During this week we had a look at the colloquial English section that brings us to the end to the air travel topic. First of all, we listened to a flight attendant who has been working for several years with an airline company. Then, we listened to some people in the street talking about how they feel when they fly, what they like least about flying, and if they have ever had any frustrating experiences when travelling by air. Finally, we also listened to two pilots who answered to a lot of questions air travellers ask themselves when they board a plane. This led us to the explanation about how to tell a good story or anecdote by using the narrative tenses.

Have a go at narrative tenses in the exercises below:
- A anecdote about an incident on a plane by putting the verbs in the correct tense
- An adaptation of a short passage from Diamonds are Forever
- A story about a trip from Pakistan to China by bike
- the exercises from the Student's book web page

what about some Elllo listening quizzes on stories?
- A love story
- The wedding - his story
- The wedding - her story

We also started a new unit and the grammar point is focused on adverbs and adverbial phrases, and their position in sentences. We also learned certain pairs of adverbs which are often confused, such as especcially/specially; at the end/in the end, etc. We used the context of mini-sagas to introduced it and we found some of them very amusing. Remember to bring you mini-saga (a 50-word story with a twist) to class on Monday.

Why don't you try recognising adverbs and adverbial phrases on this link? You can also check the online grammar exercise from our book. You'll have to put the words in order to make sentences. Moreover, I've come across a quiz on adverbs that seems to be very useful.

Find out more about mini-sagas on the Daily Telegraph webpage. You can read the information about the popular mini-saga competition as well as the first prize mini-saga and the runners-up.

On Monday some people asked in class where they could watch tv series with English subtitles.

Some of your classmates recommended divxtotal. I've never tried it but they said that it works well.

As you kindly asked me, here you are the link to enjoy tv series and films in English or with English subtitles.

We've had a look at narrative tenses which are essential when telling a story or an anecdote. We have still used the context of air travel for so doing but it can be applied to any context.

Before going into the grammar point, I think you can find interesting the tips I'm including below about how to tell a story or an anecdote. If you have problems downloading the document, I've also upload it on Docs section.

It's now turn to check your knowledge on narrative tenses.
 - Exercise 1
 - Exercise 2
 - Exercise 3

Finally, I've found an elllo listening exercise about a bus story. Hope you like it!

As you all know, December is just around the corner and so are the tests to check if your language skills are improving. Thus, the test dates and the test schedule are the following:

5th December - Listening and Reading + lessons
10th December - Writing + Speaking (first two or three couples from the list)
12th December - Speaking (the remaining couples)

Try not to get nervous, mainly in the speaking test. Before throwing yourselve into speech, think about these questions: do you know how to make a short presentation? How would you start and conclude? And what about the middle of your speech?

Listen to the following programs to get some ideas:

Nov. 25th is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. It is an occasion for everyone, including governments, international organizations and NGOs to raise awareness of violence against women. Violence against women is one of the most widespread violations of human rights. It is exploitation, sexual violence, honor crimes, forced early marriages, domestic violence and sex trafficking. With devastating statistics and a desire for change, The United Nations created the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in 2000.

Take a look at these United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) statistics which are a call to action.

• In South Africa, a woman is killed every 6 hours by an intimate partner.
• In Guatemala, two women are murdered, on average, each day.
• Between 40 and 50 percent of women in European Union countries experience unwanted sexual advancements, physical contact or other forms of sexual harassment at their workplace.
• More than 60 million girls worldwide are child brides, married before the age of 18, primarily in South Asia (31.1 million) and sub-Saharan Africa (14.1 million).

As you can see with these alarming statistics, violence against women is an issue around the world. Violence against women jeopardizes the progress and prosperity of the world. Women are an invaluable source in peace-building and conflict resolution, as well as national income increase and health improvement.

With the statistics listed above, we must observe this day. Every source of awareness and education helps prevent violence in future generations. It is crucial that our children grow up believing in Every Relationship Violence-Free, regardless of whether it is an intimate relationship or not. We all need to respect the women in our lives and appreciate the contribution they have made into making our world a better place.

I've found an exercise on the Net about this important day. Try to identify the mistakes in the sentences given.

We talked about the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women yesterday in class. I personally believe that domestic violence is a crime and should be approached as such by law enforcement. Have a look at this CNN article about recognizing patterns and seeking help. I also want you to have a look at this video to make you think - sorry for the TV commercial shown just before the video.

The grammar section was focused on the so/such structure and the narrative tense. Let's revise them: so/such...that and narrative tenses: 1 , 2 , 3 or the web page from our book.

In Elllo there are some other listening exercises concerning travel. Check them out:
- Travelling with family?
- Space travel.

Some of you told me that you liked the reading exercise about the drunk pilot. As a result, here you are another exercise - a video exercise instead. Watch it and choose the correct answer for the questions below.

1. Before you travel...
a) cancel your newspaper subscriptions
b) talk to your postman
c) take care of your mail

2. You need time before the trip to...
a) get new credit cards
b) make sure you have copies of your prescriptions
c) give your family yhour contact details

3. For international travel you will need to...
a) know the currency of the country
b) get new credit cards
c) get a new phone

4. For the documents needed you must...
a) find your contry's embassy
b) apply for a VISA
c) make sure what identification document you need

5. To drive in another country you must...
a) renew your driver's license
b) get a passport
c) check your insurance

Answers are written in white, select the text to see them: 1c, 2b, 3a, 4c, 5c

Finally, as homework, remember you have to do exercises a and b from section 2 B on page 135 in the Student's Book. Have a nice weekend!

Citizens throughout the United States celebrated Thanksgiving at home with their family yesterday.
 
Thanksgiving is observed on the every fourth Thursday of November and the holiday is celebrated in rembrance of the pilgrams and in order to give thanks  at the conclusion of the harvest season.

Here you are a video about the story of the first Thanksgiving.

Click here to have a look at the transcript and a comprehension test.

This celebration also reminds me of another celebration that is also held on the 5th November - Guy Fawkes Night. Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Day,  Bonfire Night and Firework Night, is an annual commemoration, primarily in Great Britain. Its history begins with the events of 5 November 1605, when Guy Fawkes, a member of the Gunpowder Plot, was arrested while guarding explosives the plotters had placed beneath the House of Lords. Celebrating the fact that King James I had survived the attempt on his life, people lit bonfires around London, and months later the introduction of
the Observance of 5th November Act enforced an annual  public day of thanksgiving for the plot's failure.

Enjoy the video below about this celebration.

After watching the video you can also try doing this listening exercise with some comprehension questions. Enjoy it!

Do you pronounce the ‘-ed’ ending of the simple past in regular verbs as you should?

It is very important to remember that regular verbs ending with a /d/ or /t/ sound in the infinitive have their simple past in ‘-ed’ pronounced as /id/. The rest have their ‘-ed’ pronounced as /t/ or /d/ depending on whether they are voiced or unvoiced sounds.

Today I´d like you to have a look at these two videos about past simple regular verb endings. The first one is a bit long, but it's worth the

Taking into account that we continue talking about travelling, it would be a good idea to revise some useful phrasal verbs that are commonly used when we travel. This a listening and reading exercise to practise those phrasal verbs.

Moreover, here you are more English vocabulary regarding travelling.

What about some listening practice? Have a look at these elllo exercises:
- Being a pilot
- Travelling options
- Business Travel

Finally, the grammar corner. We learnt how to express consequence by means of "so/such... that". Check your knowledge by clicking on this link. This webpage provides you with grammar explanation and exercises.