Lola's Blog

Public domain Many students of English complain about how difficult it is to learn English prepositions. I agree. I remember, as an undergraduate, I had to memorise never-ending lists of prepostions, adverbials, phrasal verbs...I found it an impossible task. Look at the picture on your left. What is the meaning of   at your own risk ? Click on this dictionary and check. Listening An embarrassing anecdote This is from a VOA (Voice of America) recording. The presenter talks about a friend, a non-native English speaker, who tried to tell someone "you will hear from me" meaning he would get in touch. But instead of saying "I'll get back to you" , he said "I'll get back at you" which means "I'll take revenge". The wrong preposition sent a completely different message with embarrassing consequences. Listen to What difference does a preposition make? In this interview the presenters talk to Professor  David Thatcher. Tip:  I...

Boby Dimitrov. Wikimedia Commons Do you know why Spain has made headlines this week? When someone is involved in an argument that affects a lot of people that person is said to be in the eye of the storm . Reading Task 1. Read the article Brussels takes action against Spain for refusing EU cards   and answer the following questions: Why is the European Commission launching legal action against Spain? What have Spanish doctors been doing wrong? What can Brussels force Spain to do? Video Task 1. Check this vocabulary before you watch : to break the law     to fix the system     infringement procedure     EHIC card Task 2. Watch the video and answer these questions. Watch this BBC video about Spanish hospitals' rejection of EU health card . What happened to Ray Burton in Spain? What other two cases are mentioned? What other country is breaking the law? Why? For more tasks (fill-in the gaps, c...