Is it possible to get in to the Christmas spirit thousands of miles away from Lapland ???
In this Vblog Chris and Sue take you on a fun trip around Toulouse to soak up the Christmas atmosphere in South West France. There are only blue skies, no snow in sight but a lot of French cheese, cakes, chocolate, Canadian whisky and even a Christmas flamingo !!
You’ll see how Sue tries to get Chris into the Christmas spirit in a city a far, far away from Santa’s grotto.Â
What do you think, is Christmas too commercial or just an excuse to have some fun in winter?
Click here to go to Two Frogs Travel YouTube channel and see beautiful Toulouse at Christmas.
Wherever you are in the world, hot or snowy climes we wish you a very Happy Christmas!
Did you know that Shakespeare coined* over 1000 words, many of which we still use today and some of them we use everyday!
But WHY did he invent so many words ? This is a good question. He didn’t it simply to fit in with the rhythm of his text, he needed words with the right number of syllables to fit in with the meter rhythm of the line.
Indeed many of the words that Shakespeare coined came from adding suffixes and prefixes such as -ful, -able – fied. For example, laugh and able, Â un and dress, care and less. So if you find English adjectives confusing you know who to blame !
Sometimes he put 2 words together, for example bed and room. Thank you Shakespeare for that one! Plus, birth and place, farm and house.
In this podcast, Sue asks Chris to explain 10 Shakespearian inventions and then he “turns the tables” on her… you can thank Shakespeare for that one too !!!
Let us give you a helping hand in choosing your French holiday destination.
We have devised 12 questions to help you decide from all the fantastic places in France where you should spend your holidays/vacation.
Of course it’s only a guide, you may have other ideas !
It should come as no surprise to know that France is the world’s most popular tourist destination. With 89 million visitors every year, France is a head and shoulders above Spain, which comes in second, receiving 82 million visitors per year. The number 3 spot goes to the USA with 78 million. These statistics confirm that France  has been the world’s first choice holiday destination for many years.
Why?Â
Well, you have a choice of mouthwatering food, medieval history, beaches, mountains, stunning landscapes, vineyards, wine, festivals and 44 UNESCO world heritage sites.Â
So, how to choose where to go ? Try is fun quiz to give you some ideas.
Your holiday in France
Did you know that your personal tastes and interests reveal a lot about where
you should holiday. Try this fun quiz about taking a vacation in France.
 Football will be in the news for a month during the EURO 2020….. which is taking place in 2021 due to successive Covid lockdowns in Europe.
Are you able to talk “footy”? Do you know the football jargon that we hear around us in the bars? Take the opportunity this month to go to bars and start up a conversation with other people about the football matches, it’s a great way to improve your English!
In this podcast Sue puts Chris on the spot when she asks him to explain frequent football words and expressions. You’ll hear that they’re not big fans of football but they’ll make the effort for language learning 🙂Â
Give yourself a pat on the back when you understand what these words mean;
To kick off  / The coin toss  /Â
A goalie / to save a goal / to mark a player
To score a hattrick
A foul / a tackle / to get booked / to be sent off/ to get a red card
A peno / a penalty shootout
To park the bus
Extra time vs Injury time
…. and the language of TV football commentators
It’s a game of 2 halves
To put the game to bed
What a beauty !
They’re on the back foot
He’s bottled it
It’s an open goal / It’s an own goal
That’s a blatant handball !
“Football’s coming home” 🙂
Then test your memory with this Flash Quiz.
For those of you who want more, try this World Cup Football Quiz full of great vocabulary and amazing facts to entertain even the most football skeptic.
Numbers can be a difficult part of learning a new language.
New learners often confuse “hundreds” and “thousands”, “fifteen” and “fifty”, “half past six” with “six and a half hours” etc etc etc.
The only way to improve your number skills is with practice.
Start by learning important numbers for you: your age, your address, your phone number.
Then practice well known expressions such as “fifty-fifty”, “One Hundred and One Dalmatians”.
Also try this podcast in which Sue asks Chris 10 questions about numbers in sport.
You will need to listen several times; the first time you listen your main objective should be to focus on the numbers that Chris gives. Are you clear about 100s and 1000s ?  Can you recognize times ? Can you identity money quantities? What about dates ?
For the second time of listening, Â focus on the questions and for the third time, just enjoy the conversation !
TRY THIS QUIZ IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE PODCAST: you will hear the same questions in the podcast as in the quiz. How many numbers can you recognize ? Practice saying all the numbers in the quiz and then listen again to the podcast. Your progress will be AMAZING !
Numbers in sport
After listening to the podcast try this quiz to consolidate your number
skills. You can check your own answers with Chris' attempts.
We learn a new language because we want to, or need to communicate with other people either at work or in social situations and some just learn another language for fun.
Everybody learns differently; some people are more visual, auditory, or kinesthetic.
But what are the other qualities needed to successfully learn a new language ?
Intelligence, determination, social skills, risk-taking or a good memory ?
Try this questionnaire to see how your attitudes can affect the way you learn.
We don’t want to put you in pigeon-holed categories, but just highlight some difficulties and some possible solutions.
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