How cities can encourage exercise

This is a very interesting video from The Economist about how changes to our everyday routines can greatly improve our health and wellbeing.

Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.



1 What reduction of deaths among normal-weight people can a brisk 20-minute daily walk have?
2 How many people around the world die because of inactivity?
3 Are street vendors beneficial or harmful for us?
4 What plans about the use of cars are Milan and Dublin preparing?
5 What distance should all citizens in a city travel by bike to get two thirds of the population doing the right amount of exercise they need?
6 How much is the percentage of cyclists growing in London every year?
7 How long does a quarter of British adults walk daily?

Lack of physical activity is the fourth biggest killer in the world. Some studies reckon that sitting for too long is worse to health than smoking. Even small amounts of exercise have enormous health benefits. A brisk 20-minute daily walk can reduce death among people of a normal weight by 25% and among obese people by 16%. But only one tenth of adults in Europe manage this and the problem doesn’t just affect rich countries.
Of the 3.2 million deaths a year caused by inactivity, 2.6 million are in low and middle income countries. Cities tend to be home for the most sedentary people, and therefore have higher rates of these kinds of deaths. What can they do to make their populations more active?
First, make streets more welcoming places to be. Some cities are taking steps by encouraging street vendors whose stalls make streets busier and thus less susceptible to theft and crime. Citywide speed limits of 20 miles per hour and safer intersections will make roads more pedestrian and cyclist-friendly. Closing areas to cars all together at certain times also incentivizes people to get out and about. In Colombia’s capital, Bogota, and the Indian city of Gwalior large areas are cordoned off every week freeing up space for pedestrians, cyclists and exercises classes.
Similar schemes have now spread to North America and Europe, and Dublin and Milan recently unveiled plans to ban cars from their city centers altogether.
Next, bring in the bikes. If all journey of less than two kilometres were done on foot and all trips of two to eight kilometres done on bikes the number of people the number of people who’d get enough exercise just by transporting themselves would rise from one fifth to two thirds, according to a study by London’s Transport Authority.
Bike-sharing gives commuters the option of cycling without having to own, maintain and lock up their own bike. Bicycle superhighways, multi-lane bike paths separate from traffic are cropping up in major cities, including London, where the number of cyclists is growing by ten percent every year.
Last, make public transport more user-friendly. A quarter of British adults currently walk for less than nine minutes a day. The short walks to public transport requires could help add up to a healthier life style. In India, areas surrounding subway stations have been designed to give pedestrians lots of wider, easier ways to get into the station. It doesn’t cost much to make this kind of change.
Doing away with our sedentary habits will save twice as many lives as eliminating obesity. Despite this, the level of inactivity continues to rise around the world.

Madrid Teacher series: Victoria's last weekend

This week's lesson in our Madrid Teacher series is devoted to Básico 2 and Intermediate 1 students. Victoria tells us about her last weekend.

The three-minute video clip is a good opportunity to revise the past simple in English.

First of all, watch the video through to get the general idea of Victoria's last weekend.
Now let's watch the video again but this time let's pay attention to the different verbs Victoria uses to refer to her routine at the weekend. We are just going to focus on the verbs in the past simple, both regular and irregular ones.
To make the activity a bit easier, we are going to divide Victoria's weekend in five different parts:
Friday evening
Saturday morning
Saturday after lunch
Saturday evening
Sunday

Watch the segment corresponding to each of the parts above and note down the verbs in the past simple Victoria uses. Yes this is a kind of dictation. Careful! Victoria is a fast talker. You may have to stop the video to be able to note down the verbs.

You can check your answers by reading the transcript below, where the the verbs in the past simple are highlighted.

What about you? What did you do at the weekend? Was it a typical weekend for you?



Hi, I’m Victoria Fontana from MadridTeacher.com and this is a video to help you learn English. Today we’re going to be talking about the past tense and studying a little bit about how to pronounce the past tense and I’m going to tell you about what I did last weekend to do this. Please pay careful attention to the pronunciation of the past tense and especially to the irregulars.
So, last weekend was a typical weekend for me. Friday evenings I have three classes, beginner, intermediate and advanced, and we had a fun class this past weekend, my students are fantastic so, no problem. And, after class a friend of me called me to go to have a drink near my house and I met with two friends, with Cristina and Guada. Cristina had gone to Berlin the weekend before so she came with some souvenirs for us and usually when I get together with my friends we talk about typical things, girl things and talk about boys basically. And Friday evening I came home pretty early because I was tired and on Saturday I had more classes.
So, Saturday morning I woke up. The first thing I always do when I wake up is eat breakfast and also feed my cats because they need to eat too and then I got ready, took my shower and prepared my class for… at ten o’clock I have class, and my first student came, we had a wonderful class, my second student came and after that was about lunch time so I decided to meet up with some other friends for lunch.
And after lunch on Saturday I had to run some errands, and, I did… I went to the Corte Inglés, I went to get some things for my cats, I have two new kittens and on Saturday afternoon I kind of just rested for a while.
Saturday evening I was invited to dinner at a friend of mine named Mark and Pepas, they had just had a new baby and they bought a new house so they decided they wanted us to come and see their new house. They live outside of Madrid so I had to take a train to Pozuelo and it was a nice evening, we had a normal, typical dinner, fantastic food because both of them are excellent cooks. I came home pretty early on Saturday because two nights out is pretty rough for someone my age.
On Sunday morning I woke up and very late, at around 12 o’clock which is my only day to sleep in. So, I woke up and had breakfast of course, typical and fed the cats and I decided that I would just relax on Sunday, and watch a movie, take it easy, make myself a nice lunch and basically that was pretty much my whole weekend and Sunday evening I just prepared for the next day and back to work on Monday. Thanks. Hope to see you again soon at Madridteacher.com

Madrid Teacher series: Louise's daily routines

This week's Madrid Teacher video is intended for Básico (elementary) students. Louise tells us all about her daily routine.

Here are the answers Louse gives to her friend. Before you watch the video, can you think what the questions are?

I wake up at eight-thirty, usually.
I have to have a cup of coffee, and usually some cereal.
I go to work around ten o’clock.
I have lunch around one o’clock.
I like to eat a sandwich.
I finish work at six o’clock, or six-thirty in the evening.
I walk.
It’s a twenty minute walk.
When I get home, I start to cook dinner, and while I’m cooking dinner, I watch television.
I eat dinner at eight o’clock.
I watch more television.
I go to bed at eleven o’clock.

Now watch the video and check whether your questions were correct.




1 So, what time do you wake up?
I wake up at eight-thirty, usually.
2 OK. And do you brush your teeth after that?
No. First, I like to eat breakfast.
3 OK. What do you have for breakfast?
 I have to have a cup of coffee, and usually some cereal.
4 OK. And after that, do you brush your teeth?
After that, I take a shower.
5 OK. And then what time do you brush your teeth?
After the shower. OK.
6 What time do you leave your house to go to work?
I go to work around ten o’clock.
7 And what time do you have lunch?
I have lunch around one o’clock.
8 What do you usually have for lunch?
I like to eat a sandwich.
9 And what do you drink with your sandwich?
More coffee.
10 OK. What time do you finish lunch? Not lunch, work?
I finish work at six o’clock, or six-thirty in the evening.
11 And how do you get home from work?
I walk.
12 How far is that?
It’s a twenty minute walk.
13 OK. And what do you do once you get home?
When I get home, I start to cook dinner, and while I’m cooking dinner, I watch television.
14 At what time do you eat your dinner?
I eat dinner at eight o’clock.
15 And, what do you do after you’ve eaten your dinner?
I watch more television.
16 What time do you go to bed?
I go to bed at eleven o’clock.
OK. Thank you.

Madrid Teacher series: A day in the life of an English teacher

Today's lesson from Madrid Teacher is devoted to elementary students (Básico 1 and Básico 2) and deals with daily routines. Victoria Fontana, an English teacher who lives in Madrid, tells us about a typical working day in her life.

The video is divided in two parts. The first part (up to 3'00") shows us Victoria telling us about her busy lifestyle. The second part is, in fact, a repeat, but everything that Victoria says is subtitled, with what she makes sure we fully understand everything.

I must say Victoria is a bit of a fast talker, so we may need to listen to her several times to understand her comfortably.

Watch the video clip. What does Victoria do at these times?
7'00''
8'30''
1'00''
4'00''
4'30'' to 8'30''
9'00 to 10'00''



What do you usually do on a typical working day?
Do you have any hobbies?
Do you have any classes?

Speakout starter: Routines

In a new episode of our Speakout series for beginners, Pearson Longman, passers-by answer the two questions below about their weekend routine:

What time do you get up at the weekend?
What do you usually do at the weekend?

Watch the video clip and note down the answers pedestrians give. Then answer the questions about yourself. Try to use some of the expressions you heard on the video.



You can read the transcript here.

Hong Kong series: My daily routine

This is the last installment in the Hong Kong series of videos. Kim, Sam and Clare, three teachers at The British Council in Hong Kong, answer the questions below about their daily routine.

Listen to what they say and note down the answers they give. Then answer the same questions about your daily routine.

What’s your daily routine?
What’s your favourite part of the day?
What would be your dream day?

Speakout elementary: Lifestyle

What do you do?
Talk about your routine.
What do you like about your daily routine?
What don't you like about your daily routine?

Listen to some native speakers answer the questions above.



Now you can answer the same questions yourself.

You can read the transcript here.

Daily routines

This is a nice video to revise daily routines, the times and the present simple.

It combines, both English and Spanish, so it is suitable for Básico 1 students (beginners) or for Básico 2 students whose English is a bit rusty and want to brush it up.

Simply watch the video and make a note of everything the teacher says. You may want to stop the video on occasion to note down some of the explanations.



Now, what is your daily routine? Tell someone in your family.

H/T to Samoga en Casa.

Talking point: Life skills

Self-study activity:
Get together with an English-speaking friend or relative to talk about the basic skills a person needs to live independently.

The questions below may help you to structure your conversation.

When did you leave your parents' home for the first time?
Did you find it difficult to live without them?
When did you leave your parents' home for good?
What did you have to learn to do before and after leaving your parents' home?
Who taught you to do these things?
What are the essential skills a person needs to live on their own?
Does school prepare a person to live independtly?

In preparation for your conversation session, you can read this article from The New York Times to get some extra ideas to bring along to the discussion.

You may also wish to answer these questions about the article, taken from The Learning Blogs of The New York Times.

WHAT are the “essential life skills” you think a young person might need in order to live on his or her own?
WHY, when doing laundry, should you not throw a bright red top in with the whites?
WHY, according to Professor Lewis Mandell, should you never pay a cable or phone bill late?
HOW do you make out a check properly?
WHEN should you go online and search for a company’s name along with “scam” or “rip-off”?
WHERE are the gas tank, jumper cables, insurance card and registration in the car you drive, or are driven in, most often?
WHOM could you ask to teach you these and other basic life skills identified in this article, including how to sew on a button, change a light bulb, judge how long different foods can stay in a refrigerator before going bad, tip properly, use a microwave safely, strip and make a bed, pack a suitcase and safeguard valuables?

Talking point -We spend less than forty minutes eating a day

What are some of the pressures of modern life?
What do you usually have for lunch?
How long does lunch take you during the week?
And breakfast?
And dinner?
How long does lunch take you at the weekend?
Do you cook your own lunch during the week?
During the week, do you cook right before having lunch or do you cook it the evening before or even at the weekend?
Have you ever skipped lunch or any other day meal because of work?
Have you ever eaten lunch while working?

Self-study activity:
Get together with an English-speaking friend or relative and discuss the questions above. You may wish to read this article from The MailOnline beforehand to gain some insight on the topic.