Javier’s English Corner

In the world of current popular music, where more and more singers seem to have the same commercially homogeneous style, it is especially refreshing to encounter a genuine and original performer. I believe such is the case with Amy Winehouse, who possesses a unique and beautiful voice very much in the tradition of the best soul singers from the 60s. Unfortunately and sadly, she has been most notorious for her excesses with drugs and self-destructive behaviour lately,which has led to some of her tours being cancelled.  Nonetheless, last night she was awarded 5 grammies and I think justice was done to her musically speaking.

I have chosen to post a song rather than a video on purpose because I would like all of you readers out there to focus on her beautiful and passionate voice. There is true feeling behind it. I just hope she sorts out any problems she may have. It would be so sad to see another rising star turn into just another broken toy.

Go to ACTIVITY for a gap-fill exercise or just enjoy the song below

My dear colleague María Valdés from EOI Oviedo has been so kind as to share with me her latest discoveries on the Net, and Learn Out Loud is a major find indeed. As you can read on that website, you can browse over 15,000 educational audio books, MP3 downloads, podcasts, and videos, which makes it a perfect place for advanced ESL students to practise and improve their English.
Just to give you an example, I am attaching a most interesting video podcast from National Geographic.

María has prepared a very interesting exercise on the video above. If you feel like doing a gap-fill activity, you can print the following pdf document along with the key and the whole transcript. Way to go, María!!!

Feeling romantic for the week-end? Well, then, if you are in the mood for something mellow, Close To You by The Carpenters is the very thing. During a period in the 1970s when louder and faster-paced rock was in great demand, Richard and Karen Carpenter produced a distinctively soft musical style that made them one of the best-selling music artists of all time (from Wikipedia).

Anyway, sometimes one needs to listen to uncomplicated nice music which simply relaxes you, and to that end I have posted this for you. As always, you can go to ACTIVITY if you would like to do an exercise with the song or you can put up your feet and unwind while listening to the player below