10 "English things" to do this summer

Are you short of ideas on how to keep you English alive this summer? Here you are a few:

1. Watch short videos and do exercises in Lingual.net and Yolango (you have to sign in for the second one, but it's worth it).

2. Find an exchange to speak and write to. Some possible websites are Shared Talk and My Language Exchange.

3. Do an online course in Livemocha or Mango Languages.

4. Revise English grammar with comics here. Make comics yourself here or here.

5. Are you brave enough? Read and listen to stories here or here.

6. Test and learn vocabulary here: The Internet Picture Dictionary.

7. In the mood for playing? Then try these games at BBC and Wordpower. Play Scrambled Sentences here.

8. Would you like to practice your Writing skills? Try this website to create a fairy tale, make a poem here or visit this site to get general advice on writing, tools and games.

9. Want to go a step further? Learn what Proofreading is here.

10. Finally, why don't you go back and read old posts in this blog? I'm sure you didn't have time to check it all. Scroll down and try clicking on "Older Posts" to access what has been published all year. You can also look for posts in the "Topics" section on the left.

Enjoy your summer and good luck with English.

Love,

Laura

Modal Verbs: let's play!

Hi again!

Today we'll revise modal verbs.

Some of you were asking for a sort of summary or table about modals. Here you can download a very complete one.

Do you prefer a complete lesson? Click here to access one.

Would you like to test yourself? Here and here you have some exercises. Also here and here.

Enjoy!

The world of Prepositions

Are prepositions a nightmare for you? Never more! I'll try to help you, but you also have to work hard to learn them once and for all.

You can start by reading a general summary here.

IN, ON AT: Are you never sure about how to use IN, ON and AT? Here you have a very good explanation and an exercise. Would you like to try the BBC's Grammar Challenge to see how these prepositions are used to talk about TIME? Then click here.

MOVEMENT: You can read about prepositions of direction here and do an exercise too.

Do some more EXERCISES about prepositions of time and place here. You have more exercises here and here.

GAMES: Listen and pick the right picture in this game. Another game about prepositions here. A very nice interactive game here. Would you like to play basketball and practice your prepositions? Then go to this site to try.

Good luck!

Language in Ads

Have you ever noticed the amount of COMPARATIVES and SUPERLATIVES we get in ads?

Try to match the following slogans with their corresponding products. Good luck!

“Coffee at its best”	Gillette razors
"Probably the best lager in the world"	Disneyland
“The best a man can get"	Apple Computer
"The happiest place on Earth"	Maltesers
"Be the best"	Coca Cola
"The toughest job you'll ever love"	Carlin Black Label lager
“Keeps going and going and going."	CNN
“No battery is stronger longer."	Maxwell House coffee
“Think different"	Peace Corps
“The lighter way to enjoy chocolate"	Energizer Batteries
“The real thing"	Nescafé Gold Blend
“Your best bet for a fuller flavour"	Carlsberg
“The most trusted name in news"	British Army
"Good to the last drop."	Duracell Batteries

Present Perfect Vs. Past Simple

Hello everyone, it's time to revise the verb tenses...

Would you like to listen to the explanations from the BBC? Then visit their Grammar Challenge page here.

If you prefer to read, click here to access a thorough explanation of the Present Perfect.

You can also do exercises here and here.

Enjoy!

"Going to" Vs. "Will"

Did you enjoy the BBC's Grammar Challenge last week? Well, you have a new one now. Click here if you want to read their explanation about the difference between GOING TO and WILL.

Click here if you want to listen to the whole programme, and here if you want to do the quizzes they have prepared for you.

Summary: "GOING TO is used to talk about plans that we've decided to do, whereas WILL is used to talk about decisions which we make at the moment of speaking."

WILL is used in other situations too. Would you like to know when? Then come to class next week! See you there...

Talking about the Future: "Going to" and "Present Continuous"

Today we looked at these two forms to talk about the future. Do you remember the basic ideas?

Present Continuous:
- fixed plans and arrangements (on a diary, on your calendar...)

Going to:
- plans that we intend to do / that we decide to do.
- or predictions based on evidence.

For further explanation, please click here to listen to a really nice BBC programme.

1. In the first part of the programme, they explain these general rules.
2. In the second part, they practise them with a foreign student: the teacher tries to arrange an English class with her. Click here to see her diary.

Finally, click here if you want to have a look at a written explanation.

Did you like it? There are more programmes here.

Practice your English at home

Why don´t you try to do some of the exercises found in these links? Good luck!

Revision time! Click here for some interesting exercises.

Exercises, activities, exams and more links here.

And of course: one of the most complete sites on the net: the BBC worldservice to learn English.

And why not try some of these interactive grammar exercises? Or these.

Explanations and exercises divided into skills (Speaking, Writing, Vocabulary...)

Grammar for beginners in www.learn-english-online.org.