Inforum Warm Up Upper Intermediate: Recent Episodes
Inforum Education
This blogcast will introduce students to Inforum and the Gold Coast. You can listen and read at the same time to help with understanding and comprehension.
What do you call a boomerang which doesn’t come back?
A stick…haha!
Imagine if I had taken out the relative clause, this joke wouldn’t have made sense at all!
G’day! Welcome back to the final instalment of this week’s Inforum Warm Up blogcast.
Today you have a little bit of field work to do!
Using relative clauses, I am going to describe; a place, a person, a food, a time and an animal – all related to Aussie culture! Then your job, using the given information, is to find out what I am referring to! Then, post your answers on the stream.
ONEThis is a place that calls itself a traditional seaside village. It’s a place which has an atmosphere that feels like Byron Bay 20 years ago. There is also a well-known pub there where people listen to live music on Sundays. The best time to visit is in March when the kites and bikes festival is held.
TWOThis is an infamous Australian who lived in a time when gold mining was very popular. The last utterance of this person, which has become a regular Aussie saying, is ‘such is life’. This is a person who defied greed and corruption, however, is also a person who was seen by law enforcement as a criminal.
THREEThis is a food which is toasted in an appliance which was patented in Australia in 1949 by a man who lived in Bondi. This is a food that has many variations. For Australians, it marks a time in their youth when their parents finally allowed them to use the kitchen to make this item.
FOURA time in recent Australian history which is especially significant to Australians indigenous population due to the feelings which were evoked during a sentimental speech that was given by the former Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, who won the election in 2007. This was an event which should have happened long before it did.
FIVEThis is an animal which lives in the Australian Outback. An animal whose spikey beard is used to scare off predators. They have a diet which consists of insects and leaves. The males and females have unique movements, which are used when they’re in mating season. It is an animal which your teacher, Ash, has as a pet!
Goodluck with your research!
See you online!
And welcome back to Inforum’s Warm Up Blogcast! Today we are going on a road trip to Brisbane, well…not so much a road trip as a train trip! The parking in Brisbane is super expensive so it is best to grab your go card and take public transport. Listen along as Marie and Johan recount their Brisbane experience to their teacher.
Ash: Hey Marie and Johan, did you end up going to Brisbane on the weekend?
Johan: Yes we did! It was really cool, cooler than I’d expected anyway.
Marie: Yeah, but it was so strange because Brisbane is the biggest city and also the capital of Queensland yet there are only like 2 million people! Such a tiny city!
Ash: Haha, yeah we get that a lot. But for me it is huge and so busy!
Johan: Haha, you should try visiting Paris.
Ash: Anyway, tell me about what you did in Brisbane.
Johan: Well we first went to Southbank, which is a really relaxed area. We checked out some buskers and went for a quick swim in the artificial beach! Then we went to the art museum.
Marie: Yeah it was free to enter! And you just needed to pay if you wanted to see the special exhibition. Then we went to another museum called the Queensland Museum, which was also free! We learnt a lot and it was a great chance to practice our English in the real world.
Johan: Yes and THEN we went on a FREE tour with Brisbane Greeter – we got to talk to locals and learn about the history of Brisbane. We had to walk across the Story Bridge to meet at King George Square where the tour left from.
Marie: Yeah it was really interesting to learn about the local history and especially the local indigenous culture. Fortitude Valley is also a hip area, I can’t wait to go back at night!
Johan: Well, then we had had enough of using our brains, so we browsed through the shops on Queen Street Mall and of course, got a coffee!
Ash: Look at you guys drinking so much coffee! You’re becoming so Aussie, I am proud!
Johan: Haha yeah and then we had the quintessential millennial afternoon on Howard Smith Wharves. It really is a trendy place for young people, just as you said.
Marie: I loved the brewery! Craft beer here is awesome, despite being really expensive! But anyway we sat on the deck, where you could watch the ferries cruise along the river.
Johan: It was really nice and at nighttime the bridge lit up in an array of colours!
Ash: Sounds lovely. Did you come home late?
Marie: Not too late, but I did take a nap on the way home!
Well that is all for our blogcast today! We hope you learnt a little bit about all the different activities that you can do in Brisbane! We look forward to hearing about you experiences in these places once you do arrive in Australia!
Welcome to week 2 session 3 of our blogcast! This week we are going to show you a real example of passives in the news which will also tell you a little bit more about an infamous tourist site in Australia.
As you listen to the news report, see if you can note down any passives that you hear! Why do you think it was that a passive was used?
Good evening and welcome to the nightly news.
The climbing of one of Australia’s most sacred indigenous sites has been banned.
The world's largest monolith, the giant Uluru in the desert of Australia's Northern Territory, is now officially off-limits to tourists and climbers. It will be closed from October 25th in recognition of the site's cultural significance to the local Anangu traditional owners. The giant site was once known as Ayers Rock, before it reverted to its historic name of Uluru. It has been a major attraction for decades. Tourists from around the world have flocked there in droves to climb the rock. However, it is a sacred site in Anangu culture. The Anangu custodians of the rock have long campaigned for the ban.
The ban was initially announced in 2017 and was mostly compliedwith by visitors. Australia's tourist association said that the rock was only climbed by 16% of visitors in 2017.
Local Anangu man Rameth Thomas, who grew up in a tiny community near Uluru, explained to the BBC how important the rock is to his people. He said: "That place is a very sacred place. That's like our church. I've been telling them since I was a little boy: 'We don't want you to climb the rock.'" He added: "All of our stories are on the rock. People right around the world come just to climb it. They've got no respect." Another resident said: "If I tried to climb on top of that parliament house at Canberra, I wouldn’t be let in." And he is right.
That’s all for tonight’s news story – until tomorrow night.
I hope you enjoyed that short news story!
You should definitely consider visiting UIuru when you come to Australia! If you don’t know anything about it, I suggest you do some research – the historical and geographical significance of it are mind blowing!
Have a great weekend and see you next week 😊
Welcome back to the Inforum Warm Up Blogcast! If you don’t remember me, I’m Ash – your narrator – and today we will be going on a road trip to Byron Bay! So sit back, relax and let Francois and Yui transport you to the magical hippy town that is Byron Bay…
Welcome back to the final podcast of this week! Today we are going to look at how you can incorporate what you’ve learnt into your every life in Australia. This week you’ve reviewed the basic English tense and looked at vocabulary about feelings and achievements. Let’s see how we can link this altogether to be able to use as soon as we touch down on Australian soil! Imagine this: You have had an arduous (difficult and tiring) journey, travelling more than 24 hours to arrive in Australia! You arrive at your new accommodation and your roommates are stoked (really excited) to meet you, but all you want to do is sleep. You could tell your story something like this: I was feeling excited as I knew this was the beginning of a brilliant journey. I had been travelling for over 16 hours on trains, buses and planes when I heard that my second flight had been cancelled. I was mortified! How could they cancel my plane? How would I get to Australia? Travelling was exhausting! I had to sleep on the cold, hard ground of the airport for 5 hours while I waited for the next available flight. And you won’t believe it when I got on the flight my phone battery died, I had just charged it hours before! All of a sudden my dream to travel overseas didn’t seem so exciting anymore, I wanted to stop travelling and be back home in my bed. FINALLY the plane touched down on runway and I was relieved. So I apologise guys, I really do, but I need to sleep because I am drained! Did you notice the narrative tense throughout that story? Can you find an example of a gerund used as a subject and an object? Which adjectives do you remember from earlier this week? See how easy it is to use your new language in every day life! I mean, I hope this kind of plane journey doesn’t happen to you and that you arrive hassle free, but if you do have a long journey at least you’ll be able to twist it into an exciting story! That is all for week one team! We hope you enjoyed your first week and feel a little more connected with Australia! Looking forward to seeing you next week! (Look at the a gerund as a subject again, see how easy it is!)
Hey everyone! Welcome to week one session one of the Inforum WarmUp Upper Intermediate Course. I am Ashlee (or Ash for short) and as one of your future teachers, I just wanted to introduce myself. We are really upset that you couldn’t come to the Gold Coast as a result of the Corona Virus. We know this has been a dream of yours for months, perhaps even years. We hope that you can “hang 10” on a famous Gold Coast beach very soon.
But in the meantime, we’ve made this online course for you so that you can meet us and get a small taste of how your future life at Inforum and on the life Gold Coast will be.
Throughout this 4 week course, we plan to teach you some upper intermediate level English, show you around the Gold Coast, and have as much fun as possible. If you are in lockdown at the moment, or your life has changed significantly, please join us in this exciting new way to study. We are sure you will get a lot of benefits, and be better prepared when you finally do get to come to Australia for real.
OK guys, so now let’s talk about the Upper Intermediate course a little bit. Every week, you should log on to the Google Upper Intermediate Classroom, and do three sessions of self-study. Each session will include the following amazing elements that we have made just for you:
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A video produced by one of our lovely staff members, either Anthony, Ashlee, or Che. This video will introduce either some grammar or vocabulary.
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A set of tasks that you can complete by yourself to practice what you learned in the video presentation. Some tasks will be fairly short while others will be more extended.
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An online class with one of our amazing teachers. In this class you will be able to practice the language points, listen to the teacher explain things, and ask questions. We will also host online group classes so that you can meet other students from all over the world who will soon be your classmates!
Wow, what a lot to take in!!
But we are not finished yet! So in addition to the above, you will also be able to listen to our original podcasts and read some blogs that will teach you all about our school and the Gold Coast (and hopefully motivate you to keep studying hard and going for your dreams), and you can interact directly with your teacher and the other students on the “STREAM” part of your Google Classroom.
We’re really looking forward to meeting everyone, studying together and helping you learn a bit about your future home.
-Ashlee
inforum.com.au
Welcome ladies and gentlemen to week one session two of Inforum’s WarmUp Podcasts.
Each week you will be taken on a journey by your narrator, Ashlee, and special guests to explore popular destinations on and around the Gold Coast.
This week two Inforum students, Sarah & Jane, will visit the booming destination of Burleigh Heads.
The sun was shining and the birds were singing, it was a beautiful summer’s day on the Gold Coast with tops of 32O. The girls had been studying hard all week but it was finally their day off and they were going to enjoy it!
Sarah: Hey Jane, we’ve been studying hard all week and I haven’t explored almost ANY of the Gold Coast since I arrived! Do you want to visit Burleigh Heads with me?
Jane: Sure, I really need a break from studying! How do we get to Burleigh?
Sarah: I asked the student committee yesterday and they told me that we would have to catch the southbound tram to Broadbeach and then from Broadbeach take the bus to Burleigh.
Jane: Cool, sounds easy enough! Do you have a Go Card? I just got mine from 7/11 yesterday.
Sarah: Yep, I have one. My friend got a fine for not tapping on at the station so let’s make sure we do that!
Jane: Definitely, I can’t afford a $300 fine!
So the girls packed their beach bags with sunscreen, towels, sunnies (sunglasses) and swimmers (swimming costume) and set off! It was hot outside but the airconditioned tram provided them some relief. After 40 minutes of public transport they arrived at their destination.
Jane: Woaaaaahhhh, it is like another world down here, this is so cool!
Sarah: Yeah look at that sick point break, the waves are pumping!
Jane: Yeah and there is a lot of hotties around. Let’s jump in the water!
Sarah: Okay, we should swim between the flags so we don’t get stuck in a rip or sweep!
Jane: You’re right, I don’t want to be on the Gold Coast version of Bondi Rescue! Haha
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Jane: The water is so cool on my skin, but pfft these waves are huge!
Sarah: Yeah, you have got to be careful. But the water is so clear that I can see my feet and even some small fish!
Jane: haha, cool!
Sarah: Want to go in and sunbake for a little? I need a tan!
Jane: Yes, but just for a bit I don’t want to end up like a lobster on my first beach day!
The Australian sun was shining and the U.V rays were high, the girls could feel it on their pale skin and so they decided to head to James St, arguably the most trendy street on the Gold Coast.
Sarah: James St sure is the place to be! There are more cafes than people almost!
Jane: Haha, you’re right but I do love coffee so I am not complaining!
Sarah: There are so many healthy food options, maybe I will get skinnier living on the Gold Coast!
Jane: Well at least it offsets some of the drinking we do on Thursday nights.
Sarah: haha! Oh look at that little boutique, let’s go shopping!
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Jane: Alright I have spent almost all my money on cute dresses, get me out of here!
Sarah: The sun is about to set and I hear that Burleigh Hill is the place to be during sunsets.
Jane: Okay, let’s check it out but before we do we should grab some wine and cheese and have a picnic!
Sarah: Haha that is so instagramable, let’s do it!
So the girls watched the sky turn an array of pinks and oranges as the sun set in the west among crowds of other people who all wanted to get that perfect Instagram shot! When the sun was long gone they got the bus and tram back to Southport, it sure had been an eventful day!
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Well, that is all for today’s podcast guys! I hope you enjoyed your auditory tour of Burleigh Heads.
Next week we will explore the infamous Byron Bay!