I am sure that this winter vacation many of you will be studying and practising your English. I would like to introduce a few interesting ways to improve your reading, vocabulary, and listening.
Flatmates is a radio drama produced by the BBC. After you click the link above, scroll down to find episode 1. Once you click "1: At the Airport" (link), you will see a photograph and a dialogue. On the left you can find the audio file and listen to the episode. If you want to test your listening, you can click "Hide the Text" and the words will disappear. Every episode has a Language Point that explains the vocabulary and grammar. There is also a quiz to test yourself. There are 204 episodes. Although the British English is a little difficult to understand at first, don't give up and it will become easier.
If you want to practise your reading, the BBC also has short news stories with explanations of words and phrases you might not know. There is also an audio version of the report to help you with listening. This is more difficult than Flatmates but good reading practice.
The Australian Network has a series of videos that make up a drama. There are 42 episodes in this drama. The English level is somewhat low and might be a good place to begin your winter study. The first episode, for example, teaches various ways to greet people.
The Australian Network has other video programmes to help you with your English. Look around the site and find some that match your level. A very interesting (though difficult) programme on the site is a documentary that shows people from other countries visiting Australia. They learn about Australian culture and stay with an Australian family for several days. The programme is called This Australian Life (link).
Look around the BBC and the Australian Network for other programmes that interest you. They are all free and you can study by yourself at home. If you don't understand something, send me an email and I will help you. I don't have any classes this winter vacation but I am still your teacher.
Enjoy!