25 Wednesday Nov 2015
Posted in Grammar, Uncategorized
Tags
American English, British English, communication, easy learning, Education, English, exercise, grammar, language, learning, students
I get the same question from my students every term. It is: “What is the difference between British and American English?” It’s not always easy to understand why in one book it’s written centre and center in another. What shall I say- movie or film?
Click on the link below and you’ll find some information about it. Enjoy reading!
24 Monday Aug 2015
Posted in Genre and text types, Intermediate
Happy Monday:)
We start this week with writing a narrative story. Click on the link below to read the theory:
Take a few minutes and think about one of these topics:
Write down your story and feel free to share it with us!
Smiles/ Katja
22 Monday Jun 2015
Posted in Topics to discuss, Useful links
Tags
Hi everyone,
Do you know why March is called for March? or why October is the tenth month of the year? If not, it might be interesting to watch a video that tells about
How the months got their names
Have a nice day/ Katja
17 Friday Apr 2015
Tags
Aboriginals, Australia, Canberra, easy learning, Education, English, English-speaking countries, Flying Doctor, Great Barrier Reef, language, learning, Melbourne, outback, Pome, speaking, Sydney, Uluru, Union Jack
What comes to your mind when you think of Australia? Most people would say kangaroo, Great Barrier Reef, Sydney Opera House, aboriginals. They are definitely right, but Australia is much more than that! Let’s have a look at some facts about Australia:
1. Australia is an island continent and the world’s sixth largest country (7,682,300 sq km).
2. Canberra is Australia’s capital city and is roughly half way between the two largest cities Melbourne and Sydney.
3. The first inhabitants, the Aboriginal people, are believed to have migrated from Asia to Australia between 50,000 and 60,000 years ago.
4. New South Wales was settled as a penal colony – a place where Britain could send convicted criminals because her prisons were overcrowded. Pome is originally an acronym for the status of inmates sent to Australia: ‘Prisoner of Mother England’.
5. The Great Barrier Reef is one of the wonders of the natural world – it is the world’s largest coral reef ecosystem. It was declared a World Heritage area in 1981.
6. The Australian National Flag consists of three parts set on a blue field. The first part is the Union Jack, the historical link with Britain. The second part is the Southern Cross (a constellation of stars only visible in the Southern Hemisphere), which represents the geographical location in the world. Finally, the Commonwealth Star represents Australia’s federal system of government. Originally, the Commonwealth Star had six points (for the six states), but in 1908 a seventh point was added to represent the Territories of the Commonwealth of Australia.
7. Australia’s primary emergency call service number is Triple Zero: 000 for police/fire/ambulance services in Australia.
8. Desert landscapes are regarded as the ‘outback’ of Australia. Royal Flying Doctor Service (informally known as “Flying Doctor”) is a health service for those who live, work or travel in outback or regional Australia.
9.The phrase “the lucky country” has been used to describe Australia’s weather, lifestyle and history.
10. Uluru (Ayers Rock – Mount Olga) National Park, features spectacular geological formations which is located in central Australia.
To learn more about this country, visit
You can also check your knowledge here:
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/quiz/australia_new_zealand/index.php
/ Katja
14 Tuesday Oct 2014
Posted in Beginner, Grammar, Useful links
Tags
easy learning, Education, English, exercise, grammar, language, learning, preposition, students, time, video, watch and learn
Hi everyone,
In this post I’d like to share my short video about prepositions of time.
Follow the link below to practice new grammar
http://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/230.html
Have a nice day/ Katja
11 Thursday Sep 2014
Tags
communication, conversation, discussion, easy learning, Education, Eire, English, English-speaking countries, Guinness Storehouse, Ireland, Irish Gaelic, James Joyce, learning, Oscar Wilde, St Patrick, Titanic
Shamrock and harp, Celtic cross and St Patrick’s Day, Oscar Wilde and James Joyce, Guinness Storehouse and Irish coffee – these words come up to the mind directly when we speak about Ireland. With its stunning and breathtaking views, popular and attractive heritage which attracts substantial numbers of tourists, it is hard not to fall in love with the many charms of the beautiful country. With popultion over 4.75 million (July 2013), Irish is one of the brightest and most colorful English-speaking nations in the world.
Did you know that?
Ireland (or the Republic of Ireland) is called Éire in Irish.
One of Irish most popular music export groups is U2.
Ireland was one of the initial 12 European Union nations that began using the euro 
currency in 2002.
The longest place name in Ireland is Muckanaghederdauhaulia, in County Galway.
Saint Patrick’s Day is Irelands official national holiday. The 17th of March holiday is celebrated not only in Ireland but also embraced by many other countries around the world.
Ireland is the only country in the EU where abortion is still illegal.
Gaelic football and hurling are traditional sports of Ireland and remain the most popular sports in the country.
In 2002 Ireland was the first country in the world to have an environmental tax for plastic shopping bags and in 2004 it was the first to introduce a public smoking ban.
Shamrock (type of clover) is the national symbol of Ireland and along with the harp it is a registered trademark of the country.
Watch the video and find out even more interesting facts=)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4aiYG-kk2I
/Katja
02 Tuesday Sep 2014
Posted in Beginner, Genre and text types, Intermediate, Useful links
Tags
communication, description, easy learning, Education, English, exercise, language, learning, pictures, students, writing
ELT Author Peter Viney has provided us with free sample materials (PDFs) which you can print off for classroom use. This is something he would like feedback on and you can let him know your thoughts by commenting below or via his blog here. Some teachers may recognise the material as did our Managing Director, John Walsh, who used them himself back in 1964! Enjoy.
Flight 13 is a sample from the classic ELT series of picture compositions based on the work of the artist Fougasse. These were multi-purpose and used for practice while teaching any language. The virtue of the Fougasse series was that it could be used at any level (depending on the ingenuity and imagination of the teacher), and that the stories were clear, simple and timeless.
The picture stories were available as large wallcharts and also in a book, with very complex sentences where students…
View original post 365 more words
01 Monday Sep 2014
Tags
communication, conversation, discussion, easy learning, Education, English, English-speaking countries, lifestyle, London life, speaking
When speking about London, it’s hard to forget about the pace of the city.
Is it fast or slow? Do people love or hate it?
The answer is in the bbc programme (follow the link below)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1557_london_extra/page6.shtml
While listening/ reading try to find out the answers to the following questions:
Katja
09 Sunday Mar 2014
Tags
communication, discussion, easy learning, Education, English, English-speaking countries, family Foster, India, language, speaking, students, studies, video, watch and learn
Hi everyone,
Last week we watched a video about India and discussed why English is used in the country. Click on the link below to watch the video
http://www.ur.se/Produkter/159362-Family-Foster-English-Speaking-Countries-India
After/ while watching the video answer some questions:
1. What are the official languages in the country?
2. What is India famous for?
3. What is the population of India?
4. What does CTC tea mean?
5. How much tea does the country export every year?
6. Why is reading English newspapers a class thing in India?
7. What is Oak language? Where is it used?
8. What is the currency in India?
9. Why is English used in the country? Who brought the language to India?
Enjoy watching
Katja
26 Wednesday Feb 2014
Posted in Genre and text types, Intermediate
Tags
easy learning, Education, English, language, Oscar Wilde, reflection, The Picture of Dorian Gray, writing
Today we discussed “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde. After discussion the students were asked to write the reflection on the book. Here you’ll find some points which will help you to write this type of writing.
Reflection paper
A reflection means a personal response. You connect a message of the book to your own observation, previous experience, or recent learning. It actually means to write what you felt after reading the book; and also to write if would you recommend it or not and which parts you liked best and which you liked least.
The purpose of the reflection paper lies in exploration of ideas. For example, friendship could lead to a reflection about philosophic categories connected to this feeling: What is friendship? What is the difference between true and fair-weather friends? What are my reasons and explanation?
Since reflection paper is mainly connected to the writer’s experiences and opinions, the following phrases and expressions are common to use:
The writer should present his/ her own experiences in an interesting manner and connect it to the subject he/she discusses. It is important to get the reader involved in the story.
Katja's English Class 