The past simple, present perfect simple and continuous

Make or do (Fluency MC, rap)

A funny way to learn English (for adults)

*WARNING: Some of the language used may not be suitable for younger learners.

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Living in a new country

This video is the second episode in a BBC Learning English series called the "Flatmates". In this video, Michal has just arrived from Poland and is new to the UK. He has come to practise his English and is meeting his new flatmates. Can you spot his mistake?

flatmates, house-mates and room-mates are all people who we live with.
workmates are people who we work with.
Classmates are people who are in the same class as us.


The word "mate" is similar to friend, but more informal.
Other informal words for friend are "buddy" and "pal".


Here is a playlist of episodes 1-137
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAi1JlMIQVM&feature=bf_prev&list=PL63FB966A10363FAF

Casablanca

Here are some of the most famous lines from the 1942 film Casablanca.

Many of these lines appeared in the American film institutes list of the top 100 movie quotations in American cinema.

Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine. #67


Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. #20


Round up the usual suspects. #32


Play it, Sam. Play As Time Goes By. #28


We'll always have Paris. #43


 Here's looking at you, kid. #5


Here are some more famous lines that didn't make it into the top 100


I stick my neck out for nobody.
You know, Rick, I have many a friend in Casablanca, but somehow, just because you despise me, you are the only one I trust.


Match the underlined words and phrases with their definitions


1. an act of bringing people or animals together in one place for a particular purpose
2.  the belief that somebody/something is good, sincere, honest.
3.  to dislike and have no respect for somebody/something.
4.  to do or say something when there is a risk that you may be wrong.
5.  a place where people meet to eat, drink, dance.


You can find more definitions in the oxford online dictionary


http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/

Which of the above quotes can you hear in this video?

Here is a video from the end of the film (the final scene)


Do Rick and Ilsa stay together?
Why/why not?

Below is the script. Listen again and read the script...

Rick: If that plane leaves the ground and you're not with him, you'll regret it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life.

Ilsa: But what about us?

Rick: We'll always have Paris. We didn't have it before...we'd...we'd lost it until you came to Casablanca. We got it back last night.

Ilsa: When I said I would never leave you...

Rick: And you never will. But I've got a job to do too. Where I'm going, you can't follow. What I've got to do, you can't be any part of. Ilsa, I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you'll understand that. Here's looking at you, kid.

You can find more famous quotations from the film Casablanca here...

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Casablanca_(film) 

And finally...

The original soundtrack to the film

As time goes by

Is the parrot dead or just resting?

A customer is complaining about a parrot that he bought from the pet shop

Make sentences about the video with the words/phrases below.

1.The customer says the parrot is dead but the pet shopkeeper says that the parrot is just resting.

stunned       pushing out the daisies        

 passed on             expired and gone to meet it's maker     deceased

pining for the fields             kipping on its back             tired and shagged out

Watch the video again and answer these question

1. What does the customer say and do to try and wake up the parrot?
2. Why can't the parrot move off its perch?
3. What does the customer say is the only way to get anything done in this country?
4. What does the pet shop worker offer the customer instead of a parrot?
5.  What does the pet shop worker say he wanted to be?

Role play- customer complaints

• Write a conversation between a customer and a shop assistant.

1. A customer has bought a mobile phone but it keeps turning itself off.
2. A customer wants to return a pair of shoes because they do not fit.
3. A customer wants to cancel a ticket for a train journey.

Head over heels. A love story

What is the meaning of the phrase "head over heels"?

a. When you are so in love with someone that you fall head over heels.
b. When you loose your body and all you have left is your head over heels.

Watch the video and decide why the title is head over heels.

Put the events from the story in the correct order (girl: Sally/boy:Bob)

• While sally is saying goodbye she gets hit by a truck, because she is not............................ to the road.
• Sally meets another boy who has a nice black hat, maybe he is more.................. than Bob.
• Bob has an idea, he stands in the road and waits for a truck to............. him ................
• Bob and sally sit together on a bench, they are...................
• When Sally gets out of hospital she has no body. Bob feels sad because they are not.....................
• The ambulance comes and takes Sally to hospital, her injuries were not ................

Fill the gaps with the missing words

in love         fatal           paying attention            on the same level        well off             knock over

What could Bob have done differently?

What do you think is the moral of the story?

How can you change the story so that it's a happy ending for Bob and Sally?

Blackberry- a fruit or a mobile phone?

All these words have something in common; they are all related to technology.
What are the real meanings of these words?

blackberry         windows                 desktop                home       bookmark       crash

orange             x. box (sounds like another word)        mouse       tool           frozen

Which of the above words are in the video?

         
Watch the video again and put these phrases in the correct order

• They brought two new apples out since then.
• No, no! It's completely frozen.
• What's the problem?
• I'm afraid there's not a lot I can do about that.
• I'm very disappointed.
• I can't make head or tail of them
• I already tried that a few times, all it did was mess up.

1. I'm very disappointed. 

Help
I can't make head or tail of...= I really don't understand.... 

Gingers do have souls

A young American boy with red hair is angry because on the programme south park they said that people with ginger hair do not have souls.  (WARNING: contains swear words)
What else is he angry about?

Match the words/phrases with the words in bold

sad/angry                                                    insult

bully, it hurts my feelings, put down, irritates, demeaning, upset, furious, pick on, slanderous, make fun of, it pisses me off, I'm tired of it.

Watch the video again and answer the questions:

1) What do they call him at school?
2) Why don't they know who has a soul?
3) How does he feel about the insults?
4) How does he feel about his hair colour?

The boy in the video says that he has contemplated suicide, which means that he is so upset about the bullying that he has thought about killing himself.
How can we stop this bullying?
Use these words to explain what these people can do:              
must                                                      The boy in the video
have/has to                                           The children in school
should                                                    His parents
could                                                      The teachers

EXAMPLE:
The boy in the video must tell his teacher the names of the children who are making fun of him.
His parents should talk to the head teacher about this problem.

REMEMBER: Must and have to are used when we give strong advice
                          You have to go to school everyday!!!
                          Should and could are used to make suggestions
                          If your tired you could go to sleep for a few hours.
                          must, should and could are all modal verbs.

Lost in space

Fill the gaps with these missing words

planet (x2)    stars       space     aliens     galaxy   the milky way   Mars 

The universe

The universe is very big. Our............. is in a................. called................... The closest................ to earth is called................, some people think that............... live there. In................. there are many.............., the sun is the closest to earth.

Watch the programme Pocoyo and answer the questions

1) What does the alien friend want to do?
2) What happens when they push the button?
3) What's the problem?
4) How do they solve the problem?

Have you ever been lost before?

Where were you?                    How did you find your way?
How did you feel?                   What can you do in the future to stop yourself from getting lost?

Egyptian revolution- corrections

An Egyptian actress gives her opinion about the revolution in Egypt.
She speaks in English and makes some mistakes- listen for the language errors...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2011/feb/09/egypt-protests-revolution-people-video

Here are some of the mistakes, can you correct them?

They will kill from us

When the real revolution begin

We are now felt how much we are strong

answers

They will kill us

When the real revolution begins

We have now felt how strong we are

Fawlty Towers (The rat)

 Fawlty Towers is a comedy series set in a hotel

The main characters are:

Mr Fawlty (Basil) -The hotel manager

Mrs Fawlty (Cebil) -Basil's wife

Manuel- Waiter and porter

Polley- Waitress and receptionist

Sub characters- The hotel inspector, Major (hotel guest)

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPP4P3gKGss

Check words/phrases

Pudding

How on earth...

Pigeon

Popped out

Cuddly

mugged

Filthy/grubby

Rodent

Ship-shape

Match with the correct explanation/synonym

a) A person/animal/teddy bear who likes to hug others or who others want to hug.

b) A bird that is similar to a dove but usually grey. There are a lot in cities and many people think they're dirty.

c) The name given to animals like mice, rats, hamsters, gerbils etc

d) A desert; eg- a cake

e) When things are working well and in order.

f) Said to express surprise at a situation.

g) Dirty/unclean

h) To go outside for a short time.

i) When someone robs you/steals your things; usually with force/threats.

Watch the video and answer the questions

1) Who does the man who is looking in the fridge work for?

2) What problems does he find with the hotel?

3) What instructions does Mr Fawlty give to Manuel?

4) Why is Manuel depressed?

5) Where do they take the rat?

6) What does Manuel tell Polly about the rat?

After you've watched the video...

Write at least 100 words on what you think is going to happen next...

What is going to happen to the rat?

What is the health inspector going to do?

How are Basil and the others going to deal with the situation?

speak slowly

Ernie tells bert to go to the kitchen because the bread is burning. Bert tells Ernie to "slow down" because he can't understand a word. Ernie speaks more slowly and says; "The bread that you put in the toaster is burning".

Which of these things can you find in a kitchen?

table, oven, armchair, toilet, washing machine, hair dryer, cupboard, bed, curtains, sink, bath, carpet, fridge, television, desk, cooker, microwave, wardrobe, toaster.

What are the names of these other rooms?

1. In the living room there is a green sofa (couch). On the sofa there are 3 pillows. There are 2 armchairs. In the middle of the room there is a small coffee table. There are 2 lamps. In the middle of the room there is a small coffee table. There are 2 big bookcases behind the sofa.

2. In the dining room there is a table and some chairs

3. In the bedroom there is a bed and some curtains.

4. In the bathroom there is a toilet, a sink a bath and a small cat.

5. In the kitchen there is a fridge, a cooker, a sink and many cupboards. On top of the fridge there is a small cat in a basket.