Improve your English! Learn what materials to use...
Apr 17, 2012
Hi guys,
So I said I would recommend some English materials to read and/or listen to so here goes...
First of all, reading...
Newspapers are really useful. The tabloids are simpler and more based around human interest stories. They are probably better for intermediate learners. The metro or the evening standard are good because they are free and you can just pick them up on the street of course. Also the sun is very popular, and so are the daily mirror and the daily mail.
On the other hand, you may prefer to read the better quality broadsheets. These include the times or the telegraph for more conservative readers or the guardian or independent for more liberal ones. If you're really interested in business then the financial times is for you, although it's very difficult.
Now, magazines. There are many magazines in English that are available in shops and at London kiosks. I will just mention a few. Political magazines include the economist, the new statesman, the spectator and private eye. Fashion magazines include, Ok, Hello, Heat, and others (of course they are not my area of expertise). Also check out Time out, which is great for finding out what's on in London.
I'm not going to mention many English books because there are so many of them, but I recommend books by John Steinbeck and George Orwell because they are so famous and also quite simple for English learners. I also recommend graded readers, which you can find on Amazon or at Islington Centre for English.
Now we'll talk about listening. I've already mentioned bbciplayer in another blog, as well as youtube and radio 4. I'd like to talk a little about dvds that I'd recommend. Fawlty Towers is classic British comedy that is great for English students. Peep show is also good but much more modern. Miranda is another sitcom that is very popular. If you buy these on dvds then you can watch the subtitles in English.
Finally we come to drama series. American ones are very famous, including Desperate Housewives, Sex and the city, Lost, Heroes e.t.c. British ones include coupling, Silent Witness and many more.
