NATIONAL SYMBOLS OF ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRIES

                   

SYMBOLS

These are the national flowers of some English speaking countries. Can you guess what country they represent?

                      

Try to find other symbols which are associated to these countries. Here you are some clues to start with: the flag, traditional music, the currency, a monument, a popular character (politician, writer, artist, scientist...), a well-known image of the country, a river/lake, a football team, a famous singer/band, a popular sport and an animal.
  

Here you are the names of the different flowers. Can you match them with the pictures?

Maple leaf      Shamrock      King Protea       Thisle      Water-lily    Rose   
       
            Silver Fern        Daffodil        Golden Wattle

Click on the different countries for help.

• UK
• USA
• AUSTRALIA
• CANADA
• IRELAND
• NEW ZEALAND
• SOUTH AFRICA
• INDIA

Note down all this information and get ready to tell to your classmates and teacher in the class. Good luck!

SONGS

Look for your favourite bands and learn English through their songs.  Here's a selection of them. 

Process: Once you've clicked on the song, choose your level: begginer,  intermediate , advanced or expert. Then, start playing the game and HAVE FUN!

You'll have to fill in the missing words in the song.

• ANGELS - Robbie Williams
• EVERY TEARDROP IS A WATERFALL - Coldplay
• FIX YOU - Coldplay
• HALL OF FAME - The Script
• HEY, SOUL SISTER - Train
• HO, HEY - The Lumineers
• HOW TO SAVE A LIFE - The Fray
• I'M YOURS - Jason Mraz
• LEAVE OUT ALL THE REST - Linking Park
• LET HER GO - Passenger
• MORE THAN WORDS - Extreme
• PRICE TAG -Jessie J. ¬ B.o.B.
• SOMEONE LIKE YOU - Adele
• VIVA LA VIDA - Coldplay
• WELCOME TO MY LIFE - Simple Plan
• WITH OR WITHOUT YOU - U2
• YESTERDAY - The Beatles
• ZOMBIE - The Cranberries

GENERATION Y

Have a look at the following photograph. What does it suggest you?

• Why do you think it is called 'Generation Y'?
• Discuss the characteristics of these young people. (Click on the link to get information about them).
• Now watch the following video and try to answer the questions on the quiz:

HISTORY LESSON

A VISION OF STUDENTS TODAY

Discuss the following questions in class:

1. If the walls in your classroom could talk, what would they say about  learning today?

2. What's like to be a student today?

3. Do you usually complete your assignments?

4. How many books will you read this year?

5. And web pages?

6. How many profiles on social networking sites will you read?

7. How many e-mails will you write?

8. How many hours a day do you spend on these activities?

• online?
• watching TV?
• listening to music
• on the cell phone?
• eating?
• in class?
• studying?
• sleeping?

9. How many hours a day do they make in total?

10. Do you consider yourself a multi-tasker?

11. Do you think you're one of those lucky students who have almost everything one could wish?

12. Does your future job exist today?

13. Do you agree that technology can save us?

14. What's the message students give in this video? What do they demand? What do they regret?

• Do you feel identified with the Gen Y'ers? In which aspects? Discuss.

THE KING'S SPEECH

PLOT

After the death of his father King George V  and the scandalous abdication of King Edward VIII , Bertie  who has suffered from a debilitating speech impediment all his life, is suddenly crowned King George VI of England. With his country on the brink of war and in desperate need of a leader, his wife, Elizabeth, the future Queen Mother, arranges for her husband to see an eccentric speech therapist, Lionel Logue. After a rough start, the two look into an unorthodox course of treatment and eventually form an unbreakable bond. With the support of Logue, his family, his government and Winston Churchill, the King will overcome his stammer and deliver a radio-address that inspires his people and unites them in battle. Based on the true story of King George VI, THE KING'S SPEECH follows the Royal Monarch's quest to find his voice.

MAIN CHARACTERS

• King George VI (Bertie) - Collin Firth
• Queen Elizabeth (future Queen Mother) - Helena Bonham Carter
• Lionel Logue (speech therapist) - Geoffrey Rush
• King George V - Michael Gambon
• King Edward VIII - Guy Pearce
• Winston Churchill - Timothy Spall

TRAILER.

After watching the trailer, click on the link below (warm-up activities) and discuss the questions included there with your classmates and teacher.

USEFUL VOCABULARY

• Royal Family: 'Your Majesty', 'Your Highness' (treatment), abdication, to crown.
• Speech: speech disorder, speech therapy/therapist, to stammer, to stutter, swear, recite, speak in public, audition, voice.
• Radio: broadcast, off the air, on the air, radio-address. 

WARM-UP ACTIVITIES

Now that you've got an idea of what the film is about, get ready to watch the whole film in the class.

SOME MORE INTERESTING INFORMATION:

• Original oral speech by George VI, 1939. 
• Original written speech by George, Sept. 1939 (See the last two pages of the document).

CONJUNCTIONS AND CONDITIONAL SENTENCES

Here you are some exercises to practise certain expressions in English. Click on the following links to get started.


1. CONDITION: IF, UNLESS, AS LONG AS.

2. CONDITION: AS LONG AS, PROVIDED THAT, UNLESS.

3. CONJUNCTIONS: AS LONG AS, SO THAT, AS IF, WHILE, UNTIL.

4. CONDITIONAL SENTENCES.

5. a) I WISH.   b) I WISH.   c) I WISH

6. I WISH / IF ONLY

GAMES

Click on the links to play some games and learn on the different aspects of the language. Good luck!

• Irregular verbs
• Strong adjectives
• Gerunds and infinitives
• Opposites (adjectives)
• Phrasal verbs
• Jobs

TONGUE TWISTERS

A good way to improve the pronunciation of certain English sounds is trying to say tongue twisters.

Click on the image to listen to them and start getting some training in the different sounds.

You'll certainly have good fun when your tongue twists.

MY BLACKBERRY IS NOT WORKING!

Watch this hilarious sketch at a greengrocer's where a man complains about his blackberry not working properly!

Watch all the words employed with double meaning and discuss them with your classmates and teacher.

Here you are some clues to start with:

* a blackberry
* to run out of juice
* to be frozen
* an orange
* to boot
* a date
* to crash
* an apple
* an eggs-box (pay attention to the pronunciation of this word)

Look up the words in the computer terms dictionary to help you understand the meaning.

Now get ready to do the gap-fill exercise that follows while watching the video.

By the way, do you know what the origin of the word blackberry is? Read the explanation by clicking on the word and give your opinion on this issue. Remember this is just one of the possible explanations.

HALLOWEEN

What don't you know about Halloween? Click on the pumpkin to get all the information you need about this celebration and the custom related to it.

DICTATION

Get some training on listening and writing with dictation exercises. 

Click on the image, choose your level and the topic and have a go! 

LIFE EXPECTATIONS

WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE BEFORE IT'S ALL OVER?

Play the video and find out the things some people would like to accomplish before they die.

                                                                            by realdogswimming

• Mention as many things as you can remember from the interviews.

• Now think about the things you hope to accomplish in your lifetime and share them with your classmates and teacher.

 

SUCCESSFUL EDUCATION SYSTEMS

Have you ever wondered what the key to success at school is?

What makes an educational system good?


Let's have a look at the Finnish education system which is at the top of world rankings.

Play the video and then discuss with your classmates and your teacher the different aspects related to it:

SINGLE-SEX CLASSES AT HIGH SCHOOL

Are boys and girls separated in different classrooms in

 the schools in your country?

                                  What's your opinion about single-sex classes?

                 Discuss with your classmates:

a) it is helpful because students learn better and more if   separated. 

b) it is a discriminatory measure and single-sex classes
                   are far from real life.
           
Read and listen to the article about an experiment carried out in a highschool in the USA where students are offered a special education programme.

Then, click on the right hand margin of the page to do the 5 follow-up activities.

MY CRUSHES AND MY DISLIKES

What things do you love? Which ones really annoy you? Why?


Click HERE to get to know about:

• 365 things I love in life.                                      * 1001 things I dislike.
                                                    

1. Which is the most shocking thing you found among the ones she loves ?

2. And the most awful one?

Now, choose one thing you fancy and one thing that gets on your nerves and give reasons to support your choices.

VOCABULARY

How many words can you guess in a record time using the clues provided?

• Try the WORDMASTER from the BBC and do your best. Choose the level you think you can be succesful at: easy, medium or difficult and start playing.

       Good luck and have fun!

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Also, if you feel like revising some basic vocabulary you might not rembember very well, click on the different topics, learn the words and do the activities you need. There are three leves of difficulty to choose from.

•  FRUIT AND VEGETABLES.  

• PARTS OF THE BODY (including some organs and bones)

• Click HERE in order to find other topic vocabulary.

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ARE YOU A VISUAL TYPE OF LEARNER?

Click on the Picture vocabulary, choose a topic and learn the vocabulary by watching and listening to it. Here you are a couple of examples:

• SPORTS AND FITNESS ACTIVITIES.

• TRANSPORT.

• FURNITURE AND HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES.

- Other interesting topics:

• SCHOOL SLANG and QUIZ.

PRONUNCIATION EASY!

Practice the pronunciation of the English sounds and words with the help of

Mr Right.

Choose the lesson that best suits you and have fun. There is a variety of topics: spelling, vowels, consonants, linking words, etc. Click on the image to get started.

Then, do some more practice on the following links and check your progress.

•  Phonetic exercises level 1
• Phonetic exercises level 2
• Minimal pairs: 'sheep or ship'
  
  

Fill in the missing words in the song while listening to it. 



03 Chasing Cars

CROSSWORDS

Would you like to improve your vocabulary in an amusing way?

How good at you at doing crosswords? 

Let's check! Click on the image to get started.

HOW TO SAVE A LIFE - The Fray

Once you've the done the activity in class, check your answers by watching the following video.

VOWEL SOUNDS

Watch and listen to the lesson shown on the videos and repeat in order to learn how to pronounce the vowel sounds in English.