7 Common Language Learning Strategies That Don’t Work (And How to Fix Them)

 https://www.fluentin3months.com/language-learning-strategies/

JOBS. e-mail

1. Answer the questions
• Why would Nadine be good for the job?
• What would she learn from the job?
• What previous experience does she have?

2.Find the following expressions in the e-mail and  match them with the definitions and the examples.
1. pick someone’s brain
2. think on your feet
3. What you don't know won't hurt you.
4. run smoothly.
5. hands-on experience
6. hold back
7. see/catch you later!
 

a) to ask someone's advice about a subject the person knows a lot about:
b) knowledge or skill that someone gets from doing something rather than just reading about it or seeing it being done.
c) to not do something, often because of fear or because you do not want to make a bad situation worse
d) a way of saying goodbye
e) If you do not know about a problem or a misdeed, you will not be able to make yourself unhappy by worrying about it. (Often used to justify not telling someone about a problem or misdeed.)
f) to make a quick decision or give an answer quickly
g) operating in a flowing and effective manner, without difficulties or obstructions


A. They will participate in workshops and get hands-on experience leading classes.
B. He always said he learned more about newspapers from hands-on experience than he did in the classroom.
C. I'd never heard about the company before, so I had to think on my feet.
D. Can I pick your brain about how you got rid of those weeds?
E. Ellen: What a beautiful diamond necklace! Thank you! But how on earth did you get the money to pay for it? Fred: What you don't know won't hurt you.
F. He held back, terrified of going into the dark room.
G. "Bye." "See you later."

2. Writing.
Last week you saw a job advertisement on the Internet. You realized it was be a great opportunity to do what you had always dreamt of doing. This meant leaving your current stable job, but you really needed a change in your life and decided to take the risk and wrote a letter of application.
Now write an email to your best friend and tell him/her about your decision, explain why you think you are a good candidate, why you really need a change in your life, in what ways this could affect your future and ask him/her what he/she thinks about it.

Weddings. Reading 2

http://www.esl-lounge.com/student/reading/3r12-traditional-wedding.php

Weddings . Reading

Read and match the sentences with the posts.

 http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/whats-the-most-fun-wedding-youve-ever-been-to/#ixzz4VGEKhvZR

1.    The music was really good

2.    We didn´t like the music.

3.    There was plenty of food.

4.    Expensive weddings are not always good.

5.    The bride and the groom had a great time at the wedding.

6.    The food was awsome.

7.    The bride and the groom were deeply in love.

Problems and questions submitted to us by learners of English

Which person:

                 

1) would appear not to have an English teacher?                           

2) doesn't like studying with people from their own country?                 

3) has a job in the UK?                 

4) enjoys keeping up with current affairs?                        

5) feels that the teacher isn't doing their job properly?                              

6) uses English speaking radio stations to practise English?                        

7) had a shock when they visited Britain?                          

8) wants to avoid speaking their own language?                            

9) wants to speak English like a native speaker?                             

10) feels they are the only person with their difficulty?

Problem page in an International English Language magazine.

You are going to read a selection of letters from a problem page in an International English Language magazine. For questions 1-10, choose from the people (A-H). The people may be chosen more than once.

This Month's Letters

See this month's problems and questions submitted to us by learners of English:

A

I study English for 6 hours per week in secondary school. For 1 hour each week we have conversation classes with a native speaker of English where we talk about topics such as drugs, politics and culture. I know it's a really good opportunity to practise my spoken English, but I never make a contribution to the discussion. It's not that I don't have an opinion, or that I'm shy, but more that I don't have the vocabulary to express my views. I feel really frustrated at the end of the lesson. Nobody else in the group seems to have the same problem.

Katalin

B

I'm a 24-year-old business student from Malaysia and I've been attending English classes at night school for the past 5 years. Up to now I've considered myself to be a good student. Last month I went to Britain to visit my relatives over there and it was awful. People found my pronunciation difficult to follow and I couldn't understand them either. What went wrong? My English teacher is very good and I always score the highest in grammar tests.

Fazlinda

C

I'm writing to ask your opinion on a matter which is really annoying me. My English teacher never corrects my mistakes when I am speaking. Isn't that her job? How am I going to improve otherwise? Also she's always telling me that now I'm an advanced student, I should forget all the rules of grammar that I learnt when I was younger.

Gunther

  

D

Can you help me? I really want to speak English the right way, with the correct accent. Do you have any good ideas? I have a particular problem with sounds like 's'. I plan to work in the UK in the future and nobody will take me seriously if my English pronunciation is anything short of excellent.

Jose

E

I am working as an au pair in London looking after 2 small children. I love my job but the way that English people speak is a little puzzling. For example, I often hear them say things like 'more friendlier', whereas I thought it should be 'more friendly'. It also seems to be common for them to say 'we was' instead of 'we were'. Can you explain this? Would it be impolite of me to correct them?

Lana

F

I am an intermediate student of English (I have been studying it for 3 years). I'm quite good at reading and writing but listening is very difficult for me. My teacher suggested that I listen to the BBC World Service every day in order to improve my listening. The problem is that it's hard for me to understand every word. Do you have any ideas about how to make listening to the radio less difficult? I like listening to the news and knowing what's going on in the world.

Yuki

G

I have studied English for 5 years at school but for the past 6 months I have been doing self-study using the Internet and books to improve. There are lots of materials to choose but I'm not sure what is best for me and how I should use them. I really would like to take the FCE examination but don't know how to study on my own. Should I take a course in my local school - which is a little expensive for me now - or is it possible to prepare for the exam doing self-study?

Paula

H

Could you please give me some advice on a problem I have at the moment with my English studies. I decided to go to the UK to improve my English but the college I am studying in at present is full of people from my own country. Although the teachers tell us we should only try to speak in English with each other, it is very difficult to do this, especially in our free time when we go out together. I am worried that my speaking will not improve.

Maria

The Illustrated Story of Creuza Oliveira

http://learningplatform.pathwaysofempowerment.org/resources/the-illustrated-story-of-creuza-oliveira/comic

MAKE IT HAPPEN

http://www.pathwaysofempowerment.org/news_items/make-it-happen-international-women-s-day-2015

http://learningplatform.pathwaysofempowerment.org/units/empowerment-and-women-s-work/case_studies/workers-rights-and-social-movements

MY BEST FRIEND´S WEDDING

https://youtu.be/kU0EC5xXuqY


Write an e-mail to a friend in between  80 and 100 words following the instructions below. 
Last week you were at David's wedding. The following week you received an email
from a good friend asking you to tell him/her everything about the wedding. Write back
to him and tell him:
· who the bride was.
· where was the marriage ceremony and the party.
· what the guests were like.
· what the party was like.
· about a mutual friend you hadn't seen for a long time.


http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/whats-the-most-fun-wedding-youve-ever-been-to/


http://www.ielts-mentor.com/cue-card-sample/849-ielts-cue-card-sample-120-describe-a-wedding-you-attended


http://www.dcielts.com/blog/wedding/


http://www.targeticse.co.in/articles/icse-sample-essays/a-wedding-ceremony-in-the-family

Trying to follow what is going on in Syria and why? This comic will get you there in 5 minutes.

http://www.upworthy.com/trying-to-follow-what-is-going-on-in-syria-and-why-this-comic-will-get-you-there-in-5-minutes?g=2



http://www.news.com.au/world/simple-points-to-help-you-understand-the-syria-conflict/story-fndir2ev-1226705155146

Now is the time to talk to your kids about the Paris attacks

1. 1.       Read the text and match each paragraph with the corresponding headline. One headline does not match any paragraph. The first one has been done for you.

Now is the time to talk to your kids about the Paris attacks

My seven-year-old figured out what was happening pretty quickly, so I told my five-year-old: “Some bad people attacked a small number of people in Paris. The police are on it. It is very sad.”

High school kids are both easier and harder: they will know what has happened, so parents need to find the time and space to discuss the issues surrounding it: racism, religion, extremism, ethics, politics.

With younger, school-aged children, parents need to offer age-appropriate information and stay calm.

____________________________________________________

The worst thing to say to a child who says: “I am scared” is to respond, “there is no reason to be scared.”

Acknowledge their fear or sadness while looking for ways to make them feel safe.

“If they’re scared, say ‘Lots of kids and even adults feel scared.” writes Ellen Hendrikson on Savvy Psychologist. Acknowledging your own fear, or sadness, shows it is okay to be scared.

__________________________________________________

Ask kids “what have you heard about what happened in Paris?” and then let them talk. If it’s nothing, you can choose whether to fill in the void so they have a grounding when it comes up. “For kids this age [6-11], knowledge can be empowering and helps relieve anxiety,” Koplewicz told Time.

_________________________________________________

Kids love learning about the police when they are little because they inherently believe in authority. Mention all the people in their lives who can protect them: teachers, coaches, babysitters, grandparents, police, security guards, soldiers. If they are suddenly scared to leave you, talk about all the times you have been separated and then reunited. Ask them what would make them feel safe and talk about heroes to counterbalance stories of terrorists.

______________________________________________

Kids love to divide the world into good guys and bad guys. After an event like Paris, it is important to contextualize the bad guys for what they are: a tiny minority.

Over the weekend, a French youth magazine, Astrapi, published a special leaflet to help children aged 7-11. It instructed kids that the majority of Muslims loved peace as much as they do. “These ultraviolent people have nothing to do with the majority of Muslims, who live their faith peacefully,” the leaflet says. “They are attacking France because it’s a free country.” In another cartoon, a small boy says that terrorism scares him. The little girl responds: “But liberty scares the terrorists even more.”

Adapted from Quatz Magazine.

http://qz.com/551135/now-is-the-time-to-talk-to-your-kids-about-the-paris-attacks/

1. 1.       Teach them the broad lesson they need to learn
2. 2.       Ask open-ended questions
3. 3.       Remind them about the security all around them
4. 4.       Give the kids an accurate description of the events
5. 5.       Now is the time to talk to your kids about the Paris attacks
6. 6.       Validate their feelings 

The third man in the photo

http://www.filmsforaction.org/articles/the-white-man-in-that-photo/

Teenagers and Reading

Teenagers and Reading.Click on the links to find some information about leisure habits and the benefits of reading. 

What do you do in your free time?

Do you ever read books or magazines?

Have a look at the picture. Have we got the same leisure habits?

http://www.gallup.com/poll/13783/teens-leisure-habits-top.aspx

http://www.spainwanderer.com/popular-leisure-time-activities-in-spain/

Do you read for pleasure?

Name some of the main benefits of reading.

http://whytoread.com/why-to-read-10-reasons-why-reading-books-will-save-your-life/

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/10-benefits-reading-why-you-should-read-everyday.html

https://seekersportal.wordpress.com/books-ive-read/top-10-reasons-why-i-love-reading/

Do you enjoy reading?

What is your favourite genre ? Why?

http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=124738

What can  you do when a book you started reading turs out to be really boring?

http://www.wikihow.com/Enjoy-Reading

Now write the following assigment:

You read this post on a website:

About 95% of the children in the US play video games, watch TV, chat with their friends or play on the computer, but only 5% of the children enjoy reading.

You decide to write your contribution on this website , so add a post giving your opinion.(150-180 words)

You must develope the following three points in the most appropiate order:

• Describe the current situation.
• Explain reasons why reading is important.
• Give practical tips to make reading enjoyable .

http://www.statista.com/statistics/450249/requency-of-certain-reading-habits-as-children-in-spain/
http://www.donquijote.org/culture/spain/society/customs/teenage-life-in-spain
http://www.livestrong.com/article/1007706-customs-teenagers-spain/

50 of the World’s Best Breakfasts

Read numbers 1 to 37 of the post and answer the questions:
1. What would a reader do after reading the following post, according to the writer?
2. Which breakfast is popular because its products are all fresh?
3. What is the Dutch word for syrup?
4. Where can you have different kinds of bread accompanied by jam, cheese, chutney or butter?
5. Name two spreads that are "sticky, salty and brown".
6. What other foods along with longganisa do people have for breakfast in an island in the Pacific Ocean?
7. What does Foul Madamas consist of?


http://blog.hostelbookers.com/travel/best-breakfast/

Famous Lovers

FAMOUS LOVERS

Click on these links and learn as much as you can about a couple of famous lovers

http://www.bonzasheila.com/stories/indexoflovers.html

http://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-figures/historical-couple-pictures.htm

http://fun.familyeducation.com/slideshow/love/49015.html?page=1

Now write their story on one of the hearts, abroken heart if they were star-crossed lover or a whole one if they were happy.