Karaoke at home

Posted by on Apr 10, 2013 in Listening, Reading, Speaking, Videos |

Doing grammar exercises is not the only way to improve your English!  Sometimes you just want to have a little fun and sing a song.  Karaoke Party is a clever website where you can sing a bunch of different songs for free.  You can search by genre, year or keyword and you will see a flash video with or without the words and a representation of the melody (kind of like SingStar for the PS3).  You can already sing a few songs without registering,...

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Test your pronunciation in this game

Posted by on Mar 14, 2013 in Speaking |

Here’s a silly game for you to try: http://easywaytest.com/ Just pronounce the word on the screen (into your microphone), if you do it correctly you’ll see the next part of the cartoon.  The game understands the other things you say too, so be polite!

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How to pronounce English names

Posted by on Mar 13, 2013 in Listening, Speaking |

English names are notoriously difficult to pronounce when you can only read them.  For example, how many syllables are there in Loughborough or Leominster (these are towns in England)?  Two!  I know it’s strange, it’s strange to me too.  I come from the US, where our cities have normal-sounding names (that’s just a little joke!). So what can you do?  Here is one of those times when you just need to know the international...

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Find a speaking partner

Posted by on Mar 11, 2013 in Listening, Speaking |

You can practice most things alone, but to really practice speaking you need a partner. And you can find native speakers to practice with at SharedTalk, LiveMocha or Conversation Exchange (REMEMBER: Always protect your privacy online). These sites will all help you find someone who speaks English and wants to learn your native language so you can practice in tandem. You might speak 20 minutes in English and 20 minutes in your mother tongue....

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This American Life

Posted by on Mar 11, 2013 in Listening |

This American Life is a 60 minute weekly radio program produced by National Public Radio in the US.  There is an incredible variety of stories on this show, just click the “Radio Archives” link on the top of the page, choose a year and start browsing.  The length of the program allows the presenters to speak at a relaxed pace and really explore their subject material sensitively and in depth.  One particularly good episode is The Giant Pool of...

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