Learn English with the 2012 Olympics

Welcome to the 2012 Olympics ESL style. Whether or not you think the Olympics are an important world event, or a waste of money, there is nothing you can do about it. The 2012 London games officially began with last night;s opening ceremony.

Since many of you are interested in the games, I thought it would be fun for you to practice a little English at the same time as you cheer for your favourite athletes, or teams  and enjoy enjoy your favourite sports.  

ESL Olympic Resources 

During the next few weeks, I will be posting a variety of resources from and about the 2012 Olympics to help you practice English. Hopefully,you can have fun learning some facts and new vocabulary about the Olympics and Olympic sports, watching some videos and reading different articles about the events at the Olympics.

I will also include many links to different websites where you can get more information as well as play games and do other Olympic related activities.


How about a little Olympic music? 

To get you in the mood, I have uploaded the official song of the 2012 Olympics, "Survival," by a British group called "Muse."  Try the listening exercise below to see how well you understand it.  After you have finished, try the vocabulary activity,. 

The song  "Survival"  was written specifically for the Games and will be played at various sport sessions at official Games locations. Four other songs have been specially composed for the games, and recorded by Elton John vs. Pnau, Delphic, Chemical Brothers and Dizzee Rascal.

People seem to have strong feelings about this song. They either hate it or love it. 

What is YOUR opinion?   Do you think it is a one to be the official Olympic song, or can you think of another one that would be better? Why?  I would love to read your comments.