As you know that there are a lot of free…

As you know that there are a lot of free great lessons for students & teachers on iTunes.

This post will show you how to get free quality resources to support your studies, for example in studying foreign languages.

A- Fastest way (when you knew podcast name, keywords… NOT RECOMMENDED for first time users):

Certainly you need to install iTunes first. After installed iTunes to your computer, just open iTunes, click on iTunes Store, then search your podcasts.

Or you can browse like this:

B- Manual way (you can manually browse to many popular podcasts )

Step 1 : Certainly you need to install iTunes.

You can download and install it for free from here: http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/

Step 2: Open your browser (Firefox, Google Chrome…) and visit Podcasts for Education> Language Courses with this link:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/genre/podcasts-education-language/id1469

Certainly you can subscribe to other categories, here we focus on finding free educational  podcasts.

Step 3: You will see a lot of popular podcasts in step 2, select a letter to begin to find your favorite podcasts or simply try one of the popular podcast link if you do not know any specific course. Remember we here are talking about free podcasts only, so try to find the free one huh

For example here I have found one:

Free EF PodEnglish: http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/ef-podenglish/id214220712

Step 4: Click on the blue button “View in iTunes”

It will open the podcast in iTunes:

Click on Subscribe Free and confirm to subscribe again, iTunes will start to download for you. If you want to download a specific file, just double click on FREE under the tab Price.

Or you can download all click on Get All as the image bellow

That’s it!

Happy studying!

Introducing to Pāli-English English-Pāli and Buddhism dictionaries for Stardict

The aims of this post is to introduce you to Stardict, a free & opensource international dictionary, provide some useful and free dictionaries including Pāli-English English-Pāli. Whenever you visit a web page in Pāli, just select or double click on a Pāli word, Stardict will auto look up the meanings of that word in English, you do not need to type the Pāli word.
If you want to type Pāli word, please see part 5. And if you just want to read the Tipitaka in Pali, you can use Pāli Text Reader, Pāli Text Reader itself contains Pāli-English dictionary.

This post has 5 parts as listed bellow:

1-What is Stardict
2-Downnload& Install Stardict
3-Add dictionaries to Stardict
4-Stardict pronounces English words
5-More Pāli resources

1-What is Stardict?

StarDict is a Cross-Platform and international dictionary Software. It has powerful features such as “Glob-style pattern matching”, “Scan selection word,” “Fuzzy query,” etc. Stardict Version3.0 has developed a lot of new functions, such as Full-text translation, Net Dict.

Just select the Pali word on the website, Stardict will look for its means in English

• Mouse Inquiry: When “scan” option is selected, you can capture the words via mouse to translate.
• More Powerful!: Thousands of free dictionaries can be found on the internet. Choose your own favorites.
• Net Dict : Dictionary installation on your own computer is not necessary any more. Click the main menu icon on the top right of the corner, choose “Preferences” option. Here you can set Net dict. Register or log on your account, then you can use the Net Dict with your own dictionaries.
• Full-text translation: Click text translate icon on the left. With google, yahoo, Altavista, Excite Janpan translation engines you can tranlate from one language to another with satisfactory results.
• My other posts about Stardict can be found Here

2-Downnload& Install Stardict

According to which OS you are using, you can downloa d 1 of these versions and install Stardict. For the Window OS and Linux system, just double click on the downloaded file to start to install. (If you can’t downloa d the files here, please try this link.)

For Linux (Debian, Ubuntu) stardict_3.0.1-1_i386.deb 1.6 MB (Or you can install via terminal: sudo apt-get install stardict)

For Window OS:  stardict-3.0.2.exe 10.6 MB

For Mac OS http://sourceforge.net/projects/stardict/files/stardict/3.0.1/StarDict-3.0.1-MacOSX.zip/download

3-Add dictionaries to Stardict

Here are some of Stardict Dictionaries that I am using:

Pāli-English-English-Pāli-Vietnamese

1) English-Pali của ngài A.P. Buddhadatta

2) Pali-English của ngài A.P. Buddhadatta

3) Pali-Việt của ngài Bửu Chơn

4) Thuật ngữ Luật tạng Pali-Việt của Sư Giác Nguyên

5) Abhidhamma Pali-Việt của ngài Tịnh Sự

6) Việt-Pali của Sadi Định Phúc

7) Pali-English English-Pali Dictionary

8) Pali-English Dictionary-Pali Text Society

9) CKJ Buddhism Dictionary

Download links:

http://cid-2aaf1aaefb464249.office.live.com/self.aspx/.Public/stardict

Mirror links:

1- Pali Dictionaries and Buddhism Terms:

http://cuongdang.info/stardict/pali/3Buddhism-and-8Pali-dicts.zip

2- Some useful dictionaries for Vietnamese (En-Vn, Vn-En, Fr-Vn, Vn-Fr, Vn-Vn, Rus-Vn) 6 dictionaries

http://cuongdang.info/stardict/6dics-En-Vn-and-others-for-vietnamese.zip

For other language dictionaries you can download them from

http://stardict.sourceforge.net/Dictionaries.php

or

http://reciteword.cosoft.org.cn/stardict-iso/stardict-dic/

A- Install Dictionaries in Linux:

If you are using Ubuntu Linux and new to Ubuntu, you can use this method:

Firstly, right click on the downloaded compressed file and choose Extract Here, you will get a new folder (*).

Using sudo nautilus to copy dics to /usr/share/stardict/dic

Now open the Terminal (Go to the menu Applications/Accessories/Terminal)  type:

sudo nautilus

provide your root password, then the nautilus (like window explorer on Window^^) will be opened. Now just browse to the uncompress folder (*) and copy them to  usr/share/stardict/dic.

Or you can use this method:

To install these tarball dictionaries, do this:

tar -xjvf a.tar.bz2

sudo mv a /usr/share/stardict/dic

B – Install Dictionaries in Window OS:

Use free uncompress program 7 Zip or other unzip softwares like Winrar…. to extract the .tar.bz2 file, which you get a directory, then move this directory to the dic\, such as C:\Program files\stardict\dic\

C- Install Dictionaries in Mac OS X:

tar -xjvf a.tar.bz2 -C /opt/gtk/usr/share/stardict/dic

4-Stardict pronounces English words

WyabdcRealPeopleTTS package make StarDict pronounce those English words. It is just many .wav files. In Linux, you can extract(tar -xjvf) the tarball at “/usr/share/”. In Windows, you can use  7 Zip or other unzip softwares like Winrar to extract the tarball and install it at “C:\Program Files\” or “Program Files\StarDict\”.

5-More Pāli resources

0-  Chaṭṭha Saṅgāyana Tipitaka Version 4.0 (CST4):

CST4 is a desktop client for browsing and searching the Pāli Canon

http://www.tipitaka.org/cst/cst4-2008-04-20-beta15.exe

Noted, Window XP users, need to install Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 first to be able to run CST4 properly: Download Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 from:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=79BC3B77-E02C-4AD3-AACF-A7633F706BA5&displaylang=en

More details and updated version: http://www.tipitaka.org/cst4

1- Pāli Text Reader http://sourceforge.net/projects/palireader/

2-Pāli Dictionary by Tong Phuoc Khai (now available Window version only) http://sourceforge.net/projects/pali/

3- Pāli Keyboard and typing (now Window version only): http://www.tipitaka.org/keyboard

4- Typing Pāli on Ubuntu: http://cuongdang.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/pali-dict-stardict-ubuntu21.pngtype-romanized-pali-and-sanskrit-in-ubuntu-9-10-windows-and-openoffice-org-3-2.html

UPDATED on Aug 26:

5- Digital Pali Reader (cross-platform)  http://sourceforge.net/projects/digitalpali/

A Pali-English text reader Firefox Extension that allows Pali students to read the Pali Canon. Automatically recognizes pali words and gives definitions from the CPED and PED, as well as DPPN if available. Includes text search and dictionary lookup.

If you meet difficulties in installing or using Stardict, don’t hesitate to  leave a comment here or send an email to me:

info @ cuongdang  .info

Thank you!

Free offline English thesaurus

http://sourceforge.net/projects/artha/files/

Artha is a handy thesaurus based on WordNet with distinct features like global hotkey look-up, passive desktop notifications, regular expression based search, etc.. Artha may be used as a free open-source replacement to the proprietary WordWeb Pro.

download Stardict dictionaries

StarDict Dictionaries

Dictionaries

Install Dictionaries in Linux: To install these tarball dictionaries, do this: tar -xjvf a.tar.bz2 mv a /usr/share/stardict/dic Install Dictionaries in Mac OS X: tar -xjvf a.tar.bz2 -C /opt/gtk/usr/share/stardict/dic Install Dictionaries in Win32: Use WinRAR to extract the .tar.bz2 file, which you get a directory, then move this directory to the dic\, such as C:\Program files\stardict\dic\ dictd-www.dict.org dictd-www.freedict.de dictd-www.mova.org Quick zh_CN(简体中文) 金山词霸 zh_TW(繁体) ja(日本語) Korean(한국어) ru(Русский) Lingvo de(Deutsch) fr(Français) Misc Babylon Special XDXF project StarDict project website Mail to Hu Zheng(huzheng001@gmail.com) if you have any problem or want to upload dictionaries to here! Source: http://reciteword.cosoft.org.cn/stardict-iso/stardict-dic/

IELTS in UAE and Ghana – September 2009 (Academic Module)

According to S. and J., IELTS exams in UAE and Ghana were the same, and the tasks in the Writing section were as in the IELTS in Sweden. Thank you guys for sharing what you remembered with everyone.

Listening test

Section 1: A police report about a burglary.

Questions: Filling personal information in the gaps.

Section 2: A telephone conversation about a water heater.

Questions: Labeling a diagram of a water heater.

Section 3: A conversation of 2 college students about a research in South African students entitled “Integrating a Retail System”.

Questions: Filling in the gaps.

Section 4: A lecturer talking about Organic fruits in Australia.

Questions: Filling in the gaps and multiple choice questions.

Reading test

Passage 1: Australia’s sugar cane industry.

Questions: What are the names of 5 persons mentioned and what they have said, plus some True/False/Not Given questions.

Passage 2: An expedition researching stone and rivers in Missouri.

Questions: Matching headings to each paragraph (B-G), True/False/Not Given questions, filling in the gaps.

Passage 3: Canadian immigrants and the building of railways connecting USA and Canada.

Questions: True/False/Not Given, locate a certain sentence in a paragraph.

Writing test

See IELTS exam in Sweden

Speaking test

Interview

- What is your name?

- Are you working or studying?

- Some questions about competitions.

Cue card

Talk about a person who won a competition, you should say:

- who that person was

- what he/she won

- when he/she won

- what you liked about this person and why

Discussion

- Do you think only children can enjoy competitions?

- What do you think about the activities of children at school?

- Do you think competitions are good for children?

- What do you think are the characteristics of a good player?

Source and thanks to: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Ielts-blog/~3/1QuG_vLZzws/

IELTS test september 2009 academic module

Source: http://www.ielts-blog.com/recent-ielts-exams

IELTS test in Sweden was described by F. (thanks a lot!), who shared the following questions from the Writing and Speaking tests.

Writing test

Writing Task 1

There were 3 pie charts about playing electronic games in Korea during the year of 2003.
- The first described in percent each age group were playing.
- The second showed how many percent of those who played were woman and how many were men.
- The third indicated how popular different kinds of categories of games were.

Simone says: This bit is important – do you remember our last homework with the 3 pie charts? This could be a new trend in the IELTS, so I suggest that you go back to it and practice. Click here to view the homework assignment with 3 charts.

Writing Task 2
The assignment was to write about the advantages of three different funding methods for education. They were:
1. Education funded by the government,
2. Education funded by the student
3. Education was funded by the student, but they were given a loan by the government, which they have to pay back after finishing their studies.

Speaking test
Interview
- What is your name?
- What should I call you?
- Where are you from?
- Tell me about your town.
- Do you like fruit and vegetables?

Cue card
Tell me about a conversation you had with someone that was very important to you. You should say:
- When it was.
- To whom you were speaking.
- Why the conversation was important to you.
- Was this the first time you have spoken to this person?

Discussion
- Do you think it is important to eat a lot of vegetables?
- Why should you eat vegetables?
- Do you like to eat vegetables?

IELTS in Sydney, Australia – September 2009 (General Training)

IELTS test in Sydney, Australia was shared by P., whose great memory and kind heart made it possible for us to enjoy the following topics and questions:

Listening test

Section 1: A person wanted to send a courier from USA to UK.

Questions: Filling in the banks on a form, 2 short-answer questions about prices, etc.

Tip:Task 2 was comparatively fast for General Training, so don’t assume that only the last section will be a fast one.

Section 2: A map of a library.

Questions: A few multiple choice questions.

Section 3: Students’ discussion about planning their project.

Questions: Filling in the gaps.

Section 4: Exhibitions of a historical map in different countries.

Questions: Filling in the gaps in a table.

Reading test

Passage 1: A history of an author who was a famous writer of California.

Questions: True/False/Not Given.

Passage 2: Information about a recruitment agency.

Questions: Filling in the blanks in a table.

Passage 3: Information by company providing car parking services.

Questions: Filling in the gaps.

Task 4: History of maps’ evolution in different countries.

Questions: Matching sentences to paragraphs and True/False/Not Given.

Writing test

Writing Task 1 (letter)

You received a letter from your friend informing you that his elderly parents are coming to visit in your area and he is asking for your advice on

- which places they should visit,

- where should they live,

- invite them to do something with you.

Writing Task 2 (essay)

People were not using computers in the past. Do you believe that positive impacts of computers outweigh negative impacts on our daily life? Explain this with your ideas and relevant examples.

Speaking test

Introduction

- What is your full name?

- May I check your identity please?

- Where are you coming from?

- Describe the home where you live.

- What activities do you do with your friends when you go out?

- Do you have sports facilities in your apartment?

Cue card

Talk about a change you want to make in your life:

- what the change is

- how you will do it

- how will the change be beneficial to you.

Discussion

- Will the change will give you long term benefits?

- What kind of changes adults make in their life nowadays?

- What do you think about people who do not like changes in their lives?

- What are the human aspects that can never be changed?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Ielts-blog/~3/KShoEISel2c/

Install LDOCE 2005 (updated version) in Ubuntu

Before installing LDOCE you need to install libgtk1.2 first

sudo apt-get install libgtk1.2

Mount your iso file with gmount-iso (or others).

Run installation.sh in Linux folder including LDOCE DVD. Remember to check full data files… in Option

Enjoy!

Install WyabdcRealPeopleTTS package for Stardict

Stardict is one of the best free dictionary program in Linux and Window. It offers many dictionaries in different languages. And all of them are free!

You can download stardic here

http://stardict.sourceforge.net/download.php

Download dictionary files here:

http://stardict.sourceforge.net/Dictionaries.php

To make Stardict pronounce English words you may use WyabdcRealPeopleTTS package. Download it here:

http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/stardict/WyabdcRealPeopleTTS.tar.bz2?download

In Linux, copy WyabdcRealPeopleTTS.tar.bz2 to your home folder, then use those command:

sudo cp WyabdcRealPeopleTTS.tar.bz2 /usr/share

cd /usr/share

sudo tar -jxvf WyabdcRealPeopleTTS.tar.bz2

Configuration: Preferences -> Sound at Command for playing wav file: type mplayer -ao alsa

Install mplayer with:

sudo apt-get install mplayer

In Windows, you can use WinRAR to extract the it and install it at “C:\Program Files\” or “Program Files\StarDict\”.

Enjoy!

IELTS Mordel Essay

Model essays.

These essays and paragraphs use topic sentences and other features of Western academic writing. They are useful models for international students who are planning to take the IELTS test (International English Language Testing System), or study in a university in the USA, the UK, Australia or New Zealand. There are task 1 and task 2 style examples.

To do some exercises on these texts click here.

Argumentative paragraph about cars.

Private cars are becoming a very controversial issue these days but they are important in our modern lives for two main reasons, poor public transport and business. Many people in the world live in towns, villages and even cities that do not have good buses or trains. Without cars these people could not travel to work, to the shops or do many other important things. Also, in many towns and cities buses stop before midnight but in today’s busy world people are busy twenty four hours a day. The next point is that cars help the economy in two ways. Firstly, the car industry gives many people in the world jobs and helps countries to develop. Secondly, many people today need cars in their work. Doctors need to visit patients, salespeople need to visit customers and computer technicians need to visit businesses. In conclusion, although cars can cause problems it is impossible to live without them in modern life.

---

The chart shows the fluctuations in the numbers of international students attending the Sydney International Language Centre in 2001.
At the start of the year numbers were quite high at 170, this was because there were a large number of students in University Preparation (UP) before the March intake. The student population remained the same until the end of February when 40 graduated from ELI and took up their offers in Bachelors and Masters courses. In both April and May, 15 extra students enrolled into ELI courses. There was a sharp increase in June when 20 new students entered UP courses. In July there was only an increase of five students as the Winter course intake was at the end of July and this was too late for students who were entering university in the second semester. In comparison to the first semester, there was a sharp drop in numbers as 50 students left, leaving only 135 students in ELI for August. From here until the end of the year there was a steady rise in student numbers to a peak of 180 in December.
Overall it shows steady growth when compared to the 2000 enrolments.

---

Argumentative essay about food