What do you recommend?

 

Do bad situations teach more than good situations?  How do you remember vocabulary and irregular verbs?  Write about a situation that taught you valuable things.

For those who love Mother's Day....

 A tribute to loving mothers.... (for Mother's day...)

Please write three positive things about a mother you know.  

One Cup of Coffee

 

Do you like to drink coffee?  How do you take your coffee?  Do you prefer tea?  How do you take your tea?  What's your favorite beverage?  What's your favorite snack? What brands do you recommend?

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 like 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?

At my worst

 

Describe a great friend or partner.

Are there any bad qualities that you don't pay attention to

because you really like that person?

On a Wednesday -- in a cafe -- I watched it begin again

 

ESL Lounge Prepositions of Time Quiz

Prepositions of time explanations and practice

Write about a friend and how you met.

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 or go for it 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.

I Can Love MYSELF better...

Life can be a hard day for single people, but being single can be better than having a relationship with a terrible person.  How can you treat yourself?

(Pop music rarely uses good spelling and grammar, but it will help you understand people here.  

Some translations:  kinda - the kind of / 'til - until/ wanna - want to)

Practice reflexive pronouns

Write about ways that you can make yourself happy.

Do you buy yourself flowers or chocolate or anything you really like?  What do you buy yourself?  What can you do when you want to treat yourself very well?

Is Any Skill Actually Useless?

 

Do you have any silly skills?

I'll always remember us this way

 

Write about some good memories.  Then write about some things that you want to remember.

Do you know where you're going to?

 

Write about some beautiful places that you went to.  Write about things you're glad you did.

Where do you want to travel to next?

Describe the street where you live

Describe the street where you live, where you lived or where you want to live!  (Don't say the names of the streets, just what the homes and surroundings look like.)

We found love right where we are!

Do you know any old people that are  very happy with their spouses?  Describe them.  What do they do to stay happy together?

Where were you when you first fell in love? (Or when you fell in love with the person you are with now...)  Write about it!

Happy Earth Day!!

Practice this/that/these/those

Smithsonian Events for Earth Day (some are over now)

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)

NO SCHOOL APRIL 21, 2026!

 If you can vote, go vote!

If you are bored:  read in English, write in English, listen to English and practice past:  

Practice was vs. were  (was for 1.  Were for 2+. Always were for you 1 or 2+)

Practice making past questions (scroll down to start on number 1)

Past tense Real English Lesson

Challenge Video: What is Gerrymandering?

Gerrymandering is changing voting district lines to try to ensure that certain people get elected.

Virginia has a special vote on whether we should change the voting district map on Tuesday, April 21, 2026. 

President Trump openly demanded Republican gerrymandering in Texas, Indiana, & Florida.  Democrats want to respond by Democrat gerrymandering in California and Virginia.                              

Do you know if other democratic countries do gerrymandering?

Quizlet: Political Terms

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?

Practice Simple past/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)

Simple Past Grammar Explanation and Practice

When did you first fall in love?

Video: When professional basketball players fell in love with basketball

Write about the time you first met a friend.  Where were you? How old were you?

 What did your friend look like?

Remember When

This country song has great examples of past "to be."  

Remember:  Was for 1, were for 2 but always were for you (1 or 2!) 

Study and practice simple past

Write about a pleasant memory.

Pronouncing -ed

 

Which words are easy to say in past tense?  Which words are difficult?

Don't Speak

 

Practice Present Continuous

Did you ever break up with someone?  What's the best way to do it?

Write about a person that you don't want in your life.