Antony Gormley

A statue on Waterloo BridgeThe British sculptor Antony Gormley celebrates his 57th birthday this week, on August 30th. He is one of Britain's best known sculptors, responsible for such icons as the huge Angel of the North. Recently a new work, Event Horizon, caused heads to turn upwards in the centre of London. In this programme we learn more about Event Horizon from Antony Gormley himself.

Download this programme on

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1555_entertainment07/

English Cartoons

Have you ever?

Have you ever...?

Go to lesson

Choose the correct answer. "Pattern" means:
1. an inconsistent form
2. paper
3 a form of payment
4. a consistent form

Graphics for Quotes Comments

Orkut Glitters

Orkut Glitter Graphics

Graphics for Cute Comments

Linda on working life in the UK

Episode 4:
The Business Podcast
Download Linda interview (MP3)

This month's Podcast activitiesDownload the activity worksheet to use with this month's Podcast.
Worksheet (PDF)
Tapescript (PDF)

Garfield

The Art of Persuasion

Have you ever had to negotiate with someone to get what you want? Do you think Ken gets what he wants?
Go to lesson

Choose the correct answer. "Innovative" means:
1. traditional
2. artistic
3 practical
4. new and creative

Cute Cub!!!!

An Amur tiger cub plays with its mother Kira's, tail at the Philadelphia Zoo in Philadelphia, Thursday, Aug. 16, 2007. Three Amur tiger cubs, born May 24, 2007, made their public debut Thursday at the Zoo. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Joanna Lumley

Joanna Lumley is a very famous British actress, best known as Patsy in the television comedy series, Absolutely Fabulous. She started her career as a Bond girl in the James Bond film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and now she's even had a flower named after her!

Listen to the program on

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1555_entertainment07/

Join the Club

Do you belong to any groups or clubs where you share a common interest with other people?
Go to lesson

Choose the correct answer. "Exhibition" means:

1. a public sale of art or other objects
2. a large public display of art or other things of interest
3 a small private collection of art or historical objects
4. a discovery of an ancient city

Telephone

CULTURAL NOTE

How does Anna say she will pay for her international phone call?

That's right: collect.

So, actually, Anna will not pay for the call at all! With a collect call, the person receiving the call will pay.

Some other ways you can pay for telephone calls are:
with a major credit card (many airports now have telephones that allow you to insert your credit card to pay for the call)
with a telephone card that you can purchase at the Post Office (or often at a drug store or supermarket, too)
with cash (usually coins)

How do you pay for phone calls in your country?

Remembering Your Childhood

What did you dream of becoming when you grew up? Come to class and talk about it!
Go to lesson

Choose the correct answer. "Ideal" means:
1. smart
2. rich
3 perfect
4. tall

In Company

Pre-intermediate
The latest Pre -intermediate In Company worksheet is "A - Z race"

Click here for Pre-intermediate worksheets

Intermediate
The latest Intermediate In Company worksheet is "Business behaviour "

Click here for Intermediate worksheets

Upper-intermediate
The latest Upper-intermediate In Company worksheet is "Problems, problems "

Click here for Upper-intermediate worksheets

Chiste

Profesor: "¿Cómo puede una persona cometer tantos errores estúpidos en un día?"

Juanito: "Me levanto temprano".

Dormir

Dormir - Dormir

Soñar - Sonhar

Roncar - Roncar

La cama - A cama

La almohada - O travesseiro

La sábana - O lençol

La manta - O cobertor

La siesta - Dormir depois do almoço

El pijama - O pijama

Buenas noches - Boa noite

For better or for worse

Discussing fears and phobias

On her way to the kitchen Jun sees a spider. What are you afraid of?
Go to lesson

Choose the correct answer. "Acrophobia" means:

1. a few of water
2. a few of dogs
3 a fear of heights
4. a fear of crowded places

Portobello Film Festival

Audience at a Portobello Film Festival screening

In August the Portobello Film Festival takes place in west London. Unlike festivals such as Cannes and Venice anyone can enter a film to be shown and nobody has to pay to see any of the films. How is this possible and does the festival attract established film-makers as well as undiscovered and student artists? In this programme we learn more about the festival from its director Jonathan Barnett.

Listen to the programme on http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1555_entertainment07/

'Dedicated / Devoted'

A question from Ikram in Pakistan:

I really appreciate your efforts to help us to learn and improve English language. I have a query about two words in English language. 'dedicated' and 'devoted' are the two words which are commonly used in speaking and writing. I am well aware of the meanings of the two words.

My question is that in some situations we prefer to use the word 'dedicated' rather than 'devoted' while in other circumstances we prefer to use 'devoted'.

Please enlighten me when it is appropriate to use 'dedicated' rather than 'devoted' and vice versa.

Thanks in advance.
Regards Ikram-ul-haq

Listen to the answer on http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1837_aae/page14.shtml

Boris on working life in the UK

The Business Podcast

Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes
Download Boris interview (MP3)

This month's Podcast activities
Download the activity worksheet to use with this month's Podcast.
Worksheet (PDF)
Tapescript (PDF)

The Business

Download a PowerPoint presentation relating to units of The Business and use in your classroom.

Download the latest lesson:August - Making deals

Animal stories

Pre-intermediate by David Seymour

Student's Worksheet
Teacher's Notes

At the zoo

A White tiger in New Delhi zoo. India may have just 1,300 to 1,500 tigers left -- less than half of the number believed to exist five years ago.

Amazing journeys

This week’s subject looks at three remarkable journeys: crossing the Atlantic in a hot-air balloon (first achieved on 17th August 1978), swimming the length of the Amazon, and circumnavigating the globe using only ‘human power’.

Level
Pre-intermediate and above (equivalent to CEF level A2-B1 and above)

Student's WorksheetPDF (76K)DOC (135K)
Teacher's NotesPDF (76K)DOC (18K)
Glossary PDF (77K)DOC (28K)

Habaneras

La habanera es uno de los más antiguos estilos musicales cubanos y el primero que se exportó fuera de sus fronteras http://www.marinacivil.com. En Cataluña las habaneras son muy populares, especialmente en los pueblos de pescadores. Te recomendamos el siguiente enlace en el que podrás leer y escuchar la más conocida habanera: El meu avi (Mi abuelo):

http://marenostrum.org/nuestrascostas/cbpasoapaso/havaneres/

Personajes

Mire los videos

http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/FichaObra.html?portal=0&Ref=10920&video=1&abreSublista=0_1_

Competencia gramatical en Usos

Usos del Estar

http://www.edelsa.es/editor/docu/Competencia%20GramaticalUsosEstar.pdf

Job review with Your Boss

Paolo and Darren are having dinner and talking about their bosses.
Go to lesson

Choose the correct answer. "Constructive" means
1. bad
2. good
3 worthless
4. useful

The new Seven Wonders of the World

by Pete Sharma Visit Pete's Website

The new Seven Wonders of the World
Level: Intermediate
Worksheet
Teacher's Notes

This week's activities:
Matching a number of man-made wonders with their corresponding country
Scanning a paragraph in an article about the new Seven Wonders of the World
Reading this article about a recent global poll
Identifying key vocabulary from the article
Discussing points arising from the article

Socialising online

The subject of this week’s lesson is social networking websites such as MySpace and Facebook, which have grown spectacularly in popularity in the last couple of years. On 9th August it will be a year since MySpace registered its 100,000,000th user.

Level
Pre-intermediate and above (equivalent to CEF level A2-B1 and above)

Go to lesson
http://www.insideout.net/e-lessons.htm

Garfield

Formula One Champion to take driving lessons

The three times Formula One racing champion, Nelson Piquet, has had to start a driving course to avoid losing his licence. Piquet and his wife Viviane exceeded the limit of twenty points allowed in one year on a licence. This report from Gary Duffy:

There's nothing quite as humbling as having to take fresh driving lessons when you've been a Formula One Champion three times. But Nelson Piquet and his wife Viviane were obliged to take the driving awareness course because of repeated speeding and parking offences.
The couple must attend a week of lessons to learn good and safe driving conduct and then pass an exam. The classes in the Brazilian capital, Brasilia, will cover careful driving, first aid and rules of the road. Piquet acknowledged that everyone had to learn from their mistakes. 'I got tickets for all kinds of reasons, including parking where I shouldn't', he told the Brazilian media. The former racing champion said he and his wife would make good use of the course.
Piquet, one of the best known racing drivers to come from Brazil, has reportedly often been seen driving at speed around the streets of Brasilia in high performance cars.
Gary Duffy, BBC News, Sao Paulo

humbling making someone not feel proud of something
fresh new
obliged had to do something, did not have a choice about doing it
repeated more than one
offences illegal acts or a crimes
conduct behaviour
first aid basic medical help which you give someone as soon as possible after they have been in an accident or have become suddenly ill
learn from their mistakes understand that you did something wrong and make sure you don't do it again
former previous
reportedly according to some reports, although the speaker has not seen or heard evidence him/herself about this

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/newsenglish/witn/2007/08/070801_piquet.shtml

A mini-break

Alice: Helen! I've got great news for us!
Helen: What is it? Is there another letter from Michal? Let me see!
Alice: No, forget Michal! It's something much better! And anyway, I said 'great news for us'. So, do you remember my friend Gabrielle?
Helen: The one who lives in Paris?
Alice: Right! Well, she's invited us over there for a visit. So, what do you say?
Helen: Oh, I don't know. I'm not sure Alice.
Alice: Come on Helen! It'll be good for you, and it'll stop you moping over Michal and his silly letter! It's Paris, the Champs Élysées, the Eiffel Tower!
Helen: Well, I do need to unwind a little bit and a mini-break would be fun but I don't know.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/flatmates/