sábado, 26 de febrero de 2011

715 reasons for having sex

People have at least 715 reasons (and 237 relatively distinct reasons) for having sex. Dr. Cindy Meston elaborates on what these are and why they're fascinating, worrisome, perfectly normal, popular, amusing, and more. Here, she provides clearer insight into the important differences between male and female sexuality, what women want, and, of course, the best way to get "over" someone.

Enjoy Dr Cincy Meston's talk at Ideacity.

jueves, 24 de febrero de 2011

Why is it so hard to learn English?

It is pronunciation practice today.

Would you be so kind as to read out loud the sentences below? They summarise the difficulties of English pronunciation for learners, even advanced ones.

1 The bandage was wound around the wound.
2 The farm was used to produce produce.
3 The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4 We must polish the Polish furniture.
5 He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6 The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7 Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
8 A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
9 When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10 I did not object to the object.
11 The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12 There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13 They were too close to the door to close it.
14 The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15 A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16 To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17 The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18 After a number of injections my jaw got number.
19 Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
20 I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
21 How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

To check the pronunciation, which on the picture below, which will direct you to the blog Bad English. Here you will find an audio file with the sentences being read out. You can download the file.

martes, 22 de febrero de 2011

Jonas Ridderstrale

Watch business guru Jonas Ridderstrale giving some advice on good management practice and asnwer these questions.

1. What is Dr. Jonas Ridderstrale´s 1st recipe?
2. How did ex- General Electric CEO Jack Welch describe hierarchical?
3. What is EBTS?
4. What is the 2nd recipe?
5. What did he say we (business) should focus all our energy on?
6. What is his definition of management?
7. What do managers spend 80% of their time doing?
8. What is the 3rd recipe?




H/T to El blog para aprender inglés.


Key:
1. Companies need to move beyond centralised solutions.
2. Companies show their face towards the CEO and show their ass to clients.
3. Expected time between surprises.
4. Don’t plan or try to predict, try instead to adapt to changes.
5. Focus on being the surprise / Focus on being the change.
6. The art and the science of stamping out (eradicating) deviance or deviants.
7. Managers spend 80% of their time dealing with 20% of products, people and businesses that perform the worst.
8. Look at the changes that are currently happening / Follow the evolution.

H/T This is an activity from El Blog para aprender inglés.

sábado, 19 de febrero de 2011

First Person American

First Person American is a website which is being created with the aim of helping immigrants to the US settling down.

The site will not be fully operative until July this year, but we can already watch a few videos of immigrants telling their personal stories, what they found it difficult to adapt to, and what their current problems are.


H/T to Larry Ferlazzo.

jueves, 17 de febrero de 2011

Job promotion

Watch this job interview where an employee is being interviewed to get a promotion in his company.

Note down the questions the employee is asked.



You can check the questions and the transcript here.

martes, 15 de febrero de 2011

Mixed conditionals

Random Idea English by Warwaw Will is a really interesting blog for advanced learners of English and one you should definitely bookmark.

Here he explains third and mixed conditionals in detail and presents eight interactive activities for you to practise.

sábado, 12 de febrero de 2011

The art of choosing

Sheena Iyengar studies how we make choices -and how we feel about the choices we make. On this TED talk she touches on both trivial choices (Coke v. Pepsi) and profound ones, and shares her groundbreaking research that has uncovered some surprising attitudes about our decisions.

jueves, 10 de febrero de 2011

Change your attitude to men

"If you want to know your grandchildren, have a daughter." Lionel Tiger discusses societal shifts in reproductive strategies and why female affirmative action is damaging to males. Here, ideaCity 10's token male presenter talks about gender roles, Women's Studies, biology, and the importance of changing our toxic attitude towards males.

martes, 8 de febrero de 2011

Soundboard

Soundboard seems to be the perfect site for advanced students. Here you will find thousands of sound clips and sound effects from radio and TV.

The clips are divided into categories: Radio, TV, games, celebrities, movies, historical, and so on. They can also be downloaded.

sábado, 5 de febrero de 2011

Jane Juska wishes for sex at 67

Watch the talk that teacher and write Jane Juska gave in Idea City on Line a couple of years ago about sex in old age. This is the text that introduces her talk:

Before I turn 67, I would like to have a lot of sex with a man I like …" Author and former schoolteacher Jane Juska discusses the compelling hypothesis that launched the research into her debut book A Round-Heeled Woman: My Late-Life Adventures in Sex and Romance. With sincerity and wit, Juska outlines her motivations, experiences, and the undeniable results behind her search for sex in the later years of life, all while emphasizing the importance of writing.

jueves, 3 de febrero de 2011

Confessions of an old Disney Employee

Enjoy this video by an old Disney employee.

martes, 1 de febrero de 2011

Awesome stories

Awesome stories is an interesting site for advanced learners of English, especially if they are keen on literature and current affairs issues.

On Awesome stories students have at their disposal a vast collection of stories, some of which include an audio file. They can also find video clips with extracts from films and interviews which revolve around issues our interest.