February 20, 2009
Reuters Newswires is another old media trying to transform itself in digital age; so far, the digital side of Reuters has been growing. That’s good news for English learners.
Competing with The Associated Press, Reuters deploys over 2,000 reporters in nearly 200 countries. It used to be all about breaking news at lighting speed. Now Reuters does more features and analysis, too.
Reuters puts out at least a dozen of video reports daily at its website. Each is usually less than three minutes long–a perfect “snack meal” of English contents. Take as many and as frequent as you can.
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February 13, 2009
Don’t know how to detect a lie, improve your memory, or even kiss creatively? No need to sweat. Meet Howcast.
It has endless videos giving tips on almost any topics that you can think of. Each video is short (usually less than three-minute long), with a simple and easy-to-follow format, and really funny. All the videos are available at Howcast’s website, and many of them are also featured in the popular video site like YouTube.
Learn some new tricks, have a few good laughs, and improve your English skill. What more can you ask from Howcast?
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February 6, 2009
Smithsonian Channel draws its programming contents mainly from Smithsonian Institution, which consists of 19 museums (including the top 3 most visited museums in the world), the National Zoo, and 9 research centers.
That’s a tremendous resource to tap into. The Channel runs features and series in subjects including pop culture, history and mystery, science, and natural wonders. Many of its videos are available in its website.
The mandate of Smithsonian Institution is “the increase and diffusion of knowledge.” Be the receiving end of the mandate, while improving your English proficiency.
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January 31, 2009
Academic Earth offers thousands of video lectures from the world’s top scholars in the six leading American universities: Harvard, MIT, Yale, Princeton, UC Berkeley and Standford, covering 17 subjects in liberal arts, engineering, business, law, and even religion.
Here are the samples of a few top-rated courses and lectures: Introduction to Psychology, Financial Markets, Loving What You Do, The American Novel Since 1945.
Don’t get too frustrated if you were struggling with the course. It might have little to do with the level of your English proficiency; it’s just that the subject itself is tough for even the brightest students in the Ivy League schools.
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January 24, 2009
Eat Smart. Be Fit. Live Well. That’s the Cooking Light magazine’s motto.
The magazine has over 130 video clips in its website to show you just how. They include cooking recipes, bedroom designs, and body workouts. You will learn a lot of useful English words in the categories of food, seasoning, cooking ware, and interior design. That would be your necessary daily survival skill when you live in an English-speaking country.
Even if you decide to eat dumb, be fat, and not live well anyway, you will still end up a winner.
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January 16, 2009
Trans World Airlines (TWA ) launched the Travel Channel over 20 years ago. It thought to excite its audiences with the exotic places in the world, hoping to generate their interests in traveling more and flying with TWA.
TWA got everything right except the business part. It filed bankruptcy in 1992 and the Travel Channel has changed its owner several times. But people have been traveling more, and the Channel has visited many fascinating places.
The Travel Channel has another unexpected benefit. Its programming can be great learning material for English learners. Many of the videos are available at its website or its YouTube channel.
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January 9, 2009
Many study English because you want to come to the U.S. for the college or graduate education. And when you come, some are nervous about whether you will survive in all English-speaking lectures and seminars.
Thanks to the University of California Television (UCTV), you can have a taste of what’s like through Internet. UCTV broadcasts lectures in science, health and medicine, public affairs, humanities, and the arts from the campuses of the University of California system, one of the best in the nation.
You can watch the videos either at the UCTV’s website or its channel at YouTube.
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January 2, 2009
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December 25, 2008
We wish all of the Kantalk users Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
In the coming year, we hope you’ll make more new friends in the Kantalk community and bring your language skills to the next level.
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December 19, 2008
Mark Twin used to quip that everyone talks about weather but nobody does anything about it. Learning to talk about weather is what every English learner should do something about.
The best place to start is The Weather Channel. It talks about weather all day long and has the videos available in its website. You may feel sorry for those reporters in the fields, who usually had to shout to the camera in the middle of a hurricane or snow storm. They are quick to the points, though.
Besides learning all the weather-related terms, you’ll also get to know a lot about the geography of the U.S. That’s the bonus.
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