Phrasal verb demon

Impressive site by Juan Antonio Pérez Herrera, a teacher of English in a state language school in The Canaries, which deals with everything to do with phrasal verbs, from their grammar to dictionary to videos and listening. Impressive work!

Grammar for Graduates

Read this interesting article from the Mail on Line on the poor performance in grammar of many English graduates. Perhaps there is a lesson to be learnt here for everybody.

Voxy

Voxy is an interesting approach to helping you learn English.Voxy uses current articles from world news, pop culture, and sports to to help you acquire language. As you read an article you can click on highlighted words and hear them pronounced. Highlighted words when clicked reveal the Spanish translation. Clicking on highlighted words also adds them to a study list. The study lists can be used for quizzes and games. Voxy is available in English and Spanish.

War of the sexes

Self-study activity:

Discuss with an English-speaking friend: Is housework an issue in your household? Who does what at home? Is it a fair share? How could tasks be distributed more equally?

Watch this video, you may get some ideas to implement at home.

You can read the transcript here.

You can also visit chorewars.com and take part in an interactive game to help you distribute housework more fairly, although you will have to register to start playing.

The lottery of life

Take some time off to visit this site from Save the Children and reflect on the importance of fate in our lives.

Expect, hope, wait, look forward to

The Spanish verb esperar is a difficult one to translate into English. There are several options.

Expect - to think that something will happen because it has been planned or it seems probable. One can expect good or bad things. Example:
I expect it will rain at the weekend.
I'm expecting John to phone at three.
She's expecting a baby.

Hope - to want something to happen or to be true. One only hopes for good things. Example:
I hope it won't rain during the holidays.
I hope the exam goes well.
She's pregnant. She's hoping it will be a girl.

Wait - We wait when somebody or something is late, or when we are early for something, or when we want time to pass so that something will happen. Example:
We've been waiting for rain for ages.
I waited for her until three, but she didn't arrive.

Look forward to - to think about something that is going to happen with pleasure. Example:
He's looking forward to his birthday.

Look forward to is the verb we use in letters as a farewell formula, always with -ing if another verb follows:
I look forward to hearing from you soon (present simple in formal letters).
I'm looking forward to meeting you (present continuous in informal letters).

Self-study activity: Complete the gaps in the sentences with expect, hope, wait or look forward to.

1. I ... my retirement day to devote all my time to my hobbies.
2. I'm still ... for Harry to pay me back all the money he owes me.
3. She ... him to be angry with her.
4. I ... the employment situation will change one day.

Key:
1. look forward to   2. waiting   3. expects/expected   4. hope

Paris Hilton and Lady Gaga

Self-study activity:

What do you know about Paris Hilton and Lady Gaga? 

What are they famous for? 

What do you think about them?

On this clip Paris Hilton interviews Lady Gaga. The conversation sounds banal but, anyway, watch the clip through and see if you understand what they are talking about.

Watch the video again. The excerpts below are literal sentences taken out of the conversation exchanges between the two celebrities. Complete each gap with only one word.

1. PH:  Alright. You won’t admit it, but I’m gonna say it to you. You are a ______  icon. I’m impressed. I’m loving your music. What is your ______  for your music?

2. LG:  I’m really, really inspired by my ______  in New York City, the art scene on the Lower East Side, and the 70s, and David Bowie, and Studio 54, and media culture and ______  with fame.

3. PH:  And I read a recent interview where you said that you liked me and my ______  .

4. PH:  Oh, my God, thank you. I’d love to do a ______  with you. I love her!

5. LG:  I had the most impressive go-go ______  on the planet.

6. PH:  Anything we do would be a ______  , so you guys can’t know anything. It’s a secret. 

You can self-correct the activity and read the full dialogue here.