Speaking


Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are

Body language affects how others see us, but it may also change how we see ourselves. Social psychologist Amy Cuddy shows how “power posing” — standing in a posture of confidence, even when we don’t feel confident — can affect testosterone and cortisol levels in the brain, and might even have an impact on our chances for success.

Amy Cuddy’s research on body language reveals that we can change other people’s perceptions — and even our own body chemistry — simply by changing body positions. Full bio

Why you should listen to her:

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Verbling, the instant way to practice and learn English!

Instantly connect with native speakers around the worlb through live video-chat!

Name: Verbling

Quick Pitch: Verbling is a web-based platform where individuals can pair up with native speakers to practice speaking new languages on live video.

Genius Idea: Verbling makes language learning easy by offering a free way to connect instantly with native speakers with timed prompts and conversation-starting topics.

Read more about it on www.mashable.com!


Vous vivez en Wallonie? Essayez Wallangues.be!

Wallangues est une initiative de la Wallonie permettant à tous ses résidents de se former en néerlandais, anglais, français et allemand gratuitement et simplement.

Grâce à Wallangues, vous aurez la possibilité d’apprendre une ou plusieurs langues ou d’en approfondir la connaissance, où vous voulez, quand vous voulez, depuis n’importe quel ordinateur connecté à Internet. Wallangues s’adresse à tous les niveaux : du débutant complet aux niveaux avancés.

Poursuivez votre visite de Wallangues en consultant les pages suivantes si vous souhaitez :

Excellente visite sur Wallangues et bon apprentissage des langues grâce à la Wallonie !

L’équipe Wallangues.

Try it out and let us know what you feel about this excellent initiative! 

 


Tongue twisters

Repeat After Us: tongue twisters online!

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers?
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

Can you say this tongue twister very quickly?
Mmmmm….I guess you might have to practice a little, no?
Well, this site is perfect for it!
RepeatAfterUs is an award-winning online library with the best collection of copyright-free English texts and scripted recordings.
The free audio clips provide an excellent resource for students and literature lovers of all ages.
Genres include:

Pronunciation 1

Fonetiks: Online pronunciation guides to 9 varieties of the English language

Fonetiks is an awesome on-line resource to help you learn English.
This collections of websites  uses Instant sound technology and has recorded hundreds of pronunciation samples by over 40 native speakers.

Fonetiks was originally conceived in 2000 as a response to new visa restrictions which made it increasingly difficult for some English language learners to come to study English in the USA, Britain and Australia. Fonetiks enabled these language learners to study native speaker pronunciation without leaving their homes, merely by mousing over the text on their computer screens.

> TRY IT OUT HERE!


SHIP or…SHEEP?! 1

SHIP or…SHEEP?!

This website is excellent for on-line English language pronunciation practice with minimal pairs and Instant Sound. Just click on the words/minimal pairs to hear them.

> TRY IT HERE!

HOW to use Shiporsheep:

Shiporsheeep uses a well-known language teaching device known as minimal pair practice to teach English speech sounds. This technique helps learners to distinguish between two different sounds by presenting two words which sound identical apart from the pair of sounds concerned.

Shiporsheep uses a patented technique allowing learners to hear words spoken instantly and naturally simply by mousing over them – no ‘click-and-wait’ is needed.

To use Shiporsheep, choose a page, click on it to open it, then mouse over each pair of words to hear the difference in pronunciation. Listen to each word & repeat it several times. If your computer has a microphone, you can record your own voice and compare it with the original, using Microsoft Sound Recorder (Go to Start – Programs – Accessories – Entertainment – Sound Recorder)

To use Shiporsheep, your computer must have sound, and Flash must be installed. Flash is installed on almost all computers, but if it isn’t, you can install it here.