A Job Interview in English

Interviewing for a job can be very stressful in any language, but if you have to do it in English then it's a good idea to make sure you do some extra preparation.

Today's activity looks at the kinds of questions you may get asked at an interview, how to answer them and some tips for possible questions you could ask.

The activity is based around the E-Microsoft Interview website. The website isn't produced by Microsoft, but it is a site designed to help people who want to work for them. I've also used some videos from YouTube. YouTube can be a great place to research possible interview questions and answers.

Task:

• Start by imagining the kinds of questions you might get asked at job interview. Make a quick list of them.
• Then go to: HR Questions
• Here you will see a list of popular interview questions. Compare them with your own list.
• Now think about how you would answer the questions. Here's a sample answer to a very popular question "Why should we hire you?"
  

• Now go back to the HR Questions and look at the advice on giving answers. You can do this by clicking 'Read more..'

• After you have read the advice, think again about how you would answer the questions. If you have a video camera or a web cam on your computer, you could record yourself answering the questions, then look at the video and decide what improvements you could make.

• It is also important when you go to an interview to ask questions about the post you are applying for. Here are some questions that you might like to ask at your interview.
  

Here are some interview tips that you might want to think about too. Lastly, to give you some inspiration, here's a video telling you about what it is like to work at Google. Would you like to work there?

Good luck with the interview and I hope you come back for more EFL ESL activities tomorrow.

• Here are some more activities to improve your Business English

Related links for teachers:

• The StockNews Game
• Using 'How to' videos
• Advertisement Project
• Multimedia Business Simulation
• Becoming a citizen journalist
• Video conferencing for EFL
• Make your own chat room

Best

Nik Peachey

Internet Slang Vocabulary

The English language is constantly growing, developing and changing. Nowhere is this more true than on the Internet. There are new words phrases and acronyms being invented all of the time. Many of these disappear very quickly, but other stay and become part of the language, so it can be really useful to know these.

So today's activity comes from the Slang Translator and dictionary website. This activity is not appropriate for those under 18 years old.

Task:

• You are going to start with an Internet slang quiz. Go to: http://www.noslang.com/quiz.php
• You'll see a number of multiple choice questions. Select what you think is the correct answer.

• Try to answer as many questions as you can. If there are any you are unsure about check the word by going to the slang translator at: http://www.noslang.com/addslang.php
• Type in the slang word and click on the 'Translate' button.

• You should then get a definition for the slang word. When you have finished the quiz submit your answers and see how many you got right. If you enjoyed this quiz, try another one here

If you want to continue learning new Internet slang words the visit: http://www.noslang.com/addslang.php This will show you the five newest terms that have been added to the dictionary.

I hope you have enjoyed this activity. Come back tomorrow for more EFL ESL activities, or try more vocabulary building activities from this site.

Related links for teachers:

• A River of Images
• Creative Commons Images
• Create Image Books
• Create a Flickr Montage
• Personalised flashcards
• Animating vocabulary
• Exploiting Image Sequences
• Tease your Brain

Best

Nik Peachey

Read and Enjoy English Magazines

One of the great things about being able to speak and understand English is that it gives you access to a huge amount of varied reading materials in all kinds of different forms and on all kinds of topics.

For today's activity we are going to explore a website called Issuu which publishes magazines online.

One of the most enjoyable acts of reading is browsing through magazines. So in this activity you are going to be able to browse through some magazines and just enjoy reading about topics that you like.

To browse the magazines, simply click on the cover. The magazine will open like the one below and then you can click on the pages to zoom in so that you can read the text.


Or you can open them full screen on your monitor and just use the arrows on the left and right of your screen to turn the pages.
Task:

• Go to the Publications section of the website at: http://issuu.com/publications
• You can browse the different categories for something that interests you. Then just read and enjoy. If you prefer you can try one of these magazines. Just click on the cover of one you like and they will open full screen on your monitor. Press escape 'esc' on your keyboard once you have finished reading.
  

This is a good one for those interested in fashion




This one is more of a youth culture type of magazine.


For the more seriously minded and those interested in business and computing



Or for those into keeping fit.


If you really enjoy reading these magazines, you can register for free on the site and create your own magazine library or upload your own publications.

I hope you enjoy this activity and come back for more EFL ESL activities soon. To do more reading activities just click this link: Reading activities

Related links for teachers:

• Create EFL / ESL Lesson Plans in Mins
• Adventure Narratives for EFL ESL Students
• Using Word Clouds in EFL ESL
• Prompting reading speeds

Best

Nik Peachey

Dictation to Improve Your Listening

Dictation is a great way to improve your listening, but it can be very challenging. In today's activity we look at a site that helps you improve your listening and at how you can approach dictation activities without being defeated by them.
The activity uses a site called Listen and Write. This site has some good clear audio recordings and some useful tools to help you through the dictation.

Task:

• You are going to listen to a recording called 'Teens, Television, and Depression'. The text is about a study that looks at the relationship between media use and mental health in teenagers.
  
• Before you listen to the audio activity, make some notes on paper about what you think the text will mention.
  
• Y0u could also think about your own views on this topic and the kinds of media devices you use, such as i-pods and computers. Do you think they have an effect on your mental health?
• Now go to: http://www.listen-and-write.com/audio/show/459
• Play through the complete audio recording and check your notes to see how many of the things you thought of were mentioned.
  

• Make some more notes about what you remember from the audio text.
• Now you are ready to start the dictation. Click to play the first part of the recording.
• Listen and try to write in the words you hear. You can stop and start the player so that you have time to write.
  

• If you are having problems you can click to get the next letter or the next word.

• Try to finish the complete text. When you get to the end you can register on the site and record your score. If you have enjoyed this activity you could also try another dictation.

Doing one of these activities each week will soon help to improve your listening skills. I hope you enjoy this activity and come back for more EFL ESL activities tomorrow.

• More listening activities

Related links for teachers:

• Dictation goes Web 2.0
• Subtitling your video clips
• Transcribed Videos for EFL ESL
• Soundscapes from SoundTransit
• Text to Speech for EFL ESL Materials
• Multimedia Vocabulary Website
• Listening Dictation Puzzles for EFL ESL
• Text to Speech for EFL ESL Materials

Best

Nik Peachey