Languagelab.com Blog

Meet Millie Eames and the most comfortable place to speak English on the Internet

Something that many language students find difficult to master is the art of
‘small talk.’
In class we often practice talking about ‘important’ topics, such as politics, science, music and culture.
Or we practice more functional language, like checking into a hotel, making a complaint or going to the bank.
One thing that is often not covered is the small talk that happens constantly throughout our daily lives.

This is where Millie Eames, LanguagLab’s resident café owner and
manager can help you. Millie’s café is just like a real life café. It’s a place where you can go to listen to music, catch up
with friends and socialise just like you would in a café in your own country. The big difference is that everyone speaks in English.

Here’s a hint for those of you who are shy about speaking in English. Try going to the cafe and just listening to what people are
talking about. Make a list of the things that Millie says when she is greeting people and the questions she uses to start conversations.
Then, when you’re feeling more confident try using some of the expressions and questions yourself. You’ll find yourself chatting like a local in no time at all.

Click on the following links to download some helpful reference sheets that you can use if you’re not sure what to say to Millie when you meet her.

Elementary reference sheet for Millie
Intermediate reference sheet for Millie
Advanced reference sheet for Millie

Digg.com

StumbleUpon

facebook

This week at LanguageLab we practised using English language related to going on holiday.

The first part of the lesson was spent doing vocabulary work. We matched the names of holiday destinations and items of clothing with pictures.
This kind of vocabulary work is very useful. It’s the kind of activity you might find yourself doing in English lessons all over the world.

How good is your vocabulary for clothing in English? click here to do a fun practice exercise online.

The second part of the lesson was a little different. The students had to work independently to create a holiday
itinerary. They needed to choose a destination, find a flight,
decide on some activities they would do on holiday and then choose some clothes to take with them that would suit both the destination and the activities.

Although the students had to work independently they were not alone! This is because two of our resident native English speakers,
Griffin and Lane stepped in to help out.
Griffin was working at Millie’s
Cafe so he was on hand to give students advice about travel destinations. He also showed them some websites they could use to
find flights. Once students had chosen their destinations they went to LanguageLab’s clothing
store, Periwinkles and discussed the kind of outfits they would need with Lane

For the final part of the class we met back at Millie’s café and talked about the holidays we had planned, the flights we had selected and the three
outfits we had chosen. Everyone said that it was a little difficult to work alone at first but that it was really useful to get advice from the City People.

Have a look at the photos I took of my outfits. Where do you think I chose to go? Why did I choose those outfits? Write your responses in the comments please.

Digg.com

StumbleUpon

facebook

Introducing Pebbles Kronfeld
Recently at LanguageLab our resident actress, Pebbles Kronfeld has been hosting a series of activities in which students have had the opportunity to practice their English while learning about important elements of English speaking people’s culture.

Here is an overview of a sketch comedy session with Pebbles and how it can be useful for improving your English skills.

Initially we read through the script of a sketch called Camel Spotting created by the famous Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Pebbles helped us with pronunciation and difficult vocabulary, as well as making sure that we understood the humour of the sketch. Understanding humour is a really important aspect of learning a language that is often overlooked in the classroom. It is one thing to be able to ask directions to your hotel but getting a joke is an entirely different kettle of fish.

After helping us to understand the script and the situation, Pebbles asked us to try and imagine how the different characters were feeling and exactly what they wanted to say when they were speaking. We then had to try to read the script aloud with the correct tone of voice to express this feeling. This is another really important skill to have when communicating in English. The tone of voice we use and the words that we stress in a sentence can completely change the meaning of what we are saying.

How many different meanings do you think the following sentence can have depending on which word in the sentence is given the most stress?

I don’t think he should get the job.

Click here for answers and examples.

To read more about Monty Python’s flying circus click here and to watch a YouTube clip of the comedy sketch that we practiced click here.

Next week: Find out how dropping in for a coffee at Millie’s café will have you chatting like a local in no time.

Digg.com

StumbleUpon

Recently you may have heard the words ‘City People’ mentioned by teachers and other LanguageLab staff and students. If you have been reading this blog carefully, you will have seen several references to them.
You may be a seasoned City People user, or you may not have the faintest idea who they are and what we are talking about
when we mention them. Either way this weekly series of blogs is designed to help you find out more about the City People
and more specifically, how you can use them to help improve your English.

Before I start my introductions (one City Person character per week) I’d like to say a little more about myself.
My name is Sally Langer but I am also known by my Avatar’s name, Salsita Almendros. I am a qualified English teacher
and you can read more about my profile on our teacher’s profile page.
Aside from teaching formal English lessons at
Language Lab I also work with the City People to ensure that the activities they do will help our students to practice
speaking English.

You can read a short summary about the City People and what they do here,
but for more detailed information and up dates
keep an eye out for my weekly blog. If you have any questions or thoughts about the City People please leave them in the
comments.

Next week my first focus will be on Languagelab’s very own resident actor Pebbles Kronfeld who has been hosting a series of activities
in which students have had the opportunity to practice their English while learning about an important element of British culture.

Digg.com

StumbleUpon

facebook

Have you had your coffee yet? Are you sure? When did you have it? This week at LanguageLab we focused on practicing and using
the simple past and the
present perfect.

Understanding when to use these two tenses is difficult for many students of English.
The rule of thumb is that the simple past is used to
talk about actions completed in the past at a fixed time, while the present perfect is used to talk about actions that were completed
in the past but still affect the present.

That sounds good in theory, but what does it mean in practice? In this class I used photos that showed a day in my life to demonstrate
some of the differences between the two tenses.

For our first activity we put the photos in order so that they showed my day
from start to end. This gave us the opportunity to practice describing events using the simple past. After this we used the
photos to show how the present perfect is used when an action is connected to an event that occurred in the past.
For example, we looked at a photo of me standing in my hotel room after checking in.
We decided that using the present simple, the caption under
the photo would be, “She has checked in.”

To practice using the present simple and the present perfect click here.

allowScriptAccess=”sameDomain” bgcolor=”#ffffff” height=”189″ pluginspage=”http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer”
quality=”high” src=”http://www.bubbleshare.com/swfs/slider.swf?4216″ type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” width=”500″>
BubbleShare:
Share photos –
Create and Share Crafts

Bookmark this blog:

Digg.com

Yahoo!

del.icio.us

StumbleUpon

facebook

It’s fantastic having the opportunity to teach and/or participate in a lesson in a virtual world written by a qualified, experienced
teacher who has thought about how to really get the best out of a virtual world.
Paul Swindells wrote this week’s lesson. He’s also known by his online
avatar’s name of ‘Zakarias Trenchcoat’. You’ve probably
met him in class or hosting one of LanguageLab’s specially organised student
events.

The gallery was full of paintings that exemplified the
past 500 years of Western Art. There were loads of interesting activities designed to help students, not just to increase
vocabulary and practice talking about art but to be able to describe things in detail and express opinions about the meaning
and central themes of the paintings.

My favorite activity was studying a painting for one minute then turning our backs to it and trying to describe it to our
partners in as much detail as possible without looking at it. It was interesting to talk about the western art tradition and
I learned some fascinating things from hearing the students’ presentations. I hope we can come back soon to practice English
and discuss art from other cultures.

Digg.com

StumbleUpon

facebook