London is undoubtedly one of the most exciting places in the world to visit. Whatever you like to do, whatever your interests, you’ll love London. Check out our new video for Learning English in London:

Jiajun goes over the top at the Imperial War Museum.

The Imperial War Museum which was built in 1920 has an incomparable collection covering all aspects of twentieth and twenty-first century conflict involving Britain and the Commonwealth. It also displays all items which were used during the First and Second World War like fighter planes, tanks, rockets and advanced guns etc!

It collects objects ranging from aircraft, armored fighting vehicles and naval vessels to uniforms, badges, personal equipment, and medals and decorations; documents, both British and foreign; printed books comprising a national reference library of over 155,000 items; 120 million feet of cine film and over 6,500 hours of video tape; over 6 million photographs and photographic negatives and transparencies, and some 32,000 recorded hours of historical sound recordings.

My first impression of this building was that the building was magnificent! I was really impressed about this building: in the air, there are so many different fighter planes which both used for First and Second World War! On the ground, all kinds of different tanks, armored fighting vehicles and fighter plane parts are being displayed there!

There are many sections in this museum like First World War, Second World War and children war etc which you will find very interesting to read all the information and have a look at all the maps which explained what happened during the war in detail!

I spent 4 hours to roughly review the items in this museum and then I found a place to have a one hour rest because it is really a tiring tour to see all the items and read all the information about the wars!

As the football season is gripped with 3 English clubs in the semi-finals of the European Cup, will Roy Keane win the Championship and how long Steve McClaren will last as England Manager, a new team was borne in South London: Answer English FC.

Playing in the Battersea Park SW/Elms Division 2, AEFC got off to a winning start against Sporting Shanks.  Due to their no-show, it was 3 points before a ball had even been kicked!  The second game, however, proved to be more of a challenge, against the Pilgrims on the basis there was an opposition to play.

Unfortunately Answer English FC got off to a horror start as Chris Pollard, midfield link man/playmaker limped off injured.  And then to compound things Pilgrims scored.  AEFC rallied and Jas &  Hughnel both asked questions of the oppo goalie and yours truly had two chances one toe punted out of the stadium from ten yards and the second hitting the bar.

GOAL! the ball rolls out to the right wing, Pilgrims think its out and first time Oli Harcourt drills it past a hapless keeper.  Game on 1-1.  Cue some frantic end to end stuff but in the dying moment Pilgrims scored one on one with the keeper.  Final result 2-1.  Bitter defeat

Thanks to Jas, Hughnel, Chris and Oli.  So the season so far Won 1, Lost 1, For 1, Against 2.  Tune in next week for the next installment!  If you are looking to join Answer English FC send a mail to: james@answerenglish.com

What a turn out! At only our second Chinese Language Learning Experience we had over 30 people attend. The group were brought together by their common love of Chinese language and culture. Photos from the night are up in our Past Events Gallery where you can see for yourself all the fun that was had.

A couple of special mentions. Thank you to Gordon for bringing over ten people to the night. We hope everyone was made to feel welcome and that we see Gordon’s friends again soon. A big xie xie to Raymond for flyering beyond the call of duty around assorted language departments of the various Universities of London - we really appreciate it!

Thank you too to our partners Visit London, The National Gallery, the Chinese Community Centre and China Institute for supporting the evening and Euro Talk and Chinese Made Easy for donating prizes. And last but by no means least thank you to those that came. We look forward to welcoming you on the 29 May to the next Chinese Language Learning Experience. Xia ci gian!

During the trip to Bath this Saturday we will invite all the students to do some English Exercises. Some students have been asking about what sort of format they will take, so here is an example Intermediate Exercise:

Intermediate Exercise

Before listening look at this:

A pediment (noun) is a large triangle of stones, often decorated, supported on columns at the front of the temple.

In the centre of the Pediment you can see a face. Discuss the face with your partner, list some adjectives and nouns below:

Using these words, describe the face in two sentences:

Now listen to the recording, state if these sentences are true or false:

1. The pediment stands 50 metres above the entrance to this holy place.

2. The face is certainly a sun god.

3. Minerva is the Roman goddess of knowledge.

4. The Romans respected the local spirits. If you are interested in joining us on the Bath Trip this Saturday we have a few places left. Send me an e-mail to: james@answerenglish.com or call our offices on 020 7402 8651. For more information go to Bath English Learning Day Trip.

Last night was our very first International Party, bringing together all the people that come regularly to our Language Learning Experience evenings. The turnout was impressive with 127 people flocking to Bar Andalucia. The night began with an hour’s language practice overseen by Max, and then by then the party was well underway.

We welcomed people from all over the world and amongst others Spain, Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba, China, South Korea, USA, Japan, France, Germany, Poland, Iran and the UK were all represented. You can see photos from the night in our Past Events Gallery. Music was provided by El Paco Kid.

Thank you so much to all those that made it and to our partners: Bar Andalucia, Spanish Express, Languages at Lunch and Malvern House. We hope that those that made it and anyone else that’s looking to meet people in London, practise your languages and of course have fun will join us at our next Social Events.

A few comments we’ve had so far ‘Cool, good to socialize and know new people swapping English’, ‘Thanks again for a lovely evening. I really enjoyed myself’, ‘the party was good we had a good time Waiting for the next one’, ‘THANKYOU YESH PLEASSE. I Enjoy Your drink evening vary much;;. This ees nice. I LIKE!!!!’

Hugo Chavez, Spain today, global warming - you name it they talked about it! Last night we had our Spanish English night and we had one of our best turn outs.  Thanks to all those that made it - it was great to see old and new faces.

We would like to take the opportunity to thank Gazelle Publications and Euro Talk for donating the prizes for the fun quiz.  Congratulations to the winners.   If you couldn’t make it and wish to join in the next Spanish night is on the 22 May.  For photos from the evening head to our Past Events Gallery.

Towards the end of the night we were selling tickets to our forthcoming International Party this Saturday.  Many people took the opportunity to get a ticket for themselves or friends.  If you are interested in coming contact James: james@answerenglish.com or call 020 7402 8651.

Something’s a bit fishy! Jiajun heads off to the Aquarium:

That was a nice day to go out – sunny and warm with a little wind! Allen, who is a friend of mine, and I had a nice trip in London Aquarium in March 2007. I enjoyed this trip very much because I like sea animals!

After 40 minutes waiting time for a long queue, we finally made it into the London Aquarium – one of Europe’s largest displays of aquatic life and home to over 350 species in over 50 displays, from sharks, stingrays and clownfish, to moray eels, lionfish and sideways walking crabs. There is so much to see that we spent almost 4 hours there!

There are so many kinds of different sea animals to appreciate that I did not want to leave this nice venue! One display which attracted me most is the shark container: this is a really big container! I think the water should be enough for 100 people to drink for a whole year! There are several different kinds of fishes inside this container which is cleaned every minute – one of them is a shark! You can feel so close with one of the world’s most dangerous sea animals because they sometimes come to you face to face. Isn’t it great?

In the touch pool, you can even touch some kinds of sea animals and feel their existence! Because of them, our life is more colourful! So, enjoy life, enjoy study and enjoy work at all times and be happy!

So, if you want to have a look at London Aquarium, come to join Answer English and we will help you to book an English course and find you accommodation in London etc!

Contact James now by email james@answerenglish.com or call him up on +44 (0)20 7402 8651 and he will kindly help you up with everything in London!

Catalan Javier is a resident in London and works for a construction company. He speaks to us as part of our series of Language Learners interviews with Get Fluent Fast.
Javier Alonso
From: Barcelona, Spain
Speaks: Fluent English
Job: Works for a construction company (office-based)

Which foreign languages did you learn at school?
At school in Barcelona we learnt French, English and Catalan. I could only speak basic English when I arrived in England 1 year and 5 months ago.

How did you improve your English when you arrived in London?
I started by doing two language courses here over a period of 8 months. I then got a job with English colleagues which has allowed me to progress a lot faster, but I still do courses. You never stop learning.

What are your tips for language learners?
My tip is to learn through mistakes. Never be afraid to try to communicate and you will make progress. Just try it and see.

Thanks Javier for taking the time to talk to us.