In Contact! Episode 27: Literature

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Welcome to a new episode of In Contact! On this occasion we'll talk about literature. There must be at least one book that you really enjoyed reading (in childhood, in school or recently) and that made you dream of fantastic worlds and realities or that made you think of our current world. Novels, poetry, short stories, chronicles, plays... There are so many different options for all of us to enjoy and enrich our mind and spirit by means of the written word! By the way, there are many wonderful pieces of literature that can help you improve your English level and, in addition, help you learn about different times, cultures and ways to see the world and life. 

In this episode we'll share with you some important information about narrative tenses, which you may find useful when telling or understanding a story. We'll recommend you some interesting but simple books that you may enjoy reading to improve your vocabulary and reading comprehension in English. Our Top 5 will introduce you to songs inspired in classic literary stories, and of course we'll share with you some idioms related to books that you may enjoy fun and handy. In general, in this programme you'll find useful advice on how to make the most of reading in order to improve your language level and also to enjoy your time!

How about you? Would you like to tell us more about your favourite books and the experiences you've had with any book? Send us a message and tell us more about you:

• Have you got any favourite book that you would like to recommend other people? What's so special about this book?
• Do you have any literary genre that you prefer? Which one is it?
• How many books do you read in a year, and how enjoyable do you find this activity?
• Do you like reading a book before or after seeing a film based on it, and why? Do you remember any positive or negative example of this situation?

 WANT THE TRANSCRIPT? Click here! 

And here's a recommended video for you in case you're thinking of reading a book in English. Have a great time!

In Contact! Episode 26: Sports

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It's time to start the ball rolling and challenge your ability and strength! This episode of In Contact! will be full of adrenaline and stamina because it will be dedicated to sports! Don't worry, even if you don't practise any sport, for sure you can't help feeling great admiration for those athletes who are really good at what they do and enjoying their performances. Anyway, remember that it's never too late to start doing any physical activity that helps you strengthen your body and mind and, of course, help you make the most of very enriching social interaction.

What's coming in the next minutes of In Contact!? We'll learn different ways to talk about abilities (yes, there are more options apart from verb can!) and some idioms related to sports that you may find useful in everyday conversations. We'll take a trip down Memory Lane to remember some of the best athletes of all times, and we'll also travel through time with some spectacular songs that will remind us of the sports spirit and victory. You'll hear the presenters of In Contact! exercising their brain and vocabulary with the Word Tango and, to end with a high note, we'll challenge two of our English teachers to find out how much they know about sports. Certainly this will be a very fun and inspiring episode!

We'd love to hear what you have to say about this topic and about the episode. Please do not forget to post your comment below! Here, some questions you may think of to share your answers with us: 

• Do you practise any sport? How often do you do it, and how did your passion for it started?
• In general, how much do you know about sports and their rules?
• If you don't do any sport but you had the chance to start practising one, which one would you go for and why?
• Is there any athlete you really admire of who you consider has left an important legacy in history?

 WANT THE TRANSCRIPT? Click here! 

In Contact! Episode 25: Transport

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By land, by air or by water, today there are many different ways to move from one place to another, and day after day they're more powerful and faster than they used to be before. Today we'll talk about transport, and for that we will consider the advantages and disadvantages of some of the most common methods around the world.
Get ready for a grammar dose in which we'll tell you when to use articles a, an, the or when to omit them. Our programme will also be loaded with useful expressions to talk about transportation, including our typical idioms, and we'll have some information about the benefits of alternative and active transportation means. Don't miss our Top 5 with songs about methods of transportation and our interviews to people in university to know what their favourite means of transport is. All this and much more coming in this episode!

You are the main reason for this show to be, therefore all your comments and contributions are always welcome. Can you answer a few questions regarding the topic of our episode? Don't forget to post them in the box below!

• What methods of transportation do you usually use? What are some advantages and disadvantages of these?
• What is transport in your city like, and how would you change it to make it better?
• What is more important to you when having a vehicle: comfort, speed, costs or convenience? Please explain your answer.
• If you could invento or propose another method or system of transport in your city, which one could it be?

 WANT THE TRANSCRIPT? Click here! 

In Contact! Episode 24: Law and Order

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Laws are created to keep a society in order. However, laws are always broken, and therefore there's always the need of justice to be done - the thing is, justice is practised in different ways all around the world, even though there are some principles and values we all believe in. Today we'll discuss the importance of laws, justice and order, and we'll also consider some laws that are considered controversial and even bizarre. 

To talk about law and order, we'll give you some vocabulary you can use to talk about crimes and sorts of punishments, and we'll have some information about some controversial laws and the way they are practised in different places of the world; we'll share with you some nice expressions you can use in everyday conversations when discussing justice and laws, and you'll get to know 5 songs related to real events involving crime; you'll have very useful recommendations to learn English through the news, and we'll come with a very witty challenge for people in university to see how much they know about some strange laws around the world.

Now it's your time to have your say! Please leave a comment telling us your opinion about this episode and answering some of the following questions:

• What's the most serious crime a person can commit in your opinion, and how do you think it should be punished?
• Do you think that there are certain minor crimes that should not be punished, and which ones are these?
• Is the justice system effective in your country? How can you describe it?
• What's your opinion about laws regarding capital punishment, abortion, euthanasia and some other controversial topics?

 WANT THE TRANSCRIPT? Click here! 

In Contact! Episode 23: Growing Up

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You may remember when you were a kid and wanted to become bigger to make your dreams come true. Now that you are an adult, maybe you want to stay younger for ever or, why not, turn the time back to be younger and live the good old times again. Being a child, a teenage, an adult or an elderly always comes with their pains and their glory. That's why in this episode we'll discuss growing up and growing older.

Do you think being an adult is better than being a child? To say you agree or disagree with this idea, we'll help you with some common forms used in conversational English to express so. We'll also go on a journey through the stages of life and explore some of the things they come with. Our idioms for this episode will remind us of the good and bad things of growing up with some hilarious expressions. Talking about our Top 5, do you think our invited artists are happy or unhappy about growing older? We'll also listen to people talking about life stages and some advice to use English correctly when talking about age. All this and more will be coming in this nostalgic episode!

No matter how old you are, for sure you can contribute with your answers to these questions as you listen to the show:

• What are the dearest memories of your childhood?
• Was your teenage a difficult time of your life? What do you remember most of it?
• How do you feel about your adult life? Is it what you expected from it?
• How do you see yourself in 30 years?
• What piece of advice would you give to younger people?

 WANT THE TRANSCRIPT? Click here! 

In Contact! Episode 22: Regrets

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One feeling everyone has had at least once in their lives is regret. Yes, we know, it can be an awful feeling. And even though some people feel it more often than others, there are many situations in life in which we may repent the choices we've made and want things to be different. But don't worry, even mistakes or unfortunate situations can help us learn and improve!

In this episode of In Contact! we'll have some valuable information to help you express yourself when you're sorry: in fact, our grammar dose will give you some useful expressions you may consider using to express your regrets, and the idiom dose will come loaded with conversational expressions about the topic. We'll be in contact with the world and with some information about some of the greatest regrets in modern history, as well as some recommended songs related to this feeling. We've also invited two people from our university to tell us about their regrets and about the things they'd never feel sorry about.

Now, as you listen to the show, we'd like you to answer some of these questions (don't forget to post your answers!):

• If you could turn back the time, what event would you change in your life and why?
• Would you study something different or go for a different occupation if you had the chance? If so, what decision would you make?
• What's the biggest regret you have now? How did that decision change your life?
• Is there anything in your life you don't feel sorry about, even though other people may think it is wrong?

We're sure you'll like this episode and you'll feel no sorrow for listening to it. Have a wonderful time, and don't forget to be in contact!

 WANT THE TRANSCRIPT? Click here! 

In Contact! Episode 21: Australia

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What comes to your mind every time you hear 'Australia'? Maybe you may know little or nothing about this wonderful country, or maybe things like kangaroos, koalas, wildlife and stunning beaches come to your mind. There are so many things to learn about this amazing place, so today we'll dedicate this episode to the lucky country, Australia.

And in order to make you more familiar to this wondeful island in Oceania, we'll share with you some information about the culture and people of this country, the particularities the Ozzie (Australian) accent has and some expressions that are widely used in conversational situations. Also, we'll listen to music of famous singers and bands which maybe you didn't know come from Australia. Of course we won't miss this chance to test people's knowledge about the Never Never and the dexterity of our two presenters of In Contact! to talk as much as they can about Australia without hesitation, deviation or repetition. You'll definitely love this episode!

Before you start listening and as you listen to the episode, Please answer the following questions:

• What do you know about Australia (location, capital city, culture, etc)?
• What makes Strine (Australian English) so special and different from other types of English? Do you find it easy or difficult?
• What animals species from Australia are well know (here we'll see if you're an Anital Planet fan!)?
• Would you be interested in travelling to this beautiful country? And what do you find most appealling of it?

 WANT THE TRANSCRIPT? Click here! 

In Contact! We've just reached 20 episodes!

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Time flies when you're having such a great time! Amazingly we're broadcasting episode 20 in what has been a journey packed with lots of fun, haaaard work and, over all, lots of learning! We take this opportunity to thank everyone who has made it possible with their participation, contribution and encouragement. That, of course, including people from the Languages Department who have kindly helped with the making of some of our sections, students who have accepted the challenge of speaking up in English (you are the main reason for all this!) and the amazing production team who has been always supportive and patient (you really rock, guys!).

In case you missed any episode or want to listen to them again, here you have a list of episodes 11 to 20 (for a list of episodes 1 to 10, click here):

• 📻 Episode 11 - Work
• 📻 Episode 12 - History
• 📻 Episode 13 - Films
• 📻 Episode 14 - Food
• 📻 Episode 15 - Family
• 📻 Episode 16 - Sleep
• 📻 Episode 17 - England
• 📻 Episode 18 - The Network
• 📻 Episode 19 - Numbers
• 📻 Episode 20 - Cities

⚠️ IMPORTANT! If you are interested in downloading any episode or just a single section, please contact us and we'll be delighted to send you the file you request. Also, if you want to contribute with a post on our blog to recommend any learning strategies or resources, we'd be very happy to have your invaluable contribution! If you want to play a part in the show in any form, please contact us here.

Finally, don't forget to say hello in our comment section, even if you are from Colombia or from somewhere else! 😄 It's always a great pleasure to share with learners like us and get constructive feedback that help us improve the work we're doing. 

Thanks for being in contact! Get ready for more new episodes!

In Contact! Episode 20: Cities

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Get ready to have a tour around some of the most important cities of the world! Let's have a journey to get to know some interesting and curious facts of some of the international capital cities and some other important cities everybody should visit. If you ,ove travelling, if you've ever been abroad of if you dream of visiting any international destination, this programme will absolutely be of your interest!

In the first part of this episode we'll learn how to transform some nouns into adjectives by adding suffixes (which will certainly help you enrich your vocabulary); well share with you some interesting facts of some of the most visited cities around the world, as well as the recommendation of some landmarks; our idiom dose of the episode will be packed with expressions related to cities, as well as the songs recommended for this week; we'll have lots of fun with our city word tango; and in the end of our show we'll check how much people at Los Libertadores University know about some international cities.

And before you pack your luggage, don't forget to leave your comments for this post! Can you answer some of these questions?

• What international city would you like to visit, and why? What do you expect to find in this place?
• What destination would you recommend other people who visit your country, and why?
• Do you prefer to live in big or small cities, and why?
• What positive and negative aspects do you find in the city / village where you currently live?

 WANT THE TRANSCRIPT? Click here! 

In Contact! Episode 19: Numbers

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Numbers are everywhere! Time, money, space, quantity, happiness and satisfaction... There are so many things that, in one way or another, are quantified with numbers or can simply be quantified or work with them. In this episode of In Contact! we'll discuss the way numbers are present almost everywhere and the power they can have in our lives.

Of course, we cannot talk about numbers without getting familiar with some basic math expression you will need for basic calculations; we'll also learn a few idioms related to the world of numbers and mathematics, and we'll discuss the incidence numbers have in our lives; our Top 5 will be a countdown of songs with numbers in their titles (for sure you will know many other songs!), and we'll test your brain with a very wild math challenge; Just a Minute will be back with numbers, as well as our Smart Learning recommendations.

Now it's time for you to have your say about this topic!

• Have you got any favourite number? What does it mean to you?
• Do you believe in the power of numbers in your life?
• Are you good at doing maths? How good are you at doing simple and complex calculations?
• How important are numbers and mathematics in your career/occupation/life?

 WANT THE TRANSCRIPT? Click here! 

In Contact! Episode 18: The Network

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Could you imagine your life without the internet? How would you imagine communications, access to information and entertainment without this great invention? How different life would be from what it is nowadays! In this episode of In Contact! we'll talk about the way the network has influenced our lifestyle for both good and for bad.

Get ready to learn some information about the beginnings and the evolution the internet has had; also, you'll learn in this episode the use of tag questions to use them in everyday situation, as well as the meaning of some internet slang; our Top 5 will be loaded with songs that talk about the impact of social networks in our society; and we'll have some useful recommendation on how to use the internet to learn English better. We'll end our episode getting to know what the habits of people in our university to use the internet are.

We truly hope you enjoy this episode and keep connected. As you listen to this episode, can you answer these questions and post your answers?

• How often do you use the internet, and what do you use it for?
• Do you consider yourself an internet addict? Why or why not?
• What do you think some of the dangers of the internet are, and how can you prevent them?
• How do you imagine these modern days without the internet?

 WANT THE TRANSCRIPT? Click here! 

In Contact! Episode 16: Sleep

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Undeniably one of the best moments of the day is the one of sleep. And even though we often take it for granted because of routine, this is one of the most important parts of the day since vital processes occur in our body when we rest and sleep. Who doesn't love having a good time of sleep to relax from a tiring day of work or study, and who doesn't feel fine after a night of quality sleep? *Deep sigh*

Let's learn some things about the process of sleep and what the sleeping habits of people are. First, we'll do some magic to transform some adjectives to their opposites by adding prefixes that change their meanings; after that, we'll share with you some idioms that are often used to refer to tiredness; we will have very useful information about the importance of sleep and some recommendations to improve the way you do this vital activity; we'll share with you five songs that refer to sleep (the name of one of the recommended bands has to do a lot with that!); and we'll ask people in university what their sleeping habits are (we'll meet a night owl and an early bird). We promise you that you won't fall asleep with this episode!

Now it's time for you to have your say! After you listen to this episode, please share your experiences and opinions in the comment section below:

• Are you a night bird or a night owl? What time do you usually go to bed and get up?
• How many hours do you sleep a day? Do you feel it's enough for you?
• When you have trouble to sleep, what do you do to kill some time before you fall asleep again?
• What's the most memorable dream (or nightmare) you've ever had? Do you think they have any meaning?

Have a wonderful rest of day! And sweet dreams to all of you!

 WANT THE TRANSCRIPT? Click here! 

In Contact! Episode 15: Family

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A common saying in English says that "family is where love begins and where it never ends." In this episode of In Contact! we'll discuss some information about this important part of our life, these group of people who will always love us whatever the situation is and who will always support us unconditionally. Welcome to this programme about family!

We'll first have a review on conditional cases so that you can talk about family relations; we'll also give you a dose of expression often used to refer to family ties; and if you have any siblings, you'll find some interesting information about the way family order shapes your personality; we'll enjoy 5 new and classic songs which mention family members; we'll learn some information about the way some families in our university community are structured; and finally, you'll have some tips for learning English better at home and for avoiding a common mistake English learners commit, which is using double negatives.

We'd be so delighted to know more about you and your family! As you listen to the show, please answer the following questions and post your ideas on the comment section below:

• How many people are in your family?
• Are you the oldest, the middle or the youngest child? What advantages and disadvantages do you find in that position?
• Do you prefer big or small families? Why?
• Do you plan to get married? And do you project yourself having children? If so, how many would you like to have?

 WANT THE TRANSCRIPT? Click here! 

In Contact! Episode 14: Food

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We'll dedicate this episode to one of the greatest pleasures one can have (and, of course, it's something that we need every day to keep alive): food. It's a fact that variety is the spice of life, and of course there are tastes for everyone to enjoy. We'll see how important food is for people, as well as their eating habits.

What's coming in this half an hour? We'll have a look on some adverbs of frequency to discuss eating habits, and we'll also share with you some idioms related to food which you'll find amusing. We'll keep in contact with the world to know some peculiar dishes that would seem bizarre or even disgusting to other cultures. We'll have some fun with the food word tango to see how many foods we can list without repeating or stumbling, and we'll enjoy five different songs that will remind us of the pleasure of eating. Last but not least in our menu, we'll get to know information from our university community telling us about their food preferences and eating habits. Yum yum...

What are your thoughts on this topic? Have your say and post your comments below!

• What's your favourite food, and how often do you eat it? How about the food you dislike most?
• What's the most important meal for you: lunch, breakfast or dinner? And why?
• Do you prefer to cook or to eat out? Why?
• How often do you eat out, and what place do you recommend to eat out?

 WANT THE TRANSCRIPT? Click here! 

In Contact! Episode 13: Films

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Who has never enjoyed of a good film? Certainly most of us have at least one film that we find truly memorable and which we would recommend others to watch. Let's have some fun talking about the wonderful world of movies. Drama, comedy, action, science fiction, horror... Definitely there are so many options for everyone to enjoy!

To talk about this wonderful topic, we'll share with you some vocabulary you may find handy when discussing films; facts lovers will also enjoy some curious information about  the film industry and our movie trivia! And what about some memorable soundtracks of some of the most watched classic films? We'll also give you some recommendations on how to make the most of watching films in English to enhance your learning experience, as well as some information about the difference between interesting and interested, boring and bored and amused and amusing.

That's all from us! How about you? Would you like to share your thoughts by answering some of the following questions? Don't forget to post your answers!

• Which film genre do you enjoy most and why? Is there any particular film in that genre you would recommend?
• Do you have any favourite actor or actress? What is your favourite film starred by this actor?
• Do you prefer going to the cinema to watch a film, or do you prefer to watch it at home?
• Can you think of the three best films you've ever watched? Why did you like them so much? And how about the three worst films you've ever seen?
• If someone made a film about your life, who would you like to star it, and what would it be called?

 WANT THE TRANSCRIPT? Click here! 

In Contact! Episode 12: History

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History is a subject we all should be interested in, since it lets us understand not only the situation in our nation but also what's happening around the world. Being analytical and critical about the past should help us be more aware of the present, as well as move us to make a difference for the future. If you ever find history boring, be sure there are many ways to make it easier and funnier to learn!

In this episode we'll discuss some important world events from history: for that, we'll check the pronunciation of regular past verbs and we'll learn some historical curious facts that teachers might not have taught you in school; we'll share with you some idioms you may use when talking about the past, and you'll enjoy our five recommended songs that were inspired by historical events that have changed our world; of course, we'll also test how much people in our university know about some remarkable history facts. 

For sure you'll find this episode very informative! As you listen, can you think of your answers to these questions?

• Do you find history interesting? Why / Why not?
• How much do you know about history? Do you keep on learning about history today?
• How important is it to know history in your field of knowledge / career / occupation?
• What do you think is the most important event in history, and why?
• If you could change one moment in history, which one would it be and why?

Don't forget to share your answers on the comment section below this post! We'd be happy to hear from you!

 WANT THE TRANSCRIPT? Click here! 

In Contact! Episode 11: Work

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For many of us, work is a part of our daily grind (or daily routine); also, many of us are also studying and getting prepared for that activity we've projected to do for life. In this programme we'll discuss some facts of the world of work.
About the subject of this episode, we'll give you some useful and interesting expressions you can use to describe your job or to talk about work in general, as well as some idioms to refer to your daily chores. We'll give you a few tips that you may find very useful for prepare for a job interview, and in our Top 5 we'll have some cool songs related to the topic. We'll have some fun with the Job Word Tango listing as many occupations as we can remember, and we'll ask people in our university what they consider are the best and the worst jobs. Make sure you don't miss our Smart Learning advice about pronunciation and our explanation for the difference between the words work and job. Wow, yeap, an episode loaded with lots of useful information. We truly hope you enjoy this programme!

Once you listen to this episode, we'd love to have your answer to these questions in our comments section:

• What are some typical expressions used to refer to work?
• Are you happy with your job? Why, and why not?
• What do you think are the best and the worst jobs a person can have, and why?
• If you could do any job different from the one you have now, which one would you go for and why?

 WANT THE TRANSCRIPT? Click here!