Beer is Homer Simpson's favourite drink. Enjoy Homer's hymn to beer sung to the music of Bizet's Toreador. Good listening practice while you learn some drinking vocabulary.
What is the malted liquor.(beer) What gets you drunker quicker? What comes in bottles or in cans?(beer) Can't get enough of it,(beer) How we really love it,(beer) Makes me think I'm a man,(beer) I can kiss and hug it,(beer) But I'd rather chug it,(beer) Fill my belly up to here,(beer) I could not refuse a,(beer) I could really use a,(beer) Beer, beer, beer.
I can't remember how much I have had, I drank a twelve pack with my dad, BURP! That's my son the drunken manly stud, I'm proud to be his bud, Here have some pretzels, No! I'll call it quits, Those things give me the Schlitz!
Drink with your family, Drink it with your friends, Drink till you're fat, Stomach distends, Beer is liquid bread it's good for you, We like to drink till we spew, EW Who cares if we get fat, I'll drink to that, As we sing once more.
What is the malted liquor, What gets you drunker quicker, What comes in bottles or in cans (beer) Can't get enough of it,(beer) How we really love it,(beer) Makes me think I'm a man,(beer) I can kiss and hug it,(beer) But I'd rather chug it,(beer) Fill my belly up to here,(beer) Golly I adore it,(beer) Come on dammit pour it, Do it for me, Brew it for me, Feed it to me, Speed it to me.(beer)
September's here again! I hope you had a great holiday and feel ready to start the new course.
Classes will be starting in just a few weeks. In the meantime, do take some time to brush up your English. For the language learner, daily practice is the best key to rapid improvement!
The goal of our blog is precisely to help you improve your English through practice and fun, and to help build up a community of English learners. Please visit our blog and feel welcome to send us any comments or suggestions!
Let's retake work with a smile. Here's a funny Dutch commercial showing one of the reasons why learning English is so important!
Just relax, get yourself a cold drink and enjoy Monty Python at their finest in one of their sketches: "The Funniest Joke in the World". Could a joke ever be so deadly?
Voice Over : (EI) This man is Ernest Scribbler... writer of jokes. In a few moments, he will have written the funniest joke in the world... and, as a consequence, he will die ... laughing. It was obvious that this joke was lethal... no one could read it and live ... Commentator: (TJ) This morning, shortly after eleven o'clock, comedy struck this little house in Dibley Road. Sudden ... violent ... comedy. Police have sealed off the area, and Scotland Yard's crack inspector is with me now. Inspector: (GC) I shall enter the house and attempt to remove the joke. I shall be aided by the sound of sombre music, played on gramophone records, and also by the chanting of laments by the men of Q Division ... The atmosphere thus created should protect me in the eventuality of me reading the joke. Commentator: There goes a brave man. Whether he comes out alive or not, this will surely be remembered as one of the most courageous and gallant acts in police history. Voice Over: It was not long before the Army became interested in the military potential of the Killer Joke. Under top security, the joke was hurried to a meeting of Allied Commanders at the Ministry of War. Top brass were impressed. Tests on Salisbury Plain confirmed the joke's devastating effectiveness at a range of up to fifty yards. Generals: Fantastic. Colonel: (GC) All through the winter of '43 we had translators working, in joke-proof conditions, to try and produce a German version of the joke. They worked on one word each for greater safety. One of them saw two words of the joke and spent several weeks in hospital. But apart from that things went pretty quickly, and we soon had the joke by January, in a form which our troops couldn't understand but which the Germans could. Voice Over: So, on July 8th, 1944, the joke was first told to the enemy in the Ardennes... Commanding NCO: Tell the ... joke. Joke Brigade: (together) Wenn ist das Nunstrück git und Slotermeyer? Ja! ...Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput! Voice Over: It was a fantastic success. Over sixty thousand times as powerful as Britain's great pre-war joke ... and one which Hitler just couldn't match. Voice Over: In action it was deadly. Corporal: (TJ) Wenn ist das Nunstrück git und Slotermeyer? Ja! .. Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput! Joke Brigade: (charging) Wenn ist das Nunstrück git und Slotermeyer? Ja! ...Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput. Voice Over: The German casualties were appalling. Nazi: (JC) Vott is the big joke? Officer: (MP) I can only give you name, rank, and why did the chicken cross the road? Nazi: That's not funny! (slaps him) I vant to know the joke. Officer: All right. How do you make a Nazi cross? Nazi: (momentarily fooled) I don't know ... how do you make a Nazi cross? Officer: Tread on his corns. Nazi: Gott in Himmel! That's not funny! Now if you don't tell me the joke, I shall hit you properly. Officer: I can stand physical pain, you know. Nazi: Ah ... you're no fun. All right, Otto. Officer: Oh no - anything but that, please no, all right I'll tell you. Nazi: Quick Otto. The typewriter. Officer: Wenn ist das Nunstrück git und Slotermeyer? Ja! ... Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput. Nazi: Ach! Zat iss not funny! Officer: Wenn ist das Nunstrück git und Slotermeyer? Ja! ..Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput. Voice Over: But at Peenemunde in the Autumn of '44, the Germans were working on a joke of their own. German Joker: (EI) Die ist ein Kinnerhunder und zwei Mackel über und der bitte schön ist den Wunderhaus sprechensie. 'Nein' sprecht der Herren 'Ist aufern borger mit zveitingen'. Otto: We'll let you know. Voice Over: But by December their joke was ready, and Hitler gave the order for the German V-Joke to be broadcast in English. Radio: (crackly German voice) Der ver zwei peanuts, valking down der strasse, and von vas... assaulted! Peanut. Ho-ho-ho-ho. Commentator (EI): In 1945 Peace broke out. It was the end of the Joke. Joke warfare was banned at a special session of the Geneva Convention, and in 1950 the last remaining copy of the joke was laid to rest here in the Berkshire countryside, never to be told again.
You know some of the differences between the two main types of English, let's see if you can identify and remember words and expressions from both sides of the Atlantic in these easy quizzes:
Well, easy's not always the right word. Some of the quizzes are of average difficulty for natives, either British or American. Anyway, you'll see that some of the questions are repeated in several quizzes, which will increase your chances of getting better results. Have great summer fun!
As we know, English is 'the' global language of communication nowadays, spoken by 1.9 billion people worldwide of which some 350 million are native speakers. Therefore, most speakers of English are non-native, with varying degrees of linguistic competence. Accordingly, the influence of native accents on English will be an important factor in understanding and communication, as most people retain traces of their native accent when speaking a foreign language. For example, most of your classmates show a clear influence of Spanish or Catalan in their English accents.
Many of you will have had problems trying to understand people speaking English with heavy foreign accents (especially on the phone!). Being familiar with the main non-native accents of English will help you in this respect. Sometimes you will also be able to detect accents and therefore origins of people!
Enjoy the last chapter of the series "World Tour of British Accents" and Mr. Seanie's rendition of world accents.
NB: If you want to go more scientific or systematic, this is the link for you, with more than 700 samples from all over the world! Speech Accent Archive
Susana's Paella Party was a huuuuge success! The whole world is going to be jealous when they see our pics. Here are a few examples of this unforgettable day:
So many gorgeous people together!
The perfect hostess, the perfect paella...
...the perfect company. Quin bon rotllo!
Happy, beautiful faces everywhere
Making moves on the girls while poor Ferran's playing. Not fair!
Susana can even sing (Satur, you're a lucky man). Susana and Satur, thank you for your wonderful hospitality!
There's even more! Check all the pics here. A million thanks to Anna and Marc!
The course is finally over. The die has been cast. The grades have been given. Hopefully you've learnt a lot of English this year. That's what this is all about.
Now it's time to relax, celebrate your achievements during the course and join in the End-of-course Celebrations! Your final hurdle!
5E: Paella at Susana's Where: At Susana's!
When: Sunday, June 17th 2007 - before 2 PM til year 2055
Motto of the Day: Who's the Cook!?
Hey, check out that pool! How about a swim?
Anyone feel like singing? Proposals accepted!
5F: Tasques, Soparet i... Where: Tasques - Castelló de la Plana
When: Friday, June 22nd 2007 - 9 PM til dawn
Motto of the Day: Don't Go Softly into the Night
Formal clothes required! What was that restaurant again?
Let's continue with our series dedicated to accents of English and start recognizing accents influenced by foreign languages. For this purpose we shall use a skit from the American television show Saturday Night Live.
Saturday Night Liveis one of the longest running television shows ever to be aired. This New York-based sketch comedy show has run since the fall of 1975. Many famous actors and actresses have starred in it: Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, Paul Shaffer, Eddie Murphy, Joe Piscopo, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Martin Short, Joan Cusack, Robert Downey Jr., Dennis Miller...
In its first season, Saturday Night Live began a running gag based on the treatment of Franco's terminal illness and imminent demise by the Spanish media, announcing periodically on its news segments “Generalissimo Franco is still dead!”
In the following sketch, an Italian family of cork soakers explain in detail the art of cork soaking. Enjoy!
NB: Maybe you would like to become cork soakers yourselves!
Now that you're familiar with the huge variation of accents in the British Isles it's time to move a step further and deal with accents of English in other countries where it is spoken as an official language.
The better news is that most non-British accents are generally easier to understand than some accents in the British Isles. Learning about these accents will also help you improve your listening comprehension, and to respect and appreciate the cultural diversity in the English-speaking world.
Enjoy now this tour of accents of world English (USA, Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand...).
NB: The tour starts with Irish English and finishes with Scottish English. Don't forget to check the links in the previous posting. Have fun with lifelong learning!!!
Adaptation (2002) American Beauty (1999) American History X (1998)
Barton Fink (1991) Being John Malkovich (1999) Blue Velvet (1986)
Bridget Jones's Diary (UK 2001)
Chasing Amy (1997)
Colors (1988)
Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
Crying Game, The (UK-Ireland 1992)
Deconstructing Harry(1997)
Donnie Brasco (1997)
English Patient, The (1996)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Far From Heaven (2002)
Fargo (1996)
Finding Nemo (2003)
Fish Called Wanda, A (UK 1988)
Forrest Gump (1994)
Four Weddings and a Funeral (UK 1994)
Fugitive, The (1993)
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Full Monty, The (UK 1997)
Glory (1989)
Goodfellas (1990)
Gosford Park (UK 2001)
Green Mile, The (1999)
Groundhog Day (1993)
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
Hours, The (2002)
In & Out (1997)
Master and Commander (2003)
Memento (2000)
Mighty Aphrodite (1996)
Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Mona Lisa (UK 1986)
Platoon (1986)
The Professional (1994)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Room With a View, A (1986)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Secrets & Lies (UK 1996)
Sex, Lies, And Videotape (1989)
Schindler’s List (1993)
Shawshank Redemption, The (1994)
Short Cuts (1993)
Snapper, The (Ireland 1993)
Trainspotting (UK 1996)
Unforgiven (1992)
When Harry Met Sally… (1989)
