NB 2 Topic 12 Home or Away

No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow. (Lin Yutang)

Reading	Accommodation
Listening	Holiday accommodation
Grammar	Present perfect
Speaking	Travelling

Book 4 2021 The Good Liar

Roy ventures out for a stroll, to get out of the house. Betty has commenced her fussy cleaning routine. The racket of the vacuum cleaner and the disruption of his having to move his feet while trying to sit in peace with the newspaper are usually enough to stir him.

Revenge is definitely a dish best served cold. I recommend The Good Liar by Nicholas Searle for this month's reading. Good luck with the hidden identities when identifying the characters. Here is the worksheet. 

NI B2 2 Topic 11 Spending & Ruling

The genius of our ruling class is that it has kept a majority of the people from ever questioning the inequity of a system where most people drudge along, paying heavy taxes for which they get nothing in return. (Gore Vidal)

Reading	Politics
Listening	Politics
Vocabulary	Numbers
Speaking	Fair trade

NI B2 1 Topic 11 Money & Politics

Show me a man that gets rich by being a politician, and I'll show you a crook. (Harry Truman)

Reading	Politics UK
Listening	Activist Wangari Maathal
Vocabulary	Numbers
Speaking	Being a good communicator

NI B1 Topic 11 Money & Shopping

All I ask is the chance to prove that money can't make me happy. (Spike Milligan)

Reading	Shopping
Listening	Shopping cenre visit
Grammar	have something done
Speaking	Money (monologue)

NB2 Topic 11 Shopping

Anyone who believes the competitive spirit in America is dead has never been in a supermarket when the cashier opens another checkout line. (Ann Landers)

Reading	New shopping mall
Listening	Shopping
Grammar	Comprative & superlative
Speaking	Shopping (monologue)

Book 3 2021 I wish you happy

My parents never come to visit. I fly home every year for Christmas, but in the nine years I've lived here they've never once talked about coming to see me. (Kerry Anne King)

I recommend I Wish you Happy by Kerry Anne King for our next book in April. I hope you enjoy it. Here is the worksheet.

NI B2 2 Topic 10 Offending and Defending

Court room trial: manipulation of the facts by two high-priced salesmen, each attempting to sell his own version of the truth. (Unknown)

Reading	3 English robberies
Vocabulary	Crime and the law
Writing	Preventing crime
Speaking	Dialogue: community watch

NI B2 1 Topic 10 News & Views

Citizens in a democracy need diverse sources of news and information. (Bernie Sanders) 

Reading	A Mystery
Listening	Mary Celeste
Grammar	Modals Deduction Past
Speaking	Keeping Informed

NI B1 Topic 10 The News

Bad news isn't wine. It doesn't improve with age. (Colin Powell)

Reading	How to spot fake news
Listening	5 ways to spot fake news
Grammar	Passive voice in headlines
Speaking	News and media

NB2 Topic 10 Places

Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving. (Albert Einstein)

Reading	Incredible journeys to school
Listening	My journey to work
Vocabulary	Giving directions
Grammar	Prepositions of movement

Yoga is the artwork of awareness on the canvas of body, mind, and soul. (Amit Ray)

Check this out. If you understand it, you are awesome, and your English is coming on in leaps and bounds.

NI B2 2 Topic 9 Free Time & Easter

I love football and I believe in fair play, both on and off the pitch. (Ander Herrera)

Reading	Sport
Listening	Easter Island
Writing	An informal email
Speaking	Dialogue: sports

NI B2 1 Topic 9 Free Time & Easter

I think the thing about Easter holidays in particular is you don't know what the weather is going to be like. (Kate Garaway)

Reading	World walker
Listening	Eastbrook motor show
Writing	Informal email
Speaking	Dialogue: traffic congestion

NI B1 Topic 9 Free Time II

The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time. (Bertrand Russell)

Reading	Make the most of free time
Listening	Holiday plans
Writing	Holiday advice email
Speaking	Free time

NB2 Topic 9 Easter

People respond when you tell them there is a great future in front of you, you can leave your past behind. (Joel Osteen)

Reading	Martin's Vacation
Listening	Holiday activities
Grammar	The future
Speaking	Easter

When we cannot control the outer world, it is wise to tend to your inner world. (Adriene Mishler)

Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure. (Oprah Winfrey)

Book 2 2021 In an instant

Her fingers tremble as she reaches out, and that is when I feel it: the last golden thread dissolving as his hand wraps around hers and he helps her to her feet. (Suzanne Redfearn) 

Sorry, C, for changing books at the last minute, but I could not put this one down. In an instant by Suzanne Redfearn is a riveting, thought-provoking page-turner. If you're only going to read one book in English this year, make it this one. Here is the worksheet.

NI B2 2 Topic 8 Reporting & Viewing

Reporting provides reminders that things are always more complicated than you think. (John Jeremiah Sullivan)

Reading	Work as a TV news producer
Listening	The news
Vocabulary	Newspaper language
Speaking	Keeping informed

NI B2 1 Topic 8 Law & Order

The first duty of a government is to maintain law and order so that the life, property, and religious beliefs of its subjects are fully protected by the State. (Muhammad Ali Jinnah)

Reading	Three famous crimes
Listening	Batman brings justice
Vocabulary	Crime and punishment
Speaking	Forms of punishment

NI B1 Topic 8 Welcome to my Life

Life is what we make it, it always has been, always will be. (Grandma Moses)

m

Reading	Changing lives
Listening	Difficult situations
Grammar	Conditional sentences
Speaking	Daily life