THAT'S the way I like it!

For those of you who are at level B2 and even for B1 students, you may have noticed THAT in English we use "THAT" a lot. It's not THAT we're lacking in words to use, it's just THAT "THAT" is so useful.

Grammatically, it can be correct to use "THAT THAT," but as you may notice, in spoken English it sounds particularly bad, and in written English there are so many other options THAT you can use.

For example, in the sentence: 

• Now that that problem has been dealt with, we can move onto the next one. 

Nine times outof ten you can just write or say a single THAT, and THAT'S THAT! But if you want your English to sound less redundant, you could try these ways of expressingthe same thing:

• Now that THIS problem has been dealt with...
• Now that THE problem has been dealt with...
• Since the problem has been dealt with...
• Given that THE problem has been dealt with...
• The problem has been dealt with, so...

For more information, check out this link to Oxford..

And now, for your listening pleasure, the namesake of the post! 
(and yes, your teacher is OLD! )

LINKING TO LISTENING FOR LEVELS A1 - C1+

While learning a new language, one thing you should all keep in mind is that listening is half the battle.

Expressing yourself becomes easier once your understanding of a spoken language improves. 

With this in mind, I'm posting the following links in this post so that you have easy access to your level of listening whenever you find it convenient to use your mobile phone as a learning tool! I use pod-casts on when I'm on the bus and listen to internet radio programmes while I do the grocery shopping and so can you!

A1:

British Council Elementary English Podcasts
Voice of America Special English
USA Learns

Be sure to go to Google Play and download some wonderful apps from the BBC and from the Voice of America.

A2:
California Distance Learning Project
Voice of America

B1:
California Distance Learning Project
Voice of America
ELLO
BBC Learning English

B2:
British Council - Professionals Podcasts
Public Broadcasting System
BBC Learning English
BBC Podcasts and Downloads
TED-ED

C1:
BBC Podcasts and Downloads
BBC iPlayerRadio
National Public Radio
NPR - TED radio hour
WBEZ - Podcasts

I sincerely hope these links help you to continue developing your understanding skills, and thereby help you to improve your English level.