RADIALL ENGLISH BLOG

Are you Cluj in disguise?

2008-09-17T02:53:00.000-07:00

I'm not going to gloat about Chelsea's huge victory over Bordeaux. I will, however, be wearing a look of satisfaction mixed with an air of condescension.

the word of the day today is "Bond"

James Bond : Quantum Of Solace - Trailer #2 [VO]
envoyé par Lyricis

this may take a while to load but it should be worth the wait.

Thanks for all the fish.

2008-09-07T02:15:00.000-07:00

I spoke about the LHC last week.
here is the definitive explanation - click

Stop rowing

2008-09-03T01:00:00.000-07:00

Word of the day : To row

So rowing could be arguing (pron. "raooh") or propelling a boat on water using oars (pron. "reau").

and here's the article: click

Less is...

2008-08-31T05:07:00.000-07:00

... wrong. click
Well I'm glad they've sorted out that incredibly important grammatical error, phew!

and while we're here why not look at the Plain English Campaign website

Ve haff vays off making you talk!

2008-08-08T05:44:00.000-07:00

Spongebob goes political, click

and Squidward is "So handsome!"

For all of you who don't understand cricket, this should explain everything.

You don't need a weather man to know which way the wind blows.

2008-08-07T00:44:00.000-07:00

Bonus points for anyone who does a Google search on the title of today's post.

Otherwise, Has the justice system has gone mad? click

Here's another English learning website to help with your listening. click

and here's a lot (or alot? hm!?) of answers to those awkward questions that you all like to ask me, so, click

Here comes the summer

2008-07-24T01:52:00.000-07:00

No slacking off just because you're (or soon to be) on holiday!

first link is in French so you'll probably like it:

CLICK >>> E-Anglais

Put on your cherry red shoes and dance the blues.

2008-07-10T04:36:00.000-07:00

The post today is dedicated to one of my favourite cultural icons.

Ah! nostalgia, "Doctor Martens Doctor Martens Doctor Martens boots! retailed for only £19.99p" they cost over 100€ nowadays.

Here's a Dr M. exercise

And...

are you still working towards a paper-free office?

Summer? what summer!

2008-07-09T01:11:00.000-07:00

Don't worry about wet weekends, just think how green your grass will be.
Of course you won't be able to appreciate your garden without wearing a K-Way and rubber boots, but, hey...

Apparently words speak louder than actions, so there!

Not quite the A to Z of English, but to come up with the A to W is a good attempt, I guess neither X-rays nor Xylophones being grammar rules means the XYZ part is a bit of a non-starter.

Seconds out, Round three

2008-07-04T01:32:00.000-07:00

Contender N°6

Mr I love America, who is really not that bad.

Contender N°7

Miss Jennifer friendly but nasty sofa

and the last contender

Contenders N°8 & 9

Mr Berlusconi & Mr Bush

I B Free

2008-07-03T01:51:00.000-07:00

So after 6 years of captivity Ingrid Betancourt is liberated.

A dead American billionaire has left $12M to her dog, o_O

STOP PRESS: Judge decides that $12M is too much for a fluffy little white dog, and in fact $2M is quite enough, apparently it has been estimated that this "aristodog" can only feasably spend $190,000 per year.

How smart are you?

OD got 17/20

Contender N°4
Mister Duncan in England who is also quite reasonable

by the way "pot calling the kettle black" is a not-politically-correct idiom.
So don't use it.

Contender N°5

Mister Andre the head coach, an American teacher o_O

Do you love your English teacher?

2008-07-02T01:51:00.000-07:00

I hope you do, whether it's* Denise or myself.
When I say "Love" obviously it doesn't imply anything unprofessional, it simply means to "like a lot", or to "fully appreciate".

The reason I ask this is because there is a new breed of English teacher out there, they are YouTube English teachers.

and so, with a spirit of open competition I pit myself against these pretenders to my crown as "The World's funkiest English teacher"

Contender N° 1
Monsieur Crazy S.M. French English teacher

Contender N° 2
Mister Articulation isn't my strong point due to my adenoids

and finally...

Contender N° 3
Mister Not actually that bad but wishes he had an auto-cue

* in fact if I'm going to be grammatically perfect here one should use the subjunctive "whether it be Denise or myself"
However I reckon there are about twelve people in England who would actually talk like this, so don't bother.

a serendipitous discovery

2008-05-29T01:58:00.000-07:00

So, I was just surfing the web to see if I could find anything useful/interesting for you to do.

and I found this, so why don't you try the virtual audio lab but don't do the dictation part because it's nonsense, unless you can think of a moment in the day when you might say "round the rugged rock the ragged rascal ran".

Blue Thursday

2008-05-22T02:00:00.000-07:00

Just because my beloved Chelsea didn't win last night I'm going to post lots of grammar exercises!
I don't see why anybody should be happy today.

What are Modal Verbs?

modal verbs exercise

another modal verbs exercise

I just saw the newspapers and everyone seems very happy that Manchester United won, which means I'm going to give you some more grammar exercises to do.

Do you have a problem with your dangling modifiers?

Thursday

2008-04-24T02:00:00.000-07:00

word of the day; occur
and here's a word that causes problems; resume

Cry 'God for Harry, England and Saint George!

2008-04-23T00:56:00.000-07:00

So in the most befitting way to celebrate St George's day we will deal with all things English.

First of all what is England famous for?

secondly
do some exercises

or if you prefer the traditional lessons you used to have at school
click here

and a video of a cheeky little monkey

Friday again, again!

2008-04-11T01:55:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted for a week but it's been difficult this week to find the time.
As "The Bodins" say "it isn't the cock that gets people up in the morning, it's courage!"

so the links for today are:

Proof that the English language is easy

This is to prove that it's difficult phrasal verbs exercise

and this isn't too hard articles

I don't know if this is any good, perhaps someone can try it and leave a comment.

and this is how managers are employed

Friday again

2008-04-04T00:56:00.000-07:00

It's nearly the weekend again, doesn't time fly by when you're having fun?!

so, on that note here's a fun exercise:

hangman

OK you can stop having fun now, it's time to concentrate.

which famous song includes the line:

"Early morning, April 4, a shot rings out in a Memphis sky,
Free at last, they took your life, They could not take your pride" ?

here's a clue:
MLK
and here's his most famous speech:
I have a dream
click on the link if you want to listen to it,
"I still have a dream"

and he wasn't the only one to have a dream, because on April 4 in 1975 Paul Allen and Bill Gates founded Microsoft in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Thursday

2008-04-03T03:17:00.000-07:00

Today's news:
how much do you love your wife? and
drink more coffee

Wednesday

2008-04-02T05:43:00.000-07:00

As some of you have already stated today, there's no news.
Apart from the Nike Strike and Doctor Who's new series starting on Saturday.

So, let's move on,
this site should keep you occupied.

click here

Today's candidate for Great Britons
goes to one of my relatives... possibly.

William Willett

Tuesday

2008-03-31T13:11:00.000-07:00

There's nothing on the television, so what do you do?

You practice English of course!

Go on! You might like it.

CLICK HERE.

2008-03-28T06:49:00.000-07:00

Another Friday, another week over.
But there's no rest for the wicked so:

the word of the day is:
FAKE

the exercise of the day is about phrasal verbs:

Learn phrasal verbs

and a new addition to the nearly daily blog,

Great Britons:

The first part of the list of list of Great Britons will be dedicated to favourite Members of Parliament,

John Stonehouse

Thursday

2008-03-27T02:36:00.000-07:00

So France beat England in a very boring game and Sarko met the Queen. Wow!
If you're planning a holiday, perhaps Comoros isn't the best destination for French people at the moment.

The words of the day.
Woo
Gambit

The lesson for today is:
What time is it?

and if you want something more difficult, try this:

Wednesday

2008-03-26T06:36:00.000-07:00

So, Nicolas Sarkozy and his glamourous wife are in England meeting the Queen for a state visit, France will play England tonight to see who has the better football team (Come on England!) and the EU have annoyed the English again.

but that won't stop us from getting on with the serious business of learning English.

So, the word for the day is:
SWARF

the exercises are:
pronunciation pairs
and present
simple or present continuous

Only Robinson Crusoe had everything done by Friday.

2008-03-21T04:07:00.000-07:00

Today's words of the day are:
WIND

PATTERN

Boost your technical vocabulary with this article:

Fibre-Optic communication

Are you feeling motivated enough to do some grammar exercises?
You are! Great!
Present perfect

and here's a little English humour.
This is a compilation of clips from a series called "The fall and rise of Reginald Perrin" which is one of the greatest series ever made, in any language.

If it didn't make you laugh then that's perhaps because it might be a little out of context.

another day

2008-03-20T02:49:00.000-07:00

Today's word of the day is
SCHEDULE

Today's grammar lesson for the day is
present continuous

Do you have a problem with the alphabet?
YES

And here's a telephone lesson, very realistic.

Lesson 1: How to speak in American, Lear
Uploaded by savioshow

Do you need help with pronunciation?

English Pronunciation 1
Uploaded by blabbinit

Welcome to the English blog

2008-03-19T06:58:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome to Radiall's English blog,

My name's Alec and I started today at Radiall in Chateaurenault, I decided to put together a blog that will run parallel to the lessons I give on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

So, I think it would be a good idea to learn the Present Simple

It's also a good idea to do active listening exercises, which doesn't sound like a lot of fun, so I recommend you do a google search for ZeFrank and see what you get. (I could have embedded one of his videos here but some of the things he says are a little inappropriate)
If you don't feel like looking for ZeFrank or you discovered that he's really not easy to understand, no worries, here's something easier:-