This week we talked about the calendar and all of the different international holidays and commemorative days that happen every month: from International Women's Day to National Cupcake Day, it was a change to have many mini conversations about a big variety of topics.

Listening:
Learners can try a listening activity about International Day of Persons with Disabilities, or any of the activities over at ESL Holiday Lessons.  

For original version, listen to a planet money episode about the Holiday Industrial Complex, or try the documentary Peace One Day or about International Happiness Day.

Reading:
Learners can try a Breaking News English reading about International Day of the Girl Child or an article from ESL Holiday about World Food Day.

For original version read a CNN article about who creates all of these wacky holidays .

Writing:
This week for writing, please write a proposal about a new intenational or national holiday you think should be celebrated.  National Chocolate Appreciation Day? National Library Day?  What is something you think should be celebrated with its own day? Write a proposal explaining what, why, and possible activities to commemorate the day.
Best,
Kelly

This week we killed two birds with one stone: we used the podcast 10 Things That Scare Me, as the basis of our conversation about different fears, at the same time as we practiced reported speech.  Here you have a link to the table of info we used in class.

Listening:
Learners can listen to a 6 Minute Grammar Episode about reported speech, or the video: How to tell  if your boyfriend is a slob from the British Council.

For original version, it goes without saying that I think you should explore the archives of the fantastic 10 Things I am Scared of podcast!  There are lots of great episodes out there.

Reading:
Learners can try Reported speech explanation and activities with British Council or Reported Speech Reading Comprehension activity.

For original version read Grace Bonney's essay Things That Scare Me.

Writing:
This week for writing, start by having a conversation with a relative or friend about the 10 things that scare them.  Then use this information to construct a text using reported speech.
Best,
Kelly

In honor of Valentine's Day, we dedicated this week's class to talking about relationships and relationship conflicts, dedicating extra attention to perfecting the grammar point, I need you + verb, I want you + verb, I expect you + to, I ask you + to, etc.

Listening:
Learners can check out any of the listening exercises about relationships over at British Council or from ESL Lounge, Love is in the Air.

For original version, listen to an episode of Esther Perel's podcast Where Should I Begin?  Or listen to the show, Dear Sugars, if you click on the episode title you can also find the transcript to go along with the listening.
 
Reading:
Learners can try a graded reading from the British Council Learning website called Love is Blind, or try a  Breaking News English ESL Lesson Plan on Romantic Love.

For original version check out the archive of essays, articles, and stories at the New York Times section Modern Love.

Writing:
This week we'll use relationships to develop some writing skills.  Give it a shot at one of the following prompts:

1. Some relationships aren’t simple enough to be classified as toxic or healthy. Writing about a complex relationship is, well, complex. Give it a shot.
2. Every morning, the same customers show up at a quaint and cozy small-town diner. Some are great friends, some loathe each other, and some barely know each other. One day, a stranger comes to town and becomes a regular at the diner, shaking up old relationships and rivalries.
3. One character is a thief. The other is a cop. If their relationship is going to succeed, someone’s going to have to give up their career. Who will it be?
4. Has a total stranger ever helped you? Have you ever thought about all the people in this world you’ve never met but who have affected your life? Write a poem about strangers.
5. Think of something important you’ve learned about human relationships, and write an article describing what you learned, how you learned it, and how it could benefit others.
6. Do you have nieces or nephews? Tell your story of becoming an aunt or uncle. How did it change or affect your life?
7. Tell the story of how you met your best friend or significant other.

Best,
Kelly

This week we used the catalogue from last year's World Press Photo Contest as the foundation for an interesting conversation about current events, photography.

Listening:
Learners can try 6 Minute English episode about Citizen Journalism or an activity from the British Council calledGood Journalism?

For original version, try watch a fascinating short documentary about The Power of Photojournalism . orThe Search for Humanity in War Photography.
 
Reading:
Learners can try an article about The Media  or any article from popular adapted news websites such as Breaking News English, English news and easy articles for students of English or BBC Learning English - News Report.

For original version try any of the articles from the Smithsonian about photojournalism, or Women in Photojournalism.

Writing:
This week for writing, please write a report about the current state of photojournalism and citizen journalism.  How are images used in the news to influence our view of the world and current events?
Best,
Kelly

This week we used a piece of art "The Land of Make Believe" as a jumping off point for an interesting conversation about fairy tales and imagination.

Listening:
Learners can check out an episode from 6 Minute English: What's in a fairy tale? or some modern retellings of fairy tales from LearnEnglish Teens - British Council.

For original version, try watching a video that delves into10 Dark Fairy Tale Origins - YouTubeor a compliation of trailers of different adult Fairy Tales. You could also listen to an episode of TTBOOK about fairy tales.
 
Reading:
Learners can try an article from Breaking News English about some of the origins of tales. Please note that this valuable resources also offers listening.

For original version try reading some traditional folk tales online from different parts of the world: World of Tales, famous American folktales.

Writing:
This week for writing, please write a story based on a fairy tale or folktale.  You can play around with the traditional story, changing the ending, describing the characters.  Get creative in your adaptation!
Best,
Kelly

 This week we based our conversation on Emotional Intelligence.  How is EQ different than IQ? We talked about different ways to develop the ability to read and regulate our emotions, and those of others.

Listening:
Learners can try an interesting activity from British Council Learning English about Emotional Intelligence.  Try some of the listening comprehension tasks that follow the podcast.

For original version, try watching a short video with Goleman, the psychologist who first coined the phrase "emotional intelligence": Social Abilities or from TED: Ways to Improve Your Emotional Intelligence.

Reading:
Learners can try an article from ESL article about What is Emotional Intelligence?  Or try an article from ESL Voices about how reading Tolstoy improves emotional intelligence. Lastly, you could do a vocabulary activity about different emotions words.

For original version try an article from MindTools about "people skills" or about why being smart isn't enough at work.

Writing:
This week for writing, please write an article explaining what is emotional intelligence and why it's important.  Then describe some situations in which you can see some of these factors at play in your life.
Best,
Kelly

This week we continued our conversation about tourism, but centered our topic on interesting destinations: the top places to travel in 2019

Listening:
Learners can try a comprehension activity from Elllo: Great Destinations or an activity from Oxford University Press about World Destinations.

For original version, try this documentary about medical tourism: Morgan Spurlock Inside Man Season 3 Episode 2 - Club Med - YouTube.

Reading:
Learners can try an article about adventure travel  or a text and quiz about a holiday plan in Iceland.

For original version try any of the following articles: Top holiday destinations 2019 | CN Traveller
Where to travel in 2019 - National Geographic
or
Best in Travel - The best places to visit in 2019 - Lonely Planet.
 
Writing:
This week for writing, please write an article about a fantastic tourist destination in 2019.  Be descriptive with your adjectives and adverbs!
Best,
Kelly

 
Welcome back everyone!  It's great to start off the new year with our resolutions, time to get back to your goals with English! 

This week we discussed the positive and negative aspects of tourism, exploring how trends have shifted over time.

Listening:
Learners can listen to an activity about the negative aspects of tourism in Goa or an article from Breaking News English about tourism.  For more practice, try a video quiz about Brighton Tourism.

For original version, you can watch the short documentary Crowded Out.  Or listen to a podcast episode, What Role can Tourism Play in Development?

Reading
Learners can try an article about the history of tourism from English Magazine.  Or tryReading lessons: Tourism: Upper intermediate - Reading text from One Stop English.

For original version read an article called Are We Losing the Grand Canyon?   For something more bizarre, try The Disaster Tourist: Inside the world of dark tourism, where for just $2,500 you too could be responsible for a geopolitical calamity.

Writing:
This week for writing, please write an essay about how tourism as both positively and negatively affected your region.  What policies would you put in place to curb some trends?
Best,
Kelly

Hope you guys had a wonderful 2018 full of fun and English learning.  I am off to the United States this week to celebrate with my family, and I hope you have a wonderful break.

Our first day back after the holidays is Monday January 7th, 2019.  See you then!

Ho ho ho,
Kelly