How to make a five minute presentation

It's not exactly the same as doing an oral exam, because the audience and the purpose are different. But you should watch the video because there are some interesting tips that might help you anyway:

Starting Your Small Business:
Small Business: How To Make A Five Minute Presentation

Chinese economy

China's economy is growing, thanks mainly to industrial output: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2009/12/091211_witn_china_page.shtml

Mamma Mia

The BBC podcast about the film adaptation of the West End musical: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/newsenglish/britain/080715_mamma_mia.shtml

Tweet

Do you know anything about "tweet"? Jim Pettiward explains that to you: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/uptodate/2009/06/090623_uptodate_tweet.shtml

How to stay safe on the streets

Staying Safe:
How To Stay Safe On The Street

Chasing cars

Have a look at the activities on page 107 in the Student's Book. Listen to the song by British band Snow Patrol and do the exercises there:

Marathon running

Listen to this programme called "6-minute English" about running a marathon. Remember you can listen to it, download the MP3 file and read the script: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/general/sixminute/2010/04/100401_6min_marathons_page.shtml

Planes grounded in Northern Europe

Here's the latest on the volcano eruption and the ash cloud: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8623534.stm

Prisons

Listen to Mark and Todd talking about prisons and do the quiz. When you've finished, you can click on "lesson page" to read the transcript and check the meaning of some expressions they use: http://www.elllo.org/english/0751/Q770-Mark-Prisons.html

Today's top story

A volcano has erupted in Iceland, causing airspace in some countries to close down. Read it here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8621581.stm

Jack the Ripper

The science of smell

Another podcast from The Guardian, this time about the world of smell, perfume and odour: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/blog/audio/2010/apr/12/science-weekly-podcast-smell

The Guardian podcast

A good way to practise listening is to subscribe to a podcast and get the programmes on a regular basis. Check out this one on the food industry and then decide if you would like to subscribe: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/audio/2010/apr/06/the-business-podcast-ba-lehmans

Commercials