Lola's Blog

The Blind Beggar by Jules Bastien Lepage - What can you see in this picture? - Do you know anybody who is blind or partially-sighted? - What other senses do you have to rely on when you are blind? - Can you use the Internet if you are blind? - Can you get money out of cash-machine if you are blind? - What other things can't you do that sighted people normally do? - Do you ever wonder what life would be like if you were blind? This post is about how technology can help the blind.   Before you watch this video Think of gadgets or inventions that may help a partially-sighted or blind person  if they wanted to get money out of a cash-machine to use the Internet to do sport to read a document or even a book Watch this video and answer the questions listed above. As you watch, bear in mind the following: Watch the video first to try to get the gist of the information. Watch a second time to answer the questions. Watch a third time if you need to. http:

The Sun by NASA. Public domain What can you see in this picture? What word or words can you use to describe it?  Would you use the word "glowing", dazzling", or perhaps "harsh"? You are going to learn how to describe light in a painting. You will also learn expressions with the word "light".  Task 1. Here you have three famous paintings. Your task is to guess the name of the painting and the painter. Click on the link to check your answers. Picture 1   Picture 2  Picture 3 These are the answers: Picture 1: Jan Vermeer, Kuchenmagd Picture 2: Vincent van Gogh, Terrace of the Café on the Place du Forum in Arles Picture 3: Diego Velázquez, Las Meninas Task 2. Look at the list of adjectives to describe light. Grade them from really bright to not so bright. dim, warm, soft, bright, cold, dazzling, deep, faint, rich, harsh You can click on the Merriam-Webster dictionary to check.

Jolly Harbour. D avid Stanley CC-BY Look at this photo. It was taken somewhere in the Caribbean. The name of the island means "ancient". Can you guess now? OK, it's Antigua, which together with Barbuda form a twin-island nation. The British ruled these islands from  1632 to 1981. The islands became independent in 1981 and today they belong to the Commonwealth. More Caribbean countries where English is spoken Look at this map and have a go at guessing where they speak English. If you would like to see a larger version of the map, click on the image. Click on this Wikipedia link to see a list of countries. Learn about the English spoken in the Caribbean. Have you ever listened to Jamaican English? How about Trinidadian? Would you like to learn how English evolved on these islands? You can visit the British Library page and learn about the phonological features of Caribbean English. If you scroll down the page, you will be able to listen to sound fi