English Lessons in your living-room

I made a great discovery last night while I was flicking through the channels trying to find something good on the box.
It appears that there is a new channel called Aprende Inglés TV which runs twenty-four hours a day. (This channel is only available to people who have digital television) There are a few different programmes which are repeated throughout the day. One of these is called Rumbo al Inglés which allows you to watch a one-to-one class of varying levels and learn along with the student. It's English class from the comfort of your own living-room! And there is no excuse, it is on all day, morning, noon and night!

To find out more about this new channel, the founders, the programmes and programming schedule, go to their website.

GO TO APRENDE INGLÉS TV >>>

You can also take a peek at what the televised classes are like, but be careful, it is a little addictive! Alberto el Seductor is especially good to watch ;-)

TAKE A PEEK >>>

What would Hermione say?

By now you've probably heard about the scandal concerning Daniel Radcliffe, the actor who plays Harry in the Harry Potter films (AmEng, usually movies). He's going to appear nude in a sex scene in a West End production of the Peter Shaffer play Equus.

My students read the Daily Mail article, and had some comments on the matter:

I wish Daniel the best in his career playing new roles! People have to choose their own path, but personally I think he is too young to appear nude in the scene. He could also have had enormous success playing other roles, knowing how many supporters he has at the moment. What more will he do to impress us in the future?
-- Student X

Oh my God! Have you seen him? I can't believe that a wizard could have this body. Congratulations, Harry, we love you as Alan more than as Potter.
-- Student Y

Thank goodness! I was ready to go with my daughter, but in the end she had a cold and stayed home. Imagine how shocking that could have been for her to see Harry Potter nude. That really makes no sense.
-- Student Z

What do you think? Leave your comments here or on the Daily Mail site.

Dragon illusion

Discover how this image of a dragon can create an optical illusion, and get some more listening practice. You can even download the figure and make it yourself, to see how the illusion works in real life.

If you still haven't had enough of illusions, there are lots of sites on the Web with more. Michael Bach has got a whole collection, with instructions in English. While M.C. Escher didn't only do illusions, he's also got some very interesting ones.

What's your favourite (AmEng favorite) optical illusion?


Below you'll find the transcript of the dragon video. Don't read it until you've had a go at the listening!

Here’s our little dragon, sitting on the window ledge. But look what happens the minute we move: his head twists and turns to follow us as we move around the room. It’s all an illusion, of course. He’s not really moving at all. It’s a version of the “hollow face illusion”, but it’s a very powerful effect. And not just side to side: if we move up and down, again, his head cranes to follow us. But our brain has made an assumption about the structure of the dragon’s head. And if we move far enough around to the side, we suddenly realize the structure is different, and the illusion fails.