Listening at the end of class

 

Can you type?  Can you program a computer?  Can you draw?  Can you make jewelry?  What are your best skills?  What are your most unusual skills?

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.

You can do this hard thing

 

Practice can, could, & be able to

What are your favorite skills?  What hard things can you do?

Welcome!

Welcome to English Class!  

I post songs and questions.

Please write answers to the questions in the comments or on paper to turn in.

Please listen to songs. When I post a song you like, repeat listening to it until you can sing it.

Sometimes the songs are fast and challenging, and sometimes they are slow.

I also put many links to any website that looks helpful for our level.

On a phone, you need to go to the bottom of the page, and press "view web version" 

to see and use the links.  I usually update the class vocabulary after class.

If you love a helpful website, please tell me about it.

Welcome to English class!  What is your name?  When did you come to the USA?  What are your goals for this class?  How can I make this class excellent for you?

No Food in Class

 I'm very sad about this new rule.  I think eating together at breaktime and talking about it is one of the best ways to practice English.  We can only have covered drinks.  We can eat outside.

I like fajitas, chili, and kung pao chicken more than cheeseburgers and hot dogs.  

What are your favorite things to eat?  What food is good for health?  What food is good for picnics?  What food is good for holidays?  What food is not good for you?  Why?

Fall 2025 Homework

 Homework for Thursday, September 17:  Study Vocabulary.  Do WB p. 3.  Bring something that you like to talk about. (Can be a picture on your phone, but please choose tonight, not during class>)  I'm not looking for a full oral presentation, but I want you to talk about it in English.  Example from me:  I'm Laurie.  "Olive sock"  Laurie.  I brought this tee-shirt because it's very special to me.  It's special because my mother gave it to me. She gave it to me because she said I helped her do a NASA experiment, and she wanted me to have the NASA team tee-shirt.

9-17  We reviewed our vocabulary with a game.  We completed p. 2 in the white workbook, and the listening on p. 3 in the blue student book. We practiced using the Color Vowel Chart., and present continuous verbs.  We also practiced listening with can and can't.  We talked about our skills.  If you can't do something that a job interviewer asks for, tell them that you are willing to learn and that you usually learn quickly.

Homework for Wednesday, September 16- Study vocabulary. Bring an object or a picture of an object that you like to talk about!

9-16 Today, I introduced the color vowel chart.  A vowel is a letter (a, e, i, o, u) or a sound we make with our voice.  English has 5 vowels.  We often only teach 10 sounds for those vowels, but there are fourteen sounds. The color vowel chart has one color for every sound.  I rarely use "auburn dog" because it's not a common sound in a Northern Virginia accent.  I hope we can use this chart to teach and remember pronunciation, spelling, and reading.

We played a board game to get to know each other.

Some people took a reading test.  Others did a grammar (mixed verb tense) page and wrote a paragraph.

Homework for Tuesday, September 15: Study class vocabulary for today.  Answer questions on the class website (blog) either as a comment or on paper.

9-15 Today, we introduced ourselves.  We interviewed a classmate.  We tried our first line dialog.  How many people did you talk to?  We talked about the class and about class goals.  Skills are actions that you can do.  When you talk about skills, stress the action after can.  I can cook.  I can read.  He can play the guitar.  In the sentence, I can cook, pronounce "can" like Kn or Kuhn.   When you talk about things you can't do yet, stress can't.

Can-can't-will-won't & want to ____________(Base verb)  A base verb doesn't have a special ending like ed, s, or ing.

See you in September

What are you going to do in August?  I'm going to miss you!

If you want ESOL grammar practice, click here for some options.

Check the links to the side for old-fashioned computer-based learning.  Remember that using English with real people is great!

Ships

 

Possessive Adjective Rap

 

Jimmy's Recommendation

 

May you feel at home here.

Was or were  ______ing is past continuous.  Use this verb tense when you are talking about a specific times in the past when you weren't finished with an activity. Don't use was/were as an auxiliary verb in simple past.

When I was a child, I moved a lot.  Home was where my mom was.

What makes a home feel like home?

Where are good places to live?  Why?

Challenge Listening: Reviews of the big bedrooms on the Auto Train that goes from Lorton, VA to Florida

 I rarely ride trains, but I am curious about the auto train.

Amtrak's auto train allows you to bring your car on the train to Florida.

How often do you travel?  Do you take vacations?  Where did you go on your last trip?  How long did you stay there?

Ordering at a restaurant

 

What' s your favorite food?  How often do you eat at a restaurant? What restaurant do you recommend?  Can you tell me a story about excellent or terrible service at a restaurant?

Getting a table

The instructions on the homework say, "listen."  You can listen to this video to complete the homework.

What duties does a host perform?  Did you ever work at a restaurant?

What was your job?  What did you have to do?

 

Ordering Coffee at Starbucks

 

Although I enjoy many of their products, I don't usually go to 7 11 or Starbucks because I don't like their prices. 

Starbucks has their own vocabulary in how to order.

How often do you drink coffee?  How do you like your coffee?

Talking at a restaurant

Quizlet Vocabulary: Speaking about food

Grammar: Practice using count & non-count nouns

Can you find the spelling mistake in the subtitles?

A few regional differences:  My family says "appetizer" rather than "starter." 

In this area, a 20% (minimum) tip is customary.  "Tip jobs" have a lower minimum wage, so servers don't get the minimum wage of $12.41/hour.  Servers usually get $2.13/hour from the restaurant, and taxes often take their whole paychecks.  Some restaurants require servers to pay some of their tips to bussers, "expo," (a person who checks the order and arranges the food in a pretty way) and bartenders.

In the conversation at the end of the video, native speakers in this area say, "chicken sandwich" rather than chicken burger.  We'd probably say we like tacos or a taco if there's only one.

English for my Job-Hospitality

Food and drink Vocabulary from English Club  (Go down to see links to vocabulary and practice)

Grammar: count vs. non-count  (same link as the top)

What is your favorite restaurant nearby?  What is the best restaurant in your native country?  What is the best restaurant you ever ate at?

7-11

For many summers, my children loved this day because they could get free Slurpees from 7-11.

Happy birthday 7 11

What do you like to drink? 

Practice "drink" vocabulary with https://www.languageguide.org/english/vocabulary/drinks/ and
learning chocolate:  tea, drinks with their containers, and fruit.

Rain on me

In this song, "on" is a preposition that shows where the rain falls.  Practice prepositions.

Do you like rain?  My daughter likes to walk in the rain.  I don't like to walk in the rain, but I like to eat. If there's no rain, there's no fresh food.

Did you ever lose power in a storm?  What did you do?  What do you usually do when it rains?

The Light We Keep On

 

Are there any small things that you do to make someone feel better?  What?

Firework!

 

Who do you admire?  Why?  What do you love to do?  What is important to get done?

Happy Fourth of July!!

This next video is super-fast for our level, but it repeats enough that it's good for training your ears. Understanding every word doesn't make the song easy to understand.

History of Independence Day -- Also fast, but clearly spoken.  Make sure you turn the closed captioning (CC) on.

ESOL Explanation of Independence day with a transcript.

Some U.S.A. patriotic songs you will probably hear today...

Read about the flag and other USA symbols...

During fireworks, you usually hear "Stars and Stripes Forever."

Listening: Interview with questions about the Fourth of July


Reading/listening practice -- press the triangle to hear the story as you read it.

funinfairfax.com:  Fireworks in Northern VA (scroll down for the 4th)


Are you enjoying the fourth of July?  What are you doing?  Does your former country have an independence day celebration?  When is it?  What do you do?

Read all about it

 There will be a reading test for new students on July 2.  We give reading tests to show people who give us money that we are a good program.  It often takes 100 hours of reading to move up 5 points on the test.  

What is your favorite genre?  What are your favorite books?

Why do you want to learn English?

 

When do you most want to be good at English?  What do you want to do with your English?

Nice to meet you!

 

Hi!  What's your name?  Do you have a big family?  Do you like to talk about your family?  Do you like to talk about your job?  Do you have any hobbies?  What do you like to do?  Do you like to travel?  Where did you go?

I think they call this love

 

How old were you when you first fell in love?

What kind of music do you like?  Slow oldies are often good for my class because students can hear them and they are more likely to have correct grammar.  Can you believe this song is new?  What is your favorite song?

Happy Summer!

 Did you enjoy your first day of summer?  When I was a child, many ice cream trucks and merry-go-rounds played this tune, but I never heard the words.

Do you like ice cream?  What's the best flavor? Are you planning to travel this summer?  Where do you want to go?  Do you like to go to the beach?  What's your favorite beach?

Happy First Day of Summer

 What are you favorite activities in the summer?

Happy Juneteenth

 

My mother grew up in Galveston Texas 
where people had beach parties to celebrate Juneteenth 

throughout the twentieth century.

Juneteenth is new as a federal holiday,
but it's an old celebration of freedom 
even though many people were still enslaved after that date.

Do you celebrate any historical events?  Which ones? How?

Potluck Party on Monday!

A potluck is a party that asks all the guests to bring food to share.  Many people have potlucks in the USA -- especially schools, churches, and neighborhood pools.  Please bring something yummy.  If you really don't have the time or money to bring food, don't worry.  Come anyway.

Please don't bring candles (no fire), gifts for the teacher, children, or alcoholic drinks.

Are you going to bring food?  What are you going to bring?

What are you going to do?

wanna = want to

oughta= ought to=visualized ideal (best in my mind)  Everyone ought to use the blog!

Low Intermediate Grammar - Please remember and be good at these language patterns before studying any perfect tense or conditionals.  Grammar describes patterns.  If you use it well, you can learn how to say thousands of correct things in a few minutes.  Don't try to understand grammar because it's crazy-- try to remember rules and exceptions. Make examples that you can use in your life.

Review, expansion, and practice with "going to"

What are you doing tonight?
What are you going to do tomorrow?
What are you going to do this weekend?
Where are you going to go the next time you travel?
What are you going to do next summer?

Indirect Objects

 

I hope you return!

June 12 is the LAST DAY for current students to register for Summer Classes.  We'll get students from other locations because our program is only doing summer classes at a few locations.  Please register tomorrow if you want to be in the class.

I plan to teach.  We will probably focus on directions, travel, and getting jobs.  If the majority of students in the Summer class already took class this spring, we will have more opportunities to have conversations.

The shotgun seat is the passenger seat -- the seat in the front that's not the driver.

What are you going to do this summer?

What does "mean" mean?

I didn't mean to confuse you, but the most difficult thing I gave you today used "mean" as "intend."  That was new for many people.  Claribel pointed out that "mean" means many things.  Here's a video about some of things "mean" means.

Can you write three sentences using "mean" in 3 different contexts?

This Old Guitar

Google Slides Simple Past Tense

Practice was vs. were

Play Snakes & Ladders

John Denver said his guitar gave him a better life.  Can you play a guitar?  Do you have a hobby that makes you happy?  Do you like to cook?  I think good food makes everyone happy!

I'd like some count and noncount nouns, please

 

Count and noncount nouns with a LOT of examples-- scroll way down to do the quiz!

What ingredients do you need for your favorite recipes?

Count-Non-Count

My class presentation on count and non-count

Video: Some things you can count and some you can't...

Practice using a or an only with singular count nouns

Easy Partitives (In this game  fruit is count and a piece is thicker than a slice

for many US speakers, fruit is noncount and piece=slice

Similar Information -- Who Wants to be a Billionaire Style

Partitives Game (Partitives are containers or pieces that make non-count nouns countable)

Quizlet -- Count or Non-count

More Practice!!

Advanced Class List of Non-Count Nouns

Practice Directions

Some of the reading tests have maps.

Cupid Shuffle Line Dance (Dancers are wearing short skirts.) Practice right and left!

Cupid Shuffle we do in class

Do

Quick Practice: Red Level 1, Unit 5 "Around Town" (Starting with the second lesson A, not the top)

Study and Practice Prepositions and Directions

Please write some directions from Plum Center to one of your favorite places nearby!

Shopping Project

 Shopping Project

Choose two classmates to work with.  Pick three things you all want to shop for.  Bring receipts to class.  Compare prices and quality from different stores.  Use comparative and superlative sentences to report to the class.

These lyrics shouldn't be "you better." They should be "you'd better." "Had better is an even stronger "must" than "must" or "have to"

Do you think this mom gave good advice? What do you have to do this weekend? Is there anything you'd better do?

Did you understand? Were you tired?

 

Practice was or were

The verb to be is one of the most common irregular verbs.  

It has it's own pattern for simple past -- NO DID!

Don't use "did" or "do" as question words if the main verb is any form of to be.

Where were you today?

Were you okay in class today?

Was the grammar difficult?

Were you at home?  Why? Was a child sick?  Were you sick?

Are you traveling this weekend?

Memorial Day -- NO SCHOOL ON MONDAY!!

On Memorial Day, we remember people who died in military service.  We also often shop, have barbecues, and go to outdoor pools and water parks.  Many outdoor pools open on Memorial Day.

Do you like to shop?

  

Springfield Mall Sales 

Potomac Mills Sales

Pentagon City Sales

Tysons Corner Sales

Leesburg Outlet Sales

Fair Oaks Sales

Things to Do for Families with Children


At the end of the day, many military units play "Taps" at bedtime.  "Taps" is often played at military funerals.  It's rare to hear lyrics except in Boy Scouts.  "Safely Rest" (not "Bob Good Night") is usually the last line.

One of my students suggested the following song as a tribute to military families.  

Can you find which word is not spelled correctly?

Voice of America Article on Memorial Day

Online Word Search for Memorial Day

What are you doing for memorial day?  (I plan to relax!)

Health Problem Vocabulary

 

Practice using have/has

Words about ailments

Words about the body and medical equipment

Practice using a few words about symptoms on Learning Chocolate

Intermediate symptoms on Learning Chocolate

Do you work as a caregiver?  Study Vocabulary for Medical Reports and reading practice for CNAs

You don't have to

 

Is this the worst Elvis song?  It's a good example of "don't have to.'  What do you have to do?  What are some things you don't have to do?

Medicine (Just a spoonful of sugar!)

(Skip to :23)

Link to class activity:  Practice Health Vocabulary -- Prescriptions  (Bottom right-- Medicines)

Types of Medication

Prescription Label Vocabulary

Do you take any medicines?  Do they have side effects?  Do you take Vitamins?

I should probably go to bed...

 

Challenge Reading: 3 ways to Health

Practice should ___(base verb) and shouldn't ____(base verb)

What time should you go to bed?  What time do you go to bed?  What time did you go to bed last night? What do you like to do at night?  How much sleep do you usually get?

Never google your symptoms

Symptoms are signs of a medical problem like a headache or stomachache or fatigue (feeling really tired)  Hypochondria is obsessing with the possibility that you have a terrible disease.

Practice Health Vocabulary with Learning Chocolate

Quizlet: Health Problems

Do you have any symptoms right now?  Do you have a good doctor?

Doctor Doctor

Dialog -- Making an appointment    Going to the doctor
Vocabulary: symptoms  Vocabulary: Medicine  Vocabulary: Types of Medication

Talking about allergies and health

Learning Chocolate Medical Equipment

Learning Chocolate Health Problems 1

Common Health Problems 2

Learning Chocolate: Body Organs

Are you healthy?  Do you have allergies?  Is everyone in your family healthy?  Is anything the matter?

 Whenever I shop for an appliance or a car, I look at Consumer Report's ratings.

Challenge Listening about cars:  (You probably should slow this one down in YouTube)

Maryann says that she checks Consumer Reports on the sofa at home through her library card!  

Here are her instructions:

Hi Laurie.

This is how I reached Consumer Reports online using my library account number and login:

1.  Logged into George Mason Regional Library with my library card number and password;

2. Go to “Research Center”In column on left side of screen

3.   Click “All Databases;” and 

4 .  Click on “C” in the alphabet list and Consumer Reports is the third or fourth entry.

Fairfax County Public Library cards are available free to residents of Fairfax County.  You can borrow books, CDs, DVDs, and artwork. 

Using Cellphones...

When is it okay to use cell phones?  For how long?  Should the government ban cell phone use?

These videos are challenging.  Do you know how to slow them down in YouTube?

 

You're going to make it!

\Make it - can be create something, but more often make it means "succeed" or get to a destination after many difficulties. 

Gonna is how we say, "going to" for future.  Please write, "going to _______(base verb)" unless you are texting.

This song is from an old TV show.  What are your favorite TV shows?  What are your favorite TV shows in English?

Make or Do

Woodward English Presentation Make or Do

Woodward English Printable Chart

Make or Do Expressions on Quizlet -  some common expressions to "collo"

Make or Do flashcards -pick the make or do

English online make or do game

similar blog post with a few more links

Mixed Tense Make vs. Do game from Woodward English-- really challenging, but easy to change your answer!!

Happy Mother's Day!

(English teacher note:  capitalize "I," and use a ' for I'm.)

What is your mother like? Describe her. If it won't make you sad, please tell me at least three nice things about your mother

Children's Book for Mother's Day

 

I love to read to children.  Do you have a favorite children's book?  What?  

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Are you celebrating Cinco de Mayo this week?  What are you doing?  

 

Many North Americans celebrate Cinco de Mayo because they want to show appreciation for the wonderful benefits of many Latino cultures' contributions here in the USA. They often don't understand the  holiday's focus on the amazing victory of Mexicans over the French Army in the Battle of Puebla de Los Angeles.  

In the US, many people wear Mexican-inspired clothes, eat tacos, and drink margaritas.  Some businesses try to make Cinco de Mayo into a Latino version of St. Patrick's day. The businesses that want to celebrate "Latino culture" often have no idea that different South or Central American countries are VERY different from each other. 

Challenging Video:  Ask History: Cinco de Mayo  Try using YouTube settings -- .7 to slow it down

My children's elementary school always celebrated all immigrants on Cinco de Mayo -- they usually had an international pot luck celebration.  One of my best memories of celebrating Cinco de Mayo was when I first ate Pakistani Kebobs.

In Japan, today is children's day.  There are many fish flying!!

Are you doing anything to celebrate Mexican, Latino, Japanese, or any culture this week?

WOW! Thanks for the party!!

Today, we had amazing cakes for both Reyhan and Rosa!  They were SO DELICIOUS!! 

Listening exercise:  The party

Listening exercise:  Happy Birthday

Listening exercise: Shopping for father's day

Listening exercise:  Buying Running Shoes

Writing: Do you usually celebrate your birthday?  What do you do?  

What did you do when you were a child?  Do you do anything for any children now? 

What was the most amazing party you ever saw? 

THANK YOU!!!

Things Will Get Better...

English is very difficult, but you are working hard.

English will get easier.

 You are already improving.  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.

What are your favorite ways to work at improving your English?

The Sweetest....

We did a fill-in-the-blank exercise, and I was nervous because it was almost time to go.

I wrote "make" on the 7th blank, but the answer was "made."

Great job, Diana!  Thanks for speaking up!!

"We have taken many rides on troubled shores" means we have experienced problems.

It's a metaphor -- not an expression you should use.

shore=beach (or land near the line between water and land)

Superlative Examples

Do you like sugary desserts?  What is the sweetest dessert that you like?  What makes you happy?  What are your sweetest memories?

Longer...

Practice game: comparative

Slide show from class

Student Examples:  Spring 2025

Study and Practice Using Comparatives and Superlatives

What are your best attributes?  Write about two of your friends.  Who is taller?  Who is younger?  Who is funnier?  Who is farther away?

Use comparative adjectives to compare 2 things

 

Compare some things at home.  My TV is bigger than my cellphone.  My husband cooks more delicious food than I do.  The bathroom is cleaner than the front porch.  The refrigerator is larger than the freezer. My air fryer is almost as big as my microwave.

Stronger

A syllable is a part of a word with one vowel sound.  

The number of sounds is more important than the number of vowels.

A silent e is never a syllable.

Ed is always a syllable even if we don't pronounce it as another syllable.

(We only pronounce "ed" like another syllable after a last letter = T or D)

Children's Video that practices breaking words into syllables

If you understand which syllable is stronger, your pronunciation will be better.

Study and practice using comparative adjectives

Do you do anything to get stronger?  What do you do? I lift weights twice a week, but I'm still not very strong.

Practicing this and that

 

What are your favorite things?

Challenging Listening for Earth Day

This conversation is difficult for our level.  The grandfather talks about how things were when he was young.  I do not agree that his generation was better for the environment!  In the USA, that generation used leaded gas in their cars and asbestos insulation in their houses.  People smoked cigarettes, pipes and cigars everywhere. They didn't worry about factory smoke or factory emissions and they didn't try to conserve water.

Do you worry about the environment?  Do you try to have a small "carbon footprint?"  Do you remember  different ways of doing things that were good for the environment?

Write about helping the environment.

or

Write about things you used to do, but you don't do now.  How did you change your habits?

Happy Earth Day!!

Practice this/that/these/those

Did you celebrate earth day today? What did you do?
When I was in elementary school in Colorado, we often planted trees and picked up litter on Earth Day.

What is litter?  Trash on the ground.   

Do you have a garden? Even when I lived in a small apartment, I had plants on the balcony. My family always grows some plants. Do you like to talk about saving the earth? Is pollution a bigger or smaller problem in your old country or in the USA? Do you have a big or a small carbon footprint?

(VERY difficult English website:  Carbon Footprint Calculator)

What are they doing?

 

Practice Present Continuous

What are you doing right now?  What is your friend doing right now?

I wonder (Lemon tree)

 

Practice Present Continuous

What are you doing today?  Are you working?  Are you relaxing?

Are you spending time with anyone?

Are you doing chores?

What are you wearing? Basic conversations about clothes

 

In American English, a jumper is a dress with a vest-style top.  Where these speakers say, "jumper," say, "sweater."

What do your favorite clothes look like?

Happy Easter!

Many people in the USA celebrate Easter today.

Non-Christians as well as Christians  celebrate Easter by dying hard-boiled eggs * or buying plastic eggs, putting candy in, and having an Easter Egg hunt.  When I was a child, adults usually hid the eggs.  A long time ago, kids had races and tried to roll uncooked eggs across a field without breaking them. One popular public Easter egg roll is usually at the White House.

*Easter eggs are often boiled for ten minutes.  Vinegar is often added to the water and to the dye cups.  Most people use food coloring or an egg dying kit.  I like to use icing dye in blue, red, and yellow.  My kids mixed the colors.

Easter is a holiday when Christians remember that Christ rose from the dead. 

Many churches usually start their service with this hymn:

Did you celebrate Easter?  Do you celebrate Resurrection Sunday?  How?

Holiday! NO SCHOOL April 14-18

All Fairfax County Schools have Spring Break -- NO SCHOOL April 14,15,16,17,& 18

Many people travel.  Some people relax.  Some people get very busy with their children.

What are you doing on this holiday?

Nothing Else Matters

 I like the vibe of Metallica, but I prefer Marlisa's enunciation.

What matters most?

Adjectives

 

Use adjectives to describe a friend or family member.

Use adjectives to describe a place.

Lady in Red

 

Practice Present Continuous verbs (be ____ing  now or certain future)

Do you like to dance?

What's your favorite color?

What are you doing?

What do you wear when you want to relax?

What do you wear when you want to look great?

Eye of the Tiger

 

Do you like to compete?  What sports do you play?  What games do you play?  Write about a time when it was difficult to win, but you won.

Blue

 

The next song was written by the King of the Blues...

Mr. Vo calls me the "blue teacher."  I don't know why.  Maybe, it's because I have a lot of blue clothes and a blue car.  Maybe, it's because I look sad.  In these songs, blue means sad. The blues is a music style that often has amazing guitar riffs.

What do you do when your friend is blue?  What are good ways to cheer up people?

Living on a prayer

 

What do you have to do every week?

If the world was ending...

 

I'd=I would

wanna=want to

Do you have a bucket list? A bucket list is a list of things that you want to do before you die.  What do you want to do when your English is excellent? 

Do you have a romantic partner? How did you meet?  Would you (did you) follow that person to another place?

What do you like to do?

 

Video Quiz

What do you like to do?