Learning and mastering English pronunciation can sometimes feel like a daunting task. I have been marking heaps of exams lately and now it’ s time for the oral test and if you want to know the truth… I ‘m dreading it!! Students insist on mispronouncing words they have heard a thousand times, like the word “since”, which they insistently pronounce as /sains/ and the “l” in words such as: walk, talk, should, half .… and would, when I’m well aware they know the “l” in these words is never pronounced.
By the time you finish watching this video, I bet you won’t forget how to pronounce “would”.
This clip from the movie “The Pink Panther” is probably one of the funniest I have ever seen and Steve Martin is at one of his best performances
Have you planned your summer holidays yet? Are you in the mood for something different? Weird and even wacky? Are you tired of the conventional hotels everybody goes to? Have a look at these photographs.
These are some of the weirdest hotels you will ever see. But don’t hold your breath …some of them are very expensive and most of them are fully booked for this summer; so I guess, it must definitely be an experience for some people sleeping in one of those but, trust me on this… you won’t find me there!
Given the chance I don’t know whether it‘d be easy to choose one of them to spend a nice relaxing holidays. I guess you think it would be a rush of adrenaline sleeping in a cabin hanging from a slender tree but I know for sure I wouldn’t be able to sleep a wink waiting for the branch to crack.
And an underwater hotel… are they paying me???
In my humble opinion, the Survival Pod Hotel in The Hague, this orange alien-shaped thing, seems to invite people to choose to die if the option is living in these claustrophobic capsules. Can’t imagine having to pay for it!
Some other picturesque pictures show the Das Park Hotel, Ottensheim in Austria and I have to admit that, at least, it has been cheap to build. The idea is that you sleep inside a piece of concrete sewage pipe and guess what?? This is cheap …’cause you pay only what you think they are worth!!
As for me, I’ve always felt an attraction for luxurious hotels where the service is impeccable, the views from the balcony breathtaking, the place a haven of peace and relaxation and the bed as comfortable as a bed should be. I don’t want to spend the night killing cockroaches or freezing to death just to have the time of my life, thank you very much.
Anway, why this post on Weird hotels? ’cause my students are about to study this lesson and I came across some of these pictures while looking for different things on the web. I prepared a lesson about hotels this morning, which I thought I’d share with you. So, if you are interested, and you’re not one of my Pre-Intermediate students (we’ll be doing this lesson on Monday, God willing!) Click here.
If you are one of my pre-intermediate students and still want to do something about hotels, you can click here and listen to this postcast about Weird Hotels.
And then watch this video… but don’t expect it to help you with your English!!!
I am a teacher, well I am an English teacher, and I do not know whether people might consider this an unusual job but it is.
And why the hell is it an unusual job? Some of you might be wondering, when the very first thing that comes to your mind is the outrageous amount of holidays teachers enjoy. Nothing is easier than being a teacher. You have to be mother, father, friend, counsellor, psychologist, actor, lawyer… You have to be motivating, energetic, enthusiastic, flexible, hard , understanding, strict, compassionate, well-mannered, well-meaning, well-balanced, well-educated, loving, tender….and you can never ever complain as you, as everybody knows, enjoy a scandalous amount of holidays. But /and this is why I love being a teacher.
But I have also cleaned windows, worked as a waitress (I was made redundant after two months), picked apples in a Canterbury Farm ( I was one of the fastest), been an au-pair of dearest David ( I wonder where he is now), worked in a pub….
Surfing the Net I have gathered this bunch of unusual occupations. One might think some of them are made up. House sitting:This is quite simply moving into someone’s house while they are away, a kind of ‘live- in burglar alarm and someone to keep the house kept and warm. Could be for two weeks or six month’s, you don’t know. Odor Judgers: Odor Judgers get to smell armpits all day to help make deodorants that will work well. I’m not sure why somebody other than some strange fetishist would want this job. Chicken Sexer This is a real job title. A chicken sexer sorts through baby chicks to determine if they are male or female, and then segregate them. Hot Walker: This is the person that walks the racehorses around after a race. It is important, because if a horse doesn’t cool down before returning to his stall, the overheating can cause kidney damage. Saddle consultants: The people who ensure equine enthusiasts have the most comfortable ride possible and that their horses have the perfect riding accessory. And you? What about you? Have you got or have you had any interesting, safe, dangerous, boring occupation? Leave me a comment and let me know.
Now dear reader , you might be wondering why I haven’t dedicated a single minute to this blog of mine. The truth be told , I felt I needed a break from the computer and from teaching , never from English… I’m addicted!!!
But …One important event has happened in my life… my maid has resigned after 11 years working at home. Yes, I know what you are thinking… !!! Just save it, …I’m not interested in the irony!! The thing is that after so many years I had forgotten the basic things a person has to do to be able to survive.. and although it’s true that I was an expert at baking desserts, the sad thing was that I didn’t know how to cook ordinary lentils, among other things.
So, after a few burns from ironing, salty dishes hardly edible, plus mixing bleach with ammonia and almost …etc… I’m sure you are not interested in my misfortune… but there are some positive things about me having to become a housewife.. now I’m more independent!!
If you have never ironed a fitted sheet you might encounter , as I certainly did, some problems ironing and folding it properly …quite a difficult chore if you think about it! The solution to my domestic problems….. the Mighty You Tube. Have a look at these videos and learn what I am now an expert at.
How to fold a fitted sheet
My children also had to learn how to fold their T shirtsneatly. Interesting video and also great fun for children
Speed-peel potatoes… when in a hurry
and so on and so forth….. but…. I don’t like being a housewife , I like being a teacher…and just that!!! Carmen, please come back!!!! I miss uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!!
flexible, hard , understanding, strict, compassionate, well-mannered, well-meaning, well-balanced, well-educated, loving, tender….and you can never ever complain as you, as everybody knows, enjoy a scandalous amount of holidays. But /and this is why I love being a teacher.