Are you superstitious? Are you extra careful on Friday the 13th?
Juan Carlos makes a lot of sense when he says that a live cat should be better luck than a dead rabbit.
How is today going for you? What brings good luck?
Can you write any examples that show that a superstition is true or not true? (Faride wore pearls on her wedding day and has a wonderful marriage. Reham's sister was born on the 13th and is a very lucky person.)
Can you use as -------- as or a comparative (bigger than/happier than/more beautiful than) to describe an emotion or a friend or a member of your family?
Pilgrims are people who travel for their religion.
People who go to Mecca or Jerusalem are often Pilgrims.
People who move here because their government doesn't like their religion are also pilgrims.
I'd love to start an ESOL class online cookbook with easy recipes, difficult-but-worth-it recipes, recipes with national pride, and great recipes for good health. If you know any good recipes in any of those categories, please write them in a google doc and share them with a link for everyone at my gmail.
The next video is British English, but the only real difference is that I say "frying pan" rather than "frypan."
This video shows a common menu for a traditional Thanksgiving. Many people buy the pies and cranberry sauce.
If you shop good Friday sales, please write about the experience!
Thanksgiving is a time to enjoy food, family, and the good things in our lives. Many people also thank God for all the good things in life. My job and my students often make me happy. What are you thankful for? What makes you happy?
You should understand "ain't" (negative helping verb "to be" in every verb tense) and "ya'll" (plural you - you all) because they are very common in songs and speech. You shouldn't use these words because they are stereotypes as speech for people with no education and no money.
cutting up - joking and playing
dial up the weather -make a phone call to order the weather exactly how I like it
Stop and take it in - stop to really see what's happening
freaking out -- acting crazy with excitement
Do you like to go camping? What do you like to do with your friends? What should we talk about in class?
When Kim heard, "do your nails" today, she said that she often heard, "get" not "do" at work. She is correct. We often use get with a past participle form of a verb (regular ---ed/irregular-3rd column) to say that someone else is doing something for us.
(Official grammar name for this word pattern is passive causative. You can officially use have instead of get, but using have for passive causative is a bad pattern to practice before you are good at ALL the verb tenses. Anyway, get is more common for speaking in this area.)
My daughter gets her nails done for all the holidays. I only got my nails done for my wedding.
I don't fix my car. I get my car fixed by Backlick Road Service Station or Community Car Care.
I don't cut my hair. I get my hair cut at a beautician.
My mother doesn't clean her house. She gets it cleaned.
I don't repair watches. I get my watch repaired at Silver Dolphin.
I brush my teeth twice a day, and I also go to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned three times a year.
I rarely wash my care and I rarely get my car washed. My car is pretty dirty. (Pretty as adverb=mostly)
The past participle verbs in these examples do NOT show time. The form of get shows the verb tense.
Examples: I am getting my car fixed now. I will get my car washed tomorrow. My dad used to get his shoes shined every month. Mark gets his car serviced four times a year. We got the kitchen floor replaced last month. My mother never goes to Zales Jewelers because when she got her engagement ring cleaned there, they lost her diamond and offered her a much cheaper stone.
One of my English teaching websites recommends this video for our level, but I think it's really difficult. I am surprised by it. I don't want you to feel bad if your friends aren't here. I really want you to talk to strangers in English!
Do you go a place where you can make small talk? Where? Do you meet with anyone to practice English or try different international foods?
My group played with contrasting the sound of brown cow ow with rose boat oh. Both sounds can be spelled "ow." Rose boat bow is a noun - ⋈⋈⋈. Brown cow bow is an action -- bending to show respect.
Maryann's group read about relaxing in nature and tipping. If you want to listen to the article on tipping on the computer, go to ellii.com and sign up for my class with this code. I put a group of mostly challenging readings there. If one is not good for you, try a different one. Please tell me what is good or not good for you.
Dance that Ha taught at break time in 2023 (Instruction at 3:12)
My best friend loved this song because her parents sang it as a lullaby. Did your parents have an "I love you song" for you? My mother sang the Riddle Song as an I-love-you lullaby. After I got the picture book with the lyrics, I sang A-you're adorable.
I'm losing my mind just a little means that I feel a little crazy.
We often say, "why don't you..." to suggest something. It looks like a question, but it's really a nice way to advise or command. Why don't you meet me in the middle? means "Let's compromise."
What do you ask people to do? Can you use, "Why don't you?"
Example: When I ask my son to take out the trash, I can say "Why don't you take out the trash?"
When I ask my daughter to make a salad, I can say, "Why don't you make a salad?"
When I ask my husband to call me, I can say, "Why don't you call me after work?
A landlord or landlady is the owner of a property that someone rents. They should pay for any big repairs. The renter changes light bulbs and keeps things clean.
I won't try to fix you, but I will try to teach you to fix English mistakes!! I want to fix this video by adding apostrophes!
Fix usually means repair. A mechanic fixes cars. A plumber unclogs drains and fixes pipes. We also use fix to mean make when cooking. My grandmother fixed dinner and served it at 6:00 every night. She liked to fix roast beef, chicken, or soup.
"Survive" means live when it's difficult to live. It can also mean barely live. In the next song, "Don't just survive" means do more than barely live, try to live well.
Texting English to formal English: "Tryna" = "is trying to." "Gonna" ="is going to" "Gotta" = "have got to = must"
Do you have any favorite books or movies about survival? Write about it!!
Do you like to eat moon cakes? Did you ever celebrate a mid-autumn festival? (If yes, write about it!) What is your favorite season? What do you like to do in Fall?
What's your favorite season? My husband's favorite season is Fall because he likes to go hiking and camping. Do you like hiking or camping? Tell me about it!
(Warning: this video has a picture of people kissing with bare (no clothes) shoulders. You are not required to watch the music videos for homework, but your listening will probably improve faster if you repeatedly watch some of the videos on here.)
I think that listening to pop music helps improve listening skills. I can't find a lot of good pop music with perfect grammar.
Grammar Teacher Note: Do NOT use DOES for every day positive statements. (My heart goes on, not my heart does go on) Does for positive statements is called "emphatic." Emphatic is for fights and for strong feelings -- just like using always and never with present continuous. You will occasionally hear these in real life, but don't pick them as answers on grammar tests.
What do you feel strongly about? What do you love to do with your family?
I always enjoy when my students show me a new song. Thanks!
Please write about your family. Do you have a big family?
Do you think this young woman will find the man she describes? Are there more important things that a man should do? Did you/Do you want to marry a man like your father?
This tribute to B.I.G. has expressions from US dialects I don't teach because they aren't good for college essays or job interviews. In a formal situation, say "I'll miss you" rather than "I'll be missing you."
If it won't make you sad, describe some foods and people that you miss right now.
Can you write what is happening in the video? Although this video was made for world kindness day, I think it's better for International Day of Charity.
What is charity? Do you support any charities? What charities will you support when you become rich?
the progress of everyone who came to class a lot. You all are smart and have wonderful attitudes.
You improved a lot, and that gave me a LOT of joy.
Thank you!
You don't need to use perfect grammar or to remember good grammar words (verb tense, noun, adjective, comparative, etc.) to get placed in high intermediate. Good grammar and grammar words can make your progress much faster.
There aren't many videos of this song. "Outreach" is the wrong word. It should be "our reach."
Is dating normal in your former country?
Do you like to go on dates?
Where are good places to go on a first date?
What do you do if you feel "ghosted?"
Outreach is a strategy to try to get more members into an organization. "In our reach" means that with some effort, we can get it. Fluent English is in your reach.
A lot of topics in this class feel easy because they are not new for most of you, but they are also not easy to remember to do every time you speak or write. If you are in my class for listening, try to have English conversations as often as you can.
Most of you learned food names, singular and plural, and count nouns a long time ago.
Do you remember (1) this/that (2+) these/those? A student asked about those terms today.
We use frequency adverbs to talk about how often things occur or repeat.
(Don't forget to write sentences with FAs for homework!)
I often teach my classes to put frequency adjectives before most verbs, but after the verb "to be" because that's how we usually speak them in the USA.
It's okay, however, to start or end a sentence with a frequency adverb especially to emphasize the frequency in poetry, lyrics, or writing.
I love to dance, but I don't usually dance at parties. I am excited that my student picked this as a favorite song because I sometimes do a line dance to "Dance Monkey." Some of my classmates won a prize in the 2019 Senior Olympics by dressing up as monkeys and doing this dance.
Do you like to dance? How often do you dance? What's your favorite kind of dance? Do you like to watch dancing? Did you ever take dancing lessons?
gonna=going to= will (future tense, not movement) jalopy=old word for badly maintained car
hop in =get into have a ball = have fun 'neath=beneath=under "The Mashed Potato"=old dance
Please send me more pictures! I particularly want pictures of the food at the party and of Giovanna's gorgeous cakes! I really enjoyed my plate of food after the party.
If you do Duolingo, please read aloud a LOT. If you try Voscreen, tell me if it costs you money and if you like it.
The people who created our Color Vowel chart also have pronunciation classes and an app called Blue Canoe. I think Blue Canoe is probably difficult and expensive, but I'm curious about it. To get the app or enroll in the online pronunciation classes click here.
Please do not spend a lot of time as you randomly watch videos of ALL THE GRAMMER. Be strong in adjective and easier verb tenses: present, present continuous, future, and past.
Here are some links with some grocery sales. Most show the sale prices this week, but Walmart is easy to search by product. (Thing you want to buy). Comparing is easier if you pick something on sale at another store then search for the same thing on the Walmart page.
Practice comparative and superlative
Can you describe your best friend? or
Describe the best day you ever had... or
Describe the best thing you've ever bought.
When we want to say a strong "good" to compare things, we use better. This website is better than that one. I like chocolate better than vanilla. Vegetables are better for you (healthier) than pork.
You better _______ (verb) is common to hear, but it is not good formal English. It's supposed to be you had better, but the had is often 'd and that 'd often disappears. You'd better is a threatening way to say you must. If you don't do something you'd better do, there will be consequences.
What had we better do?
Is it a good idea or a bad idea to date many people before you get engaged? Do you agree with this mother? Why?
Must is always must _____(base verb) Must doesn't change. It doesn't need an s with he, she, or it. Must not means something is prohibited. You must not _________ (base verb) is a strong way to say DO NOT _______(base verb) (You must not hurt my other students. She must not drink whiskey in our class.) In the US, we rarely use must in a question. We use have to or has to _____(base verb) instead.
Don't have to_______(base verb)/Doesn't have to ______(base verb) means something is no obligation. Do ____ or don't do ________= NO PROBLEM. It's your choice. (Example: You don't have to wear a blue shirt to class.)
Have becomes has with he she or it, but only in positive statements. Use have with does or doesn't. It's common to forget that you have to use "have" with "does" or "Do"
I have to study./I don't have to study./ What do I have to study?
He has to study./He doesn't have to study.? What does he have to study?
Have to acts just like have in simple present. Here's some practice.
Do you have a car? How do you get around? Can you fix a car? Do you do maintenance on your car? What do you do? If you have a car and you don't work on it, who takes care of it?
Thank you for coming to class! Please help make the class comfortable and fun while we work hard to remember so many things in this difficult language!
Describe your siblings. If you are an only child, write about a childhood friend. I don't have any brothers or sisters, but I have friends that feel like family.
What do they look like? What did you like to do together? How often do you talk to them now?
Do you celebrate Eid a Fitr? (If yes, is this information correct?) What do you do? Did you prepare any good food? What did you cook? What did you eat?
Gonna = is going to = we're talking about a future plan
Write about something you liked in the past, but you don't like now. (Example: I liked Cream Soda when I was a child, but I don't like it now. It's too sweet.)
