December 17th and 19th

Swiss Santa - Listen and answer the questions.

Canadian Santa - Listen and answer the questions.

Christmas book - lots of vocabulary and activities.

Lots of exercises to help you practice over the holidays. Explore!

Information about the multi-cultural health navigators (from our news this morning) can be found here. Listen to a story about it from CBC.

Researcher's work out Santa Claus' salary. Listen and complete your worksheet.

North American English 

British English

Check your answers here.

Nouns - lots of exercises to review nouns, articles, and pronunciation of the final -s/-es.

English video lessons: Don't make these mistakes in English!
                               
                                  Five common English learner mistakes.

Looking for a Doctor? The Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons has a registry of all family doctors and specialists in Ontario.

Christmas lights in Aylmer

December 10th and 12th

The North and South Pole "The Arctic vs. the Antarctic"

Watch and answer the questions on your worksheet.



Present perfect or past perfect? Type your answers.

Bet you didn't know - Christmas

Listen to the speaker talk about Christmas and complete your worksheet, then, watch the video below and check and complete your worksheet.




Here's another link to the video from the History Channel website.

Look for the past perfect activities and give them a try.

Learn some slang/idioms related to job hunting.

Watch the video and check your worksheet.

A bad day.

December 3rd and 5th

Families sharing homes in Vancouver.




Home buying information in eight languages, from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

Here is part three of the Kobar Family activity. (This works best in Internet Explorer)
(Part two, which we did in class, is here.)

More on tag questions - explanations, examples, and exercises at the bottom.

Buying a home - watch the video about one family's experience buying a home.




Relocating - Listen as someone looks for a place to rent in a new city.

How to use tag questions, from engvid.com (It includes a link for another tag questions lesson)

November 26th and 28th

Watch this story and then look closely the next time you go shopping!




Auxiliary verbs - English video lesson and quiz.


What does Black Friday look like at some stores? Watch this:
 Urban Outfitters in the US.

Tesco store in the UK.

Listen to the story, complete the paragraph, then watch the video to finish answering the questions.



Auxiliary verbs - take a look at the examples, then follow the links at the bottom of the page for exercises to practice.

Conversations and idioms about work.

Here is a great website with lots of activities for practicing English.

November 19th and 21st

Pope gives homeless a shower

British English
North American English

Check your answers here.

Have/Get something done - examples and exercises.
The causative - Make someone do something and have something done.

Next week, we'll be talking about workplace culture in Canada. On the first day of work, you'll probably have to introduce yourself. Watch this video about how to introduce yourself and try the quiz.

Why is there so much snow in Buffalo? Here's a brief explanation.

Watch this story about the big snowstorm in Buffalo NY yesterday. Answer the questions on your worksheet.




From engvid.com - The passive: when, why, and how to use it (includes quiz).

Employment activities - make sure to do CLB 3-5.

November 12th and 14th

Listen to one man's challenges in getting a job as a dentist in Edmonton.

Job search and interview review, including dos and don'ts.

Stative (no -ing) verbs, and dynamic (-ing ok) verbs - example and exercises.

Chinese company Ali Baba set a record on Tuesday for most online sales in a day. Yesterday was Guiness World Records Day.  Take a look at some of the records that were set.

Listen to the story about the disabled woman. Answer the questions on your worksheet.




Look for the activities about present perfect and present perfect continuous.

Present perfect examples and exercises.

Listen to this short interview and answer the questions.

Now, listen to the interview again and fill in the blanks.

November 5th and 9th

A Pittance of Time by Terry Kelly - watch the video and answer the questions on your worksheet, then fill in the missing words of the song. Click here to check your answers to the song lyrics.




In Flander's Fields







 Grammar

Can/Could/Be able to - English video lesson

Could have/Would have/Should have - English video lesson

Could - examples and exercises                Can have/Could have - examples and exercises

Talking about ability - explanation and link to exercises at the bottom

Use the information to complete the job application

Answers for Halloween crossword.

November 2nd

October 29th and 31st

Winnipeg's Masonic Temple Ghost - Watch the video and answer the questions on your worksheet.




What is the correct question word?

Even squirrels like Halloween.




Watch the three videos below and answer the questions on your worksheet:

Sir Sandford Fleming - Standard Time



James Naismith - Basketball



Joseph-Armand Bombardier




Grammar

Reported speech - change the sentences to reported speech.

Reported speech video practice.

Speaking and Vocabulary

Listen and practice the dialogues about health matters.

This Friday is Halloween. We'll be learning about it in class tomorrow. Watch this video to find out a bit about this holiday.

October 22nd and 24th

Barack Obama's credit card rejected
Listen and complete your worksheet:  British English     North American English

You can watch Obama explaining what happened in this video:

Are you planning to take the Citizenship test in the future? Here's a website with a lot of great resources.

Reported speech - practice and exercises.

Poutine Fest is on this weekend!

Winter clothing? It's the layers.

Watch the video. Try to identify as much of the man's clothing as you can.




Listen to these conversations about home repairs and practice.

Tools - read and listen to the pronunciation. Try the exercises at the bottom of the page.

Clothing - read and listen to the pronunciation. Try the exercises at the bottom of the page.

Present Perfect

October 15th and 17th

Postal service in Somalia
Listen to the story in British English or American English. Check your answers here.

Must, might, or can't?

Young Nobel Prize winners

Listen first, then watch the video from YouTube.

Modals of possibility - try the exercise. When you're finished, click the link at the bottom for exercise two.

Housing:

Renting an apartment - quiz and fill in the blanks

Apartment problems - quiz and fill in the blanks

October 8th and 10th

Listen to two people talking about Thanksgiving. Complete your worksheet.

Can you make a sentence out of the words? Use the gerund or infinitive.

Today, we listened to a story about this year's Nobel Peace Prize.

A report about this year's prize:


A short video about how Alfred Nobel invented dynamite:


Last week we listened to some stories about the Ebola outbreak. Watch the video to see some reporters practicing dressing for an Ebola outbreak. Complete your worksheet.




Gerunds
Another EngVid video lesson - six ways to use gerunds.

Law
Who killed Mr. Green? Try this puzzle, and see if you can figure out who killed Mr. Green.

Solving the crime - vocabulary

October 1st and 3rd

Curry spice could be be good for your brain - listen and complete your worksheet. When you are finished, you can check your answer here.

How do you like your eggs? Try the activities.

Preposition basketball - a game to help review prepositions.

Information about the Carleton University Butterfly Exhibit

Do you fly a lot? Get ready to pay more.



Lots of practice with prepositions

Another Engvid quiz, this time about AT/IN/ON

Nutrition labels

Read the label and answer the questions.

A quiiz on nutrition labels from Health Canada

Here's some video of Terry Fox.

September 24th and 26th

How much food can you buy for $5? Watch the video and answer the questions on your worksheet.



 Relative clauses/Adjective clauses - Choose the correct answer.

Food and Health myths - This afternoon, we'll be talking about food and nutrition. Try these activities to warm up.

Food Crime - Listen to the story and complete your worksheet. You can listen to a British speaker, or a North American speaker.

British
North American

Relative clauses - can you join the sentences?

10 abbreviations you should know - An engvid.com lesson

Sound contrasts - Can you hear the difference in the two sounds?

How Insurance Works

Here is the link for today's listening exercise.

September 17th and 19th

Using either, neither and too Look at the examples and try the quiz.

Some practice with prepositions

Listen to these speakers talk about home remedies and complete the exercises.

Visit the pharmacy to get your prescription filled.

Too / Either examples and practice

Video lesson - How to agree or disagree in English.

Here is a short news report about George the goldfish.

Cleaning our teeth
British speaker (male)
North American speaker (female)

Check your answers here.

Test yourself on past participle verbs


Watch the video and answer the questions on your worksheet.

Present perfect or simple past? Watch this video for a good explanation.

Present perfect - go down the page to the exercises and try the exercises on present perfect.

More practice at the doctor:

Frank's check up

Idioms and expressions about health

Vocabulary for medicine

Nunavut Grocery Prices



Now, do some shopping. Using the graphic, choose 5 or 6 grocery items. Which northern city is the most expensive? How do the prices compare to the rest of Canada?

Must and Have to: When you take your dog for a walk, what do you have to do? What must you not do? Try this quiz.

Review parts of the body - listening and reading
More parts of the body
Digestive system

Welcome Back!

Monday was Labour Day in Canada and the United States. Listen and watch this short video about the holiday and answer the questions on your worksheet.




Should or must? Watch the video and do the quiz at the below the video.

In English, there are words that have the same sound, but a different spelling and meaning. Try this quiz. Read the sentence. Each pair of words has the same sound. Can you guess which word is correct?

Happy Canada Day!

Thank you everyone for such a great year. While I really appreciate all your compliments, it's you who deserve the compliments. You have chosen to make a huge change in your lives by coming to Canada. You have to leave family, friends, work, and everything that you know, to come here and start over again. It's not easy, and it's not something that a lot of people can do. You come to school though, you study hard, and at the same time you work, take care of your families, and try to make a new life here. Your job is a lot harder than mine. It's my privilege to meet you all and to be able to help you. Coming to school everyday to work with you isn't just a job, it's a pleasure. Thank you. Have a great summer. Remember, Ottawa is a small town. I'm sure we'll run into each other.

Canada Day in the Capital

Carnival of Cultures

HOPE Beach Volleyball Tournament

Some sites to help you practice and review this summer:

EFLnet.com

ESLblues

English pronunciation from Okanagan College, BC.

Engvid.com - A selection of lessons on grammar and vocabulary

The Real Canadian Songbook - listen and practice with Canadian music

Ferris Bueller's Day Off - Here is the trailer for the movie.

For fun...What does Earth look like from space? Watch the live video feed from the ISS (International Space Station).


Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream

Tomorrow, we will be watching the film 'Bend it Like Beckham.' Watch the trailers below to see what the film is about.




Canada Day in the Capital Click on 'Activities' to see what's happening around Ottawa on Tuesday.

Oh Canada:
English



French



 The flags of the provinces and territories of Canada.

Famous Canadian Songs

Recently, these two songs were chosen as the top Canadian songs of all time

Four Strong Winds



Heart of Gold



Other favourites

The Barenaked Ladies "If I Had a Million Dollars"

Gordon LIghtfoot "Sundown"

The Tragically Hip "New Orleans is Sinking"

How to celebrate the summer solstice - Watch the video and complete your worksheet.




Here is another video and quiz explaining the seasons around the world.

Choose the correct preposition

Learn some business/soccer idioms with this game.

Touched by people's generosity - Watch this story of a man looking for work in Winnipeg.




Verb + Preposition + Gerund - explanation and practice

Review thank you messages - Look at the activities for LINC 6 and look for thank you messages

How do commas work? Here are some tips to help you.

This weekend in Ottawa

Dragon Boat Festival

Ottawa Jazz Festival (Canada Day shows are free)

Sparks St. Rib Fest

Glebe New Art Festival

Bank St. 'Glow Fair'

Beechwood Solstice Stroll

Friday the 13th - Listen and learn about some of the theories behind why Friday the 13th is considered to be so unlucky. When you have answered the questions, take a look at the script and check.

What are you afraid of? Check The Phobia List. (You can also see the list indexed by symptom.)

Can you put this email in order?

Try the LINC 6 email activities.

The Bungle in the Jungle

Watch the story and check your worksheet

Learn about 'reduced' adjective clauses

This weekend is Westfest - Westboro's annual free street festival. 

Italian week is on now, with lots of events on Preston St. this weekend.

This weekend is also the Festival Franco-Ontarien at Major's Hill Park.

Algonquin College Dental Clinic - information about appointments and fees

It's not hot today, but it will be soon. Would you try this idea to stay cool?  (also, here is a British speaker)

Check your answers here.

Here is a short news story about the above story.

This weekend is Doors Open Ottawa. Use the building features option to choose buildings that you may be interested in. Is there one place you'd like to see?

What strategy do these commercials use?

McDonalds "Family Time Forever"

Old Spice "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like"

Mountain Dew "Chuck Norris"

Berlitz "German Coast Guard"

Dyson "Vacuum"

Ontario Leaders Debate closing statements

Watch these two Tim Hortons commercials. Are they effective? What is their strategy?








Adjective clauses lesson 1 - defining
Adjective clauses lesson 2 - non defining

More practice about adjective clauses

Where does spam come from? Find out.

This weekend is Doors Open Ottawa - See what's happening!

Some class photos

Here is the link again for the Credit in Canada presentation from the Ottawa Community Loan Fund.

How to speak Newfoundland English:

The Hidden Job Market - This is a story from CBC Manitoba - listen and complete your worksheet


Ever wonder why or how we make words plural?

By the time - (looooooong!!) explanation and quiz.


Yesterday, the topic of elevator speeches came up. Here is a good introduction to what to do (and not do!) when you are asked the question "Tell me about yourself."

How to make sense of English spelling



Future time exercises

Information interviews - for review Interview one           Interview two




Are you getting ready for the World Cup? Here are some videos of past World Cup highlights to help you get ready...in Lego.

Summer schools

This is the link for St. Patrick's School, on Nepean St. Click the 'Contact Us' button to get their address and phone number.

Here is the link for summer courses with the school board, including Albert St, Bayshore, and Rideau High School.

The real origin of the franchise




The City of Ottawa provides a number of useful links to organizations that can help newcomers.

Here is another list of organizations, from the Ottawa Public Library, that provide assistance to newcomers.

Another list of resources.

The Great Glebe Garage Sale - Information from the local Glebe community associations

More causative verb exercises - read the instructions carefully!

Inactive Canadian Kids - Watch the story and complete your worksheet




Causative verbs - Let/Make/Have/Get short tutorial and exercise

Learn about the National Occupation Classification here

The National Occupation Classification - Use this to find out information and requirements for specific occupations in Canada

How to Find a Job in Canada
from amazon.ca
from chapters indigo

Coca - Cola changes recipe in response to petition Listen and complete your worksheet

A bit of passive review - change the sentences to passive

Government of Canada Job Bank - find information about the labour market in Canada

Ever wonder what it would be like if Google was a person?
More "if Google was a guy" (note: contains some language and material that may possibly perhaps be offensive)

Have you ever done something online that you wish you could erase?




Already, still, yet, anymore - choose the best answer

English video lesson
Already and Yet
Now and Still

English accent coach

Watch this video from the History Channel about the origin's of Mother's Day.





Take a look at some exercises about the passive for review.

Hard and soft skills - Exercise 1

Job Applications forms

Volunteering

Ottawa Tulip Festival

Speech by NBA MVP Kevin Durant, thanking his mother

Mosquito season is coming!




What's wrong with each sentence?

Some short conversations about work and looking for work.

A review of our activity about job scams - click on employment --> CLB3-5 --> Employment Scams

The Blackfly Song - A famous short animated film from the National Film Board of Canada

Getting Paid - Listen and take notes on your worksheet.


OC Transpo lost and found sale information.

Watch the video below and complete your worksheet.




Short quiz on up phrasal verbs.

Where can I volunteer? Try ottawavolunteerlounge.ca

Tomorrow is May Day, or International Workers' Day in many countries. In North America however, we celebrate in September. Why? Watch the following video and complete your worksheet.





Review adjective/modifier word order with these exercises.

Sound contrasts: Choose a pair of sounds, listen to the word list, and then try the quiz.

Credit in Canada presentation (from the Ottawa Community Loan Fund)

Canadian trivia - What do you know about Canada?

Now, many Canadians are watching the hockey playoffs. Many people consider hockey to be a very violents sport. Is it? Learn a bit about hockey and fighting with this listening activity.

Some video of last week's avalanche on Mount Everest.

Poutine Fest - this week on Sparks St.

Snowy owls in Ottawa:

January


April

Watch the video and answer the questions on your worksheet

Gerund or infinitive? Choose the best answer.

Vowel pair practice

Here is a promo for the series 'Wild Canada.'

History: Bet You Didn't Know - Easter from hscusa.tv on Vimeo.

How does Environment Canada help us get through the winter? Watch the above video from the comedy show 'The Rick Mercer Report.'

What's open and closed this weekend?

Budgeting for school - Go to 'Education' --> CLB 3-5 --> Budgeting

Gerunds and infinitives - what do you think?

Seven portions of fruit and vegetables a day best

Listen to the speaker and answer the questions on your worksheet.

British speaker

North American speaker

Video lesson gerunds and infinitives 

Reduced speech

Some examples to read and listen to 

More examples to read and listen to, by topic

The Real Canadian Songbook - Listen and practice with Canadian music.

The 'Pollen Vortex'

Present perfect passive - practice

Practice citizenship test - see what the questions are like on the Citizenship test. Choose your province, and the number of questions you'd like to practice.

Metro News - The story of us This week, we've been looking at stories of immigration in the Metro newspaper. Take a look at the stories as well as some videos and other features.

Listen to Canadian comedian Russell Peters describe his father's attempt to become 'Canadian.'

Culture Shock - Listen to the speaker and answer the questions.

Listen again and fill in the missing words.

Passives - Take a look at the lessons about passives.

Find out about the Algonquin College open house tomorrow, April 5th.

Learn about credit history - Choose Banking --> CLB 3-5 --> Credit History

Watch the video above about measles in Canada and answer the questions on your worksheet.

Let, Make, Have, Get - Take a look at the tutorial and follow the link at the bottom of the page for the exercise.

Great video lesson on causative verbs. 

Videos for newcomers to help answer tax questions, from CRA

Take a look at Friday's lesson for phrasal verb practice.

Happy April Fools' Day from West Jet and Samsung.

Next week is April Fool's Day. Here are some popular April Fool's Day videos.

Here is an excellent resource for studying and practicing phrasal verbs.

Dialogues about communication and the telephone to listen and read.

How strong were the winds on the East Coast this week? Watch this:

Snooping on lost smartphones

Verb and preposition - What is the missing preposition?

Inuit throat singing

East coast folk music (Cape Breton, Nova Scotia)

Watch the beginning of this commercial. What do you think the commercial is for?

Now, watch the following commercial and complete your worksheet.

Watch the above news story and answer the questions on your work sheet. The story starts at about the one minute mark.

Modals and present perfect quiz (check your answers immediately)

More practice on past modals

For your information and practice - Reading and lesson about rental agreements

Conversations about traffic and driving - listen, read, and practice

Two years ago today...

Listen to the phone call between a travel agent and a customer. Write a brief email to your friend explaining the two options and asking which one they prefer.

Telephone tips - video and quiz with advice on using the phone.

Quick quiz on 'so do I' and 'neither do I.' Be careful, not all of the answers are agreement.

Sir Sandford Fleming - A short video about Sandford Fleming and his invention of standard time.

Watch these videos and answer the questions on your worksheet.
Professional phone etiquette for answering phone calls

Professional phone etiquette for taking good phone messages

Professional phone etiquette - what NOT to do when leaving a phone message

Tag Questions: Scroll down the page and take a look at the activities about tag questions.

Making plans - listen to two friends trying to make plans to get together
Listen and quiz

Listen and fill in the blanks

(This listening activity will not work with Google Chrome)
Listen to the messages, take notes and complete your worksheet.

TOEIC listening practice - voice mail announcement

Rewrite the sentences using a modal (must/can't, might/could)

One more lesson on speculation in the present

Can you find the polar bears?

Parliament of Canada website - Enter your postal code, then answer the questions on your worksheet.

Automated voice menus - Activities 2 and 3 from LINC 7 telephone calls

Modals - Take a look at the lessons and exercises about modals, especially modals of certainty in the present.

Emily Murphy

Nellie McLung

English Video lesson on adjective clauses and formal speech

If you haven't completed them, please complete the adjective clause exercises from Wednesday.

On Tuesday, we'll be meeting an MP, Anne Minh-Thu Quach. Find out a bit about her from her website.

Watch the video about a couple buying their first home. Answer the questions.

Conversations about housing - listen and practice

Adjective clauses quiz - Join the two sentences using an adjective clause. 

The building of the CP railroad - Here is a short video showing some of the conditions during the building of the CP railroad.

BASE Jumper in BC - watch and answer the questions           Here is a link to the original video

Corvettes swallowed by sinkhole Here's a short video about yesterday's news story.

Reported speech - "I thought you said..."

Watch these two videos about Valentines Day. Answer the questions on your page.

Valentines Day Streeters

Valentine's Day Cards

Change the sentences to indirect speech.

Practice Citizenship questions.

What Tenants Need to Know About the Law

This week, we looked at a lot of news stories, including the Olympics and Facebook. Here are two short reports from CBC. Watch the two stories and answer the questions on your worksheet.

The Jamaican Bobsled Team

Facebook Connections

Have/Get something done - choose the correct word to complete each sentence

Online practice driving test


Finally...Nunavut Grocery Prices

Passives - easier quiz           harder quiz

Renting an apartment

Apartment problems

Watch the story and answer the questions on your worksheet. (YouTube link)

Some more grammar review

Watch the video above about the House of Commons. Complete your worksheet. (YouTube link)

Canada's most beautiful room - Learn about the Library of Parliament.

Adverb clauses - Review the lesson, and then click the link at the bottom of the page for the exercise. There will be some material we studied, as well as new material.

Video lesson about adverb clauses

Night work could damage your health

British speaker

American speaker

Check your answers here

What's the correct question word? Type the correct answer.

Word order practice Quiz 1    Quiz 2

Information about public skating in Ottawa

Location of arenas in Ottawa

Description of skating classes offered by the city, for children and adults.

Outdoor rinks in Ottawa


How a bill becomes a law  Listen to the speaker, take notes, and answer the questions on the bottom of your worksheet.

Take a look at the exercises for 'Hard and soft skills' and 'Cover letters.'

Here is the link for the list of legal and illegal interview questions.

How to answer illegal interview questions: Listen as the interviewer asks about physical or learning disabilities, religious affiliation, and marital and family status. How does the applicant respond?

What's the correct question word? Drag the word into the grey box.

Complete the questions.

Answers to the Discover Canada crossword puzzle.

Winterlude starts next week. Find out more about Ottawa's annual winter festival here.

Watch the video of some of the new products at this year's Consumer Electronics Show.

Watch the clips about the Simpsons and answer the questions below.

This is a good activity practicing all verb tenses.

Planning to work in Canada? Online version

Working in Canada website - find out about what jobs are available, qualifications, wage, and more. Look for 'Explore Careers' and click Occupations to get more information about specific occupations.


Chris Hadfield discusses life skills.

Some quizzes to practice conditionals

quiz 1 (mixed conditionals)

quiz 2 (this looks at different kinds of conditionals)

quiz 3 (more mixed conditionals - see the link at the top of the page for a tutorial)

Homonyms quiz