around the topic of achievement, which is just fine for us as language learners as we are trying hard to learn English and improve day by day. That's a really remarkable achievement, and a difficult one to accomplish if you don't live in an English-speaking country.
Passers-by are all asked the same question, with some small variations, and depending on the answer there are some other follow-up questions:
What do you hope to achieve before you die?
What do you expect to accomplish before you die?
What do you hope, or want to achieve before you die?
What do you want to be remembered for when you die?
Is there anything in particular that you hope to achieve before it's all over?
The videos are suitable for strong intermediate 2 and advanced students, although some speakers can be understood by the average intermediate student.
This is the first part of the video.
You can read a transcript for the video on the Real English site here.
This is the second part of the video.
You can read a transcript for the video on the Real English site here.
The main purpose of the 'Tuesday's posts' is trying to provide English learners at lower levels with some kind of listening input that helps them in their learning process, and I am really grateful to Michael Marzio and all the staff behind Real English for all the work they have put it on the site and for their generosity in sharing their work with all of us.
Today's videos revolve around the topic of achievement, which is just fine for us as language learners as we are trying hard to learn English and improve day by day. That's a really remarkable achievement, and a difficult one to accomplish if you don't live in an English-speaking country.
Passers-by are all asked the same question, with some small variations, and depending on the answer there are some other follow-up questions:
What do you hope to achieve before you die?
What do you expect to accomplish before you die?
What do you hope, or want to achieve before you die?
What do you want to be remembered for when you die?
Is there anything in particular that you hope to achieve before it's all over?
The videos are suitable for strong intermediate 2 and advanced students, although some speakers can be understood by the average intermediate student.
This is the first part of the video.
You can read a transcript for the video on the Real English site here.
This is the second part of the video.
lunes, 15 de abril de 2013
Disney ad
This Disney ad is good practice for English learners at elementary and pre-intermediate level. The pace of delivery is slow, with frequent pauses to think about what we have just heard. If you are in the mood, you can even discuss the values Disney is trying to convey with the ad.
Self-study activity:
Watch the ad and complete the blanks in the transcript with the missing words.
I am a princess.
I am brave sometimes.
I am (1) ... sometimes.
Sometimes, I am brave even when I am (1) ... .
I believe in loyalty and (2) ... .
I believe loyalty is built on (2) ... .
I try to be kind.
I try to be (3) ... .
I am kind even when others are not so (3) ... .
I am a princess.
I think (4) ... ... for myself is important.
I think (4) ... ... for others is more important.
But standing with others is most important.
I am a princess.
I believe (5) ... makes me strong.
(6) ... is power.
And family is the (7) ... bond of all.
I have heard I am beautiful.
I know I am strong.
I promise.
And when I promise something, I never ever (8) ... that promise.
I am a princess.
Long may I reign.
Key:
1 scared 2 trust 3 generous 4 standing up 5 compassion 6 Kindness 7 tightest 8 break
Self-study activity:
Watch the ad and complete the blanks in the transcript with the missing words.
I am a princess.
I am brave sometimes.
I am (1) ... sometimes.
Sometimes, I am brave even when I am (1) ... .
I believe in loyalty and (2) ... .
I believe loyalty is built on (2) ... .
I try to be kind.
I try to be (3) ... .
I am kind even when others are not so (3) ... .
I am a princess.
I think (4) ... ... for myself is important.
I think (4) ... ... for others is more important.
But standing with others is most important.
I am a princess.
I believe (5) ... makes me strong.
(6) ... is power.
And family is the (7) ... bond of all.
I have heard I am beautiful.
I know I am strong.
I promise.
And when I promise something, I never ever (8) ... that promise.
I am a princess.
Long may I reign.
Key:
1 scared 2 trust 3 generous 4 standing up 5 compassion 6 Kindness 7 tightest 8 break
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