INFINITIVES AND -ING FORMS (3) - ADVANCED

Last website to practise infinitives and -ing forms. There are plenty of exercises. Click on NON-STOP ENGLISH

INFINITIVES AND -ING FORMS (2) - ADVANCED

To use -ing or to use infinitives, that is the question! Learning how to use -ing and infinitives is one of the most challenging aspects of learning English. For this reason, Englishpage.com has created an in-depth tutorial on the subject. You can also click on an exercise and test what you already know. It even includes lists of reference to know which verbs or expressions take full or bare infinitives or -ing forms. It is a very useful website.

INFINITIVES AND -ING FORMS - ADVANCED

There are certain words in English that are usually followed by an infinitive or
-ing form. If you are not sure whether to use the infinitive or -ing, check out the lists and do the exercises on this website, English grammar 4U, or just look the words up in a dictionary.
Click on ENGLISH GRAMMAR 4U for grammar and exercises.

OTHER REPORTS ON HAITI EARTHQUAKE

A massive earthquake struck Tuesday near the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, causing damage across the impoverished region. It is the largest quake to hit the area in some 200 years. Watch and read all what has been written on this catastrophe.
HAITI EARTHQUAKE VOAnews

Obama: Haiti 'Will Not Be Forsaken' LISTENING SKILLS - ADVANCED LEVEL

President Barack Obama makes a statement about the earthquake in Haiti, Thursday, 14 Jan. 2010, at the White House in Washington. You can read the article but you can also watch Obama's statement by clicking on the symbol on the top right of the page by Obama's picture or at the end of the article.
There are other related articles on the same issue in case you are interested in knowing everthing on this catastrophe.
Pay attention to the symbols beside the headline as they will show you whether the news is on audio or video format. If you have the audio, you can listen to the news and read the transcript at the same time.

Obama's statement on VOAnews.com

CHRISTMAS DOUBTS

Just some true stories of Christmas traditions. Do you still doubt that Santa exists? Read all the emails Santa receives every day of the year. Apart from that, you could solve out all your Christmas-themed doubts. Click on MERRY CHRISTMAS.COM
and you will be taken to the website

CHRISTMAS AROUND THE WORLD

It is always interesting to know how people celebrate Christmas in their countries.I found this information browsing the web as I was trying to find something which could help you understand other traditions and customs. Click on this link on Christmas to know.

COURSE TO LEARN ENGLISH

Here is the best way to learn English easily and at home. A couple of lessons like this one will enable you to keep a conversation with a native speaker. If you have followed the whole course and you think you have improved your level, please leave me a message. It would be very comforting to know these lessons have been of great help to you.

WRITING FOR ALL LEVELS

As I would like you to improve your writing and your language skills in a funny way, five pictures have been posted so that you can make up your own story. Actually, what you are meant to do is to write a quick meaningful story with the pictures provided below and it doesn't matter the order you use them. It would be funny somehow to know what you come up with. I encourage you to write your story in the comments. Come on, go ahead and leave your short story.

WRITING FOR ALL THE LEVELS

Amazing website to improve your writing skill. It can sometimes be important to write carefully and draft and redraft your letters. At other times it is good to write quickly.
Get into this website called ONE WORD, click on GO and at the top of the following page you will see a word. You have to write about that word for 60 seconds. After writing about that word, insert your name and submit. You will be able to compare what you have written to what other people have written about that word.

HALLOWEEN

Halloween is the scariest night of the year. All around the world, people celebrate spookiness. Learn its origin and complete the quiz.

MORE ABOUT RECORDING YOUR VOICE - ADVANCED LEVELS

As I promised to some of you, here is another website where you can record your voice and send it to me so that I can correct your pronunciation. You will have to download the software and read the instructions, which are in Spanish. Click on the link AUDACITY

GETTING BETTER AT SPEAKING - ADVANCED

I have been searching the web looking for ways to get extra English speaking practice opportunities and feedback on your English speaking skills. I have come across a very useful site called 'Podomatic'. It is a service available on the web that will host your podcast. This will help you make your own recordings and send them to me by e-mail. Read through the information provided on this link and sign up on Podomatic.

YOUR PLACE - ADVANCED LEVEL 2

Very useful website which you might turn to if you wanted to know about TV licences in the UK, insurance, guides to cleaning or basic maintenance and many other aspects to consider when renting or buying a house. It is worth a visit: The Site.org the site to the real world.

VIDEOS - ADVANCED LEVEL

The first video is on a Turkish tree-village. You will understand why it is a tree-village after watching the video.

This second video is on Lisbon in Portugal.

Those videos are examples of other more you can watch on this link
The guardian

MORE ON TRAVELLING - ADVANCED LEVEL

You should read this piece of information if you have thought of going to Manchester in a near future. Manchester airport trials naked-image security scans. It means passengers are requested to go through a full-body x-ray scanner that leaves little to the imagination of the security staff.
guardian.co.uk World news Web

TRAVEL AND TOURISM - ADVANCED LEVEL

I offer you a unit which was intended for people who wanted to learn and practise vocabulary on travel and tourism. It provides a different set of activities from listening through reading. I encourage you all to try this site as a reinforcement. Hope you like it. Click on the link below.
Advanced Vocational English

WHY MEN DON'T TALK - ADVANCED 1

This is the last topic we were discussing about but not everybody dared say their own view. I would like you to read this article called 'Why Men Don't Talk', by David Zinczenko on yahoo and then leave your views on SOLVR

As the editor of the biggest men's magazine in the world, I am privy to something many women rarely hear - straightforward, uninhibited guy talk.

Don't be so shocked - guys do actually talk, and not just about Tom Brady's quarterback rating. Most women think their man is the strong, silent type (or maybe the oblivious, silent type), and they wonder why he doesn't share his feelings.

But here's the truth: Men do want to open up, about their hopes, their fears, and their passions. Yet put him alone in a room with you, and he often turns into a Sphinx. Why can't he take his eyes off the TV and talk about the state of the relationship, or the finances, or, heck, the backyard landscaping? Why in the world can't he just summarize his day for 10 minutes?

In fact, one in five women say that they typically fight about a man's lack of verbal interaction, and 30 percent of men say their failure to communicate is the source of major conflict in the relationship. Why is it this way?

Here's one answer: Because even men who have feelings to share don't always feel comfortable sharing them with their partner. These are some of the reasons why some men often prefer to zip it, rather than delivering the goods:

Guys Are A Little Intimidated
No question, women are expert communicators. They throw questions like Oprah after her third cup of coffee; they're connecting on all cylinders. And like the divine Ms. W, women bring a lot of skill to their game: A special awareness of the people-scape around them, a keen set of emotions keyed to that awareness, and a rich vocabulary they use to talk about anything at anytime.

And they're always practicing their Q&A skills on their many friends, so they're in top talk mode all the time. Men know this. And they also know that more than one-third of women say that men simply can't relate and don't understand women. The result: Men are afraid of saying too much, because saying the wrong thing may get them into more trouble than Lindsay Lohan as a designated driver.

Guys Need To Decompress
Woman's view: When a man walks in the door, he ought to cough up some of the details about his day. After all, it's been 10 hours since they've communicated, not counting the two IMs, three voice mails, and one actual mid-day conversation.

Man's view: Can I please make a beeline to the bathroom? When men reach home, it's like those ultra-marathoners staggering across the finish line in Death Valley. The last thing they want to do is discuss how bright the sunlight was, and how scarce the water stops were.

Further up on his want-to-do list after arriving home: 14 percent of men want to check email, 12 percent are looking for a little private time in the bathroom, and 10 percent simply want to eat dinner. The common theme here: After they've spent a day serving the needs of others, they want to take care of themselves a little.

So when a man is hit with a demand for conversation so closely after returning from the stressful environment of work, he has only one gear left to shift into, and sometimes it's reverse. He's retreat, retreat, retreat.

Guys Are More Comfortable With Actions Than Feelings
Rather than talking about how he "feels," often a man would rather express his love by changing her oil, or bringing home a flower, or relinquishing control of the remote.

And when men do talk, they'd prefer to talk about actions rather than emotions. For instance, a lot of guys would choose to express their long-range faith in a relationship by talking about next summer's vacation plans, not by launching into a soliloquy about undying love.

Both conversations can mean the same thing (that he plans on sticking around); he just prefers to say it with plane tickets, rather than poetry. It's one of the reasons men are more comfortable talking at work (the practical universe) than they are at home (the castle that emotion built). But you can bring out his great communicator by making him feel more like he's operating in work mode, even when the topic at hand is your love life. Here's an incredible article, "The Home Office," that shows how he can use his best office skills for great success at home.

Guys Don't Want To Be Put On The Spot
When men talk less and women want more, the scenario can escalate. Like when the bad cop is pummeling the reluctant witness, more silence equals more questions. A full 65 percent of men we surveyed recently told us they don't want their partners to ask them more questions about themselves.

It's clear that some men are just plain tired of feeling like they're on the witness stand. They're not necessarily hiding anything; many guys simply prefer not to have to relate confusing feelings that they may not even understand themselves.

An age-old tactic can make things better: Back off a little, give him room to operate in a conversation, and he's more likely to open up. To find out if his lack of communication really does mean that your relationship needs a tune up, take this quick quiz.

PRONUNCIATION PRACTICE - ADVANCED LEVELS

Do you need some pronunciation practice out of the school? Have you thought of improving that pronunciation of yours? YAPPR provides you with a programme where you record your voice and might get as many points as 100 if your pronunciation is perfect. Why don't you give it a try? You might have some fun while improving your English.

ADVANCED LEVEL 1

What are the major problems with friends? Add your opinion on this link and share your views with other students. You can add as many views as you wish. Come on! Help us out with your comments.