English Banana Extra!

One to watch for 2009 could be Hawaiian-born Natasha Davies, a talented new singer-songwriter who is based in Eastbourne. She lists her influences on her MySpace as Joni Mitchell, Sarah McLaughlin, Bob Marley, and Damien Rice, while her voice is kind of Jewel meets Adele, which bodes well since the former is a songwriting legend and the latter has been mega-successful in both the singles and albums charts this year.

Check out some of her demos below, and add her to your MySpace!

Boy On The Moon

Sunflower

Hold My Hand

Free MP3 from Dido - "Look No Further"

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 08:48:09 +0100

To celebrate her return with a new album in November 2008, the singer Dido is giving away a free MP3 track from her new album "Safe Trip Home".

Click the link below to get it now, but be quick - you've only got until 7th September to download it!

http://www.didomusic.com/looknofurther/

Adam & Joe - "Meatballs" Song

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:24:26 +0100

If you've got time on your hands on Saturday mornings, why not listen to Adam and Joe's radio show on BBC 6 Music. They're two really funny guys, and their podcast is also well worth a download. Click below for all the details:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/shows/adamandjoe/

They've recently been running a competition where listeners create their own video for one of their songs. This video wasn't the official winner, but it's the best of the entries by a mile in our book! Check it out here:

NEW SONG! Pink - "So What"

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 21:41:30 +0100

We love this new song by Pink - it's amazing! Check out the lyrics below:

Na Na Na Na Na Na Na

I guess I just lost my husband
I don't know where he went
So I'm gonna drink my money
I'm not gonna pay his rent (nope)
I got a brand new attitude
And I'm gonna wear it tonight
I wanna get in trouble
I wanna start a fight

Na Na Na Na Na Na Na
I wanna start a fight

So, so what?
I'm still a rock star
I got my rock moves
And I don't need you
And guess what
I'm having more fun
And now that we're done
I'm gonna show you tonight
I'm alright, I'm just fine
And you're a tool
So, so what?
I am a rock star
I got my rock moves
And I don't want you tonight

Uh, check my flow, uh

The waiter just checked my table
And gave it to Jessica Simp... shit!
I guess I'll go sit with Tom boy
At least he'll know how to hit
What if this song's on the radio
Then somebody's gonna die
I'm gonna get in trouble
My ex will start a fight

Na Na Na Na Na Na Na
He's gonna start a fight
Na Na Na Na Na Na Na
We're all gonna get in a fight!

You weren't there
You never were
You want it all
But that's not fair
I gave you life
I gave my all
You weren't there
You let me fall

So, so what?
I'm still a rock star
I got my rock moves
And I don't need you
And guess what
I'm having more fun
And now that we're done (we're done)
I'm gonna show you tonight
I'm alright (I'm alright)
I'm just fine (I'm just fine)
And you're a tool
So, so what?
I am a rock star
I got my rock moves
And I don't want you tonight

No no, no no
I don't want you tonight
You weren't there
I'm gonna show you tonight
I'm alright, I'm just fine
And you're a tool
So, so what?
I am a rock star
I got my rock moves
And I don't want you tonight

Ba da da da da da

Release date: August 18, 2008

Written by: Pink & Max Martin

Pre-Intermediate Lesson - Correct the Errors

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 20:02:11 +0100

Check out the following sentences made by Polish students at a recent pre-intermediate spoken English lesson. The students were talking about going on holiday in Poland.

Consider the error(s) in each sentence and suggest corrections:

1. We visited to Mexico City.

2. I was in Olsztyn on the lake.

3. You can visit Ocean Museum in Gdynia.

4. It's a lot of tourists in Zakopane.

5. I was there in the ski.

6. It was three days when we had to hard working.

7. We met some Italish people.

8. It is a difference between a tourist and a traveller.

9. I enjoy driving a bicycle.

10. We go there one time a year.

11. There were too many litter.

12. It was very big problem.

13. I went to the big large park.

14. I was travelling by own.

15. It is more funny when you travel with a friend.

Suggested answers (other ways to correct the sentences exist):

1. We visited Mexico City. [No preposition needed.]

2. I was in Olsztyn by the lake. [Wrong preposition used. Also could be "...at the lake."]

3. You can visit the Ocean Museum in Gdynia. [Article needed for proper noun.]

4. There are a lot of tourists in Zakopane. [Incorrect form.]

5. I went skiing there. [Incorrect verb and missing gerund.]

6. There were three days when we had to work hard. [Incorrect forms.]

7. We met some Italian people. [Made-up word used; the student guesses the form, but incorrectly.]

8. There is a difference between a tourist and a traveller. [Incorrect form.]

9. I enjoy riding a bicycle. [Incorrect verb used.]

10. We go there once a year. [Incorrect phrase used.]

11. There was too much litter. [Confusion with countable/uncountable nouns.]

12. It was a very big problem. [Missing article.]

13. I went to the big park. [Unnecessary use of two similar adjectives together.]

14. I was travelling on my own. [Incorrect phrase used.]

15. It is more fun when you travel with a friend. [Confusion between two similar adjectives, with different meanings.]

What Would You Be If...? (Personality Quiz)

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 09:42:07 +0100

This is a fun activity that's great for practising vocabulary sets, as well as helping students in a new class get to know each other.

Level: Pre-Intermediate

Time: 50 minutes

Aims: To practise vocabulary, reading, writing, and speaking and listening skills; to get students to think laterally and use their imaginations; great ice-breaker activity

Materials: Board and pens

Procedure:

1. Ask your students: "What would you be if you were a...

a) colour

b) food

c) animal

d) flower / plant

e) musical instrument

f) city

g) book

h) car

i) shape

j) adjective

"... and why?"

Write the above categories on the board and tell the students to write down the first thing that comes into their heads for each category.

2. Collect in the students' answers and ask ten questions like:

"Who would be RED, if they were a colour?"

"Which student would be SPAGHETTI, if they were a food?"

"Who would be a MONKEY, if they were an animal?"

The students have to write down their guesses. At the end of the quiz, lead feedback. Ask students to justify their answers:

e.g. "OK, but why would Ricardo be SPAGHETTI? What does this tell us about him; about his personality?"

Then reveal the correct answers.

3. Students choose a partner. Ask them: "What would your partner be if he / she was a..." The students write down answers about their partner, without showing them: colour, food, animal, etc. (Or you could get the students to think of some new categories!)

4. Collect in the students' answers and ask ten questions like:

"Who thought that MARIO would be ORANGE, if he was a colour?"

"Which student thought that OLA would be RICE, if she was a food?"

"Who thought that LISA would be a DOLPHIN, if she was an animal?"

The students have to write down their guesses, based on what they already know about their classmates. At the end of the quiz, lead feedback, eliciting the answers from the group. Ask the students who had written the answers to justify them:

e.g. "Why did you think that MARIO would be orange, if he was a colour?"

5. Using the answers given in part 3. above, students write sentences based on their ideas, giving reasons:

e.g. "I think that Ola would be rice if she was a food because she loves Indian food." ... or: "I think that Lisa would be a dolphin because she's a really good swimmer..." and so on.

6. (Optional) If your students are sufficiently artistically-orientated, you could end the lesson by getting them to draw pictures to illustrate their sentences. You could put on the wall a gallery of pictures showing students as different items (e.g. JAN is a red Ferrari), with the whole class guessing who stars in each picture.

[Note: if you try this lesson, do let us know how it goes. Also, let us know if you added something that worked well! Click here to contact us.]

Stuck for ESL Inspiration? - Try Stickyball.net!

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 18:41:38 +0100

We recently discovered Stickyball.net, which is a fine resource site for teachers that really takes the hassle out of finding original resources for ESL lessons. Why not check it out:

www.stickyball.net

We particularly liked the jokes page: http://www.stickyball.net/jokes.html and the free downloadable alphabet books: http://www.stickyball.net/phonics.html

We asked site owner Brian Giles a few quick questions to find out more about the site!

What is the purpose of your site?
I started my site to share the various teachers' resources and materials that I had made and developed over the years.

What is there for students and teachers on your site?
My site is mainly for teachers; I have several free worksheets in the areas of phonics, grammar, and vocabulary, as well as printable writing activities for advanced students and some simple game ideas that I've used in my classes. I also have two series of ebooks (ESL phonics and ESL dialogues) that can be downloaded through Paypal, and a series for adults coming soon.

How did you come up with the idea for your site?
I often searched the internet for specific worksheets, handouts, or ideas, only to come up empty-handed and write the materials on my own. As such, I decided that the worksheets, ebooks, and handouts that I had developed might be useful to other teachers who may be in a similar situation to me.

Have you got any advice for... a) new teachers of English? b) students of English?
I have some basic teaching tips on my site. The best advice I ever received came from one of my good friends, an experienced ESL children's teacher, as I was a newbie teacher who was getting very frustrated with my classes. We were playing pool and I was complaining, and he looked at me and said, 'Remember. They're just kids.' Later, as I was probably still complaining, he looked at me and said, 'Remember. You're the adult.' Those two pieces of advice, while ridiculously simple, have stuck with me, because it's easy to forget how young your students actually are, and it's important to remember your role as a teacher, mentor, and, well, adult.

Thanks for sharing with us, Brian, and best wishes with Stickyball.net!

(Got a great website that you want to share with English Banana.com viewers? Click here to tell us all about it!)

English Banana.com named in list of 100 Best Resources and Guides for ESL Teachers!

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 08:57:02 +0100

Check out the full list here:

http://www.teachingtips.com/blog/2008/06/24/100-best-resources-and-guides-for-esl-teachers/