Where is Canberra? In which country can you find Lake Victoria? This is a very interesting game to test how much you know about where different cities and places are located in the world. Click here and play the game! Precision, as well as speed, is very important and as you get the answers right, you are moved to a more advanced level (there are 12 altogether). Challenge your friends and see who's the expert - good luck! You stop at the traffic lights, look at the man in the car next to yours and... could it really be true? Prince Charles driving a van? Julia Roberts at the grocery store? And how about John Lennon at the gas station? Oh, wait... wasn't he dead?
Relax, they are just look-alikes, people who look a lot like some very famous people. In fact, some can be considered the spitting images of the 'original'. Would you like to try a game? Look at the slideshow in this post. Who do the people look like? Do they look different - perhaps they look older or fatter? Then click on 'comments' to check your answers.
Here are a few other activities to revise the use of 'look' and 'look like'. First, a simple grammar activity, followed by a quiz - are they the real celebrities or just their look-alikes? You can also try this listening activity - six people talk about whether they are shy or just look shy... And how about trying a slide quiz using Hollywood celebrities?
Many celebrities have embraced the cause and lent their voices and faces to help raise public awareness to environmental problems. Click here to watch an interesting video narrated by Leonardo di Caprio.
To learn more about Earth Day 2008, visit the official website.
Here are some grammar activities to give you further practice in the use of for and since. First, click here to decide whether you should use 'for' or 'since' with the time expressions. Then put the words in the right order to form sentences. Finally, read these questions and write the answers on your notebook. Then click on the boxes to see the correct answer. If you need help, check the explanations on this BBC website. 
Americans will choose a new president this year. Test your vocabulary connected with elections trying this BBC quiz!
Check also:
U.S. elections: how Americans vote
It's impossible to talk about any civil rights movement without mentioning his name. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a Baptist minister from Atlanta, Georgia, became one of the most important symbols of the fight to end racial discrimination in the U.S. in the 1950s and 1960s and became the youngest person ever to be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize. His words and his ideas are still as alive today as they were 40 years ago, when he was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.And here is part of his inspiring "I have a dream" speech. After reading and listening, complete these two extracts using the right words (you may also want to keep the listening window open and do it as a dictation!).
To watch the video of Dr. King's speech, click here.
See also:
A UFO landing in London. The unknown island of San Serriffe. Instant colour TV. These are just some of the most memorable April Fool's Day pranks you can find at the Museum of Hoaxes. And what if we could find spaghetti trees? (watch the video here)
To celebrate April Fool's Day in style, try this wordsearch! You can also answer this quiz published by the Guardian, and learn more about this funny date in this listening passage. If you want to read the script while you listen, click here. Have fun!!!
It's Easter time and here are a few activities to have fun and practise your vocabulary!
Irish people and Irish descendants everywhere celebrate St. Patrick's Day on March 17th. It's a happy, noisy celebration with street parades, Guinness beer, parties and the best traditional Irish music!
How much do you know about the date? You can learn a lot about it and about Irish traditions clicking here. Then try this matching activity and revise some words connected with the Irish culture.
But who was St. Patrick? How do people celebrate the date today? Watch this History Channel video and find out. Then check how much you remember about what you have seen and read doing this fun quiz!
What do you call a person who only thinks about him/herself? What about someone you can rely on? Revise some common adjectives describing character trying this BBC quiz (intermediate) or this multiple-choice activity (advanced level). Then try and match some of those characteristics with the 12 star signs of the zodiac! Do you fit the description?
Some English words are easily confused. This may happen because they are homophones (they sound the same but have different spelling and meaning), or maybe because they sound or look like a word in our own language - they are 'false friends'. Here are different activities to help you revise and practise some of these words. First, a short quiz to match similar words to their meanings. You can then try and select which verb completes each sentence correctly clicking here.
If you are at basic or pre-intermediate level, here's a crossword puzzle using opposite verbs. And for intermediate students, why not try this quiz with easily confused verbs?
Finally, a more advanced BBC quiz in which you have to choose which word best completes each sentence. Careful, their meanings are quite similar! Have fun!
Looking for more practice? Try these links!
Opposites: different activities
Song: Opposites Attract (Paula Abdul)
- He went to bed early because he was tired.
- He was tired so he went to bed early.
Revise the use of because and so - and other words that express cause and result - trying these activities, one at pre-intermediate and the other at intermediate level.
Forget weather forecasters: on February 2nd it is Phil, the groundhog from Punxsutawney who will tell you how long winter will last this year. Thousands of people visit the little town in Pennsylvania (U.S.) every year for this traditional celebration, which can also be seen in the Hollywood movie Groundhog Day. Learn more about this year's event visiting the official website and reading this short text followed by some comprehension questions. Then test what you remember taking a short quiz!
Feb 2 update: Phil saw his shadow this morning and that means there will be 6 more weeks of winter! Read more about it here.
Like any other language, everyday English is full of colloquial expressions and slang. Coursebooks don't always introduce them to students, but movies and songs can be a great source of this kind of vocabulary. Here is an interesting quiz to try: look at the pictures illustrating different expressions, read the sentences and choose the correct meaning. There are several levels to try! 
Do you and your family have any Christmas traditions? Do you decorate the house, exchange presents, sing carols? What do you know about how different cultures celebrate this date? Here is a website that lists Christmas traditions in various countries. You can also listen to Anya and her friend talking about decorating Christamas trees in their countries. Try the activity and then listen to the passage again clicking on 'text view: on' to listen and read at the same time. And how about trying a quiz about Christmas traditions?
See also:
Christmas: vocabulary activities
In 1988, the UN and the World Health Organization established December 1st as World Aids Day. Since then, a series of events are organised on this day to raise people's awareness to the problem and invite society as a whole to participate actively in the discussions for solutions. Here is a three-level quiz to check how much we know about Aids. The theme this year is Leadership and here is one of the ads created for the campaign. What kind of leaders are they looking for?
See also:
Brazil and AIDS
Here's a nice quick activity to revise irregular past forms in English. Read each question and answer writing the correct past form of each verb. If the answer is correct, it will appear in the sentence. If it is wrong, the box will turn red and you can try again. If you need help, you can click on the HINT button (but they won't give you the answer!) or check the list of irregular verbs. Have fun!
One of the most popular holidays in the U.S. is Thanksgiving. It began when the first pilgrims, who left Europe and arrived in America in 1620, held a celebration to give thanks for their harvest after a very cold and difficult winter. It is now celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November and it's the time when American families get together to enjoy a traditional dinner.
Even native speakers occasionally have problems with their own language... Look at the sentences in this quiz and choose the correct option for each one. Careful, some of them are tricky! :-)
It's Halloween time and here are some fun activities to learn and practise some spooky vocabulary! First, take a look at this vocabulary list with pictures of some common traditional Halloween elements (and there is also a memory game to play). Click here to check the pronunciation of some of them (click on 'review' and then on each picture to activate the sound); there is also a fun listening game to play!
Then try this easy wordsearch: how many halloween words can you find in the grid? If you want to test your vocabulary knowledge, here are two interesting activities: a quiz and a matching activity.
Happy Halloween!
