B1 · Listening

Funny gags about posh English

27 June, 201727 June, 2017 blogdeserenaLeave a comment

Why should learning a language mean getting stressed and not having fun? Come on! Who ever said that stuff about ‘one has to suffer to reach an aim’? Not meaning by this that a certain amount of effort shouldn’t be invested in whatever we want to do if we want to make progress, but if you enjoy what you’re doing, you are always going to do much better and consequently, learn much more.

Here are some funny gags on posh English people for you to practise your listening skill. Enjoy!

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B1 · Listening

Strange Tudor Laws

12 June, 201712 June, 2017 blogdeserena4 Comments

It’s time for a laugh and a little history. This listening activity deals with the times of Elizabeth I who was Henry VIII’s second daughter and who reigned after her elder sister, Mary I, and her very young brother Edward VI (who ascended to the throne at the age of nine). Am I boring you? Yes I think so…

Anyway, during the 16th century, Elizabeth was queen and nobody’s fool. Her sister, Mary had had her locked up for many years in a tower so, by the time she reached the throne she knew very well how dangerous the Tudor times were. There were lots of laws and rules to follow concerning, religion, trade and security because European countries in those times were always at war and plotting against kings and queens, for some reason or another. This video from Horrible Histories deals with some of these laws in a hilarious way.I hope you enjoy it!

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B1 · B2 · culture · Listening

The Mistletoe Bride

3 June, 20175 June, 2017 blogdeserena2 Comments

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I’ve always thought that knowing the culture of the country of a language we are learning, will help us improve our linguistic skills, as well as adding interest to something that is sort of becoming compulsory, such as learning a language or two (or three if you like).

Well, here’s the first part of this project I’m into now, which is basically, telling very old stories related to the culture of the British Isles. This is the first one, and hopefully, won’t be the last although, it has quite a few things that need to be improved like background sounds of lorries driving past my window, a cat miaowing and a creaky chair. I really apologise for this, but hope you enjoy the story anyway.