Learner Autonomy

I have posted before about this but I think the beginning of a new course is a good time to remind students that they need to be more autonomous in their learning! You will benefit greatly from attending classes but to optimise what you learn at the academy you need to put in some extra effort yourself.

This extra effort could be going to an intercambio evening or checking out the corresponding websites that match the coursebook you are using in class. To find out about these things check out the previous post on this topic.

This year, the academy will be using two new books with Elementary and Pre-Intermediate students from the English Result series. The website for these books can be linked to from here.

English Exams

In three weeks some of you will be sitting an exam in English, either the Cambridge First Certificate, the Advanced or the Proficiency. Hopefully, you will pass this exam with flying colours! (If you fail it though, you can always resit it at a later date). However, I hope that everyone is successful and to help you study and revise for these upcoming exams I have found a few links to websites that can help with exam preparation.

Cambridge ESOL > > > (This is the official site for the Cambridge exams where you can find out general information about the exams and what is expected of you and you can download practice papers.)

Flo-Joe > > > (This website contains advice and practice for all parts and levels of the Cambridge Exams. A lot of the site is free of charge but if you want to have full access you will have to pay a subscription fee.)

Splendid Speaking > > > (This website aims to help you with Paper 5, the oral test. It contains useful phrases and vocabulary, tips and podcasts of people doing speaking tasks with tapescripts and comments.)

Fullspate > > > (This site has some tips and set phrases to help you improve your writing in Paper 2 of the FCE and the CPE, although it is also worth a look if you are doing the CAE.)

Hope this helps! Happy studying and lots of luck in June!

Online Supplementary Material

If you study in the actual academy of the BLC, you no doubt have a coursebook. Did you know that each suite of coursebooks has it's own website where you can access games, revision quizzes and tests based on the level and the individual units of your book? You should know this because the web address comes on the front or back cover of each student book. If you didn't know, don't fear for I am hear to inform you!

Click here....

If your book is a HEADWAY book > > >
If your book is a CUTTING EDGE book> > >
If your book is a NATURAL ENGLISH book > > >
If your book is a GOLD book > > >
If your book is a NEW ENGLISH FILE book > > >

If you are following a business book you can also benefit from online resources.

Click here to see the MARKET LEADER website > > >

Have fun learning and testing your own progress from the comfort of your own home, or from your work desk when you have a few spare minutes.

National Coaching Week

This week, February 3rd-9th celebrates the tenth 'International Coaching Week'. Its purpose is to provide a week each year to educate the public about the value of working with a personal, business or executive coach.

Have you ever heard of coaching? If not, you may be interested in finding out more through the links below. The links provide opportunities for listening, reading, speaking and vocabulary practice all around the topic of coaching. You can listen to an executive coach, Cheryl Smith, discuss the differences between coaching and other similar disciplines such as mentoring, consulting, counselling etc. Cheryl also talks about the ever-increasing role that coaching has in businesses and organisations. There are also further listening tasks for you to do.

Click here for the reading / listening tasks related to the recordings.

Click here to listen to part one of the interview with Cheryl.

Click here to listen to part two of the interview with Cheryl.
Click here for the tapescript.
Click here to listen to the interview with Michelle.
Click here for the tapescript.

Happy listening and learning!

Metro Reading

You know we like to try to get you to be more Learner Autonomous by providing you with this blog and links to sites where you can get listening practice and new vocabulary. However, the internet is not the only source of English material available to you. In Madrid there are a quite a few publications that you can get your hands on to help you practise your English while learning about the world and the city in which you live. I'm talking about newspapers and magazines, some published for the expat population of Spain and some published for language learners like yourselves. What better a way to fill your underground / bus journey to work or to pass the time in long Madrid traffic jams than reading (and learning) in English?

First of all in certain kiosks around Madrid, generally in the most touristy and business areas, you can purchase copies of both tabloid, broadsheet and financial and economic British and American papers. These are a little pricey, ranging from 2 to 4 euros, but they are extremely authentic.

Secondly, you can subscribe monthly to Hot English Magazine which is specifically aimed at learners of English and contains lots of vocabulary and interesting articles with glossaries provided in Spanish. Follow the link above to their website where you can find out how to subscribe and take a peek inside an issue of the magazine.

Another option is The Broadsheet aka TBS. This is available for free all around Spain. In Madrid it can be found in many Irish pubs, Indian restaurants, bookshops and academies. You can also access it from the link above if you prefer to read it online. This magazine is written for native speakers, but that does not mean that you can't read it too! It comes out every month and the articles and reviews are based on what is happening in Spain.

Finally, in Madrid you can get hold of In Madrid, another monthly expat newspaper. This is full of reviews and interesting articles about what is new and hot in the Spanish capital. It is available in more or less the same places as TBS and you can usually pick one up from the big white table in reception at the BLC! If not, you can access it online via the above link.

Happy reading!

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 >>>

Studying that's fun to do!

Students often ask their teachers for ways of improving their level of English outside of class time but can be less than enthusiastic when it comes to completing extra homework exercises or studying their list of irregular verbs. Englishfile, a series of coursebooks from Oxford University Press, has an excellent website where students can learn vocabulary, pronunciation, practical language and grammar in a fun and interactive way. I'm particularly addicted to the skating game / race against time. So if you are looking for a more fun way of brushing up on / practising your English at home you should check out the following address...

http://www.oup.com/elt/englishfile/

...then choose your level and away you go!