Učení není nalévání kyblíků, ale rozžehnutí ohně.
Tuto stránku jsme přenechali v edici celé Richardovi. Neboť on je ten, kdo je naše bezkonkurenční zásoba inspirace. Hledáte-li tedy nějakou knížku, film, podněty – pro děti či dospělé, popř. materiál k učení, tady si skutečně něco vyberete.
Links to inspire your love of English
Where to start? We are often asked to recommend material for different age groups to begin their journey to loving English. Here are a few suggestions. We are always searching for original ideas and new formats. There is so much out there, so if you find something useful, inspiring, engaging or funny then please share it with us all.
Early picture books for pre-school children
Dear Zoo
by Rod Campbell
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
by Eric Carle
Goodnight Gorilla
by Peggy Rathmann
Elmer the Patchwork Elephant series
by David McKee
Modern British classics for children
The Gruffalo
by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
The Scarecrow’s Wedding
by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
The Tiger Who Came to Tea
by Judith Kerr
The Mog series
by Judith Kerr
The Paddington series
by Michael Bond
The Tales of Peter Rabbit
by Beatrix Potterová
Here We Are
by Oliver Jeffers
Lost and Found
by Oliver Jeffers
English YouTube channels for children
- Peppa Pig https://www.youtube.com/user/theofficialpeppa
- Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom https://www.youtube.com/user/theofficialbenholly
- Topsy and Tim https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUuvAG6fSy0
- Bob the Builder https://www.youtube.com/user/bobthebuilderchannel
- Fireman Sam https://www.youtube.com/user/firemansamchannel/channels
- The Octonauts https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXLLQkbYE-G9jYrra7R4Qsw
- Angelina Ballerina https://www.youtube.com/user/AngelinaBallerina
- Wow English TV https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx1xhxQyzR4TT6PmXO0khbQ
- LEGO Friends https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApYRbht5JN0
- LEGO Ninjago https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgl9pAXXMcw
Books for adults
If you are approaching English as a beginner, try the parallel books which offer texts in English and Czech on alternate pages. Moving on, begin with short stories and novellas before tackling the larger works.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie remain popular, though, of course, the best- selling contemporary author in Britain is J. K. Rowling. Simon Mawer has written a fictional work based on The Villa Tugendhat in The Glass Room and his latest novel is a romance called Prague Spring. Fans of the series Game of Thrones might enjoy George RR Martin’s Fire and Ice series beginning with the first novel, Game of Thrones. Philip Pullman is a celebrated author writing in the fantasy/philosophy field and his series, His Dark Materials is extremely popular across all age ranges.
For Crime fans; try Jo Nesbo or Stieg Larsson in English. Famous British crime writers include Stuart MacBride, Mark Billingham, Ian Rankin, Peter James and Peter Robinson.
JoJo Moyes is hugely popular in Britain and the Czech Republic with fans of Romantic fiction. You might also like Rowan Coleman’s work, especially as she is an ex-student of mine! Try her recent novel, The Summer of Impossible Things – a best seller in Britain, America and Germany.
You might also want to try Czech authors translated into English. If you are familiar with the writing in Czech, try the next level of challenge by reading Milan Kundera or Ota Pavel in English!
Films/Serials for adults
Try original English language films and programmes with Czech titles to start with. Then move on to using English titles to aid your understanding of English vocabulary. Remember, Active Learning run monthly English film clubs in Hulin – or ‘Hulinwood‘, as we like to call it! Check our diary for dates.
Recent popular screenings included; It’s a Wonderful Life, The Greatest Showman, Paddington 2 and Bohemian Rhapsody.
If you like to download serials, then Uloz.to has a wide range of work to choose from, often with English subtitles. Recent BBC productions which are of a good quality, include; Killing Eve, MrsWilson, Les Miserables and Fleabag (contains explicit language).
If you have access to a streaming service, then NETFLIX or HBO GO offer original programmes featuring English with subtitles.
News channels
- Try listening to the BBC World Service news or visit the BBC News site. http://www.bbc.com/news
- The Guardian UK is a quality British newspaper with challenging articles. https://www.theguardian.com/international
- The Guardian UK also produces its own podcast Monday to Friday, called Today in Focus. It can be found on the web page for the newspaper. https://www.theguardian.com/news/series/todayinfocus
- The New York Times offers a balanced view of news from America and around the world. It also has its own podcast called The Daily. https://www.nytimes.com,https://www.nytimes.com/column/the-daily
Podcasts
There are podcasts to suit all tastes. Try Soundcloud or the Apple store for a wide selection to improve your listening skills.
A few personal favourites:
- Love and radio http://loveandradio.org/ Stories from life
- Welcome to Night Vale http://www.welcometonightvale.com/ Sci-Fi comedy!
- Backlisted https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/backlisted-podcast/id1063252175?mt=2 Talking about forgotten books and authors
- You must remember this https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/you-must-remember-this/id858124601?mt=2 Stories and scandal from 20th century Hollywood
- Serial https://serialpodcast.org/ The best of American reportage
- The Blizzard http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-blizzard-podcast Football’s strangest stories from around the world
BBC resources
As a trusted broadcaster, the BBC also offers help for those, like you, who want to learn and use English more effectively.
There are a number of different platforms used by the BBC to allow you to access material in whichever form suits you best.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/
A good place to improve your listening skills is with Six Minute English, a weekly podcast on a topical subject which has the added benfit of a transcript you can follow.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english
BBC Learning English team also have their own YouTube channel for video resources.
https://www.youtube.com/user/bbclearningenglish
BBC Learning English is also on Instagram and Twitter via the Search function on both applications.
British Council
Dedicated to promoting all things British, the British Council’s Learn English site offers a wide range of resources and alternative forms of English language material for all ages.
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/
For Business English users….
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/business-english
For young students….
http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/
For teenagers……
http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/
I hope that helps. Have fun!
Richard.