Here I'll put some links useful for the topic of university life: videos (accessible in China), podcasts, articles, vocabulary etc.
British Council - Learn English
Videos, audio and exercises (all completely free) from the China version of the British Council, so the videos are always accessible in China.
(For students outside China, these links will still work. You can also just remove the ".cn" from the URL to get the international site.)
Culips
Free podcasts from a Canadian ESL site, although some extra materials require paid membership.
Articles
Some articles & websites with useful info about university life in the US.
Vocabulary
Here are some links to vocabulary lists from ESL dictionaries. Explore them and click on a word to see definitions and example sentences.
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For many years ESLPod.com offered free podcasts for learners of English. You could listen to them online or download the mp3 files for free, and they only asked for payment for extras: learning guides, PDFs etc. So I posted links to many of their podcasts on my site for my students, in the categories of "Listening" and "Audio".
But starting in December 2016, ESLPod.com have made big changes to their website, and all the podcasts (even the ones from the past) are now behind a paywall: that means they now require payment (either a monthly subcription of US$10-15, or you can purchase specific podcasts) to listen to or download. All links to their podcasts are now broken, including the many I have posted here on my website. I will investigate alternatives and post them if I can find some. But fixing or deleting all those links could take a lot of time, and I might not find them all. Eventually I might just decide to delete those posts completely, as without the ESLPod podcasts many will be empty. In the meantime, I'll leave the names of the podcasts in my blog posts in case you want to find them some other way (e.g. you decide to register and pay ESLPod.com to access them.) UPDATE: Students in China might find ESLPod podcasts on Lizhi.fm (荔枝). UPDATE 2016-12-26: All ESLPod.com links changed to Lizhi.fm. For more info, see this post: ESLPod Links Broken. Here are some more podcasts on parents and children. (Click here for Part 1.)
UPDATE 2016-12-26: All ESLPod.com links changed to Lizhi.fm. For more info, see this post: ESLPod Links Broken. Here are some podcasts to listen to on topics related to parents and children.
Here are some useful links for our class on the post office: vocabulary lists, visual dictionary pages and podcasts.
Vocabulary lists
Click on each word in the lists for more info, example sentences etc.
Visual dictionary
Images and vocabulary from the Merriam-Webster Visual Dictionary. Click on each image to go to the page where you can see definitions for each item.
Podcasts
Some podcasts you can download and listen to.
My student Hanz in China writes:
Today I'm reviewing "What’s Your Lifestyle" part 2. There is a sentence which I don't understand. Could you please explain it for me? Thanks.
[Question edited by me]
Here are some videos (accessible in China) on doing research and preparation for jobhunting, dealing with issues like thinking about what kind of job you really want, where to find it, understanding the job's requirements etc.
Most of the videos come with a transcript (e.g. click "Show Transcript"), so you can also read what is being said. But try to just listen the first time before reading.
Update 2016-07-24: Added Phonescoop glossary to Telephones > General.
A big post with lots of vocabulary lists from online dictionaries of words related to ICT (information and communication technology): telephones, computers and networks & systems like the internet, the worldwide web and e-mail. Go to the list and click on the words to see definitions, examples, pronunciation etc.
This vocabulary can be useful for our classes on: using the telephone, mobile phones, technology, office work, digital marketing, innovation, e-mail, communication etc.
UPDATE 2017-05-23: Added Culips Simplified Speech #024. 2017-05-16: Added Culips Real Talk #14; expanded description of studio flat. 2017-03-22: Added British Council videos. 2017-2-27: All ESLPod.com links changed to Lizhi.fm. For more info, see this post: ESLPod Links Broken.
Here's a big post with videos, podcasts and vocabulary lists designed for students of English, related to finding a home.
Topics include:
NOTE: In English, we often use the word "house" in conversation, compound words, phrases and idioms when talking about our home, even if it's actually an apartment.
When talking on the phone or over the internet, sometimes it's necessary to spell a word or name. You need to be able to say the names of the letters used to write the word or name (if spelling a Chinese name, that means you need to give the letters of the pinyin). This is especially important when you're saying a name the other person might not be familiar with, for example telling a surname or address from a language they don't speak, like a Chinese name for a foreigner.
Here's how I'd spell my name.
But the names of the letters are very short and many are quite similar to each other. So sometimes the person listening on the phone or over the internet cannot hear them properly, especially if there's a bad connection or it's noisy.
To avoid confusion & mistakes, it's common to add another word or name that begins with that letter.
You can use the following structure.
Here's how I could spell my name to make it extra clear exactly what the letters are.
You can use any word or name (although it's better not to use ones that will be difficult for the listener, or that are too short). But there are also standard systems for the choice of word, called spelling alphabets.
The most common is the ICAO (or NATO) spelling alphabet. Here's a table showing the letters and the word to represent each letter.
Using the ICAO alphabet, I'd say:
Here's a useful website where you can type in a word or name and it gives you the spellin in ICAO spelling alphabet.
So remember, when spelling your name, address or other word on the phone, try using a spelling alphabet to make it very clear and to avoid problems.
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G.A.L.E.S.L. / joe3
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