Start with yourself

Consonant clusters (a combination of two or three consonant sounds) may be difficult to pronounce, especially if it is a combination that is not common in our language.

Three-consonant clusters at the beginning of words always begin with s, e.g. scream /skriːm/.

Three-consonant clusters at the end of words are often plurals (girls /ɡɜːlz/), third person singular verbs (wants /wɒnts/) or regular past tenses ( asked /ɑːskt/).

To practise this combination of consonant sounds I've chosen a song that reminds us that the real change is inside ourselves, that we can't close our eyes and only see misery and poverty at Christmas time. Listen to it and do the gap-filling exercise while listening. All the missing words  contain a consonant cluster. Then, you can check the answers clicking the link KEY on the activity.

Old Times

"Old times were better", some people think but "not always", I say. However, I must admit I've really enjoyed preparing this activity as watching the video has reminded me of my youth (a loooong time ago!). For some of you, the youngest, this song will just ring a bell, others, the not so young, will probably associate it with their teenage but I hope you all will enjoy doing the fill-in-the-gap activity. You can check the right words with the key. Then revise the pronunciation of regular and irregular past forms by clicking the link on the upper toolbar.

Something is changing around the world

I don't know if the protests that started in Madrid on 15th May will result in a future presence of the protesters in the political arena but, at least, they seem to have awoken the citizens' awareness all around the world. 

To learn something about how these protests have arisen in London, watch this item of news and do the fill-in-the-gap activity. 
You can check your answers clicking the key.

What are your problems with English?

Have you ever wondered how to deal with your problems with English? I mean, that's if you have any .

Actually, I think analyzing the difficulties we encounter when learning and trying to find a solution is a good way to start solving them.

First watch this presentation that'll help you reflect on the kind of trouble you may experience yourself.

Presentation

Now, watch the funny video in the Voicethread below about some students who do have problems with English . Then, listen to my comment and try to make yours, explaining what you find most difficult to deal with and your tips to overcome obstacles.

Would you dare correct their mistakes? Try the online activities underneath.

QUESTION TAGS

PRONUNCIATION

IDIOMS

A lesson for life

I'm sure you've heard Steve Jobs, the father of 'Apple' died last Wednesday. I knew he was a visionary who founded the company which has created such wonderful devices as the iPad, the iPhone or the iPod but after listening to his speech at Stanford University, I discovered a man with a philosophy of life that we all should follow.
You can do the listening test below and found out what he advised young people to do. You also have the transcript so that you can read it after you've finished the listening activity.

Too much or too little holiday?

Hello everybody! Yes, I’m sorry to tell you summer is over and holidays too! I hope your enjoyed yours as mine weren’t as relaxing and peaceful as I’d expected.
But now it’s time to go back to work and brush up your English and what a better way to do it than revising some grammar through music? I’ve chosen “Broken Strings”, a song by James Morrison & Nelly Furtado, in which you’ll find several quantifiers and indefinite pronouns. First, do the listening task and then, revise the use of these words trying the activities below. They’re not too difficult as I guess you'll need some time to get used to hard work, won’t you?
As usual, you can correct your answers if you CLICK THE KEY.

Did you say you needed a "pin" or a "bin"?

Let's face the truth, whether we like it or not being able to recognize and produce English sounds is key to understanding and being understood. 

Some pairs of consonants are pronounced exactly in the same way but for the vibration or non vibration of our vocal cords in their production and, thus, we sometimes find it difficult to tell them apart.

Here you are a couple of interactive activities to get familiar with four of these pairs.

Now listen to Amy Mcdonald's song "This is the life" and try to fill in the gaps with the correct words, which all contain the consonant sounds introduced in the activities above. Click "hint" to get the phonetic transcription of the missing words and here to download the KEY.

What if God was one of us?

An interesting question, isn't it? This is the title of a song by Joan Osborne that really moves me whenever I listen to it but this title also made me think about second conditional sentences (a tendency to see everything from a professional point of view, you know). So I decided to create a gap-fill activity that you can do below. Click the KEY to check your answers.

If you want to get further practice on the pronunciation and use of "would", why don't you try and meet Justin, an Australian student, and Kylie, an American teacher?

First, repeat what Justin says paying attention to the pronunciation of "would".

Then, listen to Kylie's answers to some questions and say the questions. You will listen to them after a few seconds to check if you were right.