What are you going to do in August? I'm going to miss you!
If your phone translates this blog, please set your phone to use English. The instructions are here.
Friday, August 1, 2025
See you in September
What are you going to do in August? I'm going to miss you!
Monday, July 28, 2025
Sunday, July 27, 2025
Jimmy's Recommendation
Tuesday, July 22, 2025
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.
Thursday, July 17, 2025
How Did you Know?
Tuesday, July 15, 2025
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?
Monday, July 14, 2025
Getting a table
Sunday, July 13, 2025
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?
Friday, July 11, 2025
Talking at a restaurant Can
A few regional differences: My family says "appetizer" rather than "starter."
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
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.
Wednesday, July 9, 2025
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?
Thursday, July 3, 2025
The Light We Keep On
Are there any small things that you do to make someone feel better? What?
Wednesday, July 2, 2025
Firework!
Who do you admire? Why? What do you love to do? What is important to get done?
Happy Fourth of July!!
Reading/listening practice -- press the triangle to hear the story as you read it.
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?
Tuesday, July 1, 2025
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?
Summer 2025 Homework
(Click and Write if the homework is good or not good for you-I want written assignments to take less than 20 minutes so that you have time to study vocabulary and listen to English in ways that you like. I want the homework to be easy and useful.)
Kahoots so farWelcome to English class! I am so happy you came!
Purple sentences are examples.
Homework for August 1, 2025 Tomorrow is a potluck party. If you like to cook, please bring food! If you don't, come anyway!
Homework for July 31, 2025 -- Study Unit 5. Finish the workbook pages in Unit 5.
7-30 Today was reading day. Red group read about the Amish and had how often discussion questions. Blue group read about a blog and a woman who burned money in the microwave.
Homework for Wednesday, July 30: Do WB p. 59 & 62 in the workbook. Study vocabulary , these irregular verbs, and my quizlet set of 80 irregular verbs. If you didn't do it last weekend, finish the handout about verb tenses.
Homework for Tuesday, July 29: Write the answers on the was/were handout that we spoke in class. Study vocabulary , these irregular verbs, and my quizlet set of 80 irregular verbs. If you didn't do it last weekend, finish the handout about verb tenses.
- no article before home. I go home. He went home.
- The to school and to church on our list to memorize is only if you go to school to learn in class or go to a worship service. Where's Washington? He went to church. My daughter goes to school every weekday.
- If you go to a school or church building for a different reason than class or worship service, use "the." I went to the school for a PTA meeting. She goes to the church early to set up the reception area. I'm going to the church to check out their ESL class.
- People who use British English say, "to hospital." In the USA, we say, "to the hospital."
- Go to the shopping mall is correct because the shopping mall is a location. Don't use to in phrasal verbs describing activities: go shopping, go swimming, go sailing, go dancing.
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?
Monday, June 30, 2025
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?
Sunday, June 22, 2025
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?
Friday, June 20, 2025
Happy First Day of Summer
What are you favorite activities in the summer?
Wednesday, June 18, 2025
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?
Friday, June 13, 2025
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.
Thursday, June 12, 2025
What are you going to do?
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?
Tuesday, June 10, 2025
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?
Sunday, June 8, 2025
This Old Guitar
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?
Friday, June 6, 2025
Count-Non-Count
My class presentation on count and non-count
Tuesday, June 3, 2025
Practice Directions
Thursday, May 29, 2025
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"
Friday, May 23, 2025
Did you understand? Were you tired?
Thursday, May 22, 2025
Memorial Day -- NO SCHOOL ON MONDAY!!
Do you like to shop?
Springfield Mall 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.
Health Problem Vocabulary
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
Wednesday, May 21, 2025
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!)
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?
Monday, May 19, 2025
I should probably go to bed...
Sunday, May 18, 2025
Never google your symptoms
Saturday, May 17, 2025
Friday, May 16, 2025
Talking about allergies and health
Thursday, May 15, 2025
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)
Monday, May 12, 2025
Using Cellphones...
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?