Listening

My daughter is seven weeks old and is being exposed to both English and Spanish already. Another friend has just has a baby who will be spoken to in English and Welsh. It may seem silly to speak anything to babies when they can't speak back, but this video shows that it is vitally important! Watch this fascinating lecture and then try to answer the true or false questions below.

India Arie writes and sings beautiful love songs. Read through the lyrics and guess which word fits in the gap, then listen and check your answers. Enjoy the song and let us know how you did!

A Beautiful Surprise

Today's lesson is based on a TED Talk by Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Facebook. TED is an organisation that believes in the power of sharing ideas.

TED invites the world's leading thinkers and doers to give an 18 minute talk on a wide range of topics within the research and practice of science and culture, often through storytelling. On their website more than 1400 TED Talks are available, with more added each week. All of the talks are subtitled in English, and many are subtitled in various languages.

The famous English double agent, James Bond, has been in the news a lot this year.

Not only did the new film receive positive reviews, it is also fifty years since the first one came to the screen. This song is the official theme for the new film.

Read through the lyrics and try to guess which word completes the gap. Then listen to the song and check your answers. Enjoy!

Lesson by Caroline

John Mayer writes and performs many beautiful songs. I particularly love the lyrics which is why I share them with you. Listen to the song and see if you can complete the gaps with the missing words. I’ve put the definitions of the words as well to help you. Is any of the vocabulary new to you?

Lesson by Caroline

The Script are an Irish rock band who have become very popular in the past few years. You do not have to listen to the whole song, just the first couple of verses. Before you listen to the song and try to complete the gaps, follow these steps:

1. Read through the lyrics, can you guess which word fits where before you listen?
2. Listen to check your answers.

I hope you enjoy it!

Lesson by Caroline

Are you creative? Do you think people can learn to be more creative or is creativity just something you are born with and can't be taught.

Creativity is the ability to come up with new ideas. It is an important skill in business because fresh ideas can help an organisation stay competitive.

Often, people think of themselves as being creative or non-creative. This talk argues that everyone has the ability to be creative and that it is only fear that stops people from being so.

In today's lesson we will be discussing the differences between the present simple and the present continuous. It is a common mistake for English learners to mix these two tenses up, but after this lesson you will know when to use the correct tense. Read the explanation and the examples and then complete the sentences with the correct verb.

Let's test your listening with the following video. Watch the video and answer the questions by choosing True or False. Also, I hope it gets you started on your training. Do you enjoy riding bikes? Have you ever participated in a bike race? Enjoy!

Lesson by Caroline

When I was Colombia, I watched lots of old movies with my husband. One of them was West Side Story, a musical based loosely on Romeo and Juliet. Listen to this song and see if you can complete the gaps with the missing words. Try reading through first guessing before you listen. I’ve used a recent version of the song that appeared in the TV show 'Glee', as the quality is better. Enjoy!

Lesson by Caroline