Facebook

Social networking

Do you use social networking sites?

Express English

Facebook is good for staying in contact with people, but it can be addictive.

One woman says she uses Facebook all the time!

How to improve pronunciation and fluency. Is there any way of doing that easily?

How do I keep my child safe on social networks?

Mobile phones

Podcast from the British Council

When Scotsman Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876, it was a revolution. Over the last two decades a new means of spoken communication has emerged: the mobile phone

Keeping in touch

Young Britons shy away from learning languages

Two out of three teenagers in Britain are keen to work abroad but most of them don't speak foreign languages. Government figures show that 58% of 11-18 year olds in the UK have no foreign language skills, and this has a negative effect on the economy. Tom Burridge reports:

After listening   answer the following questions

Why do most British people feel lazy to learn a foreign language?

What percentage of teenagers doesn’t speak a second language?

How many students want to work abroad?

The British Government accepts there’s a problem and it has big implications for ______________________

Their trade is _____________________________ English-speaking countries and ____________________ are suffering.

British English vs American English

British English vs American English

Learning languages

Listen to someone talking about learning a new language and answer the questions:

• Which continent has the speaker not lived in?     Asia       Europe            South America
• Which two things does the speaker do to learn a new language? 

-go to classes an speak to people   - Speak to people and use a dictionary    -watch   TV adn listen to the radio

• Why does the speaker think watching game shows is useful? - because of the pictures  -because the contestants are always winning  - because the language is repetitive
• What does the speaker say about using newspapers?

-it was easy to learn a lot of new words quickly  -a lot of things were happening in the country  -other people could explain new words the writer found

• What does the speaker say about talking to people in the street? -preparation was necessary   -the embarrassment made it a failure  -people reacted negatively

The best way of learning a language

Everybody wants to know what the best way of learning a language is- and everybody has their own way of trying to study. Some ways, however, get much better results than others. Listen to what a group of advanced foreign language learners and their teachers suggested when somebody asked them.

THE SECRET OF SUCCESS

Write down the things they mention.

It's important to try to ......................

It's best to try to .............................

Don't worry too much about ..............

Make sure ...............................

It's better to try to .................... than it is to .................

The speakers are : Cissy (Taiwanese), Russell (Canadian), Sachiko (Japanese), Miguel (Portuguese), Steve (English), Gao (Chinese), Eduardo (Mexican), Eun-Sil (Korean)

From: Innovations Intermediate. ed. Heinle

Later language learning

Young children seem to be able to learn languages with a lot less difficulty than adults. But why is this? In this programme they take a short and simple look at a very complex topic and hear a number of expert opinions. they also cover some useful vocabulary for talking about this topic.