Improve your writing

So we're coming up to that time of year again - exams! Some of you may be about to sit the Cambridge exams in March and some of you may be thinking about signing up now for the June exams. Whether you are doing the exams or not, it's always a good time to work on improving your writing in English. Purdue Owl has a good online writing lab which gives you advice on a wide range of things, from spelling and punctuation, grammar and writing conventions. There is also a useful section on emails. The website is designed for native speakers but it has some useful tips that are applicable to you too, so check it out.

Go to the website > > >

The Academy Awards

The Academy Awards, more commonly known as the Oscars, are just a month away and the nominations have just been released. If you are eager to find out who has been nominated in each category, you can get all the information on the official Oscars website.

Who do you reckon is going to take home the award for Best Leading Actor? Who are going to place your money on for Best Actress? Which film do you think is going to sweep the board this year? Who do you think doesn't stand a chance of winning anything? Do you think Penelope can bring home the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for a second year in a row? Leave a comment and share your thoughts with me. Or, even better, if you have seen one of the films which have been nominated this year, why not write us a review and tell us all about it. I haven't seen any of this year's films and would love to hear your rave reviews. Of course, if you wish to pan the nominated films - that is fine too!

Don't be shy! This is great practice for those of you who are preparing for the Cambridge Exams!

(To help you writing your review check out this entry from 2008)

Another Student Story

A few months ago, back in December I posted a story which one of my student's had written as practice for the First Certificate Exam. I had promised to post another story but I got side-tracked. However, finally, here is that other story from one of my student's.

Emma could not believe what she saw in front of her. She had been waiting for that moment for a long time and the time had come. Her father was in front of her holding a bunch of keys, it was her birthday present!!!. They have bought a car for me!, she thought. She was really excited and she started to shout and jump. Since she was eighteen she had been thinking about all the things that she could do with a car; go to the beach, drive around Europe, run her brother over... Having a car was her biggest desire. When she stopped shouting and jumping, her father, who had been watching that incredible show, walked up to her and said "Emma take these keys and go downstairs, you have to help us to bring in the shopping from the car".

(Javier Perez)

Personally, I thought this story was really funny! I hope you enjoyed it too. Come on guys! Feel inspired and send in a story of your own for the blog!

The Oscars

The biggest movie event of the year is upon us, yes folks I'm talking about the Oscars. Why not prepare yourself for Sunday's ceremony by checking out the official website. You can read about the stars and films that have been nominated this year and watch videos as Hollywood prepares to award the famous gold statues to members of the movie industry.

Perhaps you have seen some of the films that are up for awards this year. If so, I would love to hear what you thought about them. Why not leave a comment at the end of the entry, or even better, email me a film review to post on the blog. You can send it to blcblogger@british-blc.com! To help you look at the entry on film reviews I posted in February 2008 (in the archives).

Go to the Oscars Website > > > >

A Student Story

One of my First Certificate students has very kindly allowed me to publish a story she wrote as practice for Part 2 of the writing exam. I hope that you enjoy reading it as much as I did and that it inspires you to perhaps send in a story of your own to be published on the blog. The only rule is that the story must begin with ‘Emma could not believe what she saw in front of her” and be no longer than 180 words.

Here is Monica's story.

Emma could not believe what she saw in front of her. For the first time in her life she was afraid. She started to sweat and for a while she stopped breathing.

Come on, Emma. It's impossible, you've never been a fearful person. But, she realized after a few seconds that over the last two weeks strange things had been happening around her.

First, each time she came home the door was open. It was probably her husband's fault, however he doesn't usually forget to lock it. Secondly, why did the lights turn out so often? And it always happened when she was alone. And finally, the most frightening thing, what about this sound (so scary) that she had been hearing lately?

Then she remembered an old story; if someday, somewhere, somehow you see your own vision in front of you, you'd better run because the curse is following you.

(Monica Huerta)