Play Video Games while Practicing your English!

Like video games? They can be a lot of fun, but some people think they are a waste of time. Here is a video game you can play directly on your computer that you can have fun with while practicing your English. In Phantasy Quest, you will find yourself on a desert island, near your ship, which has been shipwrecked. Your quest is to find the girl. It is not difficult - just point the mouse and click. Follow the arrows. Pick up objects and use them on each other. Try to rescue the girl. Have fun!

I will post the walkthrough tomorrow for those of you who get stuck!

Voice Threads - Connect with people around the world

Looking for a place where you can interact with people around the world, plus practice your speaking, listening, and reading skills? Try Voice Thread, a great web site where you can post a picture, record yourself explaining something about the picture, and then receive comments about it from other internet users. Try it - it's free!

World Book Day

All the readers out there may be interested to know that today is World Book Day. All across the UK and Ireland today, school kids will be celebrating this day with a book. Not only does the day help raise awareness of the importance of reading, but it also provides an opportunity for people to talk about the books that have moved them. But World Book Day isn't only for kids - go to the Spread the Word link and get good recommendations on books for adults.

Visit the official web site to find even more to whet your appetite: games, competitions, and book tokens (for those of you living in the UK or Ireland).

In honor of today, we'd also like to share a great resource for readers. What Should I Read Next? is a web site that will recommend books based on your favorite authors. Discover new authors and books by typing in a book you love or enjoyed and then choosing another from the list of authors you'll be given.

And, for those of you who love quizzes and trivia, check out this quiz on the Guardian. How much do you know about the literature of the different continents? Put your mind to the test!

Cambridge English Readers for Beginner and Basic Students

Reading for pleasure is one way to learn more vocabulary and practice your English. Cambridge University Press publishes original English Readers by level. Here are a few of their titles, with a blurb about the plot:

Ghost Story
The Girl at the Window by Antoinette Moses

For Grace, a ghost in a haunted house, the arrival of a young mother with a baby stirs the memories of the man and child she lost so many years before. But then danger threatens the baby girl and Grace must act decisively.

Murder Mystery
A Death in Oxford by Richard MacAndrew

When Dr Leighton is murdered Inspector Frank Williams and Sergeant Kate Miller set out to track down her killer. Was it her husband, her son or her colleague? All had reasons to hate her but which one killed her?

Comedy
What a Lottery! by Colin Campbell

Rick Drummond is a music lover without a job who dreams of making it big in the world of music. The people around him think he's just a dreamer, or a loser. When his wife walks out on him it seems the real world is falling around him. But then his luck changes when he wins the lottery. Is this really a change of fortune for Rick or is he about to lose again?

Science Fiction
Let Me Out! by Antoinette Moses

Nolan is a robot created by a lonely electronics expert, John, to run his home, cook and do the ironing. but Nolan is not content; he wants to be human. When he realises that this is not possible, he turns against John, who finds there is no escpe from his malevolence.

Thriller
The Penang File by Richard MacAndrew

Secret agent, Ian Munro, is dispatched to Penang to stop an assassination attempt on the Prince (a member of the British Royal Family who is there on a state visit). Munro tracks down the assassin, identifies where and how the "hit" will take place, but can he foil the assassination attempt in time?

Dirty Money by Sue Leather

Joe lives in Canada, in a beautiful, quiet place. His peace is interrupted one day by the noise of bulldozers excavating near his house. He is told that it's a diamond mine. Joe is a journalist for a local newspaper and his neaighbours soon come to ask him to write about the awful noise and destruction. Joe becomes suspicious when his boss won't let him write about it. He starts to invesitgate the mine, but gets himself in harm's way.

Summer Reading Program Successfully Launched!

Thanks to all the teachers and students who visited the CEC library yesterday and checked out books. We had an amazing response - over 300 students came to see us, ask questions, and browse the stacks. Don't forget to read, read, read all this cycle, and fill out the comment form for each thing you read in Enlgish in order to be eligible for the drawings every Friday!

Winners will be posted here, as well as in our three buildings: EPN (Civil Engineering, 5th floor), Edif. Araucaria (Baquedano 222 y Reina Victoria) and Veintimilla (Veintimilla y 6 de diciembre, next to Tienda Rossa).

UPDATE: And the winner is...
ANTHONY BRYANT SALAZAR YANEZ!!!! (Beginner, 2-4).

Anthony has won a brand new Cambridge University Press Spanish-English dictionary, a $25 value!

Download Free E-books for More English Practice

Want to read in English but English books are too expensive? Well, if you haven't been using the Internet already, do so! On the Internet you have access to news items, entertainment news, and just about anything you could possibly want. Most of the information on the web is non-fiction, however, and it might seem difficult to find fiction in English. There are a number of web sites that offer free fiction e-books, many of them classics, that you can download to your computer. Try these:

• Classic Bookshelf
• The Gutemberg Project
• The Online Books Page
  

Food, Music, Prizes, Books, and More!

Join us at the CEC library for a day of books and fun on Wednesday, August 29, from 9 am to 5 pm. We will be officially celebrating the opening of the library and kicking off the summer reading program: "Ahhh! The Power of Reading". There will be food, music, movies, and more, so stop by (Veintimilla y 6 de diciembre next to Tienda Rossa) and check out a book.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Door Prizes:
There will be a drawing for a prize for all students who check out a book on the 29th. Ask Isabel, the librarian, for recommendations of books appropriate for your level.
Movies:
Stop by the library during the day and catch a movie with your friends. (The movie schedule will be posted next week.)

Participate in the Reading Program: "Ahhh! The Power of Reading"
For every book you read in English during Cycle 4, fill out a short form and get your name entered in the prize drawings. The more you read, the better chance you have of winning. Drawings will be held on Fridays at 2 pm each week.

English News Web Site for English Language Learners

Practice your listening and reading skills, as well as increase your vocabulary, by reading and listening to articles at Simple English News. This web site offers a variety of news in simple, easier language than that found in a regular English newspaper. There are unusual news features, words in the news, entertainment & sports news, and even polls asking opinions for everything from "Would you like to travel in space?" to "What kind of cola do you drink when you are thirsty?".
Have fun exploring the site!

CEC library

Don't forget about the CEC library. It is a great resource for students and teachers alike. There are a number of grammar books and readers, as well as hundreds of authentic novels. Remember - you don't have to read an entire novel. Read the first chapter, or a short story. Some of our books even come with the CD and CD-Rom, so you can listen and read along. There is even a small French and Spanish section. Go to the reading room (located adjacent to the library) to find a quiet place to study. The librarian is there during the day to answer your questions, help with homework, or just recommend something interesting to read. You can go and practice your English, too, since she is an English teacher herself! Visit the library today!

Location: Seis de Diciembre and Veintimilla (next to “La Rossa” Corner Store)
Hours: 8:30 - 14:00 AND 15:00 -17:30
Reading Room Hours: 9:00 -13:30 and 16:00 -17:30
Telephone number: 254-4666
email: itobar (AT) cec-epn (DOT) edu (DOT) ec
AT=@
DOT= .

More on Listening Practice

CNN Stories Archive is a great place to test your listening and reading skills. You can read, listen to, or watch a clip of the news item. There are interactive activities to test comprehension. The story can be seen in its complete version or its abridged (shortened) version.

English Readers: A Good Way to Get Started Reading in English!

Cambridge English Readers is a series of books intended for a diverse range of levels and English students. The titles below are the ones we have available at the CEC library.

Cambridge English Readers
The Double Bass Mystery by Jeremey Harmer, Level 2
The Ironing Man by Colin Campbell, Level 3
Nothing But the Truth by George Kershaw, Level 4
Trumpet Voluntary by Jeremy Harmer, Level 6

If you are unsure what level you should read, take the online placement test. You can also download a worksheet to check your comprehension.

Other readers we have:
The Man With No Name by Evelyn Davies, Elementary
The Cleverest Person in the World by Norman Whitney, Elementary
A Marriage of Convenience and Other Stories by W. Somerset Maugham, Intermediate
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Intermediate

You can check out these books at the CEC library Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 14:00 and 15:00 to 17:30. The library is located at Veintimilla y 6 de diciembre, next to the Tienda Rossa. You can also call the librarian, Isabel, at 254-4666. You must have a picture ID and be a currently enrolled student to check books out.

She Walks These Hills by Sharyn McCrumb

If you like mysteries, you'll like She Walks These Hills by Sharyn McCrumb. There is a ghost, an escaped murderer, a love story, and a man against nature. It is the story of a community where emotions are not hidden and the land is still a part of people's blood. If you like Mary Higgins Clark or John Grisham, read this novel. Go here to see what other readers have to say about the novel (scroll to the bottom of the page).

You can check out this book at the CEC library during regular library hours (9:00 - 14:00 and 15:00 - 17:30). Call Isabel, the CEC librarian, at 254-4666 with any questions about library service. Recommended for Advanced 1 and up.

Get to the library and READ!

What better advice? How often do you visit the CEC library? Do you even know where it is? Why not stop by there sometime before or after class and check out a book?

Take these tips into account when checking out a book:

1.Before reading a novel or a graded reader on your own, figure out as much as you can from the cover, and read the summary on the back. Make sure it’s interesting.

2. Read a little until you know who the main characters are. Write down everything you know about them (rich, beautiful, aggressive, smart, etc.). Then try and predict what will happen in the story based on what you think the characters will do. Read the book once quickly to check if you’re right. Don’t worry about vocabulary.

3. The second and third time you read, you can check the meaning of difficult words, but only the ones you think are important.

4. Ocassionally stop and guess what will happen next, or what a character will say. Draw pictures if it helps you understand better.