Languagelab.com Blog

Hi English City Students,

I hope you received my invitation about the Eye of Providence Exhibition opening on the 29th of June.  If you want to attend you need to RSVP to the invitation and you will get a ticket to come.

To help you prepare for the exhibition I have put together some vocabulary and suggested questions you could ask the artist.

Going to an exhibition opening:

Have you ever been to an exhibition opening before? It is a very interesting and fun activity where you get to meet the artist, gallery owners, art buyers and collectors and friends.

Here are some things to think about:

• What are you going to wear to the event – smart or casual?

Go to Donatella’s shop and get something for the occasion.

Saturday 26th class

Sunday 27th class

• Is it important to be punctual?

Ask Millie about etiquette and punctuality.

Millie is in Conversations Café every day 7am-9am PDT (3pm-5pm UK time)

• Do you need to research the artist before you go to the opening?

Look online and see if you can find any of the artist’s work.

• What kind of questions do you want to ask the artist or other people?

Talk to other students in English City and prepare some questions together.

Questions to ask other students:

• Have you ever been to an exhibition opening before?

• Do you know any art galleries? Are there any in your city?

• Were you interested in photography when you were young?

• In your opinion, is photography an important part of culture?

• Can you tell me the name of a photographer you know?

• Is photography a great importance in your daily life?

Questions to ask the artist:

• What inspires you?

• How long have you been an artist?

• What country are you from and what languages can you speak?

• Do you think your cultural background influences your work?

• You can visit this link for more ideas on photography questions

Asking open ended questions:

To keep the conversation going longer you can ask other students an ‘open ended question’. This is the opposite of a ‘Yes or No’ question.

• “Why did………”

• “Can you explain…….”

• “How does……..”

• “Please describe ………”

• “Tell me about a time when……”

Vocabulary to help you:

• Abstract– art that is not realistic, though it can be based on

• something real.

• Composition – the arrangement of the elements in a work of art. More simply, where an artist arranges things in their photographs.

• Docent – a museum guide who usually works for free.

• Frame – the support element that surrounds a work of art usually made of wood or metal.

• Portrait – any form of art expression that features an animal or a person as its main subject matter.

• Realistic– a style of art that shows places, events, people or objects as the eye sees them.

• Still life – a composition featuring inanimate objects such as flowers or food or vases. Objects in a still life cannot get up and walk away by themselves.

• Two dimensional – artwork that is flat and measured only by height and width. Two-dimensional art is sometimes called “2-D.”

• Three dimensional- artwork measured by height, width and depth. Three-dimensional art is sometimes called “3-D.”

You can visit this link for more detailed vocabulary on describing photographs:

http://nuovo.com/southern-images/analyses.html

There is also a lot of vocabulary here and it is translated into French.

We hope to see you at the exhibition on Tuesday 29th June, please rsvp to me if you want a ticket for the exhibition.

Jessie Teacher

The students had great fun in Jazz’s Business English classes at the bank. The students were asking a bank teller for money and a bank manger for a loan. Check out the pictures!

Hi Students,

Just a quick post to tell you a little about the DUCKLING project at Leicester University.  Recently at Languagelab we had a team from Leicester University come in and watch our classes.  These were all teachers from different countries who wanted to learn more about teaching in virtual worlds.

Here is a video of a presentation they made in Southampton last week.

Hi Languagelab students,

This week we are talking about different cultures and crocodiles.

Watch this video below and answer the following questions:

Questions:

1. What countries does the speaker mention?

2. What is the system for streets in your country?

3. What do you think is the most unique thing about your culture?

4. Which cultures are most similar and most different to your own?

Shaun the crocodile man.

Shaun, 30, keeps 24 crocodiles and alligators in the semi-detached home in Oxford he shares with fiancée Lisa Green, 29, and children Billy, six, Louie, four, and eight-month-old Shania.

Joiner Shaun has even erected a purpose-built enclosure for his unique pets which include endangered Black Caymans, Cuban crocodiles and a Chinese alligator to keep the reptiles at a constant 25 degrees.

Shaun has now raised £100,000 in just two years to create Britains first crocodile zoo so his house can be restored to normality.

Shaun is still hunting for a 5,000 sq ft location big enough to house all his prehistoric beasts but in the meantime, his family home retains a tropical feel.

“They are amazing animals but not cheap to keep as pets. Just feeding them with rodents and fish costs £8,000 a year,” Shaun said.
“I have been interested in crocodiles since I was a little kid and once I started reptiles at 17 it just snowballed.

By the time I was 25 I had my dangerous animals licence and I was looking after crocodiles and alligators.”

All of Shauns children have grown up surrounded by snappy brothers and sisters and have inherited Shaun’s fascination and fiancée Lisa has also adapted to life in the wild.

Shaun added: “The crocodiles have always been around since before the children were born, so it is very normal to them.”The children like to go in and look at them and they have no fear at all.

“Lisa helps out with the crocodiles which is great.”

“They are part of the family and she has known about my love of reptiles since day one, so she wasn’t shocked.” But despite the animals being very well behaved, Shaun’s neighbours have still yet to pop round for a peek but are pleased to have their very own predatory neighbourhood watch. Shaun added: “The neighbours all know the crocodiles are there, but they have never wanted to come around and see them.

“People think these animals lie in rivers waiting to attack the next human walking past, but there is a lot more to them.”

Questions:

1. How long has Shaun kept crocodiles?

2. What types of crocodiles does Shaun keep?

3. How much does it cost per year to feed them?

4. What do they eat ?

5. What is Shaun looking for?

6. What do you think of keeping crocodiles as pets?

See you next week and don’t forget to come to our event tomorrow evening at 6:30pm UK time (10:30am PST), Jeremy Harmer will be talking to our students.

Bye bye,

Jessie Teacher

Hi Languagelab students,

We are very lucky to have a world famous author, teacher trainer and teacher is coming to Languagelab. He will be talking about strategies to learn English and you will have the opportunity to ask him questions.  He will also be sharing some poetry with us.

When?  Tuesday 2nd of February

What time?  6:30pm UK time (10:30am PST)

Where ? The Theatre in English City at Languagelab.com

We hope you can join us!

See you there  - – Jessie Teacher

Hi Everyone,

As 2009 ends and 2010 begins lets think about how you can improve your English.  Make it your New Years Resolution to practice for a few minutes every day at English City.

I have a few articles here and videos for you to watch to help you practice over the Christmas holiday.

Culture:
There have been some great pop videos in the last decade.  Here is one of my favourite videos !

Fat Boy Slim – Weapon of Choice

Questions:
1. Who is the actor dancing in the video?

2. How would you describe him at the beginning of the clip?

3. Where is the man dancing?

4. What does he look at quickly at the beginning of the clip?

5. How would you describe the man at the end of the video?

If you want to talk about music and also learn to sing in English, you can visit Griffin in English City. He is a composer and also teaches students how to pronounce words correctly.  If you want to see the top 20 videos that were voted in the Guardian website, click here.

Fashion:
In 2009 there have been a lot of different styles and trends.  Some of them have been cool, others crazy and some just very strange.  People Magazine have put together a list of different trends for 2009 on their website.  Here is one trend that I would like your opinion about.
Fingerless gloves !  These gloves don’t have any fingers so they are not designed to keep you warm.
1. Where would you wear gloves like these?

2. What material are they made from?

3. Would people wear these gloves in your country ?

4. What adjectives can you think of to describe them?

In English City we have several clothes shops, my favourite is Perwinkles.  Donatella one of my friends works there and she always has the latest fashions.

Sports:
It has been a great year for sports all over the world especially in China with the Olympics hosted there in 2009.
In the UK we have an award for best Sports Personality of the Year.  Watch this video and answer the questions.

1. Who won the award?

2. What sport is he famous for and which team does he play for?

3. Who does he mention as his heroes?

4. Who does he thank in his speech?

5. Who are the Sports Stars in your country ?

6. Tell me about your favourite sport and why you like it.

To read more about the Sports Personality of the Year 2009 visit the BBC website.

If you write back to me with your comments I will correct them all for you.  Good luck with the questions !

See you soon,

Jessie Teacher

IELTS stands for ‘International English Language Testing System’, is an international standardised test of English language proficiency. It is jointly managed by University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations, the British Council and IDP Education Australia, and was established in 1989.

IELTS is accepted by most Australian, British, Canadian, Irish, New Zealand and South African academic institutions, over 2,000 academic institutions in the United States, and various professional organisations. It is also a requirement for immigration to Australia and Canada.

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (or TOEFL, pronounced “toe-full”) evaluates the potential success of an individual to use and understand academic English at a college level. It is required for non-native applicants at many English-speaking colleges and universities. Additionally, institutions such as government agencies, businesses, or scholarship programmes may require this test. A TOEFL score is valid for two years and then is deleted from the official database. Colleges and universities usually consider only the most recent TOEFL score.

They may sound very similar but the tests themselves are very different.  I have, personally, found IELTS to be a more
valid test than TOEFL but if you are not sure which exam to sit, ask the University or institution which they prefer.

The last time I counted, the word ‘break’ had over one hundred meanings.  That’s 100!!  The meaning that I want to focus on today is to stop an action temporarily.  We would have a break at lunch time, or stop for a break.

The reason why I am mentioning this word is that having an exciting variety of break time activities can increase your activity and improve your self esteem, a new study has shown.

This means that you should not study continuously.  You should take lots of breaks.  And when you take a break, make sure that you don’t just sit around.  Have fun.  Take a walk.  Enjoy the weather.

Grammar Girl is back with more confusing words.

What is the difference between ‘among’ and ‘between?’

‘Between’ has a few meanings but, in brief, ‘between’ is in or through the position or interval separating, such as ‘between the trees; between 11 o’clock and 12 o’clock.’

‘Among’ is  in the midst of; surrounded by, such as ‘a pine tree among cedars.’

Listen to the Banana Game in this link to find out more:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1723_gramchallenge46/

There are two indefinite articles in English: ‘a’ and ‘an’. They are used before a singular noun that has a plural form. ‘A’ is used before a consonant sound and ‘an’ is used before a vowel sound.  The sound is more important than the spelling; we say ‘an hour’ and ‘a bag’ because the sounds of the first letter are different.

Here are the answers to the exercise I gave you in my last post.

1) Lucy has  — dog.
Answer: a

2) Let’s sing  — song.
Answer: a

3) Emily needs  — new desk in her room.
Answer: a

4) I need  — blue pen.
Answer: a

5) Ben has — old bike.
Answer: an

6) Peter has — aunt in Berlin.
Answer: an

7) We listen to — English CD.
Answer: an

8) She has — exercise book in her school bag.
Answer: an

9) The speed of this car was 160 miles — hour.
Answer: an

10) They finished — unit.
Answer: a

‘A’ and ‘the’ are included in the 200 key words in the English language.  The question is why are they so important?  Please post a comment to this blog with the answer.