It's been 5 weeks of our classes. How were you guys? We hope it is interesting and informative. Our last lesson will not be a lesson, but momentum to learning new things. To expand your language boundaries: because with observation and practice comes skill.
Today I have collected some of my favorite sources of inspiration for you. Portals that will guide you to the world of the English language. Some of them work in Russia, some don't. But everyone already has VPN installed, right?
👉 TEDx Talks and TED Talks
TED is a media organization that posts talks online for free distribution under the slogan “ideas worth spreading".
Essentially, TED Talks are aimed at a global audience while TEDx talks are designed for smaller, local audiences. While the former takes place at the globally-known TED Conference, the latter are organized independently by regional groups, resulting in speakers and topics tailored specifically to the community in which the event takes place.
The main goal of these speeches is to present some interesting ideas to a wide audience in a short, accessible format. Often, speakers are not experts in the topic: there are no special requirements for participating. It is important to be able to convey your thoughts clearly to the public, be charismatic and be able to put your opinion in a few minutes.
You can google almost any theme and find a TED or TEDx video about it. Want to stop procrastinating? Here you are. Don’t know how to deal with your kid being glued to the smartphone? Your answer is here.
Your first task for today is to watch any TED or TEDx video and make a short summary of it. Place it here:
👉 Films and TV-series
It's rather sad that Netflix is now blocked in Russia. But there is an excellent, long-existing analog. Now I will tell you how it can be useful to us. On Ororo you can see the translation of the subtitles. Which certainly helps in learning the language. Try to compare how differently the same language sounds in Peaky Blinders and in the Queen, for example. It can be difficult to understand exactly what a person is talking about, especially if they use slang. Just move your mouse to the word and see the translation.
They also have a dictionary right on the platform, so you can add words you knew there.
👉 Medium