Episode #7 Englishcentral

Hi everyone!
In this episode I'm talking about englishcentral.com



Let me present you a great resource for practicing your English speaking, improving pronunciation and watching your progress over time!
It is a great example of how the technology may facilitate English learning.

P.S. Thanks to Amanyth for his amazing track A town called kill parts of which was used as intro and outro of this episode.

Episode #6: TOEFL

Hi everyone!
This episode is completely devoted to the TOEFL test.
In this show you will find my personal experience on getting 109 on iBT TOEFL and some advises to those who is planning to take the test.

Navigation:
2:25 Reading
6:25 Listening
7:47 Pause in the test
9:45 Speaking
Tips that I found useful
15:53 Writing
22:00 More general tips

Episode #5: Let's Speak!

Hi everyone!
Here is what I will talk about in this episode:
voxopop voice message board - a new life of message boards.

For more information take a look at voxopop workshop:


P.S. Join LEC :)

Episode #4: eLearning

Hi everyone!
Here is what I will talk about in this episode:

eLearning in Virtual Classrooms and free lessons on:
wiziq.com
edufire.com

Free TOEFL practice test:
http://www.examenglish.com/TOEFL/index.php

Books:
Longman English grammar for intermediate students
Advancing your phrasal verbs

Episode #3: Listen to English

Hi everyone!
Here is what I will talk about in this episode:

Techniques

2:00
Oraganize your podcast subscriptions with gPodder
- automatic downloading
- mark as read
- synchronizing (both MTP and MSC)
- Synchronizing
gPodder.net podcasts directory

Phrasal verbs

9:40
cross your mind
if an idea or thought crosses your mind, you think about it for a short time.
Example: The thought did cross my mind that she might be taking drugs.
The idea of failure never crossed his mind.

knuckle down
To start working hard.
Example: I want you to knuckle down to your work and stop worrying about the past. Come on. Knuckle down. Get busy.
more information

Resources

12:30
ESL podcast
Spotlight radio
podcastsinenglish.com
CBC podcasts and radio

Episode #2: English is not effortless

Hi everyone!
I've created a small web site to organize different stuff that goes beyond this podcast.
You can find more information about spaced repetition software, that was discussed in previous episode.
Here is what I will talk about in this episode:

Techniques

A.J. Hog's Effortleess English
Study English through listening, subscribe to 7 rules for FREE.
Listen to my experience of using it.

Phrasal verbs

Mess up
make a mistake, screw up, get (something) wrong
If you mess up, you do something wrongly or badly, or you damage or spoil something.
Example: The podcaster messed up and point his listeners to the wrong place to study English.
Pick up
collect, get
If you pick something up, you collect it.
Example: Don't forget to pick all resources up before recording new podcast.

Idioms

Cut to the chase
Meaning to get to the point. A movie term from the 1920's, it originally meant to cut from a dramatic scene to an action scene (like a chase).
source
Cut pronounces as [kʌt]. Don't follow my mispronunciation! :)

Vocabulary

no one vs nobody
- interchangeable
- no one is more formal than nobody
Example: Because nobody cares, no one likes you

Resources

Diana Tower's web site and social network.
Warren Ediger's web site.

Episode #1: The actual Start

Hi everyone!
First episode, the actual Start, is finally here :-)
No transcripts before speaking, no text reading, just spontaneous speech.
It could be annoying but this is the only way I can get advantage of this podcast.
So please be patient, hopefully my speaking skills will be improving and we'll all be happy :-)

Here is what I will talk about in this episode:

Techniques

Use spaced repetition technique for vocabulary building. Use Anki, it's a Free software.

Phrasal verbs

- dropping by
"dropping by" means coming over to someone's home or work with little or no notice. They also don't stay a long time.
Thanks to cynhatch for explanation. (I remembered who explained that to me after I've recorded the podcast)

- fall behind
If you fall behind, you fail to do something on time or as fast as necessary.

Vocabulary

- study vs learn
See explanation here: http://www.english-test.net/forum/ftopic132.html

- persuade vs induce
induce: to lead by persuasion or influence. His meditation induced a compromise.
FIXME: need help here
persuade: To successfully convince (someone) to agree to, accept, or do something, usually through reasoning and verbal influence.

- banish vs evict
banish: To send someone away and forbid that person from returning.
evict: To expel (one or more people) from their property; to force (one or more people) to move out.

- last as a verb
last means to continue something for some time
The examination lasted two hours (for two hours)
This winter seems to last for ever

Resources

BBC learning English: face up with phrasal verbs
http://en.wiktionary.org

Miscellaneous

- worth it (not does!) Is it worth it? (not Does it worth it?)