Tag Archive for ‘english’ at Languagelab.com Blog

Tag Archive for 'english'

Sharing Christmas traditions in English City

Published

on December 22, 2008

. 0 Comments

As we talked about before there are lots of different traditions connected to Christmas and the holiday season. Some of these traditions are very old and some of them are newer, some countries have taken, adapted and used other traditions to create a unique Christmas culture.

The topics that will be talked about in this Christmas session are:

The origins of Christmas,
Santa Claus,
Christmas Trees,
Christmas Stockings,
Mistletoe,
The Holly and the Ivy,
Poinsettias,
Candy Cane,
Christmas Cards,
Rudolph the Rednose Reindeer,
Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.

How many of these do you know about ? Why not join Lane Jarman and talk about your Christmas experience. Sharing traditions is on December 25th at 6:00am PDT and 2pm UK at the Manor and is followed by Christmas Carols with Lane from 7am-8am (3pm UK).

So if you would like to sing again or missed the Carols by Candlelight, come along to the Manor and sing :-)

Moving Around in Language Lab

Published

Chris

on November 29, 2008

in Uncategorized

. 1 Comment

Chris Teacher

Moving around – How to get from here to there.

Getting from in place to another is really important in your language lab lessons. You need to move to talk to the other members of your class and take part in the activities your teacher will ask you to do. This blog will help you move!

Walk, stroll or creep

The easiest way to move in your English Lessons is to walk. You can do this by using the arrow keys.

Run, jog or sprint

Sometimes your teacher might ask you to move quickly, especially if it is part of a grammar game or communication activity. You can fly, but sometimes it’s just as quick to run. You can run by clicking ‘world’ at the top of the screen and choosing ‘always run’. If you want to run quickly you can tap-tap and then hold the upwards arrow key. You might need to select ‘Advanced>Character> Tap-Tap-Hold to Run’

Jump, hop or leap

To jump, just tap the ‘page up’ button on your keyboard. You use this to get over obstacles quickly. Sometimes your teacher might ask you to jump in the air to show you have finished doing a listening task or a conversation with your partner or group.

Flying through the air

Fly, swoop or wheel

To fly, press and hold the ‘page up’ button. To land, press the ‘page down’ button. It’s hard to fly sometimes; you can easily overshoot where you are going. Your teacher might ask you to fly up to an object and read it, or fly to a location to find out some information.

Vehicles -Drive, ride or pilot.

Park the sentence truck

There are lots of vehicles you can use in language lab. Your teacher might ask to make sentences by driving trucks, or fly through correct answers in a plane. To use a vehicle, right click on it, choose ‘fly’ or ‘drive’ from the circle menu.

Teleport

The easiest way to travel in Language Lab. Click your ‘map’ button so you can see the streets and building around you from an aerial view. Now you can double click with the left mouse button on the place you want to go, you will teleport straight there.

Use the verbs of movement above to answer these questions.

1. Which verb means to fly down quickly?

2. Which verb means walk slowly?

3. Which verb means to jump up and down quickly?

4. Which verb means fly an aeroplane?

5. Which verb means to move using a horse?

6. Which verb means to run really fast?

7. Which verb means walk slowly and secretly?

8. Which verb means to run quite slowly?

Introducing Kent Fromund

Published

Sally

on November 28, 2008

in Uncategorized

. 1 Comment

Sally Teacher

Kent Fromund

Did you know that Kent Fromund is really Griffin Morrisey’s nephew? Kent is one of English City’s newer residents. Actually, he’s not as new as some people think. If you’ve been coming to Languagelab for a while you may have met him in the past when he used to be called “Johnathon Shelman”. The big question here is why did “Johnathon” change his name to Kent? Read on to find out…

Warning, this story is complicated! You may need to read it several times to completely understand it. While you are reading please remember that Kent Fromund is the man who used to be called “Johnathon Shelman”

It turns out that Kent was not the first person to change his name in the Fromund family. Griffin’s real surname is actually Fromund but when he became a musician he changed it to Morrisey because he thought it sounded more musical. One day, not so long ago, Griffin and ‘Johnathon’ were chatting in the pub when Griffin told “Johnathon” that his (Griffin’s) real surname was “Fromund”. “Johnathon” was very surprised to hear this surname as, it’s quite unusual and … it was also the surname of “Johnathon’s” long lost father.

“Johnathon” never met his father. He was raised by his Chinese mother who had met “Johnathon’s” father when he was a young man backpacking through China. When “Johnathon’s” mother fell pregnant her family were very upset and sent her away to live with a relative in the USA.

Nobody knows what happened to “Johnathon’s” father. He was broken hearted after “Jonathon’s” mother was sent away (he thought that she had run away from him) and he disappeared himself not long after she was sent away. He never knew about his little baby boy “Johnathon”.

When “Johnathon” heard Griffin mention the name “Fromund” he immediately started to ask more questions about Griffin’s family. He knew very little about his father, but the one thing he did know was that Fromund was his father’s surname. It didn’t take the pair long to put two and two together and realise that Griffin was “Johnathon’s” uncle. Griffin confirmed that at around the time “Johnathon” was born his brother had disappeared after writing a letter telling of the Chinese woman who had run away from him and broken his heart.

Once “Johnathon” realised that his father had not deserted him and his mother he decided to change his name to Kent Fromund to honour the father who he had never met. These days Kent can be found hanging around in English City working on Art exhibitions and telling stories to those who will listen to him.

Why don’t you drop in for a visit and ask him to tell you the story of how he changed his name? In the meantime, can you answer these questions?

1) What was Kent Fromund’s name when he was a child?

2) What was Griffin Morrisey’s name when he was a child?

3) What country was Kent Fromund born in?

4) Who is Kent’s uncle?

World of Warcraft in language Lab

Published

Chris

on November 26, 2008

in Uncategorized

. 2 Comments

Chris Teacher

This week in languagelab we’ve been talking about games in our English lessons and in particular, the new World of Warcraft game, Wrath of the Lich King.

Wrath of the Lich King has just been launched by Blizzard and is an expansion pack for the largest online MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) in the world. In London there were queues of more than 2000 people as fans waited to be the first to get their hands on the game.

There are more than 11 million people involved in the fantasy game making it one of the biggest meeting places on earth. They spend time fighting monsters or each other, or both. Click here to watch the trailer.

Wrath of The Lich King

We talked about whether video games and online worlds were a bad thing and if they had too much influence on people. It’s a tough question, especially when the virtual world can be so exciting with so many things to do. Certainly some people get addicted to games like World of Warcraft and spend a lot of their time playing, but people spend a lot of time watching football too! We decided that the point about virtual worlds was their ability to engage people and make them interested. This has huge implications not only for entertainment, but for education as well.

Computers and virtual worlds like Second Life and World of Warcraft play more of a role in out lives than ever before so they are bound to attract attention.

Check out these gaming idioms and match them to the right answers

Idiom	Answer
1. Checkmate	a) From darts – I make the rules
2. Call the shots	b) From roulette – You are having a bad time
3. The chips are down	c) From chess – I win
4. Show your hand	d) From football – let’s start again
5. Back to square one.	e) From cards – tell the truth

Answers

1.c) 2.a) 3.b) 4.e) 5. d)

Top Ten Tips to Choosing a School in a Virtual World!

Published

Administrator

on November 13, 2008

in Uncategorized

. 1 Comment

Being the newest an most innovative form of learning languages, plenty of students world-wide are jumping on the band-wagon to be educated on a virtual platforms. However, in the name of quality control it is now the time to really scrutinise the services available beyond the hype.

…So we here at Languagelab have decided to give you 10 handy questions that any student wanting to learn a language efficiently and effectively need to ask before they join one of the many schools out there on virtual platforms… Happy Reading:

Continue reading ‘Top Ten Tips to Choosing a School in a Virtual World!’

Donatella Benoir back to English city

Published

Administrator

on October 14, 2008

in Uncategorized

. 0 Comments

夏末的一天，在英语城购物的时候，终于又见到我最喜欢的英语城居民（English City people）之一Donatella，假期归来的她依旧谈笑风生。话题还是些老话题，但是每次都让我耳目一新。

英语城有很多故事，而Donatella总能把第一时间把第一手小道消息传给我，这次她谈到了pebbles（pebbles是另一位城市居民，一个做着好莱坞梦的乐观小姑娘，如果你常看美剧，说不定可以在屏幕中看到她）她告诉我pebbles的小兄弟也要搬来英语城生活了，然后不忘飞短流长的加一句pebbles的小兄弟是大胖子。

谈到最后她又要张罗着要给我找个如意郎君把我嫁出去，这个英国妞就是不顾文化差异，每次都是要用结婚的话题开我的玩笑，也不管我都羞的满脸通红了。还好她很快又转移话题说她迷恋的贝克汉姆马上要为她而和辣妹维多莉亚离婚了。

在Periwinkles 成衣店门前的Donatella总是一幅职业模特的姿态：）她说自己还在为英语城筹备时尚设计和模特大赛，期待中：）
对于Donatella来说蜚短流长都是她的生活方式了，她总能用诙谐幽默和坦诚把说闲话演绎得精彩出色。她还是精明的生意女人，经营这英语城里最大的成衣店Periwinkles
如果你需要时尚、着装建议，一定不要错过Donatella：）

The end of summer is the beginning of new season Donatella Benoir back to English city

Repeat after me! Part 2

Published

Administrator

on September 19, 2008

in Uncategorized

. 0 Comments

Repeat after me! Part 2

Last week we talked about simple repetition techniques. This week we will cover spaced repetition, task repetition and recycling.

Spaced repetition:
increasing intervals of time are used between subsequent reviews. In order to follow this repetition technique,
we can use different recall methods such as questioning, free recall (e.g. write 3 words we studied last week), free association
(e.g. what words are related to “clothes”), intellective reflection (Identify the word that does not belong in a category), or
prompting using other mnemonic triggers or cues (describing images, matching words to sounds, for example). This is a great technique
to use at the beginning of each class to review previously presented vocabulary items.

Task repetition:
including the same kind of vocabulary in different tasks or activities. These different activities can be included
in one lesson. In Languagelab.com we have the City People who are always there to talk to our students in the different locations of the town.
Sending our students to complete a given task at these locations is a great way to use the language learned with other native speakers who are not teachers.
This is by all means the best repetition activity.

When we add previously presented vocabulary to new vocabulary, we are talking about repetition through recycling. For instance, we have presented
vocabulary on clothing, this vocabulary can be incorporated, in a following class about seasons (What do you wear in the summer?).

Repetition is important, but it should not be boring!

In this picture we see the students repeating vocabulary already learned. Each student was assigned a pyramid which contained images. They had to project these images and identify them.

Bookmark this blog:

Grammar Girl on Reading

Published

Iffaf

on September 14, 2008

in Uncategorized

. 0 Comments

This posting looks at reading skills. When we read a text there are often words we don’t know. If that happens it is better not to stop for very long.
Keep reading and you will be able to guess the meaning from the context. We are going to practice this skills with the text below.

Procedure: Read it quickly and try to get the general meaning.
You will be surprised how many words you can guess. Then read it again quite quickly. Now you will have a good idea about
what the missing words are. Then look at the list of words below and you should be able to see the correct word.
Fill in the blanks

I __1__ by Grammar Girl in a cafe one day where she was teaching a small class. This was where I saw a rather dignifed, grey-haired student.
This was a bit of a surprise to me because he looked much older than rest of the students. He was a gentle-looking person who __2__ his nose as
he moved towards me to welcome me to the class.
“What’s your __3__?” I asked.
“I’m called ‘Big Old Ted,’” replied the old __4__.
“If you don’t mind me _5_ , why are you in the class?” I inquired.
“Isn’t it obvious?” asked Big Old Ted.
“Not really.”
Big Old Ted looked surreptitiously at Grammar Girl and said . “I want to improve my English and learn a bit more and if you __6__ at just the right angle,
you can see that Grammar Girl seems to be a teacher,” he __7__.
“But she is a __8__!” I said.
“Shhhh!” Ted responded with the loudest whisper I have ever __9__. “Don’t let her hear you say that!”
I said __10__, because I didn’t know what to say.

stopped ran into went carried
chased bit wriggled lost
breed problem age name
dog cow lady gentleman
asking saying speaking wondering
listen look call wonder
explained asked smelled knew
person female teacher potato
spoken seen found heard
here yes words nothing

Answers: 1. ran into; 2. wriggled; 3. age; 4. gentleman; 5. asking; 6. look; 7. explained; 8. teacher; 9. heard; 10. nothing

Bookmark this blog:

FYI - Abbreviations and Acronyms Part 1

Published

Chris

on September 13, 2008

in Uncategorized

. 1 Comment

Abbreviations and Acronyms Part 1 – FYI

Sometimes when people are typing very quickly, they like to use ways to make the words shorter. We do this in English all the time.
In this blog I’ll try and show you the most common abbreviations and acronyms teachers and students sometimes use when they are in their
Languagelab English class

What’s an abbreviation,?

An abbreviation is when you make a word smaller. We do this in English all the time.
I’d like a drink = I would like a drink
I’m hungry
Although we use this a lot in standard English, people who type in the ‘chat box’ often use abbreviations.
How r u? = How are you?
C U soon = See you soon.
Ur welcome = you’re welcome
This isn’t good English really, but people use it a lot.

What are Acronyms?
An acronym is a word that is made from the first letters from other words. These are used a lot in English.
UN – United Nations

USA- United States of America
WHO – World Health Organization
FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions

These are also used in languagelab. Many students and teachers use them so they can explain things very quickly.
Below is a list of the most important ones. If you know any more, write them down at the bottom of this blog in the big box that says ‘comment’.

FYI - For your information	LOL- (I’m) laughing out loud	NP – No Problem
FYI – For your information	ASAP – As soon as possible	GL – Good Luck
TY- Thank you	OMW – On my way	BRB – Be right back
YW – You’re welcome	AFK – Away from Keyboard (write this if you leave you computer for a minute)	BTW – By the way
BTW – By the way	SL – Second Life	LL - Languagelab
LM - Landmark	IM – Instant Message	TP – Teleport

There is also a very big list at http://www.abbreviations.com/acronyms/CHAT

Next week: Acronyms Part 2: Emoticons

Bookmark this blog:

WHICH ENGLISH DO YOU LIKE?

Published

jessie

on September 12, 2008

in Uncategorized

. 0 Comments

Greetings from Languagelab, welcome to our new features:

7 day free trial!

The Grammar House

Easy payment via Paypal!

City people

(our new professional actors to help you study in real life situations)

Here at Languagelab we help with every detail in learning English. Our professional native ESL teachers are from a wide range of English speaking countries from London to Los Angeles, Sydney to Southampton and many more. We can help you learn the important differences between different types of English for example*:

*not 100% for all cases, there are some exceptions.

The differences are not just in the spelling but cultural too!

Can you notice differences between British and American English?

Easy? Then take our level test now! Check below for the answers and join our new Myspace and Facebook pages too:

www.myspace.com/wearelanguagelab

www.facebook.com

Search:
“We Are Languagelab”
“Second Life in English City” (Groups)

Don’t forget to try our FREE lessons, we KNOW you will have fun learning English with Languagelab.

See you soon;-)

ANSWERS:

1. USA/UK

2. USA/UK

3. UK/USA

4. USA/UK

Bookmark this blog:

Languagelab.com Blog