thatss-my-life-blog

[thatss-my-life-blog]

Good pronunciation should be one of the first things that you learn in English. You can live without advanced vocabulary — you can use simple words to say what you want to say. You can live without advanced grammar — you can use simple grammar structures instead. But there is no such thing as “simplepronunciation”. If you don’t have good pronunciation, you have bad pronunciation.

And the consequences of bad pronunciation are tragic. Even if you use correct grammar, people may simply not understand what you want to so, for this reason, I usually watch pronunciation tips videos on Youtube to improve it.

I’ll show you an example of these type of videos, in case, anyone wanna try these exercises.

[thatss-my-life-blog]

SPEAKING TRAINING BEFORE THE FINAL EXAM

This week I’ve been with my classmate Ana pulling out weight in terms of speaking so as to end up our hard learning curve during this course. So we met two hours after out ordinary classes of Tuesday & Thursday so as to put in common different ideas to talk about connected with the topics that could appear in the speaking task. Besides, we’ve trained repeatedly in order to bond as a speaking couple, also working with Emma in the workshop hours. Actually, we planned to slot in out diaries a whole afternoon to devote more time to the activity with the aim of making an extra effort the previous day before trying to get the C1 Certificate.

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I’m not giving a formal speech about any topic. I’m just showing you an extract of my English Business oral presentation in the first course of Networking Engineering degree. The idea was to convince an investor group to finance our project, a fictitious company.

“Valerie, my mate, and I represent the Castelldefels Coalition for Recycling, a group that was founded a couple of years ago, partly in response to the rising use of bills and partly out of a concern for the environment and its resources. The massive use of bills not only hurt each of us in our pocketbooks but also hurt the quality of life of our city as a whole. We are all particularly proud of what an awesome city we live in and what wonderful citizen involvement there is here – these things make our city special and these things ought to be the force that enables us to get a recycling program off the ground. And our group thinks that a recycling program of bills will be a real contributor in keeping Castelldefels the wonderful place that it is.

Valerie and I want to talk to you about what the proposed recycling plan is all about, how it can benefit our city in a variety of ways, and what you can do –if you believe it is a worthwhile project- to help get the plan going on. Just stop me any time that you have a question or whenever; I get so carried away sometimes with the proposed plan that I stop making sense…”

[thatss-my-life-blog]

Children love listening to stories. I doubt you'll find anyone more hungry for stories. Some days before Saint George Day, a teacher from my Elementary School called me to ask me if I was able to tell little English Stories to kindergartener. First of all, I thought that it’ll be an amazing experience and a perfect way to remember my childhood since I went to that school for 14 years. Immediately, when I hung up the call I realised that this activity was a perfect opportunity to improve my spoken English & lose my shame in front of an audience.

The Saint George Day arrived & everything was incredible. The biggest difference between child audiences and adult audiences is that young children let you know immediately how you're doing. If you're not connecting with them, they squirm, interrupt, or get up and leave. If you're succeeding, they settle in to a comfortable position and gaze at you in rapt adoration. With feedback like that, it's much easier to change direction or hold the course, as needed.

Moreover, I also practiced intonation because your tone of voice tells children more about you than your words do. “Speak like the characters. If the character is a big bear, use a deep voice. If it is a little ladybug, speak with a soft voice.” –that was a good advice I received from the teachers and I was able to put into practice.

Without any kind of doubt, this experience was very useful not just for my personal development but also for my spoken English, my confidence & my pronunciation.

[thatss-my-life-blog]

BOOKING A FLIGHT

Me: Hi, I'd like to check on a flight.

Travel Agent: Sure. What's your destination?

Me: Barcelona, Spain.

Travel Agent: And is this one-way or round trip?

Me: One-way trip.

Travel Agent: When would you like to depart?

Me: April 17th.

Travel Agent: Okay one moment please... Do you have an airline preference?

Me: No, any airline will be fine. I'm not picky.

Travel Agent: And what class would you like? Economy, business class, or first class?

Me: Economy, please.

Travel Agent: Okay, wll there's a flight on the morning of the 17th, the cheapest we have is 200 CHF.

Me: Ouch! I was hoping to find something cheaper. My dates are a little bit flexible - do you think you can find a cheaper flight on different dates?

Travel Agent: Let me check it. Just a moment... There's a flight on the 18th for 100 CHF.

Me: That's much better!

Travel Agent: But you have to change planes in Madrid. And there's a 2 hour layover there.

Me: Hmmm... Is that the best you can do?

Travel Agent: I'm afraid so. If you'd like, I can reserve a seat now, and you don't need to pay right away.

Me: That would be great.

Travel Agent: I just need your full name & passport number.

Me: Here you are.

Travel Agent: Okay, one moment... Alright! It's reserved. If you decide you want to purchase the ticket, you need to confirm before the end of the month.

Me: Great! You've been very helpful. Thanks!

Travel Agent: That's my job! Take care.

-Dialog to get some plane tickets Lugano - Barcelona-

[thatss-my-life-blog]

BENEFITS OF READING ALOUD

When you wanna improve your speaking ability, sometimes you are not with someone you can talk in English to, for these reason, when my sister (who I practised spoken English) left home I started trying to find new ways to do it.

First of all, I thought about my friend Danley, who I talked you some posts ago, but I also wanted any kind of exercise I could to do on my own. By change, I read an article about the benefits of READING ALOUD. The article said: “It will help you recognize and pronounce the words quicker, and it will increase your self esteem. It'll increase your self esteem because you will be able to read and speak the words faster, so there will be a smaller chance of you mispronouncing a word, or stuttering.” So right after that I started reading English newspapers or extracts of books aloud in my bedroom & I will tell you a little bit in which skills I improved by this simple activity.

Increases Vocabulary

Saying something in context aloud is very powerful. When you are reading in your head, you only hear the words internally and their affect on you is limited to how you interpret the words during that private experience.

If you choose to read them aloud, you may find deeper meanings in the words because when they are spoken, they can easily become part of you. Inevitably, you go through a comprehension activity & then that word become part of your vocabulary and influence your use of language.

Greater Comprehension

People learn in a variety of ways... By reading aloud, you’ll stand a better chance of internalizing the words and making them your own before you perform.

Challenges Your Use of Intonation

When you read aloud, there is hardly the opportunity to sound dull, especially if you have an audience. Make use of the full range of your voice. You’ll only be able to discover and explore it if you are speaking the words with the intention of them being heard.

If you’re wondering how you sound, try recording yourself and then playing it back, noting where your voice goes up, down, starts, stops, fluctuates and even surprises you.

Use a pencil and paper to mark your scripts to help direct your tone and vocal interpretation of the story or piece of ad copy. You’ll be amazed by how some attention to details can make an enormous impact on your productions.

[thatss-my-life-blog]

Coldplay – The Scientist

Another really good song for learning. Clear lyrics, slow pace, understandable voice, (thanks, Chris Martin), and an interesting video to talk or think about once you know all the words. Resultant group discussions have included trains, drinking and driving, graffiti, and the environment. Watch the video if you’re not sure why.

[thatss-my-life-blog]

It all starts somewhere. You pack your suitcase, you say goodbye, you forget at least 3 things that are important, and you get on a plane... to fly away from what you have known as home your whole life. For me, London would be what I called home for the next one-month and a half. Confidence, independence, and becoming who I really am, are the 3 aspects I have noticed myself really grow in! Student exchange has shocked me greatly, as I have become a lot more open to new things and a world bigger than just my comfort zone. I always thought that when I had a problem back home, that was hard, but here, having something go wrong, feels 500 times worse. You still have the support from your host family and friends, but you don't have the comfort of what you've always known. Instead, you need to think of new ways to overcome these things. My friends were the best. I can proudly say that nowhere in the world will anyone find friends better than the ones I found in London, I will never forget them nor forget what we did, they changed me into what I am now, they helped me become fluent and achieve all my other goals. It is safe to say that my exchange was a huge success. As soon as I get the chance I will go back to see them all.

 I've found that student exchange has been a life changing experience that has made me realise I can do so much more than I ever thought was possible. I have had a great experience, and I am looking forward to what comes next. More fun filled times, more excitement, and more challenges. BRING IT ON!



[thatss-my-life-blog]

My family and I recently went to Washington D.C. and we took a tour around the city. It was the first thing we did in DC upon arriving… Despite the fact that I'm not really into tours, I went along with the whole family. Nevertheless, now I'm singing the praises to anyone going to the DC area. We absolutely loved it. The tour guides were fabulous! We really learned so much about the city and were able to get off at great locations. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone! I loved it so much that I would try it in other future destinations with the same company.

Our guide had a lot of good information, fun stories and handled off-the-wall questions with diplomacy and good humour, ¡he should be the guide of the year! The tour itself exposed us to a lot of what DC has to offer and we loved being able to get on and off at our leisure.

To sum up, this tour guided make the vacation trip exactly what I had hoped educational & fun.

[thatss-my-life-blog]

My Skype Experience

Hello again! I started talking, some weeks ago by Skype, with a ‘friend’ I met on Summer in order to improve my Speaking fluently. I use English in class but unfortunately not, as much as I’d like, on a daily basis so it’s harder to improve my level of speaking knowledge. These kind of talks with a native speaker it’s very convenient and can be done from home without losing any time going to a school or anywhere else.

Moreover, thanks to the direct video contact, there is the possibility to share any contents to discuss about an specific topic or picture. I’ll explain

I can truly recommend you because I really enjoy the talks with a native speaker so I’ll try to do it for a long time.

Only Skype and a microphone are required. That’s it! Sounds easy, doesn’t it?

[thatss-my-life-blog]

Les Misérables is one of our favourite musicals and watching it in a London theatre was our dream. It did not disappoint, even though my mum and I had watched the movies loads of time so we knew the story line. Outstanding cast, performances, props - simply breathtaking. We only had one night availability to see the show and took the chance of walking to the theatre for tickets one hour before show time. Thankfully, there were four left.

There weren’t a moment was to be missed. The theme and quality of production lived up to its reputation and more. I was captivated all the way through the show from the beautiful singing. We would return to watch it repeatedly. Congratulations to the performers for their heart's work and hard work, they do it with great passion for their craft. London's theatre performances always attracts us. Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!

You won’t regret it

[thatss-my-life-blog]

I loved Broadway, but I’ll have to admit that I had some slight reservations about this particular show. I’m here to tell you this: don’t think this way, because you will love it. I attended the show on a Thursday afternoon; this is a fairly new matinee time that has been added to the afternoon mix for select shows.

I was instantly captivated by Elena Ricardo’s voice, who was portraying Sophie Sheridan. I was really impressed by how this girl seemed to just effortlessly belt out one beautiful sounding song after the next. Easily, the most talented performer of the show was Judy McLane as Donna Sheridan. She was such a natural—her acting was terrific and she was absolutely hilarious. She certainly made the show. Meryl Streep who? Without any doubt, the best part was when the three potential fathers all came face-to-face with Donna for the first time after 20 years. At a complete loss for words, she musters up the best excuse she can think up in order to avoid the confrontation and leave the room: “I have to….go clean out my purse.”

While I thoroughly enjoyed the story itself, I was a bit disappointed in the ending when we never got to really find out who Sophie’s father was. I was in such suspense for three hours, only to be let down. But hey, that’s the way the story goes.

 See this show, it’s a must. It’s been on Broadway since 2001 for a reason and 16 years later they’re still filling up the theatre —obviously they must be doing something right!

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I chose And Then There Were None as my fifth classic of the year because it’s ‘the world’s best-selling mystery’ with ‘over 100 million copies sold’. Who hasn’t heard of Agatha Christie? I love reading books that have puzzling plots yet I’ve read so few, and so I thought it was time to pick up a mystery classic (which had, shall we say, two not so politically correct previous titles).

I rarely come across a book that I am able to summarise in so few words, but here it’s: And Then There Were None is the story of ten individuals who are invited to an isolated house on Soldier Island, Devon. During their first dinner together, a recorded message accuses each of them of a terrible crime. One by one, they begin to die. One of guests must be the killer, but who is it? The idea for And Then There Were None is so simple yet it must’ve been extremely difficult to execute. Agatha Christie does it brilliantly and the book deserves its praise and critical acclaim.

I loved reading about each of the characters at the beginning. I made a note of them – who they were and how they ended up on the island – and crossed them off, as they died, which initially was done to aid my memory, but it made the reading experience much more exciting. The deaths are not at all gruesome so if you’re worried about that – don’t be! I made a guess as to whom the murderer was – I was wrong. It has an absolutely brilliant, surprising ending that I can’t imagine anyone would figure out themselves.

I’m now really looking forward to checking out some of Agatha Christie’s other books, in particular, Murder on the Orient Express and The Mysterious Affair at Styles.

[thatss-my-life-blog]

THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN is a dark, haunting and depressing psychological thriller, but it's incredibly effective thanks to the writing skills of author Paula Hawkins. Rachel is a divorced woman who would do anything for a drink, and like many folks consumed by a love affair with the bottle, one might call her a victim of circumstances. Her husband Tom had an affair that resulted in a pregnancy. He divorced Rachel, married the "other woman" and now all three (husband, wife and child) are happily ensconced in the house that was once Rachel's.

The train that Rachel rides to London each day takes her past her old neighbourhood. From the window of the train, she observes not only her old garden that backs up to the tracks, but also the daily activities of another couple who reside down the street from her previous home. In her imagination she has given the couple names and has created a fairy tale love life for them. Real life, however, cannot live up to her fantasy and the couple does not have the picture perfect relationship that Rachel has made up. When a murder occurs, Rachel becomes entangled in the investigation because of what she has witnessed on her daily commute.

This rather bleak story with intersecting timelines is told from the viewpoint of three different women Rachel, Anne and Megan. All the women are unreliable narrators with something to hide. In fact, most of the characters in this novel, including the men, lack veracity, and are a self-serving and unsympathetic group with plenty of skeletons in their closets.

Before I continue and divulge too much of the plot, let me just say that the twists and turns in the story are hundreds and readers will be easily drawn in, making it easy to devour this book in one afternoon.

[thatss-my-life-blog]

At twenty-six, Cat Marnell was an associate beauty editor at Lucky, one of the top fashion magazines in America—and that’s all most people knew about her. Nevertheless, she hid a secret life. She was a prescription drug addict. She was also a “doctor shopper” who manipulated Upper East Side psychiatrists for pills, pills, and more pills; a lonely bulimic who spent hundreds of dollars a week on binge foods; a promiscuous party girl who danced barefoot on banquets; a weepy and hallucination-prone insomniac who would take anything—anything—to sleep.

This is a tale of self-loathing, self-sabotage, and yes, self-tanner. It begins at a posh New England prep school—and with a prescription for Attention Deficit Disorder medication Ritalin. It continues to New York, where we follow Marnell’s amphetamine-fuelled rise from intern to editor through the beauty departments of NYLON, Teen Vogue, Glamour, and Lucky. We see her fight between ambition and addiction and how, inevitably, her disease threatens everything she worked so hard to achieve. From the Condé Nast building (where she rides the elevator alongside Anna Wintour) to seedy nightclubs, from doctors’ offices and mental hospitals, Marnell shows—like no one else can—what it is like to live in the wild, chaotic, often sinister world of a young female addict who can’t say no.

Combining lightning-rod subject matter and bold literary aspirations, How to Murder Your Life is mesmerizing, revelatory, and necessary. This book was impossible to put down. I didn't know of Cat Marnell before this book, so I was pretty objective when reading at first and had little or no affection for her. I began reading the book and thought I was reading a satire. I was unsure if she was being serious in the way she "talked" in the book. Her style is 100% honest, which is more than most can say in a memoir. I was in awe of her honesty, and felt she nailed it in her attempt to communicate her real vulnerabilities and life experiences. I have a lot of respect for her writing in this book. She offers hope for those not there yet, and quite frankly goes her own way in her walk towards sobriety. I love her independence of thinking and I root for her on her journey. She has gained a big fan.

[thatss-my-life-blog]

I just wanna say that I love this show!! It is good family entertainment. I believe all of us can relate to someone in it or have a relative that can. For those of you who only saw the pilot or one single episode (which I watched by accident and loved) please don't give up on it, it is a really good comedy. I cannot decide who my favourite character is, Cam, Phil... All of them, each week and each chapter this can change.

I rarely watch TV but this one has hooked me. I agree that the format is much like The Office, which I also think is funny, but the shots to the camera, the expressions are some of the best parts. Modern Family is an exemplary show. It has everything to love in a sitcom. It has humour, heart, great acting, great writing, likable characters, I could go on forever. The jokes are sharp, believable and it's also not too hyper like many of today's sitcoms are. It has quieter moments too. I love watching it with my family every weekend. 

Again... Best show in years!

[thatss-my-life-blog]

Truman Burbank is an ordinary guy in an ordinary little seaside town of Seahaven Island where nothing really happens. Everything is clean, everything is perfect, he knows people but never really connects to anyone. The one woman he ever really loved is not his wife and has long since left for the other side of the world where he longs to visit but feels he can never go. Paralysed by his fear of water since seeing his father die on a boating accident, Truman still feels he is missing something. A strange light falling from the sky, a man who reminds him of his dead father, a strange radio broadcast and the feeling that the world really stops when he shuts his eyes all combine to make him feel something is wrong – but what is it that he seeks but feels he cannot find? I’ll leave you with the curiosity to encourage you to see the film.

The cast is roundly superb even if the majority of them are in minor roles. Of course, it is easy now to look back at Carrey and accept that he can act straight but at the time it seemed so unlikely and few felt it was a good casting choice. Of course, seeing the result it is clear that he can and he delivers such a great performance that makes the film work.

Overall, this great film can be appreciated as much for what it is on the surface (a great little comic story) as it can be for the issues that it hints all the time. There was a time when some viewers may have looked to a Carrey film to be a load of mugging a crude, basic laughs but this was the film that saw that change. Thought provoking, funny, entertaining, short, enjoyable and well-acted throughout – well worth seeing and well worth coming back to several times.