​This week was week one of a two-week intensive workshop about PRONUNCIATION! Good accent and pronunciation is a big challenge for students and requires constant work.  Be persistent and you will start to lose that Spanish accent!

To start, check out any of these recommended pronunciation resources:

• BBC Pronunciation
• Listen and Repeat: Daily Pronunciation Practice
• Minimal Pairs Practice
• Learn By Doing (Pronunciation)
• Ship or Sheep
• Perfect Pronunciation
• Pronunciation Course
• English Central Pronunciation
• Speaking English Activities

Listening:
For learners, check out some of these listening pronunciation tests:

English listening practice test 1
English listening practice test 2
English listening practice test 3
English listening practice test 4
English listening practice test 5

For original version, listen to an audio from TEDTalks.  Turn on the interactive transcript and try "shadow reading" which means reading along with the speaker.

Reading:
Learners can read this article about how to improve your pronunciation.

For something in original version, try an article about the linguistics of youtube voice.

Writing:
This week for writing please make a plan for pronunciation practice!  What can you do to improve your pronunciation in your daily study routine?  For extra points, record yourself reading your writing out loud and send it to me via whatsapp or email.
Best,
Kelly

Thanks to my visits to the hospital over the weekend, I was inspired to focus this week's topic on doctors, hospitals, ailments and healthcare.

Listening:
For learners, try A Patient at the Hospital, Medical Care and Health Insurance, or Sick Dad Listening Lesson.

For original version, try one of the talks by the amazing Atul Gawande, such as How Do We Heal Medicine? Or watch a documentary called Sick Around the World comparing healthcare systems in several different countries.

Reading:
Learners can read a variety of short texts about Health and Medicine, or any of these texts of Reading and Listening for Healthcare Workers.

If you're looking for something in original version, read an article about the possible harms of unnecessary medical care or Why Obamacare is So Controversial.

​Writing:
This week for writing, please write an essay responding to the following prompt: How do heredity, environment and available healthcare affect your health?
Best,
Kelly

This week's topic was personality. We described our personalities and talked about why we are the way we are and if we'll ever change. You may want to review some personality vocabulary with this game.

Listening:
For learners, try a BBC activity about personality traits or a listening activity from Listen a Minute about personality (mp3 and transcript). Finally, try another BBC activity about describing people.

For original version, watch any of the interesting TED talks about personality: such as Who Are You? The Puzzle of Personality. Or try the RadioLab episode Who Am I?

​Reading:
Learners can read about how color can predict personality or how people fear personality transplants.


Best,
Kelly

This week we talked about female artists, starting off with the thought-provoking video by Jemima Kirke, Where Are the Women?

Then we studied, described and talked about many women's work in fine arts: painting, sculpture, photography, and experimental art.

Listening:
For learners, try a biographical text about the American painter Georgia O'Keefe (mp3 and transcript), or about Athena Zhe, creating art on bodies.

For original version, check out this snippet of Marina Abramovic about Time, Performance, Art and Nothingness. Or an episode from Stuff You Missed in History Class on Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun that recounts how the 18th-century portraitist rose to be the first female court artist, creating some 30 paintings of Marie-Antoinette before the French Revolution disrupted her life and legacy.

Reading:
Learners can read about American photographer Diane Arbus, or painter Mary Cassat. These texts are also available with mp3 to listen at the same time.

If you're looking for something in original version, read the Guardian article, Why are all the great artists men?.  Or try an article from Vanity Fair about the American photographer Nan Goldin.

Writing:
Spend some time exploring women artists and their work.  Choose one piece and describe it, be careful with your adjectives and description! What is the artist saying with her work? Why is it important?
​Best,
Kelly