Javier’s English Corner

I have visited Cooking up a Story once again in order to find an interesting video for you all. For some reason, I seem to be coming across a lot of blogs related to healthy food lately, which I believe serves a dual purpose: you will be improving your English while learning how to enjoy a balanced diet. In other words, you’ll be keeping body and soul together (pun intended, of course). Anyway, I thought you might like to watch the following video and discover something about Lebanese food with artist-illustrator-writer Linda Dalal Sawaya.

You can now either go to ACTIVITY if you would like to do a listening comprehension exercise, or just click on the player belor for your viewing pleasure.

I believe few people can deny the fact that the Internet has changed the world. At the very least, it has certainly changed the way all kinds of events are covered and followed all over the world, and the most recent example can be seen in the primary elections that are currently taking place in the US. All the politicians running to become their parties’ main candidates have their own websites and blogs, where you can find all kinds of videos and last-minute features, such as questions asked by regular citizens through the Net which are then answered by the candidates on the same day sometimes.

The point is that you can find lots of audiovisual materials on these webs you can use to practise and improve your listening comprehension abilities. Today I have chosen an interview with Hillary Clinton which was done on her campaign bus. Click on ACTIVITY to access an exercise about it or just watch it on the player below.

As you very well know, I am constantly surfing the Net looking for interesting ESl sites for you advanced students out there, specially sites built by competent teachers who truly understand the difficulties foreign learners of English have to face on a daily basis.

The last one I have found is called The Bob & Rob Show, Weekly Lessons from a Yankee and a Brit. I think that is a great combination because you can get exposed to their different accents and vocabulary in an easy and fun way. I must say I really like their style and I am sure that so will you.

Some of the material they publish is protected, which means you need to become a member in order to be able to access it, but the monthly membership is not costly at all. Besides, even if you decide not to become a member, you still get lots of free material.

I have inserted an example of the recordings they broadcast. You can play it straight away or go to ACTIVITY for a gap-fill exercise about it.