Far from the Shallow

 NEVER dive in shallow water...

Many students in our class said they don't like Halloween.  If you want to see a Halloween post, click here.

Today, a student asked me why falling was spelled fallin'. 

Many songs do that to show that the pronunciation of the ing sounds more like silver pin "in" 

rather than green tea ing.  You should always write the full word: falling with the g.

(warning: in the next link, men are only wearing small bathing suits)

Video about diving history for anyone that says, "What is dive?" 

Do you like to swim?  How often do you go swimming?  Do you like to watch diving at the Olympics?

How's the weather?

I hope this gives a quick review of easy weather words with good listening practice and maybe a few new words...

Challenging Listening Practice-- Can you do this LONG dictation without looking?

Game/Quiz-- Do you understand the forecast? (from Woodward English)

Is the weather in Virginia similar to weather in places you've lived before?  Where have you lived?  Were there four seasons?  Was it humid?  Was there a lot of rain?  What's your favorite season?

Ellii Videos: Conversations -- Going to a doctor

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?

Health Problem Vocabulary

 

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

Election Day is soon!

Most of these videos are very challenging.  You may want to turn on CC-closed captioning and change playback speed to .75 

Long Challenging Video:  Virginia Decides

Quizlet: Political Vocabulary

Quizlet Vocabulary 

Quizlet: Political Terms

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.  If you don't want to enter your home address, put in the address of the closest elementary school, and you can still get your information.  Once you have the names on the ballot, you can google the names and read their websites.  

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?

Happy Halloween! Trick or Treat Customs

Introducing Halloween for ESL

Unite for Literacy:  Puppies in Costumes!

Rules and Customs for Trick or Treating

                                            

  Video: Tips for fun Jack O Lanterns

Do you enjoy Halloween?  What do you do?

http://www.elcivics.com/halloween.html

Halloween Vocabulary

Halloween Vocabulary Matching Game from www.esolcourses!

Halloween reading and gap-fill

I'm Alive

When do you feel happy?

Picking a costume for Halloween

 

I don't like the way these teens think so many costumes are boring, but it's good conversation practice.

Halloween Vocabulary

Do you celebrate Halloween?  What do you do?  Are you taking your children trick or treating?  What are they going to be?

Giving Directions in a car

 

Practice basic directions with Learning Chocolate Vocabulary

Listening Challenge:  The traffic ticket

Please stick with me!  Don't follow the advertising for Steve...

Where are your favorite places in Northern Virginia?  Are they easy to get to from Plum Center?

CHALLENGE: Cars

Are you learning to drive?  Here are some resources for English and driving!

Car Parts -- Use language guide to practice vocabulary!

Learning Chocolate Basic Vocabulary inside a car

Car Interior vocabulary practice with Learning Chocolate

Taking the Behind-the-Wheel Test

During COVID -- The driver is quite slow.

Many people recommend using turn signals even in the parking lot for the driving test.

documentation=paper.  You should bring your  insurance card.  You shouldn't bring your cell phone.

Be sure  = make certain = be careful to do

turn signal:   = 

Emergency flashers=hazard lights:  

I think this instructor has good advice and it's good for you to hear realistic American English.

I don't think you should take classes from 

anyone who only uses one hand to drive or who films selfies while driving!

The next video was made in Canada, but it has good advice for Virginia too!!

Quizlet Car Vocabulary (made by another teacher)

Practice Car Vocabulary with Learning Chocolate


Do you know how to drive?  If yes, when did you learn?  If no, how do you get to school?  

You're Beautiful!!

What do you wear when you want to be comfortable?

Do you have an outfit that makes you feel beautiful or handsome?

What does it look like? 

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

"Flying high" can mean on drugs.  It can also mean be very happy.

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?

NO SCHOOL MONDAY, October 20 It's Diwali!

 

Did you ever see a Diwali celebration?  What did it look like?

 

What's your favorite holiday?  Do you usually go shopping before that holiday?  What do you buy?

What do you like to wear on your favorite holiday?

What are you wearing?

 

(Jumper has a different meaning in US English)

Basic Vocabulary Review and Listening Practice: Women's Clothing   men's clothing

LOTS of clothing vocabulary practice

What are you wearing now?

What do you like to wear in the winter?

What do you like to wear in the summer?

What do you usually wear to a party?

I seldom do that, but I'm doing it today!

 

What are you doing now?

What do you usually do on _______(this day of the week)?

Did you ever have to change your routine?  What happened?

Lady in Red-- Describe people with adjectives in the correct order (1. Opinion 2. Size 3. Color 4. Pattern 5. noun that you are describing)

When you describe clothing, use the adjective order: opinion, size, color, pattern.

(If there isn't a pattern, the word "plain" goes before the color.)

She's wearing a dramatic, long red sparkly dress.  I'm wearing a comfortable, large, plain blue tee-shirt.

Basic Vocabulary Review and Listening Practice: Women's Clothing   men's clothing

Basic Shopping Conversations (Despite American accents, this video uses a few British terms. Instead of lift, use elevator. Instead of trial room, we say fitting room  Instead of "make a bill," say, "ring this up.")  Most of the phrases are common in the USA too.

Challenge:  Explanations of Adjective Order and Difficult practice using all the categories

(NO SAS-C POMP= number, opinion, size, age, shape, color, pattern, origin, material, purpose)

Intermediate Level Shopping Conversation (Turn on CC if it's too fast...)

What is your favorite color?  What is your favorite season?  What's your favorite outfit?  

Describe what you wore when you looked really good.

What do you look like?

2 Minute English -- Descriptions in (Slow) Conversation

For this class, you only need Opinion--Size--Color--Pattern

It's difficult to find internet resources on adjective order that only have these categories.

It's also easy to find internet resources that are totally wrong about the order.

Advanced Class adjective order is NO SASC POMP -- Number Opinion Size Age Shape Color Pattern Origin Material Purpose  (I think numbers often replace articles and that an article (a-the-an) isn't an adjective)  Practice Adjective Order -- Advanced, but the easiest I found

Describe a good friend, a relative, and/or an outfit that you like to wear

Happy Indigenous Peoples Day ! We HAVE SCHOOL MONDAY! (Children don't.)

Government offices, banks, and libraries usually close today.  Restaurants and stores usually don't.  They are often crowded with people who don't have to work!  Sometimes, they offer good deals.

Sometimes schools close, sometimes they don't.

For 2025, our children don't have school, but we do.

Knowing that Native Americans were here before the English colonists and naming a few North American tribes is on the citizenship exam.  Most common tribes named include: ▪ Cherokee ▪ Navajo ▪ Sioux ▪ Chippewa ▪ Choctaw ▪ Pueblo ▪ Apache ▪ Iroquois ▪ Creek ▪ Blackfeet ▪ Seminole ▪ Cheyenne ▪ Arawak ▪ Shawnee ▪ Mohegan ▪ Huron ▪ Oneida ▪ Lakota ▪ Crow ▪ Teton ▪ Hopi ▪ Inuit

Did you celebrate Columbus Day or Indigenous People's Day?

What did you do?

What did you wear?

We have school on Monday

 Fairfax County children don't have school, but we have school.  I'm going to be here.

Do you have a favorite day of the week?  Do you have a favorite season?  Write about it!

What are you going to do this week?

 

Practice future with going to

What do you want to do this weekend?

What do you have to do this weekend?

What are you going to do this weekend?

It's going to take some time!

 

English grammar takes time!

Try to remember the rules and make many examples. Focus on using correct examples.

: What's a verb?  What's a verb tense?

Practice future with going to

Our book mixes the verb tenses a lot just like people do in real life.  

Please do not study ALL the English verb tenses on the internet.

In this level, we practice future with "will", future with "going to", Present Continuous, Simple Present., Simple Past and the modals: can, could, should, have to, & need to.

Happy Chuseok! (Korean holiday during the Autumnal Equinox)

 

Challenge: Ellii handout that I might use in class

Did you do anything special today?  What did you eat?  Did you ever celebrate a holiday about the moon, about harvest, or about the Equinox?

What a wonderful world

Wonderful, pretty, and smart are adjectives.  Adjectives describe people, places, things or ideas.

See, hear, and think are non-action verbs.  We usually don't use them in present continuous (be __ing)

What do you see right now?  What do you hear right now?  What do you think of fasting?


Did you see anything beautiful today?  What did you see?

Do you have children?  Do you watch any children grow?  Write about a child.

NO SCHOOL ON THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2-- It's Yom Kippur!

Fairfax County Schools are off for a religious holiday.  I think this Children's book has a nice explanation for our level, but some of the activities are hard to see.  Is it easy for you to understand?

Do you celebrate Yom Kippur?  If yes, what are you doing today?

If not, do you have any traditions that involve fasting?  How often do you fast?  Do you have any traditions that involve saying, "I'm sorry?"  Do you have any traditions that involve praying?