Pronunciation -the name of all USA states

This is a funny online pronunciation activity. By clicking on the picture below you will be directed to an activity on Sheppard Software, which is an educational site with an aim to providing US students of all ages with oportunities to consolidate their knowledge of the subjects they learn throughout the school curriculum.

On this tutorial, you can get familiar with the situation of all US states, their names and how to pronounce them, which is not always evident.

On top of that, information about each state is displayed on a box in the left-hand side corner, which might help us get to know a little bit more about the States.

H/T to Take Away English.

Good to know

Good to Know is a site from Google that offers information about online safety with such topics as passwords, phishing, mobile security, shopping safety, malware, and so on.

There are also sections to learn more about your data on the web, your data on Google, and how to manage your online data.

As an example, watch this Google video with advice on staying more secure on the web. You can activate the English subtitles by clicking on the CC tag on the lower side of the screen.

H/T to EdTechIdeas.

Interview with Javier Bardem

This is an interview with Javier Bardem that Time published right after No Country for Old Men was released.

Self-study activity:
Watch the interview through and enjoy everything Bardem says in this light-hearted interview. Bardem's English is really good, but intermediate English learners shouldn't have a problem in understading the main ideas of what he says.

Now watch the clip again, and note down the questions the interviewer asks Javier.



I don't have a full transcript of the interview, but if you click here you will be directed to Hablar Mejor Inglés, where they have transcribed the first two minutes of the interview to analyse the (few) mistakes Javier makes.

Key:
1 Do you think you’ll ever explore your acting abilities to their furthest limits?
2 How do you make sure your performances are distinct from one film to the next?
3 You have a unique voice. Do you sing?
4 Are you still an avid rugby player?
5 You miss playing at all?
6 Is rehearsing for an English-speaking role any different for you compared to a Spanish-speaking role?
7 Have you ever learnt how to drive yet?
8 Are there any actors you’re dying to work with?

The Space Place

NASA has created a site for children to learn about Earth, the Solar System, The Universe, The Space Place.

Within each section of The Space Place, there are games, puzzles, quizzes, activities, videos, interactives, and lots of information written so that kids -and the layman- will grasp it.

There’s a section with activities and information to help guide students through the site.

A very interesting aspect of the place is the section Dr Marc answers questions about space, where you can listen to Dr Marc's answers about different space-related aspects, many of which include a transcript.

In short, The Space Place is a great site for those English students with an interest in science and the space.

7 billion: How did we get so big so fast?

This NPR video explains how the global population has grown from 300 million to 7 billion.

Self-study activity:
Watch the video through in the first place and try to understand it and enjoy it as much as possible.

Now watch it again and say what the following figures refer to:

A thousand years
100 million
1804
200 years
10 billion

You can self-correct the activity and read the transcript here.

Talking point: Who is your role model?

A few weeks ago The New York Times invited readers to comment on the topic Who is your role model?

They refered to the figure of Steve Jobs as a sprinboard to kindle this debate, and they used an article by Jan Hoffman on singer Kelly Clarkson to illustrate the topic.

So read Mr Hoffman's article to gain some insight into the talking point and then think about the questions below before you get together with your English-speaking friends to discuss it.

• Do you have any role models?
• Is Kelly Clarkson, or Steve Jobs, among them?
• How have your role models influenced your life?
• Is your role model someone you aspire to be like when you get older? 
• Have you ever been disappointed by news about a person you admire?
• Are there people who view you as a role model?
• If so, does this honor bring extra responsibilities or affect your actions?
• Do you want to be a role model?
• If so, for whom?

Gaining time

When you talk, ideas don't always come to mind immediately, and we need some thinking time to collect our thoughts.

The phrases below may be of some use to give you some extra seconds until you get inspiration.

Well, …
Let me see now…
You know
You see
Actually
As a matter of fact …
In fact, …
Hang on, please.

Let me think for a second, the thing about ...

It's alright with me (song)

It's alright with me is a song by Eric Hutchinson which I found through David Deubel. The fill-in the gaps activity  below is also David's idea.

The video is another example of Kinetic Typography, which is the latest in-thing in music video clips.

Self-study activity:
Complete the blanks with the missing words.

Find more videos like this on EFL CLASSROOM 2.0

Ok it's alright with me
some things are just meant to be
it never comes (1)  _______________
and when it does
 i'm already gone
i'm practically never still
more likely to move
 until i end up alone at (2)  ____________
my life continues
 inching along
CHORUS
when bernadette comes
 I get lost on her (3) _________________
she's much too sweet and
she's always gonna be
when i return to
her arms and her eyes
it might not be the (4) ______________
but it's alright with me
ok it's alright to me
some people are scared to see
what's happening (5) ____________________
but I would never
from a fight
heartbeat with a high demand
 often will go hand in hand
but i'm sick of just starting (6) _____________
 i wanna spend the rest of my life.
CHORUS
it's alright with me
it's alright with me
it's alright with me
it's alright with me
it's alright with me
it's alright with me
okay its alright with me
some things are just meant to be,
 it never comes easily
and when it does i'm already gone.

Key:
1 easily 2 will 3 time 4 same 5 frequently 6 plans