Beatlemania

The following video is about the Beatles  history.

 Write a short essay with the following topic: "If you ever were to go to Liverpol, would you visit the area? Why, why not? remember to use as many words as possible related to tourism and citylife, the topic of our
you must also write at least three questions to create a class quiz on this topic.

Have fun.

Comparatives and Superlatives

Click here to have a look at the rules and use of the comparative and superlative form of the adjectives in the English language.

TIME AND TENSE

Here you are going to find a useful tense table which explains each verbal tense and provides lots of examples.
It comes from a German webpage with a good bunch of explanations and exercises at different levels of proficiency. Have a look at it.

I hope you find it useful.

Phonetics Click here and practise your vowels pronunciation.

CANADA

You are a group of friends preparing a trip to Canada during your next holidays. Research in the sites on your right and find answers for the questions below. To find the meaning of any word you can use the dictionary. 1.- In which continent is Canada? 2. Which oceans line Canada’s borders? 3. How many different provinces and territories includes Canada? Match each of the frontier Canadian provinces with the frontier American states. 4. What is the national capital of Canada? 5. In which city can you visit the Parliament buildings? 6. Which region includes Quebec and Ontario provinces? 7. What provides freshwater for people and industries in the Central Canada ? 8. What is “The Canadian Shield "? 9. Which river runs across Quebec? 10. Have a look at the map and point the most important cities in Quebec and Ontario. 11. Which languages do people speak in Quebec? 12. Where is St. Joseph's Oratory? 13. Which is the province with the largest population? 14. Which province is a vital source of electric power? 15. What about metals? 16. Describe the National flag of Canada. 17. Which countries have the most influence in the Canadian gastronomy? 18. How is the traditional gastronomy in Quebec? 19. Which ingredient you can’t forget in a “tourtière”? 20. What is the “poutine”? 21. What is the national drink? 22. Where does syrup come from? 23. What is cheddar?

Links: Before your arrival Canadian Heritage The Atlas of Canada Gastronomy in Canada Dictionary

/ə/ - schwa

It is the most frequent of all English vowels because historically it has replaced many unstressed vowels. It has a restricted distribution: it only appears in unaccented syllables.

a. Description: it is very short and weak. The middle of the tongue lies in a relax position and the lips are neutral (neither spread nor rounded).

b. Spelling: this sound only appears in unaccented syllables and it may be spelt with any single vowel or combined with consonants:
-"a": about, woman, chocolate
-"e": sister, the-"i": impossible
-"o": synonym, photograph
-"u": suggest, Saturday

Vowels are distinguished by distribution: /ə/ can only appear in unaccented positions and /I, ʊ/ in both accented and unaccented, the rest of the vowels always requiring some kind of stress.

ACTIVITIES:
1. Watch this video about how to pronounce schwa and practice several times with the examples given in this webpage:
/ə/ - schwa
It is the most frequent of all English vowels because historically it has replaced many unstressed vowels. It has a restricted distribution: it only appears in unaccented syllables.

a. Description: it is very short and weak. The middle of the tongue lies in a relax position and the lips are neutral (neither spread nor rounded).

b. Spelling: this sound only appears in unaccented syllables and it may be spelt with any single vowel or combined with consonants:

-"a": about, woman, chocolate
-"e": sister, the
-"i": impossible
-"o": synonym, photograph
-"u": suggest, Saturday

Vowels are distinguished by distribution: /ə/ can only appear in unaccented positions and /I, ʊ/ in both accented and unaccented, the rest of the vowels always requiring some kind of stress.

ACTIVITIES:
1. Watch this video about how to pronounce schwa and practice several times with the examples given in this webpage:




2. Schwa prediction
3. Pronunciation practice:
3a. Open this chart, click on vowels-monophthongs, then click on central: listen and practice the schwa.
3b.Watch this video and practice.
3c. Listen, read and practice in this webpage.
4. Visit this ESL pronunciation web page and do the exercises provided to practice the schwa.

/i:/ vs /I/

Here you have a webpage to practice these two sounds, firstly in single words (minimal pairs), and then in a sentence.
Listen and repeat the words and practice the sentence several times.
http://www.shiporsheep.com/page1.html

PS: don't forget writing a comment on this post telling us if you find these exercises helpful.