Have you listened to the two videos about The Tower of London?
No? PLEASE return to Post 50. Click on the youtube site and listen.
Then go to Post 51 and listen to another youtube video.
Yes, you have already listened? Go to Post 2, (you can find it by clicking on the arrow next to March in the Blog Archive list) There you can read the information you heard on the videos.
Return to the blog soon to see the students' photos and to read their reports on our fourth day in London.
Jane
Sunday, June 7, 2009
51 -- LISTEN again!
In English we say:
"If at first you don't succeed,
Try, and try again!"
I've done it! I needed a week to learn how to record and then put a video on the blog!
Go to Post 50 first to listen to a little vocabulary.
Then return here to listen to more information about The Tower of London: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYROcgl9hTw
Later you will see photos taken by the students.
Summer holidays are here, but ENGLISH continues....uiadinlondon blog continues!
So keep checking the blog!
Jane
"If at first you don't succeed,
Try, and try again!"
I've done it! I needed a week to learn how to record and then put a video on the blog!
Go to Post 50 first to listen to a little vocabulary.
Then return here to listen to more information about The Tower of London: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYROcgl9hTw
Later you will see photos taken by the students.
Summer holidays are here, but ENGLISH continues....uiadinlondon blog continues!
So keep checking the blog!
Jane
50 ---- Listen!
Here we are already into the second week of June. I'm sorry to keep you waiting for this next entry, but I needed to learn a little more about making a blog. I want to make it interesting and at the same time make it an English learning blog!
So, this entry is entitled: Listen!
That's your next job. Click here and LISTEN:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHRl-oOLazU
The Tower of London (1)
Jane
So, this entry is entitled: Listen!
That's your next job. Click here and LISTEN:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHRl-oOLazU
The Tower of London (1)
Jane
Saturday, May 30, 2009
49 --- "The ROWET of DONNOL" ???? WHAT IS IT???
"The ROWET of DONNOL" ??? Scrambled words = the letters are not in the correct place. WHAT IS IT?
A little help:
During its long history, this site has been a fortress, a place of execution and torture, an armoury, a treasury, a zoo, the Royal Mint, a public records office, an observatory, and since 1303, the home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.
WHAT IS IT?
More information about this place, and photos, coming soon.
Continue checking the blog!
Jane
A little help:
During its long history, this site has been a fortress, a place of execution and torture, an armoury, a treasury, a zoo, the Royal Mint, a public records office, an observatory, and since 1303, the home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.
WHAT IS IT?
More information about this place, and photos, coming soon.
Continue checking the blog!
Jane
Thursday, May 28, 2009
48 --- Reading / Speaking
The group of UIAD students who went to London in April 2009 are sharing their trip with you.
We hope you find it interesting. And it gives you practice reading English.
Would you like a little speaking practice, to work on your pronunciation too?
BBC Learning English is a great site to visit. There are many things to read, to watch and to listen to.
Take a look here, for example:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/
Return soon to learn about our fourth day in London.
Jane
We hope you find it interesting. And it gives you practice reading English.
Would you like a little speaking practice, to work on your pronunciation too?
BBC Learning English is a great site to visit. There are many things to read, to watch and to listen to.
Take a look here, for example:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/
Return soon to learn about our fourth day in London.
Jane
47 --- A letter from Oxford
Jean Burrell from Oxford's U3A wrote this article which appeared in their newspaper recently. She is happy to share it with us. I know that it is a little too difficult for the UIAD students who are Beginners in English. I will write a short summary in easy English to help you.
Towards U3A International Twinning?
As many members will know, Oxford City is officially twinned with several European cities (and one in the Americas, Léon in Nicaragua). The links with Leiden (Netherlands and Bonn (Germany) are around 60 years old, dating back to the aftermath of the Second World War, while that with Perm in Russia is quite recent.
The agreement between Oxford and Grenoble, capital of the French Alps, was signed 20 years ago. In spite of their different geographical situations and sizes, the two cities have much in common: a strong educational base and science/technology oriented economy, a rich cultural life, and urban fabric and surrounding environment that attracts many incomers.
Over the years there have been numerous visits in both directions: exchanges between tennis clubs, youth drama and music festivals, as well as links between schools and colleges. Last October, in the latest of these, the French city hosted several weeks of celebrations for the 20th anniversary -- an exchange of artworks made by both professional artists and school children, choral concerts, folk music and dance, shop-window displays, rowing races -- celebrations which were attended by some 50 to 60 Oxford citizens, among them rowers from Brookes and members of East Oxford Community Choir and Oxford Fiddle Group, as well as official representatives of Oxford City Council, Oxford Inspires and Pegasus Youth Theatre.
Oxford-Grenoble Association is the voluntary community body that exists to promote and facilitate these links and exchanges between individuals and groups of all kinds (sporting, cultural, educational, etc) Recently I was approached by a tutor from the Université Inter-Ages du Dauphiné (UIAD, the Grenoble region equivalent of U3A) who was intending to bring a group to London this Easter and thinking of spending a day in Oxford. Her hope was that the initial contact could lead to ongoing communication and friendship between UIAD and U3A members.
It is true that the British and French models of U3A are somewhat different. In France, where the idea was born at Toulouse University as long ago as the early 1970s, U3A branches have usually been sponsored by universities and in some cases maintain these links. In the early 1980s many changed their name to"université inter-âges" to reflect their inclusivity and openness to younger people, although they continue to recruit a majority of retired members.
UIAD currently has around 6000 students attending a wide variety of courses -- languages, arts and crafts, science and computing. In this respect its programme resembles that offered by Oxford's Department for Continuing Education (Rewley and Ewert House). On the other hand it puts on weekly lectures and organizes outings to exhibitions and noteworthy sites in the same way as our U3A does.
So the first face-to-face contact has been made. Around 50 UIAD members and friends, joined by a handful of people from OGA (Oxford-Grenoble Association), were welcomed to Oxford and entertained to tea in the Town Hall by our current Lord Mayor Susanna Pressel on 9 April. I would be delighted to hear from any member interested in growing this link, in the first instance by setting up email communication with a UIAD member (many are keen English learners so language need not be a barrier) and maybe eventually forming a group to make a return visit to Grenoble. As an Oxford City councillor said in his speech last October at the opening of the 20th anniversary celebrations, this is how Europe is constructed, from the ground up, by contacts and understanding between its citizens, rather than by Brussels.
Jean Burrell
U3A member
Secretary Oxford-Grenoble Association
Towards U3A International Twinning?
As many members will know, Oxford City is officially twinned with several European cities (and one in the Americas, Léon in Nicaragua). The links with Leiden (Netherlands and Bonn (Germany) are around 60 years old, dating back to the aftermath of the Second World War, while that with Perm in Russia is quite recent.
The agreement between Oxford and Grenoble, capital of the French Alps, was signed 20 years ago. In spite of their different geographical situations and sizes, the two cities have much in common: a strong educational base and science/technology oriented economy, a rich cultural life, and urban fabric and surrounding environment that attracts many incomers.
Over the years there have been numerous visits in both directions: exchanges between tennis clubs, youth drama and music festivals, as well as links between schools and colleges. Last October, in the latest of these, the French city hosted several weeks of celebrations for the 20th anniversary -- an exchange of artworks made by both professional artists and school children, choral concerts, folk music and dance, shop-window displays, rowing races -- celebrations which were attended by some 50 to 60 Oxford citizens, among them rowers from Brookes and members of East Oxford Community Choir and Oxford Fiddle Group, as well as official representatives of Oxford City Council, Oxford Inspires and Pegasus Youth Theatre.
Oxford-Grenoble Association is the voluntary community body that exists to promote and facilitate these links and exchanges between individuals and groups of all kinds (sporting, cultural, educational, etc) Recently I was approached by a tutor from the Université Inter-Ages du Dauphiné (UIAD, the Grenoble region equivalent of U3A) who was intending to bring a group to London this Easter and thinking of spending a day in Oxford. Her hope was that the initial contact could lead to ongoing communication and friendship between UIAD and U3A members.
It is true that the British and French models of U3A are somewhat different. In France, where the idea was born at Toulouse University as long ago as the early 1970s, U3A branches have usually been sponsored by universities and in some cases maintain these links. In the early 1980s many changed their name to"université inter-âges" to reflect their inclusivity and openness to younger people, although they continue to recruit a majority of retired members.
UIAD currently has around 6000 students attending a wide variety of courses -- languages, arts and crafts, science and computing. In this respect its programme resembles that offered by Oxford's Department for Continuing Education (Rewley and Ewert House). On the other hand it puts on weekly lectures and organizes outings to exhibitions and noteworthy sites in the same way as our U3A does.
So the first face-to-face contact has been made. Around 50 UIAD members and friends, joined by a handful of people from OGA (Oxford-Grenoble Association), were welcomed to Oxford and entertained to tea in the Town Hall by our current Lord Mayor Susanna Pressel on 9 April. I would be delighted to hear from any member interested in growing this link, in the first instance by setting up email communication with a UIAD member (many are keen English learners so language need not be a barrier) and maybe eventually forming a group to make a return visit to Grenoble. As an Oxford City councillor said in his speech last October at the opening of the 20th anniversary celebrations, this is how Europe is constructed, from the ground up, by contacts and understanding between its citizens, rather than by Brussels.
Jean Burrell
U3A member
Secretary Oxford-Grenoble Association
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
46 --- Oxford Quiz...AGAIN??!!
Did you do the first Oxford Quiz at Post 20, in the list of April entries?
NO? Go there and try it! (Click on the arrow next to "April" in the Blog Archive and you will have all the April entries.)
YES? Would you like to know the correct answers? Return to Post Number 1, in the list of March entries and you will find the answers! (Click on the arrow next to "March" and you will have all the March entries.)
All correct?? Yes? Congratulations! No? Well, now you know!
Jane
________________________________________
arrow = flèche
NO? Go there and try it! (Click on the arrow next to "April" in the Blog Archive and you will have all the April entries.)
YES? Would you like to know the correct answers? Return to Post Number 1, in the list of March entries and you will find the answers! (Click on the arrow next to "March" and you will have all the March entries.)
All correct?? Yes? Congratulations! No? Well, now you know!
Jane
________________________________________
arrow = flèche
Monday, May 25, 2009
45 ---- Erin's story:THE CHOOB
Hello Londoners,
This is Erin writing a guest-post for the UIAD blog. It's so nice to share with you some of my memories of our trip together.
Did you see the name of this post? The Choob. Of course, the correct spelling is The Tube, the London word for subway or underground, but when you pronounce T and U together, you often get the sound CH (tch) when you're speaking quickly. Try saying the words picture, feature and lecture, you'll see what I mean. The same thing happens when you say train quickly.
There were some very brave ladies who chose to come with me to scout out the London Underground system. Jane, Joelle and I wanted to be familiar with the intricacies of the Tube and the practicalities of buying tickets etc before we guided everyone home after the theatre on Thursday night. And Audrey, Lucie and Anne wanted some more adventure. We were the scouting committee.
These were the questions we wanted to get the answers to:
How much does a ticket cost?
Are the stations easy to find?
Is the map easy to read and accurate?
How long does it take to travel around London by tube?
Would we feel safe?
Is it possible to get lost in the tunnels under London?
We soon found that the Tube really is a great way to travel!
You will be happy to know that the system we used to go from St Pauls to Canary Wharf looked very direct and easy on the map.
We were ready with our tickets to take the Central line as far as Bank, then the Northern line to London Bridge, and finally the Jubilee line to Canary Wharf. We knew we could walk from there. However, as we were walking to the platform, there was an announcement saying that the Northern line was closed! It happened right as we were about to step onto the platform. We looked at each other. There were a few other people who wanted to use this line too. Suddenly, a young man approached us and asked us if we needed any help!! How lovely.
This is Erin writing a guest-post for the UIAD blog. It's so nice to share with you some of my memories of our trip together.
Did you see the name of this post? The Choob. Of course, the correct spelling is The Tube, the London word for subway or underground, but when you pronounce T and U together, you often get the sound CH (tch) when you're speaking quickly. Try saying the words picture, feature and lecture, you'll see what I mean. The same thing happens when you say train quickly.
There were some very brave ladies who chose to come with me to scout out the London Underground system. Jane, Joelle and I wanted to be familiar with the intricacies of the Tube and the practicalities of buying tickets etc before we guided everyone home after the theatre on Thursday night. And Audrey, Lucie and Anne wanted some more adventure. We were the scouting committee.
These were the questions we wanted to get the answers to:
How much does a ticket cost?
Are the stations easy to find?
Is the map easy to read and accurate?
How long does it take to travel around London by tube?
Would we feel safe?
Is it possible to get lost in the tunnels under London?
We soon found that the Tube really is a great way to travel!
You will be happy to know that the system we used to go from St Pauls to Canary Wharf looked very direct and easy on the map.
In this photo we are all looking very serious, but it was very easy to understand, really. So we set off into the Tube tunnel.
We bought our tickets in a machine. They cost £4.
We were ready with our tickets to take the Central line as far as Bank, then the Northern line to London Bridge, and finally the Jubilee line to Canary Wharf. We knew we could walk from there. However, as we were walking to the platform, there was an announcement saying that the Northern line was closed! It happened right as we were about to step onto the platform. We looked at each other. There were a few other people who wanted to use this line too. Suddenly, a young man approached us and asked us if we needed any help!! How lovely.
He soon showed us another route going in the right direction, but on another line, and explained to us that closures and cancellations happen quite regularly. Most Londoners have at least 2 ways of getting home. We went with him almost all the way home. His name was Steve and he was a chef de partie at a restaurant near Piccadilly Square. He invited us all to come in for dinner. Unfortunately we were going home to France the next night. How funny if all 50 of us had arrived at the restaurant. “Hello, a table for 50 please. We are friends of Steve.” Imagine the fun.
After that, we just had to walk to the Hotel. We didn’t exactly get lost in Canary Wharf when we arrived, but we did wander a little off course for 5 minutes or so. Of course we found our way in the end, and so felt very proud of ourselves. It was a lovely night, clear and not cold at all. We were laughing a lot.We had the answers to all our questions, we had a good time and met a friendly, helpful Londoner. We didn’t get lost and it was more fun than the bus....although Melanie had an adventure too!
So, choob anyone?
Erin
Friday, May 22, 2009
44 ---- Returning to the hotel: Melanie's story
Melanie writes:
'There is one moment on our trip that I prefer to forget (apart from the other moment when I lost my Eurostar ticket!): Jane and Erin had decided to go back to the hotel by tube and asked me to take everybody else back on the bus. We had a new bus-driver instead of our usual driver, John. I was chatting happily to a student and did not notice that we had, in fact, missed our turning and were driving through dark, unfamiliar territory. Fortunately, UIAD students are very observant individuals. They noticed. They told me. For one tiny, tiny moment I imagined the newspaper headlines: FRENCH STUDENTS KIDNAPPED BY CRAZY BUS-DRIVER and almost panicked. But, of course, the poor man had simply not seen the turning. He eventually found the road we wanted and returned us to the hotel, safe and sound. He felt rather foolish about it. So did I.'
Melanie
'There is one moment on our trip that I prefer to forget (apart from the other moment when I lost my Eurostar ticket!): Jane and Erin had decided to go back to the hotel by tube and asked me to take everybody else back on the bus. We had a new bus-driver instead of our usual driver, John. I was chatting happily to a student and did not notice that we had, in fact, missed our turning and were driving through dark, unfamiliar territory. Fortunately, UIAD students are very observant individuals. They noticed. They told me. For one tiny, tiny moment I imagined the newspaper headlines: FRENCH STUDENTS KIDNAPPED BY CRAZY BUS-DRIVER and almost panicked. But, of course, the poor man had simply not seen the turning. He eventually found the road we wanted and returned us to the hotel, safe and sound. He felt rather foolish about it. So did I.'
Melanie
43 ---- Returning to the hotel: Erin's story
These photos can give you a clue.
Return to the blog soon for Erin's story.
_____________________________________
Vocabulary:
clue = un indice
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