Welcome to ESOL Study!

Using English is the best way to improve your English! Please sing with the songs and write comments.

Please suggest songs and topics you like.

If you are using a phone, you need to scroll down and press "view web version" to find links to the vocabulary and grammar exercises.

If your phone translates this blog, please set your phone to use English. The instructions are here.

Click on the picture of the book to find the link to class vocabulary!

If you want me to explain any English topic to you on here, please comment or text to tell me.

Wednesday, January 28, 2026

STAY HOME--NO SCHOOL AGAIN TOMORROW --THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2026



In our "correct proper English dialect," say, "Don't pay any mind to the demons", not "Don't pay no mind to the demons."  Also, don't say "it" in "The trouble it might drag you down."  Last, gonna should be going to

Describe the place you live now.  Did you do anything to make it feel more like home?  What did you do?


Yesterday Once More




Some songs always bring back memories.   This song reminds me of ice skating in the 1970's with my babysitter -- a young man who wanted to be a magician.  He always found the quarters for the hot chocolate vending machine behind my ear!  The ice rink played this song a lot.  (Shah la la la, shing a ling a ling, whoa oh oh don't have any meaning, but people often sang those sounds in the 1950s)

Do you have any memories with this song?  What songs make you think of certain times in the past?

Snowman

 This song mentions Christmas, but it's not a Christian song.


Did you make a snowman or snow bird or snow angel? Did you do anything fun?

I'd love to see pictures of snow art or a video of how to do a chore well!

Read all about it

Our school gives reading tests mostly to show people who give us money that we are a good program.  The tests are completely different than our curriculum.  It often takes 100 hours of reading to move up 5 points on the test.  Last summer, however, three people moved up almost 10 points in only 5 weeks, possibly because they committed to reading one hour every day.  Don't worry if you don't have that kind of time, but please read as much as you can.  


Reading specialists say it's best if you feel interested in the reading and understand most of the words -- no more than 7 new words per page, but at least 1-4 new words every 2 pages.  


I subscribe to Ellii.com to get reading materials for our class.  My subscription allows me to have online "classes" with their materials.  Sign up requires your information, but doesn't require payment because I already paid.  There's no requirement that you use Ellii for our class.

You are welcome to join any of my online reading groups, but I have recommendations.

If you talked to my volunteer, Mary Ann last Wednesday, you should probably join ellii.com/students 82449N

If you talked to Jennifer last Wednesday, or me after break, you should go to  Green Group on Ellii.com or Phonics Awareness Class  If reading or listening is difficult, try to point to words of YouTube songs while you listen or sing with them.

If you are interested in citizenship, you can try:  Online Citizenship on Ellii.com  -- it may be very  difficult.

If you are interested in driving, look at my class for Driving -Including Trucks.

If you are interested in medical English, try English for Medical People

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

Tuesday, January 27, 2026

No School AGAIN tomorrow, Wednesday, January 28

Soooo, some years it doesn't snow at all.  Virginia doesn't put tons of money into snow removal. 

Please read in English.



Are you enjoying the snow?  Are you able to get out of your driveway or parking lot?  Write about a time you first saw or enjoyed or hated snow.

Getting Chores Done

 Whenever I have a snow day, I imagine I'll get a lot done around the house.  What are you doing today?

What is this dog doing?





What chores did you do today?  Do you like to listen to music when you do housework?  

Describe a chore that makes your life happier.

Monday, January 26, 2026

SNOW DAY!!! No School Tuesday, January 27, 2026 as well as Monday, January 26!

FCPS closed all schools tomorrow!
Enjoy your morning off!





Did you have snow days when you were in school?  Did you have snow?  Do you like snow?

NO SCHOOL TODAY

NO SCHOOL TODAY



The grammar in the next kid's video is terrible,
but it may be a good video for training your ear to listen.
Remember-- wanna = be want to
gonna = be going to (future)
Don't want no = don't want any
Don't want no company no way= I don't want any company anyway



What are you doing today?  Are you cooking? Are you reading?
Are you enjoying time with your family?

Did you enjoy watching the snow?

Saturday, January 24, 2026

How Did you Know?


SxS video past
S x S video  (was were)

Listen and practice speaking the most common regular past tense verbs (Press the speaker icon next to past tense to hear them)


When did you first fall in love?

Write about the time you first met a friend.  Where were you? How old were you?
 What did your friend look like?

Friday, January 23, 2026

SNOW!




This children's book has a lot of good irregular past verbs!!

If you like to read children's books,
 try looking at some books at
Tumblebooks is a subscription from our school system.
Type in the name of our county starting with f as both username and password.



Do you like snow? Do you think it'll snow tomorrow? Did it snow a lot in your former country?  Write a story that happened on a snowy day.  What are you doing today?

Wednesday, January 21, 2026

It's going to take some time!

 


English grammar takes practice!
Try to remember the rules and make many examples. Focus on using correct examples.




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. 

Write about something besides learning English that takes a long time, but it's good to do.
(Sometimes beside is next to.  Besides often means NOT the following idea)

Tuesday, January 20, 2026

Thursday, January 15, 2026

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! NO SCHOOL on Monday!

Martin Luther King Jr. worked to make laws equal (the same/similar) for everyone, rather than different for people who were not white.

On Martin Luther King day, some people volunteer on this National Day of Service.  Martin Luther King Jr. Day is the only federal holiday for volunteer work.

People who protested that the United States Laws were not good for everybody often sang this song while they walked.  Shall = will.  "Shall" is an old word . We usually say, "will" now.  Overcome -- means "win" or "keep going" when it's very, very hard to win or keep going.

You will overcome the difficulty of learning English soon.





Animated Children's Video about Martin Luther King Jr. Turn on subtitles

Children's Video about Martin Luther King Jr. with actual photographs.


Challenging Video that shows Bloody Sunday -- King's followers did NOT fight back when physically attacked, and got a LOT of white people's support for changing the constitution to say that there could not be different laws for different skin colors

Another Video about Martin Luther King Jr.'s life -- also difficult...


Did you ever volunteer?  What did you do?


What are you doing this weekend?  What helps you keep going when you need to do something difficult?

Tuesday, January 13, 2026

Pronouncing contractions with will

 We practiced speaking it'll in class today!



What'll you do this afternoon?  What'll you do this evening?  


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...





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?

Come away with me

 


Do you like to travel?  Do you prefer  to travel alone or with someone.  Who do you want to travel with? Where do you want to go?

Friday, January 9, 2026

A Million Dreams

 



Do you admire any person because they work to make the world better?  Who?  Why?

Tuesday, January 6, 2026

Did you see the snow moon?

 



"Once in a blue moon" is a phrase that means rarely.

How did you meet your best friend?  What do you like to do together?  Is there anything you really enjoy once in a blue moon?

Wildflower-- I remember your ex....

 


Write about a person/some people you don't like.  Why don't you like them?

Monday, January 5, 2026

What a wonderful world


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


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

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

Isn't it lovely to be alone?

 


Are you an introvert or an extrovert?  Do you need both time with people and time alone?

What do you like to do?

Desperado

"Why don't you ____________(base verb)" is a nice way to tell someone to do something or an expression to give advice, similar to "You should ____(base verb)

"Come to your senses" -- look around and notice reality 

"Ain't" is a common word in the USA.  It can mean aren't or isn't and it signals that the person who uses it is poor, honest, and from a rural (farm or small town) area.  Don't use it in a job interview.


This song uses imagery from "Westerns," old
movies set in a fictional 19th century western USA.

Do you like movies? What kind of movies do you like?  What's your favorite movie?
Can you write about a movie that you recently saw?

Good Morning!


Good Morning!  Welcome to English Class!!  What do you like to do?  Write about a good day.  What did you do?

Thursday, January 1, 2026

Goals

Think about your goals for English class!




Challenging (Difficult) Video and Reading




My goal is to teach you a lot of good English as fast and as fun as I can during the next nine weeks.  

What are your goals?  What do you want to talk about and work on in English Class?