Language facts

How many languages are there in the world?
How many words in your own language do you use every day?
Who is a bilingual? Are you?
What do English, German and Yiddish have in common?

Can you answer these questions? Would you like to be able to answer these questions?
Read the language facts and then try a quiz

What is London really like?

How do you understand this question? Choose the sentence that has the closest meaning to the question "What is London like?"

A.   What do you like about London?
B.    What can you say about London?
C.    What do people who live in London like doing?

The correct answer is B. What's London like? What can you tell me about it?

• What's the weather like today? = Tell me about the weather
• What's your brother like? = Describe your brother
• What's it like being a film star? = Tell me how do you feel when you are a star

NB! We don't say "how is it like?"

Whether you've visited London or not, you might have a certain image of this city. Can you name any famous landmarks, any places of interest in London?


Watch a series of videos called "London native English Speaker", in which people talk about London.

While watching, try to answer the following questions:

1.   Where do the speakers come from? 
2.   What is the best thing about London?
3.   What is the worst thing about London? 

PART I

For the transcript and some definitions of part 1 go here.


PART II

For the transcript and some definitions of part 2 go here

PART III

For the transcript and some definitions of part 3 go here

PART IV

For the transcript and some definitions of part 4 go here

Why to learn a foreign language?

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe:
Those who know no foreign language knows nothing of their mother tongue.

How many languages you know - that many times you are a person.

Ralph Waldo Emerson:                                                                                           
No man should travel until he has learned the language of the country he visits. Otherwise he voluntarily makes himself a great baby, - so helpless and so ridiculous.
 
Roger Bacon:
Knowledge of languages is the doorway to wisdom.





Do you still question the necessity of learning another foreign language?
Check this video

How many languages would you like to speak? Watch a video of a 20-year-old Alex who speaks 11 languages fluently. Can you guess what languages he speaks?

While watching, try to answer the following questions:

1. What is Alex's favourite language?
2.  What is the best way for Alex to learn a foreign language?

Trapped Sentences

Do you feel like you need more practice making simple or complex sentences?
Play this game. Good Luck!

Life Lessons Learned through Robbery

This is a funny story about a robbery that can teach all of us a lesson, to be exact 7 lessons.

¹ During a robbery in Guangzhou, China, the bank robber shouted to everyone in the bank: "Don't move. The money belongs to the State. Your life belongs to you." Everyone in the bank laid down quietly.

This is called "Mind Changing Concept” - Change the conventional way of thinking.

² When a lady lay on the table provocatively, the robber shouted at her: "Please be civilized! This is a robbery and not a rape!"

This is called "Being Professional” - Focus only on what you are trained to do!

³ When the bank robbers returned home, the younger robber (MBA-trained) told the older robber (who has only completed Year 6 in primary school): "Big brother, let's count how much we got."

The older robber rebutted and said: "You are very stupid. There is so much money- it will take us a long time to count. Tonight, the TV news will tell us how much we robbed from the bank!"

This is called "Experience.” Nowadays, experience is more important than paper qualifications!

⁴ After the robbers had left, the bank manager told the bank supervisor to call the police quickly. But the supervisor said to him: "Wait! Let us take out $10 million from the bank for ourselves and add it to the $70 million that we have previously embezzled from the bank”.

This is called "Swim with the tide.” Convert an unfavorable situation to your advantage!

⁵ The supervisor says: "It will be good if there is a robbery every month."

This is called "Killing Boredom.” Personal Happiness is more important than your job.

⁶ The next day, the TV news reported that $100 million was taken from the bank. The robbers counted and counted and counted, but they could only count $20 million. The robbers were very angry and complained: "We risked our lives and only took $20 million. The bank manager took $80 million with a snap of his fingers. It looks like it is better to be educated than to be a thief!"

This is called "Knowledge is worth as much as gold!"

⁷ The bank manager was smiling and happy because his losses in the share market are now covered by this robbery.

This is called "Seizing the opportunity.” Daring to take risks!

So who are the real robbers here?

Are there any rules you absolutely agree with?

Are there any rules you completely disagree with?

 

Similes: as easy as ABCs

We compare things every now and then. However, to make our comparison more emotional and vivid we often use similes. Simile is a figure of speech that contains as or like 

        My grandmother is as wise as an owl.
    That rock is as big as an elephant.

          At this moment I am as busy as a bee
The water here is as cold as ice.

         My husband smokes like a chimney.

   Our trip to Bali was like a dream.

There are some very common similes, for example, as good as gold, as poor as a church mouse but... we can make our own similes. If we want to describe something big, elephant is not the only comparison. Think what image would be associated with something very large, really enormous and compare it. A lot of people say as big as a whale, as big as a house. 

There are quite a lot of similes in English. You can find a list of them here and here.
To help you remember a whole bunch of similes, sing and have fun with Lenka.
If you don't remember how we make any kinds of comparison, go to this easy exercise. You'll enjoy it even more if you're a fan of Harry Potter.
Another exercise with similes is here
Want more practice? Go here 

Tablets vs Paper

How much has technology changed your life? Answer the following questions:
How do you take notes during university lectures?
What do you need to make a shopping list?
Do you still use post-it?

Have a look at the following advertisment:

Now think about the following questions and you're very welcome to write your ideas in the comments:

1.   Do you think note-taking or reading a paper book is outdated?
2.   What is more environmentally-friendly: using paper or tablets? Read here and find out whether you were right.
3.   What are the advantages and disadvantages of using paper and tablets?