Welcome to pie plus, our magazine with extra learning worksheets - updated weekly
Competition time why not try and win free membership?
Take a text 30 activities for teachers to use with reading texts
Information sheets to help you make the most of our site
How to find a specific podcast
March news and
Competition to win free pie membership
The sidebar featuring our podcasts for March is chock-a-block! We have It doesn't add up for World Maths Day on the 8th and Cowboy country (one of our favourite pie videos) for the Oscars. But there are loads more so do go on the level pages and have a look!
We have also updated the podcasts of the month: for the beginner's level Richard talks about his breakfast in Good morning (pie vid), for level 1 we have New arrivals. We welcome the baby animals appearing in the countryside this spring (aahh). For level 2, Helen talks about the places All around the world she has lived in, and for level 3 we ask Plastic fantastic? There are so many bad, and good, things about this material.
So, despite the fact there are 652 podcasts on the site, we will be adding more this month. The first of these is Birdlife, we have an interesting podcast about how birds have played a key role for humans. For this level 3 podcast we also have a bonus podcast for members only. Don't forget also we have 100 podcasts in our business section covering a wide range of topics many of which have a general interest too.
Finally, with the Oscars in mind, pop over to our travelogues page where you can find many videos which just have the transcript. They are there for you to enjoy and improve your English at the same time, get the popcorn out!
Remember that while most podcasts are free, podcasts 1 - 99 are for members only. Each podcast has essential transcripts, worksheets and extra materials for teachers and learners and with over 2000 to choose from, so Join pie now!
Richard and Jackie
The pie team
Competition time
Phuong, from Vietnam was the lucky winner of last month's competition. She correctly said the answer was a) there's one place to ski in Portugal.
For this month's quiz just answer this question:
What is the name of the saloon bar in the cowboy town? Is it a) The Green Cactus b) The Yellow Rose or c) The Brown Cow? The answer is in this level 2 podcast / video: Cowboy country.
Write your answer on our Contact us page. Remember to tell us your name and where you are from. One winner gets free pie membership for 3 months. Good luck! Answers by the end of the month.
We have our own facebook page. Please like us and meet us there - and why not write some suggestions for podcasts, we'd love to hear from you!
Take a text
Take a text is a collection of 30 activities that you can do with your course book readings. There are 23 pre-reading activities, and 7 post-reading activities.
Each activity has information on what it practises, its uses, preparation before the class and clear instructions on what to do in class. There are also example texts used from a variety of course books so the activities are super clear.
Who is the book for?
■ It's ideal for new teachers. We remember not knowing what a 'jigsaw' reading was, or a 'dictation race'. We also remember thinking that we could do a lot more with a text in a course book, but not knowing what exactly. Over the years we have collected loads of exciting ideas, and these are what we want to share.
■ It's great for more experienced teachers too. Having so many ideas collected together means that it's a practical, easy reference book and one that should remind teachers of tasks they may have forgotten about. We're sure there are some new ideas included too!
Is it free?
Almost! It's just 9 Euros.
Students' information worksheets
To help you make the most of the site. There are more information worksheets for teachers on the teachers' page.
► Using PayPal (pdf 60KB) How to find your pie log in details and how to cancel your subscription. For everyone.
► Listening to the podcasts (pdf 23KB)Ten top listening tips to help you to listen to and understand real conversations. For members.
► Watching the videos (pdf 23KB)Eight great ideas on how you can watch the videos and understand the podcasts better. For members.
► Using the webquests (pdf 205KB)An explanation of the words and phrases we use on our webquests. For members.
► Natural spoken English 1 (pdf 55KB)Tasks to help you recognise the key features of natural spoken English. For members.
► Natural spoken English 2 (pdf 35KB)This worksheet helps you recognise fillers - and encourages you to use them yourself. For members.
Find a podcast
Over 600 podcasts! There are now three ways to find a podcast. One, go to the extras page where they are listed under topics. Two, type a topic into the search box (on the left). Three, by browsing the new lists of podcasts which we have compiled for each level:
►Level 1 list
►Level 2 list
►Level 3 list
And we have podcasts linked to special days throughout the year: ►Special days list
If you have a school subscription why not copy the lists and put them on the notice board for all your teachers to read.
PS Fill in the blanks as new podcasts come out until we renew the lists. (Lists last updated July 2021)
