Chatroulette

Jeffrey Hill has an interesting post about Chatroulette. You can find it by clicking on the picture. He explains what it is and inserts some links to articles commenting on the advantages and the risks of this new "social game".

This now is a video made using Chatroulette, which I find quite funny. In it, somebody is singing invented songs for the people who appear on screen. And he does it in front of an audience.

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Click on the picture to watch the video (or on the link below)

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http://www.wimp.com/livechatroulette/

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Note: You might like to consider your background and/or clothes next time you play "chatroulette" (if you do, of course).

Giving Directions: Some useful authentic material

Here is some material which can be useful for a lesson on giving directions. It is based on real information provided by Transport for London .

The picture on the right has been taken at Russell Square underground station and in it you can see a poster with a list of places of interest in the area and "how to get there". You can click on it for a closer look.

The indications include all the basic expressions and landmarks frequently used for giving directions, although some verbs, like "take" or "turn" have been omitted (to save some room, I guess).


The idea is to create an exercise by reproducing the information in the poster except for the names of the places, which the students will have to identify in a map after following the directions.

Here we have some more help from Transport for London , as they have also created some maps with places of interest in the area surrounding some underground stations. They are distributed for free at the stations but they can also be downloaded from their web (and easily printed and laminated for use in class). The one for Russell Square is this (the most useful part for this exercise is page two):

http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/Download/EnvMaps/tfl/TK_russellsquare.pdf

As the last stage, if we want to work on this topic as a task, we can ask the students to create a similar poster for the area where they live which might be of help for visitors. They can take as reference their own school or any other relevant landmark. Depending on the level of autonomy of the students, maps could be provided by the teacher or by the students themselves as part of the task.

Note for tourists:

If you are visiting London, you might find these maps a good way of exploring different areas starting from an underground station. Unfortunately, it does not replace guides for further information and also pubs, restaurants and some other places of interest will not be listed, but it can always be fun to find these places by pure chance.

Oxford & Cambridge: The Exchange Boat Race.

Tomorrow, 3rd April, the annual boat race between the Oxford and Cambridge squads will take place on the River Thames.

Where to watch it? Click on the picture >>>>

To read about the origins of this famous race:

http://www.theboatrace.org/article/introduction

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April Fool's Day (Santos Inocentes)

Related vocabulary

Hoax: Act intended to deceive or trick.

Practical joke: a prank or trick usually intended to make the victim appear foolish.

Prank: a mischievous trick or practical joke.

Spring regatta