Gross National Happiness?

Gross National Happiness (GNH) is measured in Bhutan, much like Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is measured in other countries.  GNH is a way of measuring the population's quality of life and progress in a more human way than the economic measure GDP.

Have you ever heard of GNH?  What do you know about the country of Bhutan?

Here are a couple of articles to get you started:
http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/bhutan/gnh.html
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1016266,00.html
http://www.grossnationalhappiness.com/

Do some research and learn more about this interesting little country!

1.  Define GNH and GDP.
2.  Find out some basic facts about Bhutan (location, population, geography, history, etc.)  Write a short description of the country.
3.  Do you think that GNH is an important indicator?  What about GDP?  Should they be used in combination with each other?

Write your answers to tasks 1-3 and send them to us at tutor@virtualingua.de.
If you are already a Virtualingua student, you can turn in this exercise as a tutored exercise.  If not, send it to us anyway and test our tutoring!  You will receive a reply and corrections from a live, native English speaking tutor along with learning tips.  Test us today!

Retail therapy!

Feeling tired, frustrated or irritated?  Maybe you could use a session of retail therapy!  "Retail therapy" is when you go shopping to make yourself feel better or when you buy yourself a little treat and it improves your mood.  I can speak for myself and say that retail therapy really does help my mood sometimes.  I'm not a shopaholic, but if I feel like all of the things in my closet are drab, old and not very fashionable, it can make me feel a little better and more confident to go out and get a snappy new item of clothing.

A little research has even been done on this topic.  Read the article below and complete the tasks following the article.  Send your answers to us at tutor@virtualingua.de to test our tutoring for free or as a tutored exercise as part of your Virtualingua English course.

Article about retail therapy:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2005447/Retail-therapy-really-does-make-happier-say-psychologists.html

Tasks:

1.  List as many items of clothing as you can think of.
2.  What are some things other than clothing that someone might buy to get into a better mood?
3.  How did the researchers conduct the survey explained in the article?
4.  Do you think the results of the survey are very reliable?  Why or why not?
5.  Do you or have you ever gone shopping or bought yourself a treat in order to improve your mood?

Reality TV

At home in Germany, I don't have a television, so I'm not exposed to much of the craziness that you can see on TV.  Right now I'm on vacation in the United States and am quite shocked and amazed at the variety and ridiculousness of reality programs.  There are shows about everything:  polygamists, gypsies, housewives, people with big families, teen moms, and just about anything else you can imagine.  What's your opinion on reality TV?  Do you love it?  Do you hate it?  Is it a guilty pleasure of yours or would you never watch it?
Let us know!  Send your answer to us (write as much as you need to!) at tutor@virtualingua.de

Also check out this reading exercise and test on the same topic:  http://www.usingenglish.com/comprehension/8.html

Bad things people do

Hello English Learners!

What are sins and how bad are they?  Have you ever done anything really terrible?  Or are you always completely correct in your actions?  By following the link below, you will come to an American radio show called "This American Life".  Listen to the episode we linked to below entitled "Mortal Vs. Venial" and complete the tasks below.  When you finish, email us your answers at tutor@virtualingua.de

Enjoy!

Visit the This American Life website and listen to the show "Mortal Vs. Venial" here:  http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/463/mortal-vs-venial

1.  What is mortal sin and what is venial sin as described in the show?
2.  Please summarize the three acts.
3.  Have you ever done anything terrible that could be considered a "sin"?  Did it have any effects on your life or did you learn an important lesson from it?

Medical Idioms...because it seems like everyone is getting sick

Hello again!
It's been a long break, because I've been sick, my kids have been sick and things have been very busy.  In honor of these unfortunate events, I found an idiom exercise for you online. Finally, a new English exercise!

Please visit this page: http://www.idiomconnection.com/medical.html#BQ
Read through the medical idioms, add them to your own vocabulary list, practice them, and complete the quiz at the bottom of the page. 
When you feel comfortable with the idioms, write a story or dialog using 10 of the idioms from the list.  Email your story or dialog to tutor@virtualingua.de.  If you're already  a student with us, you can do this as an additional tutored exercise, otherwise you can send us the exercise and test our tutoring for free!  A qualified native speaker who is a tutor for Virtualingua will check your work and reply to you personally with corrections, suggestions and further learning tips. 

British and American English

Learning and using the English language can sometimes be frustrating for learners because of the variations between British and American English.  As an American native speaker, I found it quite fascinating to learn about the differences when I came to Europe.  How do you feel about the differences between British and American English as an English learner?  Below you will find a link to an article about which American words and pronunciations British people living in the United States have adopted.  Please read the article and send us your responses to the questions following the link.  Send your answers to tutor@virtualingua.de.  If you're already a student with us, you can do this as a tutored exercise.  If you're new to Virtualingua, test our tutoring for free!

http://www.economist.com/blogs/johnson/2011/11/british-and-american-english-0?fsrc=scn%2Ftw%2Fte%2Fbl%2Famericanisationsurvey%3Athe 

1.  Definitely not all differences between British and American English were mentioned in the article.  Do you know some more in vocabulary, pronunciation or grammar?

2.  Do you strictly use one form of English in your speaking and writing?  Do you use British or American English (or a mix) and why?

3.  Are there variations lik this in your native language, either in regions of one country or in different countries where your native language is spoken?


Now here's a little treat for your hard work...a song about "tomaytoes" and "tomahtoes", "potaytoes" and potahtoes".  Enjoy!

Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong - Let's Call The Whole Thing Off

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A Rhyme
  
    Monday's child is fair of face
    Tuesday's child is full of grace,
    Wednesday's child is full of woe,
    Thursday's child has far to go,
    Friday's child is loving and giving,
    Saturday's child works hard for a living,
    But the child who is born on the Sabbath Day
    Is bonny and blithe and good and gay 

Please interpret/describe what you think each child is like and email your description to tutor@virtualingua.de

A tutor will check your writing and send it back to you with comments and learning tips!  Do this as tutored exercise or test our tutoring for free today!