souNZ English

How do different people in our class greet each other? See if you can learn one or two different ways of saying hello to your classmates.

Davy is a German student who recently visited NZ for six months. He stayed with us for a few weeks, and I asked him what he had noticed about NZ English.

Jokes from Tim, Mark and then Chris. These are all puns – where a word can mean 2 things in the same context.
If you understand a joke, you say that you ‘get’ it. If you don’t understand, you say ‘I don’t get it!’ There are 7 jokes on this podcast, all using puns. Do you get them all?
If you don’t get some of them, have a look at Http://karenunitec.blogspot.com to see an explanation.

Mel is one of the English teachers on our diploma programme. In this interview with Karen she reflects on the strategies she uses with a particular podcast to develop her listening.

Prize to the first student who emails me to tell me what language Mel is trying to improve through using podcasts.

Karen chats to Moira about the LLC at Unitec and how it can help your language development, especially at a higher level. Spot Moira in the photo - clue: she's wearing a pink jumper!

Tnis is an episode about physical rather than emotional health!! Listen to Ron describe what he does to try to avoid heart problems in the future.

Why is it important to use colloquialisms? What is an echo tag? What strategies are used by conversationalists? Judi talks to Karen about some of the features of spoken English.

Listen to some friends discussing what they are going to do in the long weekend? Notice the language they use to talk about their future intentions and plans.

...you are daydreaming and you suddenly realise that you have no idea what someone just said to you? Some idioms and expressions to get you out of a sticky situation.

For script check out http://karenunitec.blogspot.com/2008/03/what-do-you-say-when.html

Did you know we have a Unitec campus in Henderson? Find out more about how to get there by listening to Kath and Karen chatting.

Some golf vocab that might be useful as you listen to this podcast:

par - the number of shots it is possible to do this hole in
clubs - golf sticks to hit the ball, come in different shapes and sizes depending on where your ball is and how far you want it to go
green - the smooth part of the course where the hole is located
Tiger Woods - world famous golfer
Michael Campbell - NZ golfer who plays internationally

I should have known better than to interrupt the males in my family watching NZ's first game in the world cup...

Find out
...who Tim thinks will win the world cup?
...who the Warriors are?
...what the NRL is?

And listen for the hesitations, and the pron misunderstandings!

Do you think that watching sport is more exciting than playing?

What does ANZAC stand for? And why is this a public holiday? Hear what Janine thinks about Anzac Day.

See http://karenunitec.blogspot.com/ for script.

Juan's last day with our class today. I grabbed the opportunity to ask him a few questions just before he goes.

AK 07 - what is it?
Happening when?

And what on earth is RIPPED?
http://www.aucklandfestival.co.nz/Events/RedSquareBritomart/Detail.aspx?id=254

An interview with Roxanne, one of the Young Producers.
And some of the script can be read at http://karenunitec.blogspot.com/2007/03/ak-07.html

Free fun, stalls, dancing, entertainment and it's just down the road from Unitec! What is it? When is it? Listen and find out...

Script can be found at http://karenunitec.blogspot.com/2007/02/pasifika.html

If you want to read the script, go to...
http://karenunitec.blogspot.com/2007/02/new-year-celebrations.html

Meet Chris, my son, who loves telling us jokes.

Make sure you know the below in order to understand the punchline of these jokes (the punchline is the funny part at the end of the joke)

"Did you hear about ..." is a line that people often use to start a joke.

There are 12 inches in one foot.

"I see your point," is a phrase you might use in a discussion with someone. It means, "I understand and think that your reason is valid".

What is Waitangi Day? How is it celebrated in NZ?

If you want to read the text of this podcast, go to
http://karenunitec.blogspot.com/2007/02/waitangi-day.html

News article about how Kiwis overseas celebrate Waitangi Day
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/488120/979786

Celebrations at Waitangi in the Bay of Islands
http://www.waitangi.net.nz/about/waitangi-day.htm

A NZ government site that tells you everything you might want to know about the Treaty of Waitangi
http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/category/tid/133

Want to try creating your own podcast? Go to http://www.podomatic.com/

Tell us about yourself - where you're from, why you are studying at Unitec, and what you want to do after you've finished this course. Remember to send Karen your podcast URL so she can listen to you.