Sick and tired of the crisis?

The word 'crisis' has been present somehow or other every single day for some years now and I guess we're all fed up with it, if not worried sick about all the unwelcome changes it's brought into our lives. But I'm one of those people who believes that making fun of trouble helps to lighten the burden so here you are a really ironic video that explains what we all should know by now: those who caused the crisis will not pay for it!
Have a few laughs doing the fill-in-the-gap activity below, and learn some useful vocabulary. You can click here to get the KEY.

Do your best and make the most of this song

If you've ever wondered why it's 'do the ironing' but 'make the bed', the answer is COLLOCATIONS.

English is full of these words that usually go together and which you should learn as a whole and not separately: 'make an effort', 'tell a joke', 'conduct a survey'...

I've chosen a very popular song by Police in which you'll find several of these collocations. Do the gap-fill activity below and then click the link on the toolbar to learn some more verb and noun collocations. 

You can check your answers by clicking KEY. 

I'm tired of using technology!

I can't deny it! I'm hooked on new technology though I'm not an expert.

Milow whinged "I'm tired of using technology" in his song (do you remember?) but even though I sometimes feel overwhelmed by so many innovations, the wonder of this new world has won me over.

A colleague and friend of mine sent me this killing sketch that makes fun of technology using plays on words (double meanings and homophones). Try to fill in the gaps to complete the transcription and then click in the link above to learn some vocabulary. This is the key with all the answers.

I hope you'll enjoy it!

Flying

How do you feel when you take a plane? Excited? Frightened? Thrilled? I must admit I feel a little anxious, especially when the plane goes through some turbulance, that's why I always pay attention to the flight attendants when they give the safety instructions. However, I know most people never listen to them.

We're going to learn some vocabulary related to flights and planes with the interactive activities below. Then, you can do the gap-filling activity to complete the safety instructions a really witty and funny flight attendant gives to his passengers. Check your answers downloading the Key

Write your comments telling how you feel when you fly or any funny, frightening or curious experience you've had when doing so.

"Hot n cold"

You've surely heard Katy Perry's song "Hot n cold". I must admit this song makes me feel full of energy but also, listening to it made me think of a way to work on opposites (words with opposite meanings), which can help you increase your vocabulary.

Listen to the song and complete the gap-filling activity using the hints in the ? buttons if necessary. To check your answers you can use the Key.

You've probably noticed that the chorus is based on opposites, haven't you? Would you like to find some more? Do the wordsearch activity below.
Could you now use some of these opposites to make a comment here and show their meanings? I know you can!

Let's dream!

Ideas

Who hasn't dreamt of having a wonderful house in a nice place where everything is perfect?

Dreaming is free and I'd like to show you my ideal house:

But I'd also like to know what your ideal house would be like and to do so I've created a Voicethread that you can join to hear my description of my ideal home and then your peers'. Give it a try and lose your fear to speak! Make your comment now!