Vocabulary: Describing company activities

A2, B1, B2

In this activity from the OUP site, you will read a text about the activities of the supermarket chain Carrefour. Then you will remove some or all of the words and rebuild the text.  Activity time: 15 to 45 minutes.

Task:  Select the lesson for Unit 9, then

1 Click on the "Next" button and read the text. Try to memorize it.

2 Decide how many words you want to remove (25%, 50% or all ). Click on the appropriate button
under the text

3 Type words one by one in the box at the bottom and press "Enter" each time

4 If you can't do any more, press the "Show words" button

Go to the activity here.

Video: Start with why

(B1), B2, C1, C2

In this video from TED, Simon Sinek talks about how great leaders inspire their followers  He compares the approaches of Steve Jobs at Apple, The Wright Brothers (pioneers of manned flight) and Martin Luther King. Video time: 18 minutes and 5 seconds. Activity time: 20-45 minutes. (NB if you would like to change the sub-titles, just move your cursor over the video window to see the sub-title menu)

Task: Watch the video and discover
1  what Apple, the Wright Brothers and Martin Luther King have in common.
2  the meaning of the diagram on the right.

Is there a "why" for the company or organisation you work for?

Go to the video here.

For more information on Simon Sinek, go here.

Audio: how to learn a new language

A2, B1, B2, C1

In this activity from the British Council site, you will hear somebody describing his experience of learning Spanish. It may give you a few ideas about how to optimize your learning of English.  Audio time  3 minutes 8 seconds. Activity time: 15 to 35 minutes.

Task: Go to the activity page and

1. Click on "Preparation " to do a vocabulary exercise to prepare for the listening
2. Click on "Task". Read all the questions, then click "Play" on the audio player to listen. Answer the questions in the task and click on the "check" button for the answers
3. Click on "Transcript" if you want to see the text of the audio. Listen again if necessary. 

The speaker said he started reading newspapers because he was motivated to learn about the country he was living in. Perhaps there are English-language newspapers about your own country? If you live in France, why not take a look at "The Connection". Click on the link below to see the online version.

Go to the activity here.
Go to the online version of "The Connection" here.