40s Singleness-Learn English Online

Write On Wednesday

2008-01-16T05:02:00.000-06:00

In English we use adverbs to describe or modify verbs. They tell how, when, and where and can make your writing more interesting.

Many times we add -ly to an adjective to make an adverb.

For example, "The new computer worked beautifully."

By adding -ly to beautiful, we can tell how the computer worked. Here are some other examples using the same subject--the computer.

"The new computer worked quickly."
"The new computer worked fast."
"The new computer was working yesterday."
"It's working fast."
"It's working slow today."

Adverbs can also be used to describe adjectives.

For example, "Fabiola is a very hard worker."

and

"Matt is usually late."

and

"Luis is always conscientious about his work."

We can also use them to compare actions.

For example, "Victor works more quickly than Xing."

and

"Xing works more carefully than Victor."

Sometimes adverbs can join clauses together.

For example, "We'll do our bellwork, then have our lesson."

Adverbs of frequency-
The placement of adverbs of frequency, words that tell us how often something is happening, such as never, always, and sometimes depend upon the verb.

If the sentence contains one verb (there is no auxiliary verb such as to be), the adverb goes before the verb. For example, "I always brush my teeth when I wake up." If the sentence does contain an auxiliary verb, the adverb comes after the verb. For example, "The math teacher is always late to school." The exception to this is the very short sentence. For example, "He always is."

If the sentence contains more than one verb, the adverb is placed after the first verb. For example, "He can never get here on time."

Sometimes the adverb is placed at the beginning or end of a sentence for emphasis-usually at the end. For example, "Sometimes he manages to get here on time." or "He manages to get here early sometimes."

See how you do!

Adverb quiz 1
Adverb quiz 2
Adverb quiz 3
Adverb quiz 4

Idiom of The Week

2008-01-13T07:47:00.000-06:00

Today's idiom...

white elephant

A white elephant is an expensive, useless item. For example, "The town's new convention center, with a cost of over $5 million, is a white elephant."

*click on the image to order it from allposters.com

Friday Fun...ESL Humor

2008-01-11T05:19:00.000-06:00

From Humor and stories for interpreters: Our crazy English language!

Fat chance and slim chance mean the same thing.

Flammable and inflammable mean the same thing.

There is a whole collection of words called "Janus-faced" or "contronym" words.

Examples:

(source "Crazy English" by Richard Lederer)

WITH: a) alongside b) against
a) England fought with France against Germany.
b) England fought with France.

CLIP: a) fasten b) separate
a) Clip the coupon to the newspaper
b) Clip the coupon from the newspaper

FAST: a) firmly in one place b) rapidly from on place to another
a) The pegs held the test fast.
b) She ran fast.

BOLT: a) to secure in place b) to dart away
a) I'll bolt the door.
b) Did you see the horse bolt?

TRIM: a) add things to b) cut away
a) Let's trim the Christmas tree.
b) Let's trim the hedge.

DUST: a) remove material from b) spread material on
a) Three times a week they dust the floor.
b) Three times each season they dust the crops.

WEATHER: a) withstand b) wear away
a) Strong ships weather storms.
b) Wind can weather rocks.

HANDICAP: a) advantage b) disadvantage
a) What's your handicap in golf?
b) His lack of education is a handicap.

COMMENCEMENT: a) beginning b) conclusion
a) Beautiful weather marked the commencement of spring.
b) She won an award at her high school commencement.

HOLD UP: a) support b) hinder
a) Please hold up the sagging branch.
b) Accidents hold up the flow of traffic.

KEEP UP: a) continue to fall b) continue to stay up
a) The farmers hope that the rain will keep up.
b) Damocles hoped that the sword above his head would keep up.

LEFT: a) departed from b) remaining
a) Ten people left the room
b) Five people were left in the room.

DRESS: a) put items on b) remove items from
a) Let's dress for the ball
b) Let's dress the chicken for cooking

TEMPER: a) soften b) strengthen
a) You must temper your anger with reason.
b) Factories temper steel with additives.

CLEAVE: a) separate b) adhere firmly
a) A strong blow will cleave a plank in two.
b) Bits of metal cleave to a magnet.

STRIKE: a) secure in place b) remove
a) Use a firm grip to strike the nail.
b) When the show is over, we'll strike the set.

GIVE OUT: a) produce b) stop producing
a) A good furnace will give out enough energy to heat the house.
b) A broken furnace will often give out.

SANCTION: a) give approval of b) censure
a) The NCAA plans to sanction the event
b) Should our country impose a new sanction on Libya?

SCREEN: a) view b) hide from view
a) Tonight the critics will screen the film.
b) Defensemen mustn't screen the puck.

OVERSIGHT: a) careful supervision b) neglect
a) The foreman was responsible for the oversight of the project.
b) The foreman's oversight ruined the success of the project.

QUALIFIED: a) competent b) limited
a) The candidate for the job was fully qualified.
b) The dance was a qualified success.

MOOT: a) debatable b) not worthy of debate
a) Capital punishment is a moot point.
b) That the earth revolves around the sun is a moot point.

CERTAIN: a) definite b) difficult to specify
a) I am certain about what I want in life.
b) I have a certain feeling about the plan.

MORTAL: a) deadly b) subject to death
a) The knight delivered a mortal blow.
b) All humans are mortal.

BUCKLE: a) fasten together b) fall apart
a) Safe drivers buckle their sear belts.
b) Unsafe buildings buckle at the slightest tremor of the earth.

TRIP: a) to stumble b) to move gracefully
a) Don't trip on the curb.
b) Let's trip the light fantastic.

PUT OUT: a) generate b) extinguish
a) The candle put out enough light for us to see.
b) Before I went to bed, I put out the candle.

UNBENDING: a) rigid b) relaxing
a) On the job Smith is completely unbending.
b) Relaxing on the beach is a good way of unbending.

WEAR: a) endure through use b) decay through use
a) This suit will wear like iron.
b) Water can cause mountains to wear.

SCAN: a) examine carefully b) glance at hastily
a) I scan the poem.
b) Each day, I scan the want ads.

FIX: a) restore b) remove part of
a) It's time to fix the fence.
b) It's time to fix the bull.

SEEDED: a) with seeds b) without seeds
a) The rain nourished the seeded field.
b) Would you like some seeded raisins?

CRITICAL: a) opposed b) essential to
a) Joanne is critical of our effort
b) Joanne is critical to our effort.

THINK BETTER: a) admire more b) be suspicious of
a) I think better of the first proposal than the second.
b) If I were you, I'd think better of that proposal.

TAKE: a) obtain b) offer
a) Professional photographers take good pictures.
b) Professional models take good pictures.

IMPREGNABLE: a) invulnerable to penetration b) able to be impregnated
a) The castle was so strongly built that it was impregnable.
b) Treatments exist for making a childless woman more impregnable.

BELOW PAR: a) excellent b) poor
a) Her below par score won the golf tournament.
b) I'm disappointed in you below par performance on the spelling test.

DOWN HILL: a) adverse b) easy
a) When the source of the capital dried up, the fortunes of the corporation went down hill.
b) After you switch to diet drinks, it will be all down hill for your weight-loss program.

WIND UP: a) start b) end
a) I have to wind up my watch.
b) Now I have to wind up this discussion of curious and contrary contronyms.

- Stan Niles

Write On Wednesday

2008-01-02T08:16:00.001-06:00

Sentence construction and word order are very important in writing English. Here are a few rules concerning adjective placement in sentences.

In English, adjectives modify nouns and are placed before them in a sentence.

For example, "That is a beautiful painting!"

In this sentence the adjective beautiful modifies the noun painting and is placed before it in the sentence.

If more than one adjective modifies the noun, they are placed before the noun in the following order:

1. Opinion
2. Dimension
3. Age
4. Shape
5. Color
6. Origin
7. Material

For example, "She's wearing an ugly purple wool sweater."

Adjectives can be placed at the end of a sentence if they describe the subject.

For example, "The painting is beautiful!"

Try these exercises to test your use of adjectives.

Adjective Quiz Level A
Adjective Quiz Level B
Adjective Quiz Level C
Adjective Word Order Quiz

Tune in Tuesdays...Listening Skills

2008-01-01T07:07:00.000-06:00

Here are 3 New Year's listening activities from ello.org. Just click each picture to go to the activity.

Activity 1

Activity 2

Activity 3

Friday Fun...ESL Humor

2007-12-28T05:45:00.000-06:00

From Tina's Humor Archives

NOTICE:

To make things easier for all of us, please notice this Important Notice About Notices. You may have noticed the increased number of notices for you to notice. We notice that some of our notices have been noticed. On the other hand, some of our notices have not been noticed. This is very noticeable. It is noticed that the responses to the notices have been noticeably unnoticeable. This notice is to remind you to notice the notices and respond to the Notices because we do not want the noticed to go unnoticed.

Thursday's Reading Room

2007-12-27T08:44:00.001-06:00

One strategy to use to improve reading comprehension is a K-W-L chart. K-W-Ls are very helpful for setting a purpose for reading.

First, preview the text by reading the title, scanning the text for questions and graphics, reading author information and paying attention to words in bold type, headings, and any charts or graphs.

Next, create a K-W-L chart. This is a very simple 3 column chart as shown below.

Once your chart is drawn out, complete the first two columns. Write down things you already know about the topic of the text. In the second column, write things you want to know about the topic.

Then, after reading the text, fill out the third column which is things you learned in the text. Doing this will help you focus as you read.

Since the object here is to improve your reading comprehension in English, try completing the chart in English.

Write On Wednesday

2007-12-26T07:52:00.001-06:00

A common tradition in the United States is writing New Year's resolutions. Usually these are things we want to improve upon or do better in the year to come. They are things like losing weight, quitting smoking, being kinder or more generous, and trying a new activity such as dancing.

Why not practice your English writing skills by writing some resolutions for 2008? A good start would be to improve your English skills in any of the four areas: speaking, listening, reading or writing.

Write at least three resolutions and post them as a comment. I can't wait to read them!

I'll start with three of mine.

Be happy with me.
Work out regularly (at least 4 times a week).
Develop a deeper level of gratitude.

Happy 2008!

Monday Grammar Point

2007-12-24T07:18:00.000-06:00

Here's a great verb practice activity by Lingo4you - www.lingo4u.de based on the classic German story, "The Gingerbread Man."

The Gingerbread Man
© by Lingo4you - www.lingo4u.de

Once upon a time there (be)______________1 a little old man and a
little old woman, and they (live) ______________2 all alone in a
little old house. They (feel)______________3 quite lonely because
they (have) ______________4 no children. So one day, the little old
woman (make) ______________5 a little boy out of gingerbread.
When the little old woman (decorate) ________________________6
her gingerbread boy, she (put) ______________7 him in the oven.
Some time later the little old woman (open) ______________8 the oven door to (take)
______________9 her little gingerbread boy out again. But he just (jump) ______________10 out
of the oven and (run) ______________11 away.
The little old man and the little old woman (run) ______________12 after him to (catch)
______________13 their little gingerbread boy. But the gingerbread boy (be) ______________14
faster than the little old man and the little old woman. He (laugh) ______________15 and (shout)
______________16 , »(Run) ______________17 as fast as you (can) ______________18 . You
(catch/not) ______________19 me. I (be) ______________20 the gingerbread man.«
And they (can/not) ______________21 catch him.
The little gingerbread boy (run) ______________22 on and on and after a while he (pass)
______________23 a cow. The cow (say) ______________________24 , »Hello, little gingerbread
boy. You (look) ____________________________25 delicious. Please stop, I (want / eat)
________________________26 you.«
But the gingerbread boy just (laugh) ______________27 , »I (run) ______________28 away from
the little old man. And I (run) ______________29 away from the little old woman. So just (run)
______________30 as fast as you (can) ______________31 . You (catch/not)
______________________32 me. I (be) ______________33 the gingerbread man.«
And the cow (can/not) ______________34 catch him.
The little gingerbread boy (run) ______________35 on and on and after a while he (come)
_________________36 to a horse. The horse (tell) __________________37 the gingerbread boy,
»Please stop, you (look) ___________________38 very good to (eat) __________________39 .«
But the gingerbread boy just (laugh) ______________40 , »I (run) ______________41 away from
the little old man. I (run) __________42 away from the little old woman. I (run) ____________43
away from the cow. And I (run) ______________44 away from you! So just (run) ____________45
as fast as you (can) __________________46 . You (catch/not) ________________________47 me.
I (be) ______________48 the gingerbread man.«
And the horse (can/not) __________________49 catch him.
After the gingerbread boy (run) ____________________50 for another while, he (see) ________51
a fox. The gingerbread boy (cry) __________________52 , »I (run) ______________53 away from
the little old man.I (run) ____________54 away from the little old woman. I (run) ____________55
away from the cow. And I (run) _____________56 away from the horse. So just (run) _________57
as fast as you (can)_________58 ! You (catch/not) _________________59 me. I (be) _________60
the gingerbread man.«
But the fox (reply) __________61 , »I (know) ___________62 I (can/not/catch) ______________63
you. You (be) ______________64 too fast for me. But even if I (can) ______________65 catch
you, I (not/do) __________________________66 it.«
The little gingerbread boy ran on and on. But suddenly he (come) ____________________67 to a
river. He (be) ______________68 in deep trouble because he (know/not) ______________69 how
to swim. And the little old man, the little old woman, the cow and the horse (run/still) __________
__________________70 after him.
The fox (say) ______________71 , »Jump on my tail and I (take) ______________72 you across
the river.«
So the little gingerbread boy (jump) __________73 on the fox's tail. They (swim) ____________74
just a little distance when the fox (turn) __________________________75 his head to the little
gingerbread boy, »You (be) ___________________76 too heavy for my tail. Please little
gingerbread boy, (jump) ___________________77 on my back.«
So the little gingerbread boy (jump) ____________________78 on the fox's back. In the middle of
the river, the fox (ask) ________________79 the little gingerbread boy, »You (be) ___________80
too heavy. My back (sink) _______________________81 . (jump) ______________82 on my nose
and you (stay) ______________83 dry.«
So the little gingerbread boy (jump) _________________84 on the fox's nose. But as soon as they
(reach) _________________________85 the other side of the river, the fox (throw)
______________86 back his head and (eat) ___________________87 the little gingerbread boy.

Click here and scroll to page 3 for the answers.

Idiom of The Week

2007-12-23T07:08:00.000-06:00

Today's idiom...

a white Christmas

A white Christmas probably originated with Bing Crosby's popular song by the same name. It refers to having snow on Christmas Day. For example, "Look! It's snowing! We'll have a white Christmas after all!"

Enjoy Bing Crosby's "White Christmas"

*Click on the image for its source.

Speaking Skills Saturday

2007-12-22T05:25:00.000-06:00

Sing along with David Bowie and Bing Crosby in this fabulous rendition of Little Drummer Boy. The script and lyrics are below the video.

David: Hello...... you're the new butler?
Bing: Hahaha! Well, it's been a long time since I've been the new anything!
David: What's happened to Hudson?
Bing: I guess he's changing.
David: Yeah, he does that a lot, doesn't he? Uhm... Oh, I'm David Bowie, I live
down the road.
Bing: Oh!
David: Sir Percival let's me use his piano if he not around. He's not around, is
he?
Bing: I can honestly say I haven't seen him, but come on in! Come in!
David: But uh...
Bing: Come on in!
David: Are you related to sir Percival?
Bing: Well, distantly...
David: Oh, you're not the poor relation from America, right?
Bing: Ha! Gee... news sure travels fast, doesn't it? I'm Bing.
David: Oh, I'm pleased to meet you. You're the one that sings, right?
Bing: Well, right or wrong, I sing either way.
David: Oh well, I sing too.
Bing: Oh good! What kind of singing?
David: Mostly the contemporary stuff. Do you eh... do you like modern music?
Bing: Oh, I think it's marvellous! Some of it's really fine. But tell me, have you ever listened to any of the older fellows?
David: Oh yeah, sure. I like ah... John Lennon and the other one with eh...Harry
Nilsson.
Bing: Mmm... you go back that far, uh?
David: Yeah, I'm not as young as I look.
Bing: Haha, none of us is these days!
David: In fact I've got a six year old son. And he really gets excited around the Christmas holiday-thing.
Bing: Do you go in for anything of the traditional things in the... boy, household, Christmas time?
David: Oh yeah, most of them really. Presents, tree, decorations, agents sliding down the chimney...
Bing: What??
David: Oh, I was just seeing if you were paying attention.
Bing: Haha!
David: Actually, our family do most of the things that other families do. We
sing the same songs.
Bing: Do you?
David: Oh, I even have a go at 'White Christmas'.
Bing: You do, eh!
David: And this one. This is my son's favourite. Do you know this one?
Bing: Oh, I do indeed, it's a lovely theme.

And they told me pa-ram-pam-pam-pam
A new-born king to see pa-ram-pam-pam-pam
Our finest gifts we bring pa-ram-pam-pam-pam
Ra-pam-pam-pam, ra-pam-pam-pam

Peace on Earth, can it be
Years from now, perhaps we'll see
See the day of glory
See the day, when men of good will
Live in peace, live in peace again

Peace on Earth, can it be
Every child must be made aware
Every child must be made to care
Care enough for his fellow man
To give all the love that he can

I pray my wish will come true
For my child and your child too
He'll see the day of glory
See the day when men of good will
Live in peace, live in peace again

Peace on Earth, can it be
Can it be

Bing: It's a pretty theme, isn't it?

Friday Fun...ESL Humor

2007-12-21T05:26:00.000-06:00

From Tina's Humor Archives

A Southern Interpretation
In a small southern town I saw a wonderful "Nativity Scene," but one feature bothered me. The three wise men were wearing firemen's helmets.
Unable to come up with a reason or explanation, I left. At a "Quik Stop" on the edge of town, I asked the lady behind the counter about the helmets.
She exploded into a rage, yelling at me, "You darn Yankees never do read the Bible!" I assured her that I did, but simply couldn't recall anything about firemen in the Bible.
She jerked her Bible from behind the counter and ruffled through some pages, and finally jabbed her finger at a passage. Sticking it in my face she said "See, it says right here, 'The three wise men came from afar.'"

(Note: To get the full effect you must understand the American Southern Drawl. Fire is often pronounced 'far.' Read it aloud to really 'get' the humor.)

Tune in Tuesdays...Listening Skills

2007-12-18T06:00:00.000-06:00

From Musical English Lessons here are some great listening lessons using Christmas Carols.

Away In A Manger-Listen

* Dictionary Work

* Vocabulary in Context

* Pronunciation & Intonation in a musical context

While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks At Night-Listen

* Internet fun research for purposes of comparison

* Pronunciation & Intonation in a musical context

We Three Kings-Listen

* Stress & Intonation Practice

* Pronunciation & Intonation in a musical context

Monday Grammar Point

2007-12-17T05:13:00.000-06:00

Another fabulous School House Rock video. This one features verbs.

Friday Fun...ESL Humor

2007-12-14T08:59:00.000-06:00

From Tina's Humor Archives

This is from D. Ridge, concerning a friend of his who was a Mormon Missionary to Switzerland, in a german speaking region.
It appears that he was having some trouble with the language, but had acquired a sufficiently good grasp that he felt comfortable presenting a sermon on the Book of Revelations, and the events leading up to the end.
So, he's rolling along, and he's evoking the picture of the rapture, and the rule of the beast on the earth, and the fight between the Archangels and the forces of Hell, and the tension is building and building, until he reaches the climatic moment, and intones in a voice of thunder, "Und Dann Kommt die Ente!" (and then comes the end!)
Suddenly, the place erupts in laughter, which he can't understand. It seems that what he meant to say was, "Und Dann Kommt die Ende", which is "and then comes the end", but by making that mistake of one consonant on the last word, had managed to tell his rapt parishoners, that when everything was done, the climax of Armageddon would be the coming of 'die Ente', or The Duck.
And so, in the last days, after the fall of the stars from the sky, and the battle between the Archangels and the Forces of Hell, there shall Come the Duck! Quack!

Thursday's Reading Room

2007-12-13T06:00:00.001-06:00

Here is a nice Christmas reading comprehension activity and a little American Christmas culture. I use this reading from edhelper.com to help bring a little American culture to my students' Christmas and to help teach Christmas vocabulary in context.

¹ You know it's the Christmas season without anyone telling you! You see, hear, and smell the Christmas clues all around you. The things that tell you Christmas is coming are symbols. They are symbols of Christmas.

² Your eyes light up with the decorations. Red lights, white lights, and multicolored lights outline houses. They are draped over bushes and around trees. They are like tiny stars that twinkle in the night. Those lights are a part of our Christmas season. They make everything seem pretty and magical!

³ Christmas trees are another wonder of the season. They are draped with tinsel, garland, and lights. They are topped with stars or angels or bows. Their branches are filled with ornaments of all sizes, shapes, and colors. The people of Germany were the first to decorate trees for the holiday.

⁴ When you see a jolly fat man in a red suit with a white beard, you've seen another symbol of Christmas. Clement C. Moore's poem, "The Night before Christmas," described this Christmas character for us. Thomas Nast's drawing was based on the poem.

⁵ There is a flower linked to Christmas. It is the poinsettia [poyn-SET-ee-uh or poyn-SET-uh]. Christmas is the only time we see pots of poinsettias everywhere we go. Poinsettias came from Mexico. They were named after America's first ambassador to Mexico, Joel Poinsett. He liked the bright red leaves that look like flower petals. Since he introduced this plant to America in 1828, Americans have embraced it and made it a special holiday flower. Now we have pink and also white poinsettias, but red remains the most popular symbol of the day.

⁶ There is a special candy that is a symbol of Christmas. Of course, much candy is eaten at Christmas. One kind is a stick of peppermint. It is curved at one end. It has red and white stripes. This candy is also made in other colors and flavors. This candy is great for hanging on a Christmas tree!

⁷ Another symbol that stands for Christmas is called a crèche [KRESH] or nativity scene. It stands for the night of a special baby's birth. His name was Jesus. It is a scene from more than 2,000 years ago. A crèche includes a stable, people in long robes, and a baby lying in a feed trough. Sheep and cows are often there. Perhaps a camel or two stand nearby. Sometimes angels are included in a crèche.

⁸ Sometimes we can hear the sounds of the holiday. Only at Christmas do we hear the familiar "Ho ho ho!" of the season. We also hear bells more than any other time of the year! "Jingle Bells" is not only a song; it is a sound that tells us that good things are coming! Speaking of songs, music is a vital part of the season. We only hear Christmas music when Christmas is on its way.

⁹ Sometimes we can sniff the air and smell the scents of Christmas. The fresh-pine scent of living Christmas trees and the warm aroma of gingerbread are just two smells that remind us of the holiday and the goodness it brings.

¹⁰ As Christmas draws near, you will come across many symbols of the holiday. How many sights, sounds, and scents are there in your neighborhood?

Read the article and answer the following questions:

1. After reading the article, what other Christmas symbols were not mentioned?
2. What Christmas symbol is described in paragraph 4?
3. What happens when we smell Christmas cookies?
4. What candy is described in paragraph 6?
5. Why would a Mexican flower be named after an American?
6. Which one of these is not a sound of Christmas?
7. What is your favorite Christmas song?
8. Christmas trees originally came from _________.

Want to know how you did? Click here and scroll to the bottom of the page for the answer key.

Monday Grammar Point

2007-12-10T05:10:00.000-06:00

In English, apostrophes have three basic uses.

They are used to show possessives. For example, "That is Lisa's cat." This shows that the cat belongs to Lisa.
They are used to show missing letters such as in contractions. For example, "It's cold outside." In this case, the apostrophe takes the place of the I in is.
Sometimes the apostrophe is used to show the plural of lowercase letters. For example, "Mind your p's and q's." This is an idiom meaning show some manners.

One very common apostrophe mistake is using them in plurals. For example, "Lisa has three cat's." Cats is not possessive; it is simply plural. Lisa has more than one cat. Using the apostrophe would show possession and there is nothing in the sentence that belongs to the cats.

Another apostrophe error involves using them in possessive pronouns. For example, "Those cats are yours'." Yours is already possessive. There is no need to add the apostrophe.

Apostrophes are also misused with capital letters and numbers. For example, "The 1960s was a crazy decade." or "Lisa ordered three Macintosh G4s ."*

*Source: The OWL at Purdue

Idiom of The Week

2007-12-09T06:55:00.000-06:00

Today's idiom...

cold day in hell

A cold day in hell refers to how hot is in hell and the fact that it will never be cold there. It means that something will never happen. For example, "In will be a cold day in hell before I loan her money again. She never pays me back!"

Friday Fun...ESL Humor

2007-12-07T05:14:00.000-06:00

From MLP Humor:

EuroEnglish Language

The European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the EU rather than German, which was the other possibility. As part of the negotiations, Her Majesty's Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5 year phase-in plan that would be known as "EuroEnglish":

In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard "c" will be dropped in favor of the "k". This should klear up konfusion and keyboards kan have one less letter. There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year, when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with the "f". This will make words like "fotograf" 20% shorter.

In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible. Governments will enkorage the removal of double letters, which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the horible mes of the silent "e"'s in the language is disgracful, and they should go away. By the 4th yar, peopl wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v".

During ze fifz year, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaiining "ou" and similar changes vud of kors be aplid to ozer kombinations of leters. After zis fifz yer, ve vil hav a reli sensibl riten styl. Zer vil be no mor trubls or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech ozer. ZE DREM VIL FINALI KUM TRU!

Write On Wednesday

2007-12-05T05:09:00.000-06:00

With only a few weeks until Christmas, I thought I would post a Christmas themed writing prompt. Hopefully, it gets your creative writing juices flowing. Practice your writing in English, email me your your story/article and I'll post them next Wednesday.

Here's the prompt:

Cozy family holiday memories

I look forward to reading your writing!

Tune in Tuesdays...Listening Skills

2007-12-04T05:10:00.000-06:00

Here are 3 Christmas listening activities from ello.org. Just click each picture to go to the activity.

Activity One

Activity Two

Activity Three

Monday Grammar Point

2007-12-03T06:28:00.000-06:00

A great vintage American favorite!

Idiom of The Week

2007-12-02T07:53:00.001-06:00

Today's idiom...

pain in the neck

A pain in the neck is a person who is annoying. For example, "That kid drives me crazy! He is the most annoying person I've ever met. What a pain in the neck!"

*Click on the image for its source.

Speaking Skills Saturday

2007-12-01T06:37:00.001-06:00

We've been discussing reductions in American pronunciation the last couple of weeks. Have you been practicing them? No? Then here's your chance. If you missed the posts, here they are:

November 17
November 24

Eva Easton has a great reduction section. Many different reductions are covered and you are even able to listen to and then practice them. When you feel confident, you can take a quiz to see if you can recognize them in spoken English conversation.

Have fun and be sure to come back and let me know how you did!

Friday Fun...ESL Humor

2007-11-30T06:33:00.000-06:00

Funny classified ads from innocentenglish.com...

Write On Wednesday

2007-11-28T06:10:00.000-06:00

Some words are overused especially by English Language Learners who just don't yet have the vocabulary. In my classroom for example, students are not allowed to use the word nice to describe a character. This makes them look deeper into the character and to build vocabulary.

Looking for words? Check out this resource for overused words...

Synonyms for commonly used words

Monday Grammar Point

2007-11-26T06:07:00.000-06:00

Three separate interviewees in a single clip all using the present perfect.

Idiom of The Week

2007-11-25T07:34:00.001-06:00

Today's idiom...

Butterflies in my stomach.

To have butterflies in your stomach means to be very nervous. For example, "Victor was very nervous about doing well the upcoming test. He had butterflies in his stomach."

*Drawing by Victor G. (Victor is a student in my Beginning ESL class.)

Speaking Skills Saturday

2007-11-24T06:26:00.000-06:00

The next reduction lesson...

Visit funeasyenglish.com for more on reductions.

Friday Fun...ESL Humor

2007-11-23T06:23:00.001-06:00

From Humor and stories for interpreters: Our crazy English language!

Why the English language is so hard to learn...

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to
present the present.
8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13) They were too close to the door to close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18) After a number of injections my jaw got number.
19) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
20) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
21) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

Learn English on Your Cell Phone--Part 2

2007-11-20T06:10:00.000-06:00

Recently I posted a story about learning English on your cell phone. Today I found another way to do the same thing using text messages.

Monday Grammar Point

2007-11-19T05:22:00.000-06:00

A clip introducing the present perfect while reviewing many of the other verb tenses already covered in previous Real English lessons.

Idiom of The Week

2007-11-18T06:54:00.001-06:00

Today's idiom....

Money doesn't grow on trees

We say money doesn't grow on trees when someone is acting like there is an unlimited supply of it, usually children. For example:

Child: Mom, can I have a new Playstation?
Mom: Are you kidding me? Those are expensive. Money doesn't grow on trees you know!

*click on the image to order it from allposters.com

Speaking Skills Saturday

2007-11-17T07:26:00.001-06:00

As if all of the phonetic sounds in English don't make speaking it any easier, English Language Learners must also deal with word and phrase reductions. These are cases in informal language where words sort of 'run together' when they are being spoken.

Classic examples are going to and want to which become gonna and wanna. And speaking them isn't the only issue. You also have to be able to understand them when you hear them.

Here are some more examples:

let me becomes lemme
give me becomes gimme
have to becomes hafta
has to becomes hasta
got to becomes gotta
out of becomes outta
did you becomes didja
do you becomes doya
them becomes 'em
her/him become 'er/'im
should have becomes shoulda
could have becomes coulda
would have becomes woulda

Check out this great video lesson. Watch for follow up videos in weeks to come!

Friday Fun...ESL Humor

2007-11-16T05:13:00.000-06:00

From Humor and stories for interpreters: Our crazy English language!

Hints on pronunciation!

I take it you already know
Of tough and bough and cough and dough?
Others may stumble but not you,
On hiccough, thorough, lough, and through?
Well done! And now you wish, perhaps,
To learn of less familiar traps?

Beware of heard, a dreadful word
hat looks like beard and sounds like bird,
And dead: it's said like bed, not bead --
For goodness sake don't call it 'deed'!
Watch out for meat and great and threat
(They rhyme with suite and straight and debt).

A moth is not a moth in mother,
Nor both in bother, broth in brother,
And here is not a match for there
Nor dear and fear for bear and pear;
And then there's dose and rose and lose --
Just look them up -- and goose and choose,

And corek and work and card and ward,
And font and front and word and sword,
And do and go and thwart and cart --
Come, come, I've hardly made a start!
A dreadful language? Man alive!
I'd mastered it when I was five!

Thursday's Reading Room

2007-11-15T05:16:00.000-06:00

One of the problems for English Language Learners trying to read is all of the new vocabulary encountered and, if you try to translate every single word, looking it up in a dictionary or with an online translator, you'll never be able to comprehend the overall message of the piece you are trying to read.

Answers.com has a solution. 1-Click Answers is free software that allows you to get definitions and pronunciations with just one click. By holding down the alt button and then clicking on the word. It's just that simple! There's also a pop-out desktop AnswerBar that docks on your desktop. Just type in a word and 1-Click Answers find the definition.

This is a great tool for English Language Learners. Check it out!

Write On Wednesday

2007-11-14T07:38:00.000-06:00

Your turn! Today is “Mom & Dad’s Day.” Take some time to write a letter and/or poem to your mom and dad. You may also want to write a letter or poem for someone else who is important to you.

Here's mine:

Dear Mom and Dad,

I just want to say thank you for everything you do for me and the girls. I may never have the words to express just how much I love and appreciate you.

Daddy, you are my protector and my biggest supporter. I love you more than you know. You make me feel safe and loved every day.

Mom, you would move heaven and earth for me, but more than that you try to help me learn from my mistakes and to be a better person. Thank you.

I love you both!
Love,
Lisaq

Email me yours! I'd love to post them!

Tune in Tuesdays...Listening Skills

2007-11-13T05:50:00.000-06:00

Isabel Perez has a great ESL site. There is a section for teaching with songs that is just fabulous! Most of the music she uses is popular music. I'll be using a lesson based on Shakira's "Whenever, Wherever" in my class today. Though it has a pronunciation base (at least in the way I'm using it), it also contains a cloze activity so that students can listen and fill in the words. Why not try it?

Download Shakira from iTunes.
Shakira...Whenever, Wherever

Monday Grammar Point

2007-11-12T05:13:00.000-06:00

A great video demonstrating how to use have and got. It also contains great vocabulary.

Idiom of The Week

2007-11-11T08:35:00.001-06:00

Today's idiom...

Sick as a dog.

To be sick as a dog means to be extremely sick. For example, "Victor has had the flu for a week. He's sick as a dog!"

*click on the image for its source

Learn English on Your Cell Phone

2007-11-10T07:50:00.000-06:00

A very cool new service designed for Spanish speakers learning English.

Friday Fun...ESL Humor

2007-11-09T05:06:00.000-06:00

Hilarious headline bloopers from Language Humor.

ACTUAL NEWS HEADLINES
Contributor Unknown

Squad Helps Dog Bite Victim
Shot Off Woman's Leg Helps Nicklaus to 66
Enraged Cow Injures Farmer with Ax
Plane Too Close to Ground, Crash Probe Told
Miners Refuse to Work after Death
Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant
Stolen Painting Found by Tree
Two Soviet Ships Collide, One Dies
Drunken Drivers Paid $1000
'84 War Dims Hope for Peace
If Strike isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last a While
Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures
Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says
Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
Safety Experts Say School Bus Passengers Should Be Belted
Farmer Bill Dies in House
Is There a Ring of Debris around Uranus?
Stud Tires Out
Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over
British Left Waffles on Falkland Islands
Lung Cancer in Women Mushrooms
Eye Drops off Shelf
Teacher Strikes Idle Kids
Reagan Wins on Budget, But More Lies Ahead

*click on the image for its source

Tune in Tuesdays...Listening Skills

2007-11-06T05:14:00.000-06:00

ESL animated lesson on the topic of a house break-in. Listening practice for lower intermediate students. Function - describing faces.

Fun adjective/listening lesson!

Monday Grammar Point

2007-11-05T05:13:00.000-06:00

This tense is perfect for video - we see what the people are doing while the say what they are doing.

Idiom of The Week

2007-11-04T08:29:00.000-06:00

Today's idiom...

drink like a fish

To drink like a fish means to drink a lot, especially alcohol. For example, "Terry is out drinking at the club all the time. He drinks like a fish!"

Click on the image to order the t shirt from Ray Troll T-Shirts

Speaking Skills Saturday

2007-11-03T07:37:00.001-05:00

Our school recently purchased 5 Creative Zen V Plus mp3 players to check out for use in the classroom. These are fabulous little mp3's that can be very helpful to you in many aspects of your English Language Learning.

One of the cool features is an line-in recording and a built in mic which you can use to record directly onto the device. I used them a few days ago so that my students could practice intonation. I simply had the students record phrases featuring the intonation patterns we were working on. They then downloaded them onto the computer where they could listen to themselves and determine whether or not their voices were rising and falling in the appropriate places in the phrases. Of course, you can listen directly from the mp3 player but this also gives me the opportunity to evaluate their intonation.

For language learning use, the Creative Zen V Plus is the way to go. It is relatively inexpensive selling for about $80 but is packed full of useful features including video and a FM radio transmitter. Fantastic for listening practice!

For more information on the Creative Zen V Plus, click on the picture!

Thursday's Reading Room

2007-11-01T05:16:00.000-05:00

Human Brain Cloud is a fabulous site to increase vocabulary through word association. It's a fun multi player game which generates strong or weak connections to words depending on how many players choose the same word association.

Here's how it works. You are given a word or phrase and asked to type in the first word that comes to your mind. It's fun and addicting and sometimes just plain nuts but, if you get a word you don't know, you skip it and move on to another one. When you tire of that you can view the cloud clicking on words to see their associations.

Write On Wednesday

2007-10-31T05:53:00.000-05:00

Describes the steps you need to follow to write a business letter in English.

Tune in Tuesdays...Listening Skills

2007-10-30T05:11:00.000-05:00

My Language Exchange is a site where you can practice learning English with someone learning your language. You help them, they help you!

The site includes a pen pal feature, translations, voice and text chat, word games and much, much more.

From the site:

Following the Cormier method, you will practice with native speakers of the language you're learning, in small mixed groups of speakers of the two languages - ideally, between 2 and 4 people. Half the time, you will be speaking in the language you're practicing, and half the time in your own language - to give your exchange partners a chance to practice too.

It's the perfect opportunity to practice English and help someone else learn a language!

Monday Grammar Point

2007-10-29T05:09:00.000-05:00

The simple past is contrasted with the present perfect in the Intermediate level video for students of English as a Second Language.

Idiom of The Week

2007-10-28T10:01:00.001-05:00

Today's idiom...

costs an arm and a leg.

When something costs an arm and a leg, it is very expensive. For example, "Gas is so expensive right now. I swear it cost me an arm and a leg to fill my car up!"

*click on the image for its source

Speaking Skills Saturday

2007-10-27T08:59:00.000-05:00

Here are some sample telephone conversations to practice.

Leaving a message on someone's voicemail or answering machine.

Hello. This is lisaq. It's 9:00 on Saturday. I'm calling to (state your reason for calling). Could please call me back at 555-555-5555? Thanks!

Making an appointment.

Me: Hello. This is lisaq. I'd like to make an appointment to see Dr. Soandso.
Receptionist: Of course. What seems to be the problem?
Me: I'm running a fever and my throat hurts.
Receptionist: How would Monday at 3:00 work?
Me: That would be great! Thanks.
Receptionist: Fine. See you Monday.

Making a hotel reservation.

Me: Hello. This is lisaq. I'd like to make a reservation for the weekend of November 24th please.
Clerk: Certainly. What kind of room will you need.
Me: I'll need a suite with 2 beds and cooking accommodations. I prefer a non-smoking room.
Clerk: Okay. How many adults will be in your party?
Me: There will be 2 adults and 1 child.
Clerk: Great. You'll need the room for 2 nights?
Me: Yes, for Saturday and Sunday nights.
Clerk: Okay. The cost of the room will be $159 per night. I'll need your credit card number to secure your reservation.
Me: That will be fine. My Visa card number is 5555 5555 5555 5555. The expiration date is January of 2009.
Clerk: Okay. I have you down for a non-smoking double suite with cooking accommodations on November 24 & 25th. Your confirmation number is 5555 5555.
Me: That sounds great. What time is check in?
Clerk: You can check in any time after 11:00 a.m. and check out time is noon.
Me: Very good. Thank you.
Clerk: Thank you ma'am. See you on the 24th.

Friday Fun...ESL Humor

2007-10-26T09:40:00.001-05:00

Tune in Tuesdays...Listening Skills

2007-10-23T05:09:00.000-05:00

A hilarious listening lesson from English Feed. This Monty Python clip focuses on the following phrase situations:

asking someone to speak up
disagreeing

Add English Feed to your page

Monday Grammar Point

2007-10-22T05:08:00.000-05:00

"Can" in the sense of "to be able to do" and not as a semi-polite way to begin a question such as "Can you show me the video please." Part 3

Idiom of The Week

2007-10-21T09:51:00.001-05:00

Today's idiom...

blind as a bat

To be blind as bat means that someone is unable to see well. For example, "Xing can't see the the blackboard without his glasses. He's blind as a bat!"

*click on the image for its source

Speaking Skills Saturday

2007-10-20T07:55:00.001-05:00

Making "small talk" is another great way to practice speaking skills. Small talk is just casual, polite conversation which fills those awkward silences that sometimes occur between people. Usually small talk topics include the weather, current events, sports, celebrities and entertainment news, etc.

EnglishClub.com has a great small talk section which includes a discussion of small talk as well as conversation starters, three practice exercises and a small talk quiz.

The practice exercises include small talk at a party, at the bus stop, and at the office. There are 10 mistakes in each practice dialog which you are asked to find. You can then check your answers before taking the small talk quiz.

Friday Fun...ESL Humor

2007-10-19T06:16:00.000-05:00

The Importance Of Correct Punctuation, Games Magazine (1984)

Dear John:

I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings whatsoever when we're apart. I can be forever happy--will you let me be yours?

Gloria

Dear John:

I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people, who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me. For other men, I yearn. For you, I have no feelings whatsoever. When we're apart, I can be forever happy. Will you let me be? Yours,

Gloria

Thursday's Reading Room

2007-10-18T05:06:00.000-05:00

I found a great timed reading test to assess your English reading comprehension. There are 20 questions, and you have 15 minutes to take the test. My suggestion is if you don't know the answer to one, skip it and come back to it. You don't want to waste time on questions you don't know or you won't have time to answer the ones you do know.

A warning. These are tricky. Read them carefully!

EnglishClub.com reading test

Write On Wednesday-Vocabulary

2007-10-17T05:14:00.000-05:00

My good friend Susie of The Accidental Environmentalist sent me this site, Free Rice. Free Rice is a very cool site where you can build vocabulary and help feed hungry people.

You are given a vocabulary word and four definitions. You choose which definition you think is correct. For every one you get right, they donate 10 grains of rice to help feed the hungry. Currently, they are providing over 2,000,000 grains of rice a day!

It's a win-win situation. You build your vocabulary and help feed the hungry!

Tune in Tuesdays...Listening Skills

2007-10-16T08:24:00.000-05:00

Practice your listening skills with ESL Robots. This is a great site because the conversations and practice deal with common, everday topics such as renting a hotel room or an apartment and shopping. There is also a great interactive feature. It's also great for speaking and conversation practice.

Monday Grammar Point

2007-10-15T05:17:00.000-05:00

"Can" in the sense of "to be able to do" and not as a semi-polite way to begin a question such as "Can you show me the video please." Part 2. If you missed Part I, you can see it here.

Idiom of The Week

2007-10-14T07:35:00.000-05:00

Today's idiom...

When pigs fly

When pigs fly means that something will never happen. For example, "Do you think lisaq will get a date with Johnny Depp?" "Sure. When pigs fly!"

(Note: I found this image on several blogs but could not find the original source. If you are the creator, please let me know so I can give proper credit.)

Speaking Skills Saturday

2007-10-13T08:40:00.000-05:00

I've said before that having conversations in English is one of the best ways there is to practice your speaking skills. Unfortunately what happens many times is that you sit down to have a conversation with someone and find that you have absolutely nothing to talk about.

Chatterbox is here to help! It is a very cool site full of conversation starters. They have hundreds of questions in English to give you something to talk about! How cool is that?

To use Chatterbox you simply click on the topics you're interested in, select a category, and then click 'get questions.' Violla! You have something to talk about! You can even choose to print the questions out!

Chatterbox makes these suggestions:

No yes / no or other one word answers. The idea is to have a conversation.
Each person is allowed to have their say without interruptions or criticism.
Swap around who asks and who first answers the questions.

Here are some sample questions.

What is your least favorite day of the week and why?
When did you last laugh out loud and why?
What would your ideal height be?
What is your favorite texture?
Have you ever stolen anything, and if so what?
Should cannabis be legal and if so why (or if not, why not)?
Invent a superhero
If you were Mr Tickle, who would you tickle and where?
What keeps you awake at night?
Should there be compulsory military service?

I think they look like tremendous fun! Enjoy!

Friday Fun...ESL Humor

2007-10-12T05:33:00.000-05:00

Check out the craziness of the English language from Humor Matters:

Our Crazy Language-Why is it that way??

Did you know that "verb" is a noun?

How can you look up words in a dictionary if you can't spell them?

If a word is misspelled in a dictionary, how would we ever know?

If two mouses are mice and two louses are lice, why aren't two houses hice?

If Webster wrote the first dictionary, where did he find the words?

If you've read a book, you can reread it. But wouldn't this also mean that you would have to "member" somebody in order to remember them?

Is it a coincidence that the only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is uncopyrightable?

Is there another word for a synonym?

Shouldn't there be a shorter word for "monosyllabic"?

What is another word for "thesaurus"?

Where do swear words come from?

Why can't you make another word using all the letters in "anagram"?

Why do fat chance and slim chance mean the same thing?

Why do overlook and oversee mean opposite things?

Why do people use the word "irregardless"?

Why do some people type "cool" as "kewl?"

Why do we say something is out of whack? What is a whack?

Why do we say something's out of order when its broken but we never say in of order when it works?

Why does "cleave" mean both split apart and stick together?

Why does "slow down" and "slow up" mean the same thing?

Why does flammable and inflammable mean the same thing?

Why does X stand for a kiss and O stand for a hug?

Why doesn't "onomatopoeia" sound like what it is?

Why don't we say "why" instead of "how come"?

Why is "crazy man" an insult, while to insert a comma and say "Crazy, man!" is a compliment?

Why are a wise man and wise guy opposites?

Why is abbreviation such a long word?

Why is dyslexic so hard to spell?

Why is it so hard to remember how to spell MNEMONIC?

Why is it that no word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or purple?

Why is it that the word "gullible" isn't in the dictionary?

Why is it that we recite at a play and play at a recital?

Why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham?

Why is the alphabet in that order? Is it because of that song?

Why is the plural of goose-geese, and not the plural of moose-meese?

Why isn't "palindrome" spelled the same way backwards?

Why isn't phonetic spelled the way it sounds?

Thursday's Reading Room

2007-10-11T05:20:00.000-05:00

I taught a reading strategy to my students today that I thought might be helpful here as well. It is a strategy to clarify ideas. It's very simple yet very effective. There are two steps.

One is to break a sentence down, or chunk it, into smaller parts. Doing this allows you to find the main idea of the sentence, thus enabling you to better understand the sentence itself. One way to do this by paying attention to puncHere is an example sentence from the text we were working with, The Right Words At The Right Time by John Leguizamo.

"When you're a poor kid at a poor school, you worry a lot about how you look all the time, how much money you're spending on clothes and all that."

We would break this sentence into three parts using the commas as guides, so we end up with:

When you're a poor kid at a poor school
you worry a lot about how you look all the time
how much money you're spending on clothes and all that

Now we can look at each segment and it's easy to see that the main idea of the sentence is that John worried a lot about how he looked. We know it's the main idea because it conveys emotion.

Secondly, slow down. Very simply modify your rate of speech. Sometimes even though you can read and pronounce the words fluently, you are not comprehending what you are reading. By slowing down, you can take the time to make sure you are understanding.

Write On Wednesday

2007-10-10T05:09:00.000-05:00

Discusses the importance of good spelling, and presents free online spell checking tools for Internet Explorer and Firefox. The video spends a lot of time talking about spelling in emails, but the same applies to blog writing. It also gives you just one more reasons to switch to Firefox if you are an ELL and haven't already!

Tune in Tuesdays...Listening Skills

2007-10-09T17:50:00.000-05:00

Music videos are a fun way to practice your listening skills. Enjoy one of my favorite songs of the moment. Watch, listen, and try to pick up the lyrics. There's a link to them at the bottom of the post!

Colbie Caillat Bubbly lyrics!

Monday Grammar Point

2007-10-08T05:08:00.000-05:00

"Can" in the sense of "to be able to do" and not as a semi-polite way to begin a question such as "Can you show me the video please." Part 1

Idiom of The Week

2007-10-07T00:00:00.000-05:00

This week's idiom...

couch potatoA couch potato is someone who is very inactive and spends most of their time on the couch in front of the TV. For example, "Edgar is overweight because he spends all of his time watching TV. He is such a couch potato!"

*click on the mousepad to order if from The Gift Wizard

Speaking Skills Saturday

2007-10-06T07:30:00.000-05:00

Here's another fabulous lesson from Musical English Lessons! This one features a clip from Mr. Bean. The idea is to read through the vocabulary, watch the segment of the clip it relates to. Then read through the vocabulary again learning any new words. Finally watch the segment again and describes what Mr. Bean is doing using the vocabulary.

Click here for instructions for students. Then scroll down the page for the vocabulary lists. Have fun!

Friday Fun...ESL Humor

2007-10-05T05:12:00.000-05:00

From ESL Humor...

This joke shows how important punctuation can be. As you can see below, a comma and an exclamation mark can completely change the meaning.

An English teacher wrote these words on the whiteboard: "woman without her man is nothing". The teacher then asked the students to punctuate the words correctly. The men wrote: "Woman, without her man, is nothing." The women wrote: "Woman! Without her, man is nothing."

Thursday's Reading Room

2007-10-04T00:00:00.000-05:00

I stumbled upon AgendaWeb last night and was immediately impressed with the incredible resources offered there. When I began to explore it a little more, I found some really incredible sentence reconstruction exercises as well as more tradition reading comprehension exercises.

Scroll to the bottom left corner of the page to find the reading section. From there click on intermediate level 4 to get to the sentence reconstruction exercises and then choose a topic. Here is a screen shot of the John F. Kennedy exercise.

Click on the letter of the sentence/passage you believe is first in the sequence of the text, then the second and so on. And from the English teacher, can I just say it's a little more difficult than it looks at first glance. Why not check out and give yourself some reading comprehension practice?

Write On Wednesday

2007-10-03T05:06:00.000-05:00

According to Kenneth Beare, one of the most important steps in writing is exploring and expanding the use of more descriptive words, specifically verbs. For example, instead of "He said..., She told him..., She asked..., He ran quickly..., He walked across the room..." try "He insisted on..., She giggled..., They nibbled on..., etc." Here is a variation on his Expanding Descriptive Verb Use lesson.

First, write down the verbs 'say, laugh, walk, eat, think, drink' on a piece of paper.

Next, go to an online thesaurus such as thesaurus.com and type in each word. Write down the synonyms you find for each one.

Third, write a simple story using the simple verbs in the first step.

Finally, begin substituting the synonyms for them. Read your stories out loud to hear the differences the changes in the verbs make. You might even record yourself reading them to get a better idea and to practice your speaking skills.

Notice how changing a simple verb makes a huge impact on a story. Here's an example from Education World. Try it a couple of times to see how the story can be changed.

The Story
Aunt Skeeter and the (bad) __________ Itch

It was a (very) __________ hot day at Bluebell Farm. Aunt Skeeter had been (working) __________ in the garden since daybreak. She looked up at the (hot) __________ sun and wished she could go swimming in the (cool) __________ creek. All at once, Aunt Skeeter had a (good) __________ idea. She decided that a swim was just what she needed. So she (ran) __________ down to the creek and (jumped) __________ in! A smile spread across her face as she floated on the water. The (nice) __________ swim didn't last very long, however. All of a sudden, Aunt Skeeter let out a (cry) __________ that could be heard in the next county. She jumped out of the water as though she'd been shot from a cannon. She wiggled and squirmed, trying to (find) __________ the source of her discomfort. Finally, after one (big) __________ shake, a (fat) __________ catfish came flopping out of Aunt Skeeter's overalls. Seeing the catfish made Aunt Skeeter (laugh) __________ so hard that she had the hiccups for two days!

Tune in Tuesdays...Listening Skills

2007-10-02T05:06:00.000-05:00

I stumbled upon this ESLvideo.com last night. It allows you to create video lessons and quizzes using You Tube videos. This is not one I created but it is one that is built around listening comprehension.

Just watch the video and answer the questions. Read the transcript and check your listening comprehension. Repeat the difficult words or sentences out loud. Check the Notes for information about culture, grammar, slang, or pronunciation. Enjoy!

Students speak (ask questions) as part of this exercise. Part 1/4 of "How long does it take?".

Monday Grammar Point

2007-10-01T05:16:00.000-05:00

Idiom of The Week

2007-09-30T09:43:00.000-05:00

Today's idiom....

To be in a pickle.

To be in a pickle means to be in a difficult situation. For example, "Alan was in a pickle on the day of the test because he forgot to study."

*click on the image for its source

Speaking Skills Saturday

2007-09-29T08:37:00.000-05:00

A nice pronunciation lesson for pronouncing the "E" sound in English.

Friday Fun...ESL Humor

2007-09-28T00:00:00.000-05:00

From ESL Humor...

A linguistics professor was lecturing to his English class one day. "In English," he said, "A double negative forms a positive. In some languages, though, such as Russian, a double negative is still a negative. However, there is no language wherein a double positive can form a negative."

A voice from the back of the room piped up, "Yeah, right."

Don't understand the joke? "Yeah, right." is a slang expression which actually means "I don't think so." Technically, however, it is a double positive, which proves the professor wrong.

Write On Wednesday

2007-09-26T18:24:00.000-05:00

Before you write today's blog post or that essay you need to get done, check out
Cleveland State University's Writing Center. There are several online handouts and practice sheets designed to help you improve your writing. There are resources for writing and combining sentences as well as grammar resources. In addition, you will find writing process resources including brainstorming and revision resources.

Tune in Tuesdays...Listening Skills

2007-09-25T00:00:00.000-05:00

Today's listening lesson is one I adapted from a lesson I found at Dave's ESL Cafe. Watch and listen to the Coca Cola ad and fill in the cloze exercise with the missing lyrics. Be sure to email me yours when you finish!

one ______ you’ll _______ you can _____
is that ______ is as _______ as it gets
and you’ll get _______ if you _______ it

you can say that _______ not really _______
and __________ that you don’t _______ _______
but you’ll do _______ to _______ it

it’s the ________ _______ to do
and you _______ it
it’s _______ of you
so ________ _______ it

_______ is the ______
it’s ________ of ______
baba ba baba ba ba

in the ______ of a _________ and _________
in the ______ of a ______ and a __________
it’s ______ if you ______ it
whoa whoa whoa

in the ________ of the ______ passin’ __________
in the _____ that is all __________ you
it’s __________
you _____ go to _____

it’s the ________ _______ to do
and you _______ it
it’s _______ of you
so ________ _______ it

_______ is the ______
it’s ________ of ______
baba ba baba ba ba
it’s the right thing to do

Monday Grammar Point

2007-09-24T05:11:00.000-05:00

The It's Its There Their They're Quiz! How well will you do?

You Scored an A

Lisaq got 10/10 questions correct.

It's pretty obvious that you don't make basic grammatical errors.
If anything, you're annoyed when people make simple mistakes on their blogs.
As far as people with bad grammar go, you know they're only human.
And it's humanity and its current condition that truly disturb you sometimes.

The It's Its There Their They're Quiz

Idiom of The Week

2007-09-23T08:28:00.001-05:00

Today's idiom...

a mile a minute

A mile a minute means extremely fast. For example, "Mr. Thingamajig talks a mile a minute."

*Click on Mr. Thingamajig's picture to hear him talk a mile a minute!

Speaking Skills Saturday

2007-09-22T07:59:00.001-05:00

American Accent Training helps you speak like a native speaker. They feature phonetic spelling for many American phrases because we all know that native American speakers don't enunciate and pronounce the sounds as they are really supposed to sound. For example:

American Sound	Regular Spelling
Kwee geddit?	Can we get it?
Sko!	Let's go!
Jeet? No, joo?	Did you eat? No, did you?
Jläik smore?	Would you like some more?
I shüda tol joo.	I should have told you.
Ledder gedda bedder wädr heedr.	Let her get a better water heater.
How to wreck a nice beach.	How to recognize speech.
Hole däna sek'nt!	Hold on a second!
Hæoja ly kuh liddul more?	How would you like a little more?
They doe neev'n lye kit.	They don't even like it.

Also, be sure to check out Mr. Thingamajig who rattles off American expressions a mile a minute! (Check tomorrow's Idiom of the Week for the explanation!) There are also great intonation, word connection, and pronunciation sections. Be sure to visit American Accent Training!

Friday Fun...ESL Humor

2007-09-21T00:00:00.000-05:00

Four Languages
A Swiss guy visiting Sydney, Australia, pulls up at a bus stop where two locals are waiting. "Entschuldigung, koennen Sie Deutsch sprechen?" he asks.
The two Aussies just stare at him.
"Excusez-moi, parlez vous Francais?" he tries.
The two continue to stare.
"Parlare Italiano?"
No response.
"Hablan ustedes Espanol?"
Still nothing.
The Swiss guy drives off, extremely disgusted. The first Aussie turns to the second and says, "Y'know, maybe we should learn a foreign language."
"Why?" says the other. "That guy knew four languages, and it didn't do him any good."

Source: Study English Today

Thursday's Reading Room

2007-09-20T00:00:00.000-05:00

From the story: "Each year, one-third of America's children arrive at their first day of school developmentally behind their peers and without the skills necessary to succeed." Take part in this day designated for reading and support literacy for kids. And, just to make it fun, read a book in English!

Tune in Tuesdays...Listening Skills

2007-09-18T05:09:00.000-05:00

Easy Online RSS Reader is a fabulous resource for ESL Podcasts. It is very well done and easy to use. From the site:

From this page, you can easily and quickly listen to many podcasts.
At the top of the page, you will see a menu.
Choose a podcast from the menu.
You can then listen to the MP3 file online or download the MP3 file and put it on a portable MP3 player such as an iPod.
Some of these podcasters have a link to a page that has a transcription of their show, so you can read along as you listen.

As I mentioned in this post, podcasts are a great way to practice your English listening skills. Be sure to check out Easy Online RSS Reader!

Monday Grammar Point

2007-09-17T05:39:00.000-05:00

Check out subjects and predicates with Schoolhouse Rock.

Idiom of The Week

2007-09-16T09:47:00.000-05:00

Today's idiom...

Mad as a hatter.

Mad as a hatter is a reference to Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. Mad in this case means crazy. In Alice in Wonderland, The Mad Hatter was absolutely crazy and has become synonymous with being crazy. For example, "Have you met Anayeli?" "Yes. That girl is mad as a hatter!"

*click on the image for its source

Speaking Skills Saturday

2007-09-15T08:28:00.000-05:00

The Q in lisaq is for Quirke. I spend a lot of time trying to teach my students how to say my name every year so when I came across this video, I had to post it. Though my name has a silent -e and quirky does not, it's still a good tool to practice both the word and my name!

Online Videos by Veoh.com

Friday Fun...ESL Humor

2007-09-14T00:00:00.000-05:00

I guess President Bush needs some speaking skills practice too!

Thursday's Reading Room

2007-09-12T21:54:00.000-05:00

To be able to read in English you have to be able to use context clues to figure out unfamiliar vocabulary. Cloze exercises are a perfect way to practice doing just that. Cloze exercises are basically fill-in-blanks exercises. Sometimes a word bank is given; sometimes readers use the context clues in the sentence to find an appropriate word of their own.

I know what you're thinking. How can I possibly figure out what word goes in the blank? Here are a couple of strategies to help you.

First, look at the other words in the sentence especially those before and after the blank to figure out what part of speech the missing word is. In this example from ESLGalaxy.com, consider the first sentence.

We __________ Mary Peterson.
From looking at the sentence you can see that it has a subject (we) but no verb. That tells us that the missing word is a verb. Next look at the word list. There are only two verbs listed: learn and welcome. So ask yourself which one makes sense. Obviously, in this case, we would welcome Mary, not learn her.

Next, use prior knowledge combined with the other words in the sentence you do know to figure out the meaning. Here's an example from BooglesWorld.

Fall begins with warm weather in ______________, but as the season continues into ______________ and ________________, the sun _____________ earlier and earlier everyday and the weather becomes _______________.
First we determine that the first three missing words are nouns. We also see the word fall and the word season. We know using our prior knowledge that the fall season is the months of September, October, and November. Thus, "Fall begins in September, but as the season continues into October and November, the sun..."

The real benefit to using cloze exercises to practice using context clues is that the strategies used are the same strategies you will use when you come across and unfamiliar word while reading.

Try Official Langage in America? from Ervin's ESL Net to see how you do. Be sure to come back and post your results.

Write On Wednesday

2007-09-12T05:15:00.000-05:00

I've been teaching persuasive writing to my Advanced ESL class, so when I stumbled upon this fabulous site with a free reprintable article on just that topic, I had to post it. It contains a great strategy called the carrot-and-stick strategy for persuasive writing. I hope you enjoy it and are able to use it. I definitely plan to teach it to my students tomorrow. Be sure to check out the suggested business examples.

Persuasive writing: the carrot-and-stick strategy
by
Tim North, http://www.BetterWritingSkills.com


Certain types of writing involve doing your utmost to persuade
the reader to accept your recommendations. Business examples
of persuasion include:

* arguing for more staff;

* assuring the boss of the merits of a new project;

* convincing management to continue with a worthwhile program;

* encouraging your manager to investigate a safety hazard;

* justifying a budget increase;

* promoting your innovative business strategy;

* selling a product or service; and

* supporting your position over that of others.


There's a five-step process that I call the carrot-and-stick
strategy. It can be very effective in such situations. The
strategy is this: the following five elements should be in
*every* attempt to persuade:

1.  A clear statement of the reader's problem.

2.  A clear statement of the consequences for the reader of not
  solving the problem.

3.  A clear statement of your proposed solution to the problem.

4.  A clear statement of the benefits to the reader of solving
  the problem.

5.  A clear request for a specific action; e.g. "Please sign and
  return this application".

Let's look at these five elements in further detail.


1. THE PROBLEM
--------------

If you want to get a sleeping teenager out of bed, simply telling
him or her to get up may be only marginally effective. Pointing
out that the house is on fire is likely to be far more so. Why?
The first approach may be perceived as just another annoying
request for compliance. The second, though, presents a problem:
their problem.

So, if I want to persuade someone to do something then the first
step in the carrot-and-stick strategy is to convince him or her
that they have a problem that needs to be solved.

Little other than self-interest motivates some people; others can
be paralysed by indecision and only act when compelled. No matter
the situation, no matter the person, one of the best ways to put
people in the mood to act is to convince them that they have a
problem.

In an unsolicited case or proposal this is especially important
as the reader may be completely unaware of the existence of the
problem, and it will be your job to walk them through it.

Of course, some cases and proposals will be solicited, in which
case the reader presumably already knows that there's a problem
that needs solving. In such cases, you may need to spend less
time explaining it to them.

Never skip this step, though, as the reader may have forgotten
the problem since you last discussed it. Alternatively, she or he
may be underestimating how severe it is.


2. THE CONSEQUENCES
-------------------

Having demonstrated to the reader (in whatever depth is
necessary) that they have a problem, the second step in the
carrot-and-stick strategy is to outline the dire consequences to
them of not acting.

List and discuss all the problems and threats that are faced if
the problem is not addressed: financial, environmental, P.R.,
social, I.T., everything. This is the stick element of the
carrot-and-stick strategy. You're (figuratively) beating him or
her with all of the dreadful things that might happen if nothing
is done to address the problem.

Not surprisingly, this is a very persuasive technique for putting
someone in a frame of mind where they're ready -- and probably
quite desperate -- to find and apply a solution.


3. THE SOLUTION
---------------

Now that the client is in a receptive frame of mind, you reel
them in by describing your solution to their problem.


4. THE BENEFITS
---------------

Having described your proposed solution, you now dangle the
carrot by waxing lyrical about all of the benefits and features
that it provides.  Describe all of its good points: financial,
environmental, P.R., social, I.T., everything.

See what we've done in these first four steps? We've established
a need, described the solution to that need, and then lauded the
benefits of that solution. This carrot-and-stick strategy is a
highly effective way of persuading people to say yes.


5. THE CLOSING REQUEST FOR ACTION
---------------------------------

Commercials often use phrases such as "Act now!" and "For a
limited time only". Used-car salesmen are notorious for phrases
such as "I can only do this deal today". These are all examples
of closes: lines that try to get you to act immediately on the
proposal that's in front of you.

The final element of the carrot-and-stick strategy is to close
with a specific request for action. You've presented your case,
and the reader is motivated to act. It would be a shame to have
gone to all this trouble only to waste it now.

Make a specific request, now, while you've got their interest.
For example:

* Please sign and return the attached application.

* Please alter the budget accordingly.

* Please call Jane at Human Resources and authorise her to
place the ad.

* Please phone Bill and express your support for this idea.

* etc.

End with a firm and clear request for some immediate action, or
you run the risk that the reader will put your case or proposal
to one side. You want them to act now, while it's fresh in their
minds, so tell them what you want them to do.


-----------------------------------------------------------------
You'll find many more helpful tips like these in Tim North's
much applauded range of e-books. More information is available
on his web site, and all books come with a money-back guarantee.

        http://www.BetterWritingSkills.com
------------------------------------------------------------------

Tune in Tuesdays...Listening Skills

2007-09-11T05:19:00.000-05:00

Listening to the radio is a fabulous way to improve your listening skills in English.

Special English is a site that specializes in radio for English Language Learners. According to the site three elements make Special English special. They are:

It has a core vocabulary of 1500 words. Most are simple words that describe objects, actions or emotions. Some words are more difficult. They are used for reporting world events and describing discoveries in medicine and science.

Special English writers use short, simple sentences that contain only one idea. They use active voice. They do not use idioms.

Special English broadcasters read at a slower pace, about two-thirds the speed of standard English. This helps people learning English hear each word clearly. It also helps people who are fluent English speakers understand complex subjects.

From there practice listening to internet radio stations in English or English radio stations in your car if available. Don't forget to sing along!

Monday Grammar Point

2007-09-10T00:00:00.000-05:00

Practice present progressive tense with our old friend Grammarman comes Road Runner grammar. This is very nicely done. Enjoy! Oh, and don't forget to visit Grammarman.com.

Idiom of The Week

2007-09-09T08:30:00.001-05:00

Today's idiom...

A frog in my throat.

To have a frog in your throat means that your throat is dry, sore, or itchy, and you are having trouble speaking. For example, "Joselin's tried to answer the teacher's question, but she had a frog in her throat and couldn't say a word!"

*click on the image for its source

Speaking Skills Saturday

2007-09-08T09:31:00.000-05:00

Try this poem to practice pronunciation!

English is tough stuff

Dearest creature in creation,
Study English pronunciation.
I will teach you in my verse
Sounds like corpse, corps, horse, and worse.
I will keep you, Suzy, busy,
Make your head with heat grow dizzy.
Tear in eye, your dress will tear.
So shall I! Oh hear my prayer.

Just compare heart, beard, and heard,
Dies and diet, lord and word,
Sword and sward, retain and Britain.
(Mind the latter, how it's written.)
Now I surely will not plague you
With such words as plaque and ague.
But be careful how you speak:
Say break and steak, but bleak and streak;
Cloven, oven, how and low,
Script, receipt, show, poem, and toe.

Hear me say, devoid of trickery,
Daughter, laughter, and Terpsichore,
Typhoid, measles, topsails, aisles,
Exiles, similes, and reviles;
Scholar, vicar, and cigar,
Solar, mica, war and far;
One, anemone, Balmoral,
Kitchen, lichen, laundry, laurel;
Gertrude, German, wind and mind,
Scene, Melpomene, mankind.

Billet does not rhyme with ballet,
Bouquet, wallet, mallet, chalet.
Blood and flood are not like food,
Nor is mould like should and would.
Viscous, viscount, load and broad,
Toward, to forward, to reward.
And your pronunciation's OK
When you correctly say croquet,
Rounded, wounded, grieve and sieve,
Friend and fiend, alive and live.

Ivy, privy, famous; clamour
And enamour rhyme with hammer.
River, rival, tomb, bomb, comb,
Doll and roll and some and home.
Stranger does not rhyme with anger,
Neither does devour with clangour.
Souls but foul, haunt but aunt,
Font, front, wont, want, grand, and grant,
Shoes, goes, does. Now first say finger,
And then singer, ginger, linger,
Real, zeal, mauve, gauze, gouge and gauge,
Marriage, foliage, mirage, and age.

Query does not rhyme with very,
Nor does fury sound like bury.
Dost, lost, post and doth, cloth, loth.
Job, nob, bosom, transom, oath.
Though the differences seem little,
We say actual but victual.
Refer does not rhyme with deafer.
Foeffer does, and zephyr, heifer.
Mint, pint, senate and sedate;
Dull, bull, and George ate late.
Scenic, Arabic, Pacific,
Science, conscience, scientific.

Liberty, library, heave and heaven,
Rachel, ache, moustache, eleven.
We say hallowed, but allowed,
People, leopard, towed, but vowed.
Mark the differences, moreover,
Between mover, cover, clover;
Leeches, breeches, wise, precise,
Chalice, but police and lice;
Camel, constable, unstable,
Principle, disciple, label.

Petal, panel, and canal,
Wait, surprise, plait, promise, pal.
Worm and storm, chaise, chaos, chair,
Senator, spectator, mayor.
Tour, but our and succour, four.
Gas, alas, and Arkansas.
Sea, idea, Korea, area,
Psalm, Maria, but malaria.
Youth, south, southern, cleanse and clean.
Doctrine, turpentine, marine.

Compare alien with Italian,
Dandelion and battalion.
Sally with ally, yea, ye,
Eye, I, ay, aye, whey, and key.
Say aver, but ever, fever,
Neither, leisure, skein, deceiver.
Heron, granary, canary.
Crevice and device and aerie.

Face, but preface, not efface.
Phlegm, phlegmatic, ass, glass, bass.
Large, but target, gin, give, verging,
Ought, out, joust and scour, scourging.
Ear, but earn and wear and tear
Do not rhyme with here but ere.
Seven is right, but so is even,
Hyphen, roughen, nephew Stephen,
Monkey, donkey, Turk and jerk,
Ask, grasp, wasp, and cork and work.

Pronunciation -- think of Psyche!
Is a paling stout and spikey?
Won't it make you lose your wits,
Writing groats and saying grits?
It's a dark abyss or tunnel:
Strewn with stones, stowed, solace, gunwale,
Islington and Isle of Wight,
Housewife, verdict and indict.

Finally, which rhymes with enough --
Though, through, plough, or dough, or cough?
Hiccough has the sound of cup.
My advice is to give up!!!

*Excerpted from The Chaos by Gerard Nolst Trenit

Friday Fun...ESL Humor

2007-09-07T05:05:00.000-05:00

Here's a fun little quiz. Be sure to leave your results!

You Should Learn Japanese

You're cutting edge, and you are ready to delve into wacky Japanese culture.
From Engrish to eating contests, you're born to be a crazy gaijin. Saiko!

What Language Should You Learn?

Thursday's Reading Room

2007-09-06T20:41:00.000-05:00

From our good friend Grammarman, comes Captain Spectre comics. Comics are such a fun, fabulous way to practice reading skills.

Captain Spectre comes complete with "Previously on Captain Spectre" which contains a back story, comprehension activities, and a dialog to practice and complete.

Another fun way to use comics is to use them as a writing practice activity. Print out the comics, white out the dialog, and write your own Captain Spectre story. Enjoy!

Write On Wednesday

2007-09-05T05:22:00.000-05:00

Isabel Perez's ESL site has some fabulous writing practice activities. One of the best features of the site is that some of the exercises are in Word format so that you can actually type and complete them right there. I love that!

Topics range from pop culture articles on Eminem and The Sixth Sense starring Bruce Willis. Other articles focus on specific grammar and parts of speech issues such as adjectives and present/past tense.

Here's a really fun activity to practice using adjectives to describe yourself! Just click on the screenshot to go to the activity.