Did you watch the Space Webb Telescope Launch?

 

NASA Page on the James Webb Telescope

We enjoyed watching the launch on TV.  Do you remember watching any rocket or space shuttle launches on TV?

Practice talking about work

 

Practice Vocabulary for Appliances and Furniture

 Things in the Kitchen

Things in a smoker's living room

More living room furniture

Things Will Get Better...

 Never be sad if I correct a lot.  Just rewrite it and give it back to me.  The more you practice, the faster things will get better with your English.

It's Election Day-- NO CLASSES!!

Quizlet: Political Terms

Can you vote?  Is voting in your country similar to voting here?

What issues (ideas that people argue about)  are important to you?  

Did politics affect your life?  How?

If you want to vote by issue or candidate rather than by party, you can get information about who's on the ballot from  Ballotpedia or Vote411.  If you don't want to enter your personal address, put in the address of the closest elementary school, and you can still get the information.  Once you have the names on the ballot, you can check out their websites and google them.  

Creepy Song for Halloween -- "Lullaby of Woe"

 Lullaby is a song to help a baby go to sleep.  Woe is sadness.  A dolly is usually a toy baby.

Halloween Traditions Video

Quizlet:  Halloween Vocabulary

I like to participate in Trick or Treating.  I don't like scary movies or scary TV shows.

Do you like horror stories?  What are your favorite scary movies or TV shows?  What are you going to do for Halloween?

Listening Exercises from Randall's Listening Lab

 A teen with a Driver's License!

Scheduling a Movie

Randall's Listening Lab: A new cell phone

Randall's Listening Lab:  Texting and Driving

SCHOOL CALENDAR CHANGED!

 NO SCHOOL on November 1(PM) or November 2 (AM).   We will have school on December 6 (PM) and December 7 (AM)

Easy on Me!

 

New Adele Video -- Go Easy!

I Won't Give Up...

PM Class:  I promised Sucy to make the answers to the SxS exercise we did on Wednesday available on your phone.

Watching this video may help.

Tell me about a time you wanted to give up, but now you are happy that you didn't.

Perfect Tonight

 

When you think of someone who looks perfect, what is he or she wearing?  Write about a time you met someone who looked very good.

Drill -- practice for emergency

  Drills help students practice what to do in emergencies.  In a fire drill, we leave the classroom and get away from the building.  In lockdowns, we lock the door, turn off the lights, and no one can go in or out until we hear an announcement that it's okay.  For a fire drill, we go outside and stay together.  If you are late today, wait in the car for a short time or join us in the parking lot..

Challenge Video (Best with CC ON) How to do a lockdown

Our school will NOT announce in a lot of ways.  Other than that, the idea is the same.

I need, I feel,,,

Practice present continuous vs. simple present

Now that you understand, BE+ING for NOW vs. Simple Present for routines, facts, and things that repeat, remember the BIG EXCEPTION.  

We use simple present for non-action (stative) verbs right now. 

 Stative verbs are usually

senses, feelings, possession, and expressions of opinion

see-hate-want-need-like

HAVE is non-action for possession or describing features.

I have black shoes.  She has a beautiful blue car.  We have brown wavy hair.

HAVE is normal for enjoy or eat or host.

I'm having chicken for dinner.  We're having a good time.  She's having a party.

What do you need right now?  Why do you need to speak English?

How do you feel right now?  Feel is a stative verb so it's an exception to present continuous for right now.  (Young people are starting to say, "I'm feeling happy now."  Old people usually don't.  Older educated people say, "I feel happy now."  "Think" and "want" are also stative ("non-progressive")) verbs that can be simple present now.

More stative verb explanation and practice

 What do you see right now?  What do you hear?  What makes you happy?

You're Beautiful!!

Practice Speaking and Listening Vocabulary for Women's Clothing
Speaking and Listening Vocabulary for Men's Clothing

Practice Vocabulary for Clothes and Accessories

Quiz on Common Vocabulary for Clothes and Accessories

1. Write about a beautiful person in your life.  How did you meet?  What does that person do?  

2. Write about a beautiful person you admire.  Why do you respect that person?

I want to know what love is!

 

What do you want to learn about?   

Looking for some real friends

 

Write about a friend.  What does your friend look like?  What do you like to do together? 

Challenge Listening: Thinking out loud

 

Think about a place you like and write about it.

Can't help falling in love...

Practice using can, can't, could, couldn't, and able to

Do you believe in love at first sight?  If you can enjoy thinking about it,  write about meeting someone you love for the first time.  

Talking to the Moon!

 In honor of the harvest moon on September 20....

What's your name?  Where are you from?  What do you love to talk about?  If you come from a country that celebrates a Moon festival around now, please write about it!

Stand by Me

 

PM Vocabulary Fall 2021 Low Intermediate at Plum

English is a difficult language, but I've seen hundreds of students become fluent because they worked together.  Tell me about working together with someone to do something.  What did you do?

Have I?

 

Note:  Have I the courage to change?  

Many good music videos for this class don't have perfect grammar.

In the USA, it's more common and correct to say

"Do I have the courage to change?"

Write about your future when you have fluent English.  

What new things will you do?  What will be different?

Things to Remember

This song is too dramatic, but I've enjoyed your class and I'm going to miss you

LOTS OF STUFF TO STUDY! 

Please don't bring food or babies or other relatives on our last day!

😭  

 How long vs. How often

Placing frequency adverbs

Simple present vs. present continuous

Duplicate of Simple Present:  third person and verb use 

Read all about it!

Do you like to read?  What are you reading?

I like to put songs on my blog because some of my students developed excellent English listening comprehension by repeatedly listening to songs that they like.  It can be difficult to find good songs with perfect grammar, so many of the songs on this blog don't have perfect grammar.

Til is an informal way to write until.  What's the difference between by and until?

Wanna is an informal way to text or write want to.  Always use a base form verb after want to.  

(Examples:  I want to go to the beach.  I want to play a video game.  I want to eat pupusas.)

What do you want to do today?

How Long....

 

Driver's License

 

Picky English teacher notes:  Cause=because.  

No one is very informal -- anyone is correct every time she says no one.

Need behind the wheel?  ACE Behind the Wheel Driver Education, 

Did you get your driver's license?  Was it difficult?

Bus Stop

How often do you ride the bus?  Did you ever ride the bus a lot?  Did you ever meet someone on the street or on a bus?   Did you ever experience love at first sight?

But you NEVER... (Practice routines and "how often...")

Practice Frequency Adverbs...

Examples of how long vs. how often by the BBC.

What do you always do?  What do you never do?  What do you rarely do?

Class Links

 

Slow song with good rhythm!

 

I always want to put slow songs on this blog because they are easier for you to understand.  But slow songs are often really sad.

Thank you for coming to class and working hard and waiting when my internet was glitchy.  I'm going to miss you.

Make you feel my love

 

Picky English teacher note:  Most of the time, you shouldn't say, "ain't," but "you ain't seen nothing yet" is a common (incorrect) expression that promises improvement. 

What makes you feel loved?  I like when my husband brings me coffee in bed or when my children hug me.

Can you play chess?

 

"Play chess" was new vocabulary for some students tonight.

The Queen's Gambit is a TV show about a fictional chess player 

with a horrible childhood and addiction issues.

I really admire Susan Polgar.  Her father believed that anyone could be a genius if they practiced something a LOT.  All his daughters were homeschooled in chess and are among the best in the world.

Do you play chess?  Who do you admire?

Glad you exist (fast!!)

 

Describe a good friend!

Honesty & Frequency Adverbs

Use simple present for things that are always true.

Use simple present for routines.  I go to work every weekday.  I go to the store every Saturday.  

She eats breakfast every morning.  She eats eggs twice a week.  He cooks every Sunday.

Use simple present with adverbs of frequency.

always   usually   frequently   sometimes  rarely   seldom    never

(Frequency adverbs usually go before the verb, but after the verb "to be.")

Quiz: Click on the words to put them in the sentence in the correct order. Make a mistake? Click in the box to start over.

Kahoot: Adverbs of Frequency

Kahoot: What part of speech? Noun? Verb? or Adjective?

This next song was very popular when I was young, but I didn't like it because most people are honest.  It has a lovely tune and great examples of frequency adverbs!

.

Only use simple present for now with stative/non-action verbs

have (possess), need, want, like

I am happy!  She has a big brown hat.  He has a gold watch.  We need to understand.  

She doesn't feel good today.  I like you.

How often do you understand me?  How often can you speak English at home?  How often do you practice with your phone or computer?  How often are you happy?

Happy Eid!! (Videos from 2020)

I like that the reporter in the next video speaks slowly.   I am sorry that the captioning is terrible.

Do you celebrate Eid?  What do you enjoy?  Can you post a link to holiday recipes?

Past tense overview for review

May 10 slides

Practice Past Tense

80 Irregular verbs

Trees (In honor of Arbor Day-- April 30)

Class Vocabulary 

Can you find the spelling mistake?

I need to meet each of you individually.  Please check your email -- I just sent you a new better link to sign up for conferences.  

I like that this song uses can and want to.  I don't like the rhythm with can.  The spelling mistake -- stading -- standing. 

I love to take walks in the forest.   I often go to Lake Accotink or Green Springs Park.  Sometimes, we go to Great Falls or Prince William Forest Park.

Did you ever plant trees?  Do you like to walk in the forest?  Where do you like to go?

The Moon

 Great class tonight!!  Thank you for coming! 

 I hope you went outside after class to see the big "pink supermoon."  The moon doesn't look pink now, but it looks very big and very bright.

I post a lot of songs on this blog,  Pick just a few that you like and listen to them many times.  There's a heartbeat rhythm to English - soft-loud-soft-loud that is easier to hear in music.  I want you to speak with that rhythm. 

 I also want you to write, and to reply to your classmates when they write.

Do you have any good memories about the moon?  I worked at at my university's planetarium when I was in college.  I was happy that I could move (the projection of) the stars and the moon.

We use "can" to talk about skills

We often use  can _______(base form verb -- swim, drive, cook, run, be calm....) when we talk about skills.  People use can at work and to get a new job often.

My husband loves the movie, "Aliens"  I think it is scary and disgusting.  I like this scene and this scene shows people using can ______(base form verb)

I feel like a fifth wheel means I feel I am not necessary.
Be my guest is an old way to say yes to a request.

Practice Vocabulary with some job skills

Ripley surprises her colleagues.  Do you have skills that surprise people?  One of my students can catch fish with his hands,  and another student can make a heart with cream in her coffee.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!