Category: English Learning

Posted in English Learning

How to help learners of English understand prepositions

Posted on by Chester Exchange

Prepositions and their importance in English

Prepositions are tricky little beasts. The relative shortness of the words (most are six letters or under) and their often misplaced role in the overall scheme of things (why should prepositions be less important than nouns, adjectives or verbs?) mean that we should treat them carefully and perhaps give them more time in the classroom than is usually the case.

What exactly are prepositions and how are they used in English?

In a list of English prepositions you will find very common words such as ‘in’, ‘up’, ‘behind’, ‘from’, and ‘with’. Prepositions hold a privileged position as parts of speech in that they are a ‘closed class’. In other words, they are a select group of words that don’t accept new members to their club. This is in contrast to nouns, adjectives and verbs, which welcome new additions to their respective groups all the time.

While prepositions are limited in number, they are important because they act as vital markers to the structure of a sentence; they mark special relationships between persons, objects, and locations. For this reason, we should think carefully about how we incorporate the teaching and learning of prepositions into our classes.

What problems can prepositions cause for learners of English and their teachers?

It’s very difficult to use prepositions correctly in English and they present a number of problems for both teachers and learners.

First, most prepositions, especially the common ones, have several different functions. The preposition ‘at’, for example, has as many as 18 different functions, depending on which dictionary you consult. As vocabulary items in their own right, prepositions can therefore present a major challenge and it’s not unusual for learners of English to ask teachers to explain what a word such as ‘at’ means.

Second, there is no logical way of deciding which preposition goes with a particular noun, verb or adjective. Consider these examples: the reason for, arrive at, angry with somebody, on a train. In many instances, the correct preposition cannot be guessed, so the expression must be learned as a whole. The problem is compounded when a particular vocabulary item – again it’s those commonly used ones that are often guilty – flirts with many different prepositions, making teaching and learning a longer process than we may initially account for. Consider the adjective ‘available’. As a teacher, which of the following would you prioritise?

  • Tickets are available from the box office.
  • Not enough data is available to scientists.
  • No figures are available for the number of goods sold.
  • There are plenty of jobs available in the area.

All of these sentences are correct, yet in each case the adjective goes with a different preposition. We need to consider how we would deal with phrases such as ‘the reason for’ and the best way to teach words such as ‘available’, that go with multiple prepositions.

Finally, learners’ native language can ‘get in the way’ of the learning process and interfere with correct English usage. This is perhaps never more true than in the form of prepositional errors. For example, some expressions in English do not use a preposition but the same expression in another language does, and vice versa. In my teaching context, where the majority of learners are native Turkish speakers, I constantly hear sentences like ‘he married with her’, ‘I hate from that’ and ‘I accessed to the internet.’ Another problem I regularly encounter among Turkish learners relates to the multiplicity of uses of particular prepositions. Turkish has one preposition serving the same purpose as ‘in’, ‘on’ and ‘at’ in English, making it difficult for my learners to distinguish between their various uses.

A few tips for learning and teaching prepositions of place and movement

Go with the tried and trusted basics

Following the pattern that most course books take, i.e., dealing with prepositions in manageable chunks, is not a bad way to go. Teaching prepositions of time, place and movement, for instance, at different times, will enable learners to build up their knowledge of prepositions slowly and steadily. Doing so will be much more effective than, say, trying to teach every use of ‘in’ at the same time.

The game Simon Says is great for reviewing prepositions of place and movement with young learners, as you can give directions for students to move around, such as ‘Simon Says stand on your chair’ or ‘Simon Says get under your desk.’ Learners respond well to the movement and start using the prepositions naturally.

With adult learners, a competitive timed review game can work really well. Start by dividing the class into teams, say a sentence and then have them take turns drawing it on the board. If you say ‘the dog is behind the chair’, the learners have to draw a corresponding image, which can be graded according to speed or accuracy, depending on which is more enjoyable for the class.

Posted in English Learning

Why Pronouns Are Important

Posted on by Chester Exchange

Pronouns are essential in the way we communicate with one another. The importance of pronoun communication, however, is crucial. We use pronouns as a way to identify or refer to someone so next time before making an assumption about someone’s pronouns, just ask!

What is a pronoun? 

A word that can function by itself as a noun phrase and that refers either to the participants in the discourse (e.g., I, you ) or to someone or something mentioned elsewhere in the discourse (e.g., she, it, this ).

What are Gender Neutral/Gender Inclusive Pronouns?

Gender neutral or gender inclusive pronouns are unspecific to one gender. Using gender neutral pronouns does not label or associate the person being discussed with a specific gender. This is especially important for people who don’t identify with their assigned gender at birth. Physical sex does not determine gender. In other words, genitals do not equal gender. Rather than assume someone’s pronouns based on their perceived gender or appearance, it’s crucial to ask what their pronouns are. 


Pronouns are essential in the way we communicate with one another. The importance of pronoun communication, however, is crucial. We use pronouns as a way to identify or refer to someone so next time before making an assumption about someone’s pronouns, just ask!

What is a pronoun? 

A word that can function by itself as a noun phrase and that refers either to the participants in the discourse (e.g., I, you ) or to someone or something mentioned elsewhere in the discourse (e.g., she, it, this ).

What are Gender Neutral/Gender Inclusive Pronouns?

Gender neutral or gender inclusive pronouns are unspecific to one gender. Using gender neutral pronouns does not label or associate the person being discussed with a specific gender. This is especially important for people who don’t identify with their assigned gender at birth. Physical sex does not determine gender. In other words, genitals do not equal gender. Rather than assume someone’s pronouns based on their perceived gender or appearance, it’s crucial to ask what their pronouns are. 

How do you ask?
  • “What pronouns do you use?”
  • “What pronouns would you like for me to use?”

It can take time to get someone’s pronouns right. Try your best. Apologizeif you do make a mistake and correct it. Don’t make it awkward. Remember that respecting someone means also respecting their pronouns.

How do you share?
  • “I’m Sally, and my pronouns are ze and hir.”
  • “My pronoun is co.” 
  • “I don’t use pronouns.”

Posted in English Learning

A Summary of the 10 Functions of Nouns

Posted on by Chester Exchange

A Summary of the 10 Functions of Nouns — enjoy your reading!

1. Subjects of Sentences:
The professor, John Smith, is the noun expert, so yesterday he gave the class his views on the importance of learning to write papers clearly, his students feverishly taking notes on all he said.

2. Subject Complements (“Predicate Nouns” or “Predicate Nominatives”):
The professor, John Smith, is the noun expert, so yesterday he gave the class his views on the importance of learning to write papers clearly, his students feverishly taking notes on all he said.

3. Direct Objects of Transitive Verbs:
The professor, John Smith, is the noun expert, so yesterday he gave the class his views on the importance of learning to write papers clearly, his students feverishly taking notes on all he said.

4. Objects of Verbal Phrases:
The professor, John Smith, is the noun expert, so yesterday he gave the class his views on the importance of learning to write papers clearly, his students feverishly taking notes on all he said.

5. Indirect Objects:
The professor, John Smith, is the noun expert, so yesterday he gave the class his views on the importance of learning to write papers clearly, his students feverishly taking notes on all he said.

6. Objects of Prepositions:
The professor, John Smith, is the noun expert, so yesterday he gave the class his views on the importance of learning to write papers clearly, his students feverishly taking notes on all he said.

7. Noun Appositives:
The professor, John Smith, is the noun expert, so yesterday he gave the class his views on the importance of learning to write papers clearly, his students feverishly taking notes on all he said.

8. Noun Modifiers:
The professor, John Smith, is the noun expert, so yesterday he gave the class his views on the importance of learning to write papers clearly, his students feverishly taking notes on all he said.

9. Noun Adverbs:
The professor, John Smith, is the noun expert, so yesterday he gave the class his views on the importance of learning to write papers clearly, his students feverishly taking notes on all he said.

10. Noun Absolutes:
The professor, John Smith, is the noun expert, so yesterday he gave the class his views on the importance of learning to write papers clearly, his students feverishly taking notes on all he said.

Posted in English Learning

8 Rules for Using the Article The in English

Posted on by Chester Exchange

An article is a word that modifies a noun.

In English, there are two different types of articles: the definite article (the) and the indefinite article (a/an).

In accord with the designations, the indefinite article is used when we speak about something for the first time, or something non-specific. The definite article is used when we speak about something specific or something that has already been mentioned in the conversation.

Many languages in the world use articles, but just as many languages don’t have them at all. So there is no reason to panic if your native language does not use articles.

The following eight rules regarding the use of the articles in English will help you make fewer mistakes when you speak English.

It is very important to be able to use the articles properly, both when writing and speaking.

1. With the names of countries and continents

In these instances we do not use the articles at all, BUT if the country is made up of different parts or if the name is taken from common nouns, for example USA, UK, UAE, then we use the article the and say the USA, the UK, the UAE, the Czech Republic, The Netherlands.

It is the same when speaking of continents and islands. It is not used at all with the continents. We usually do not use an article when speaking about islands, but if the name is made up of different parts, then use the definite article.

For example, Africa, Europe, Bermuda, Tasmania, BUT the Virgin Islands, the Bahamas

  •         She lived in America.
  •         They live in England.
  •         My friend is from the Czech Republic.

∙     I will go to the Galapagos Islands next year.

2. With the words breakfast, lunch, dinner

When it comes to eating in general, the article is not used. But if you are speaking about a particular breakfast, lunch or dinner, use the.

For example:

  •         I don’t eat breakfast.
  •         We didn’t like the dinner.

3. With the names of jobs and professions

In these instances, use the indefinite article a/an.

For example:

  •         I want to be a politician.
  •         My younger brother wants to be a vet.

4. With compass directions

Compass directions are written with capital letters when they designate definite regions (the North, the South, the East, the West), but not when they indicate direction or general location.

If the compass direction follows a preposition or if it designates a definite region, use the definite article the. If it follows a verb, no article is used.

For example:

  •         They went east.
  •         Look to the north and you will see the lake.
  •         The North is cooler than the South.

5. With names of oceans, seas, rivers, and canals

Remember that the definite article is always used with these bodies of water.

For example, the Amazon, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, the Suez Canal.

  •         I would like to swim in the Red Sea, and you?
  •         The Amazon is the longest river in the world.

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6. With the names of unique objects

This means that only one of the object or thing exists; it is one of a kind. Specifically, the sun, the moon, the internet, the sky, the earth.

For example:

  •         The sun is a star.
  •         We looked up at all the stars in the sky.
  •         He is always on the internet.

7. With uncountable nouns

Uncountable nouns are nouns that we cannot count. A way to identify these nouns, in most cases, is that they do not add –s in the plural form.

But remember that for every rule there are many exceptions. If you are speaking about any uncountable noun in general, do not use the article. But when speaking about something specific, the is used.

For example:

  •         I like bread/milk/honey.
  •         I like the bread/the milk/the honey. (specific bread/milk/honey)

8. With surnames

When speaking about members of the same family collectively, the article the is used before the surname. In this way, you designate a group of people –a family – with one word. Remember, the surname must be in the plural form.

For example:

  •         The Smiths are coming for dinner today.
  •         Have you seen the Johnsons recently?
Posted in English Learning

Prepositions of time and place – article

Posted on by Chester Exchange

Introduction

Many learners and even some teachers view the usage and meaning of prepositions as a secret that can’t be unlocked. However, if we examine the syntactic environments of such key prepositions systematically, patterns of usage and core meaning concepts emerge which can aid explanation and learning.

The prepositions at, in and on are often used in English to talk about places (positions) and times. Sometimes the choice of one over another in a particular phrase or sentence seems arbitrary. However, if we analyse patterns of occurrence we can identify key concepts in meaning and usage which consistently apply and can be used as a platform for learning.

Prepositions of time

The preposition at is used in the following descriptions of time:

With clock times

  • My last train leaves at 10:30.
  • We left at midnight.
  • The meeting starts at two thirty.

With specific times of day, or mealtimes

  • He doesn’t like driving at night.
  • I’ll go shopping at lunchtime.
  • I like to read the children a story at bedtime.

With festivals

  • Are you going home at Christmas/Easter?

In certain fixed expressions which refer to specific points in time

  • Are you leaving at the weekend?*
  • She’s working at the moment.
  • He’s unavailable at present.
  • I finish the course at the end of April.
  • We arrived at the same time.

The preposition in is used in the following descriptions of time:

With months, years, seasons, and longer periods of time

  • I was born in 1965.
  • We’re going to visit them in May.
  • The pool is closed in winter.
  • He was famous in the 1980’s.
  • The play is set in the Middle Ages.
  • They’ve done work for me in the past.

With periods of time during the day

  • He’s leaving in the morning.
  • She usually has a sleep in the afternoon.
  • I tried to work in the evening.

To describe the amount of time needed to do something

  • They managed to finish the job in two weeks.
  • You can travel there and back in a day.

To indicate when something will happen in the future:

  • She’ll be ready in a few minutes.
  • He’s gone away but he’ll be back in a couple of days.

The preposition on is used in the following descriptions of time:

With days of the week, and parts of days of the week

  • I’ll see you on Friday.
  • She usually works on Mondays.
  • We’re going to the theatre on Wednesday evening.

Note that in spoken English, on is often omitted in this context, e.g. I’ll see you Friday.

With dates

  • The interview is on 29th April.
  • He was born on February 14th, 1995.

With special days

  • She was born on Valentine’s Day.
  • We move house on Christmas Eve.
  • I have an exam on my birthday.

If we examine these different aspects of usage for the three prepositions, a general pattern emerges. At is generally used in reference to specific times on the clock or points of time in the day. In generally refers to longer periods of time, several hours or more. On is used with dates and named days of the week.

Prepositions of place

Prepositions of time and place – article

An article on approaches to teaching the prepositions of time and place, at, in and on.

Introduction

Why do we say The bank is on Grimshaw Lane. and She lives at 132 Gainsborough Avenue, but not She lives in 132 Gainsborough Avenue’ or The bank is at Grimshaw Lane?’

Many learners and even some teachers view the usage and meaning of prepositions as a secret that can’t be unlocked. However, if we examine the syntactic environments of such key prepositions systematically, patterns of usage and core meaning concepts emerge which can aid explanation and learning.

The prepositions at, in and on are often used in English to talk about places (positions) and times. Sometimes the choice of one over another in a particular phrase or sentence seems arbitrary. However, if we analyse patterns of occurrence we can identify key concepts in meaning and usage which consistently apply and can be used as a platform for learning.

Prepositions of time

The preposition at is used in the following descriptions of time:

With clock times

  • My last train leaves at 10:30.
  • We left at midnight.
  • The meeting starts at two thirty.

With specific times of day, or mealtimes

  • He doesn’t like driving at night.
  • I’ll go shopping at lunchtime.
  • I like to read the children a story at bedtime.

With festivals

  • Are you going home at Christmas/Easter?

In certain fixed expressions which refer to specific points in time

  • Are you leaving at the weekend?*
  • She’s working at the moment.
  • He’s unavailable at present.
  • I finish the course at the end of April.
  • We arrived at the same time.

*Note that in American English, on the weekend is the correct form.

The preposition in is used in the following descriptions of time:

With months, years, seasons, and longer periods of time

  • I was born in 1965.
  • We’re going to visit them in May.
  • The pool is closed in winter.
  • He was famous in the 1980’s.
  • The play is set in the Middle Ages.
  • They’ve done work for me in the past.

With periods of time during the day

  • He’s leaving in the morning.
  • She usually has a sleep in the afternoon.
  • I tried to work in the evening.

To describe the amount of time needed to do something

  • They managed to finish the job in two weeks.
  • You can travel there and back in a day.

To indicate when something will happen in the future:

  • She’ll be ready in a few minutes.
  • He’s gone away but he’ll be back in a couple of days.

The preposition on is used in the following descriptions of time:

With days of the week, and parts of days of the week

  • I’ll see you on Friday.
  • She usually works on Mondays.
  • We’re going to the theatre on Wednesday evening.

Note that in spoken English, on is often omitted in this context, e.g. I’ll see you Friday.

With dates

  • The interview is on 29th April.
  • He was born on February 14th, 1995.

With special days

  • She was born on Valentine’s Day.
  • We move house on Christmas Eve.
  • I have an exam on my birthday.

If we examine these different aspects of usage for the three prepositions, a general pattern emerges. At is generally used in reference to specific times on the clock or points of time in the day. In generally refers to longer periods of time, several hours or more. On is used with dates and named days of the week.

Prepositions of place

The preposition at is used in the following descriptions of place/position:

With specific places/points in space

  • She kept the horse at a nearby farm.
  • I had a cup of coffee at Helen’s (house/flat).
  • Angie’s still at home.
  • I’ll meet you at reception.
  • There’s a man at the door.
  • I saw her standing at the bus stop.
  • Turn right at the traffic lights.
  • The index is at the back of the book.
  • Write your name at the top of each page.

With public places and shops

  • Jane’s at the dentist/hairdresser.
  • I studied German at college/school/university.
  • Shall I meet you at the station?
  • We bought some bread at the supermarket.

With addresses

  • They live at 70, Duncombe Place.

With events

  • I met her at last year’s conference. She wasn’t at Simon’s party.

The preposition on is used in the following descriptions of place/position:

With surfaces, or things that can be thought of as surfaces

  • The letter is on my desk.
  • There was a beautiful painting on the wall.
  • The toy department is on the first floor.
  • Write the number down on a piece of paper.
  • You’ve got a dirty mark on your jumper.
  • He had a large spot on his nose.
  • She placed her hand on my shoulder.

With roads/streets, or other things that can be thought of as a line, e.g. rivers

  • The bank is on the corner of King’s Street.
  • Koblenz is on the Rhine.
  • Bournemouth is on the south coast.
  • It’s the second turning on the left.

The preposition in is used in the following descriptions of place/position:

With geographical regions

  • Driving in France is very straightforward.
  • Orgiva is a very small village in the mountains.

With cities, towns and larger areas

  • Do you like living in Nottingham?
  • They were having a picnic in the park.
  • She works somewhere in the toy department.

With buildings/rooms and places that can be thought of as surrounding a person or object on all sides

  • Can you take a seat in the waiting room, please?
  • I’ve left my bag in the office.
  • There’s a wedding in the church this afternoon.
  • Lots of people were swimming in the lake

With containers

  • There’s fresh milk in the fridge.
  • I think I’ve got a tissue in my pocket.
  • The money is in the top drawer of my desk.

With liquids and other substances, to show what they contain

  • Do you take milk in your coffee?
  • I can taste garlic in this sauce.
  • There’s a lot of fat in cheese and butter.

A general pattern again emerges if we consider these different aspects of usage. We can think of at as one-dimensional, referring to a specific place or position in space. On is two-dimensional, referring to the position of something in relation to a surface. In is by contrast three-dimensional, referring to the position of something in relation to the things that surround it. Thinking of the prepositions in these terms helps us explain certain facts. For instance, in is generally used for larger places and at for smaller, more specific places, so we say:We arrived in Inverness two hours ago.

But:We arrived at the campsite two hours ago.

However, if we think of a city or larger place as a specific point in space, we can use at, e.g.The train stops at Birmingham and Bristol.

Or if we think of a smaller place as three-dimensional, we can use in, e.g.We’ve lived in this little village for many years.

Prepositions at/in/on – extended meanings

A systematic analysis of the occurrence of the prepositions at, in and on in their core usage as indicators of time and place, helps us establish some key meaning concepts which will aid us in identifying and explaining their extended meanings:

at – is a mechanism for denoting the specific, it usually refers to fixed points in time (e.g. clock times) and specific points in space.

on – is a mechanism which usually describes something in relation to a second, often linear dimension, hence it relates to the calendar (days and dates) and surfaces or lines.

in – is a mechanism for describing something in relation to the things that surround it in time or space, hence it relates to periods of time and three-dimensional spaces or containers.

Posted in English Learning

When can you use “play” to talk about a sport?

Posted on by Chester Exchange

When you’re talking about sports in English, one confusing point is whether you can use the word “play” or not. In English, we use “play” to talk about some sports but not others. Here’s an explanation of how to talk about different sports and the athletes that play them.

Can you play it?

In English, we say “play tennis” or “play baseball” but we don’t “play” running or swimming. Here’s a list of sports that use the word “play”:

  • play basketball
  • play soccer
  • play golf
  • play cricket
  • play volleyball
  • play tennis
  • play table tennis
  • play badminton
  • play hockey

You might notice that most of these use some kind of ball or a similar object.

When you talk about other sports, instead of “play” you can say “do” or “compete in“:

She does gymnastics.

I’ve been competing in archery since I was a small child.

Most sports that don’t use “play” also have a specific verb that you can use instead:

Does she run track?

I used to fence.

I tried skiing a few times but I wasn’t very good at it.

I think he’s almost good enough to skate competitively.

What are the athletes called?

A similar question is, when you talk about an athlete, what do you call them? Are they a “player” or something else?

For the sports that you “play”, the athletes are usually called “players“:

The players have just arrived.

I met a professional football player on my flight to London.

Professional basketball players are so tall!

One exception to that is golf. People who play golf are golfers, not “golf players”.

For the other sports, there are a wide variety of different words:

He’s a great cyclist.

Sprinters have to have really muscular legs.

Summary

The easiest way to get good at talking about sports is not to find a rule for deciding which sports you play and which ones you don’t. It’s to simply memorize the sports that you care about and how you should speak about them. Here’s a list that you can reference:

SportActionsAthlete
archeryshoot / doarcher
badmintonplaybadminton player
baseballplaybaseball player
basketballplaybasketball player
boxingbox / fightboxer
canoeingdocanoeist (though this is uncommon)
cricketplaycricket player
cyclingride / docyclist
divingdive / dodiver
fencingfence / dofencer
figure skatingskate / dofigure skater
footballplayfootball player
golfplay / golfgolfer
gymnasticsdo gymnast
hockeyplayhockey player
horse racingride / dojockey
karate/judo/taekwondo/etc.compete in / domartial artist
rowingrow / dorower
rugbyplayrugby player
skiingski / doskiier
sleddingsled / dosledder
swimmingswimswimmer
table tennisplaytable tennis player
tennisplaytennis player
triathloncompete in / dotriathlete
volleyballplayvolleyball player
weight liftinglift / compete in / doweight lifter
wrestlingwrestle / do
Posted in English Learning

Learning English Phrases Best Practices

Posted on by Chester Exchange

Learning English as second language is fun and rewarding. It makes it easier to understand different cultures, socialize with locals and even land a job! However, the process of learning English can be frustrating especially if you have no access to resource materials and tutorials. Another fact is, at first you will not have perfect pronunciations which can be intimidating in case you want to put a point across to a native speaker of the language. These are struggles endured and there are no exceptions including when learning English.

First, let’s start with the most important tips.  These steps are absolutely necessary and a must. There’s no way around it! 

Are you ready? OK, the first step is:

Day1: Make English a daily habit.

What does that mean? It means that you need to use English every day.  The more you speak or read in English, the better you get at it. Does that seem like a lot of work? It’s easier than you think. Here are 3 suggestions to keep you on track:

Don’t miss any days. If you can only spend 10 minutes, that’s OK. But don’t skip days. The point is to let it be a habit and a norm for each day.

Get a calendar and Mark it for every day that you use English. Watch the number of marks grow. This is also nice for motivation and marking your milestones. Marking a calendar helps follow the ‘do not miss any days’ step as well.

Do something fun. It’s easier if you can be excited about English every day. Learning new languages is not something that gets you pumped. Sure, maybe for the first days but after a while you may lose interest and we know how to avoid this. Don’t do something boring that will make you quit. You can even watch your favorite movie with English subtitles to reignite the passion to learn English.

Once you make it a habit, you will within no time be able to speak fluently. Don’t worry about what kind of practice you’re doing. Not yet. Read, write, speak, or listen.  Just do something every day to help imprint the language on your mind.

Day 2: You must review!

Through to the next step, you have keep reminding yourself what you went through the previous day. Our brains are lazy. They quickly forget anything that they don’t need or new. If you learn something once and don’t review, you’ll probably forget it in a day or two. By the end of the week, it’s totally gone. Furthermore, you will get stuck with the little you know and stagnate at a beginner level. That’s sad and a waste of your time.

So you will want to progress further. We know it’s tricky as you’re probably busy carrying on with other daily activities but you have to use your time smartly and allocate a review session in your schedule. After all, you can’t practice something completely different every day. You have to spend some of your time reviewing what you learnt before.

To get started on this: 

Get a small notebook. Keep it with you all the time. 

Every time you do something in English, write down a few notes about it.

Look at your notes once or twice a day, every day.

Every time you are free, take it out and recap yesterday’s lessons. However you do it, make sure to review what you’ve learnt before. And do it every day, without skipping any days. Consistency is key! 

Day 3: Don’t study vocabulary lists.

Huh? What’s wrong with learning vocabulary? Vocabulary isn’t wrong. You need it. The problem is the traditional way of thinking about vocabulary. Most people are taught to study lists of words by themselves: apple, surrender, enormous. But when you learn words by themselves, a few things happen:

You learn what the words mean, but you don’t learn how they’re used. You don’t learn what other words they fit together with.

he words get saved in your brain one by one. So when it’s time to make a sentence, you have to pull them out again one by one. That makes it slow.

You don’t get a real connection to the words. They’re just boring words in a list, so it’s easy to forget them.

The results of learning vocabularies lists alone hence creates obstacles in your quest to learn English. If you ask us, this is not the best way to go about it. Instead of teaching words, teaches phrases such as: 

eat an apple

surrender to (someone)

an enormous mistake 

Why? Learning phrases gives you better understanding of how words are used, not just what they mean. So here’s a new rule: Never learn a word by itself. Always learn two or more words together in a phrase. It makes sense that way.

Day 4: You shouldn’t study grammar, either!

There are some set guidelines for sentence constructions, phrases to use and the verbs and propositions that do not add up when put together. Yes, you need the rules to come up with sentences with a meaning. But you first need to internalize the basic language for communication. You do not need to be a perfectionist at first. Therefore studying grammar can cost you. Here are a few reasons why:

That’s not how your brain works.
The part of your brain that learns information and the part that controls your speech are completely different. Just because you learn some rules doesn’t mean that your speaking will improve.

There are too many rules.
There are too many grammar rules, and they’re too complicated. Every rule has exceptions. A book describing English grammar fully would need to be thousands of pages long. Hence, rules suck the fun and morale to keep pushing on.

Grammar rules take too long to remember and apply.
Even if you learn all of the grammar rules, it takes too long to remember them. You sometimes have to figure out what to say in less than a second. That’s too short a time to recall all of the rules from your grammar textbook. The moment you start thinking about the rules while talking, you fill yourself with doubt and hesitation. This is a step back.

They’re incomplete.
Most grammar rules only describe formal English. Formal English is important, but you need to learn casual spoken English too.

For all of these reasons, we recommend that you not spend a lot of time on studying grammar. But if you shouldn’t study vocabulary or grammar, what should you study? Well, read on to get the scoop on the easiest way to learn

Day 5: Memorize sentences.

Memorizing sentences is one of the alternatives to studying grammar and vocabularies. Take a natural English sentence that you understand pretty well. Let’s try this sentence, which you say when you hear a song that’s easy to remember:

“It’s pretty catchy.”

Repeat it again and again until you remember it. Wait a little while, then try to remember it again. Do the same thing for the next two days.

After you do all of that, you will have memorized that sentence.

Now the fun part begins! As you use English in different situations, you’ll start to hear parts of that sentence. You’ll hear the word “catchy”. You’ll hear people say “pretty (something)”. And if you ever find yourself listening to a simple, easy-to-remember song, you’ll know exactly what to say!

Sentences teach you both vocabulary and grammar at the same time. You learn what the words mean, as well as how to use them. But to get the biggest benefit, you have to not just understand the sentences; you have to remember them!

Posted in English Learning

The Journey of the Fearless English Speaker

Posted on by Chester Exchange

This is a story about a hero and a journey that the hero went through to tame1 a dragon. You may become such a hero. Have you ever found yourself thinking that you have to improve your speaking skills? And you thought things like:

“oh, it’s impossible! I am too shy and introverted.”

“I have no opportunities to meet English speaking partners.”

“I’m afraid of speaking English. My English level is too low to talk to other people.”

Well, I will tell you a story that is proof that none of the above is enough to stop you from speaking English and having amazing conversations with people from all over the world.

The Call to Adventure

The story began almost 3 years ago, in February 2016. I had just gotten a long-term labor contract. My boss told me that my duties might demand speaking English. I always wanted to learn English but I also always found many excuses not to do it. But February 2016 was my breakthrough2. I signed up for an English course and started taking classes.

I started from the A1 level of English, which is to be a beginner. I enjoyed my classes, I liked the method they taught us – we learned English while we answered the teacher’s questions. I learned English effortlessly in a pleasant atmosphere, with friendly people.

But I’d been taking these classes for almost a year when I started to feel that it was not enough. In my opinion, I was able to learn faster.

I thought that there must have been something that would allow me to learn on my own in a fun way, in addition to the course. I did a quick search on the internet and I found a penpal website and signed up just to try it out. Internet learning was altogether new for me. The only one thing I knew was that I had to be careful. It felt weird.

Trials3, friends and foes4

Suddenly I got many messages, only from men. I felt overwhelmed and afraid. I didn’t know whether I had to answer them all. I needed a lot of time to translate them, and even more to reply. There were more and more messages, and I wasn’t comfortable using a computer. I worked on the computer at work, so after work, I didn’t want to use it. Today, I think that that was an excuse, as I was too afraid to continue learning this way… but I didn’t give up. So, I thought that there must’ve been something else, preferably for a smartphone.

There was! Lots of apps for English learners. I was surprised at how many opportunities there were. I quickly signed to the first one. Ohhh… I have to tell you about the adventure. I still blush5when I think about it! Well, when you sign up to an app, you have to make your account and provide your name.

As I told you, I knew that I had to be careful, so I provided a nickname. It seemed that I was way too creative. I drove a red car that I called my rocket at that time. The first nickname that came to my mind was “red rocket”. And the first message I received was: ”Do you want sex?”. Oh my gosh!!! My answer was “Excuse me?!!” “Your nickname says that you are horny6”…

Mother of God, how come? – I felt so embarrassed that I immediately logged out of the app, deleted it, and promised not to do that anymore. If you are curious what a “red rocket” means look to the urban dictionary . The only one thing I thought was: well, girl you gotta learn more.

I waited 2 days. I couldn’t help thinking that I was missing an opportunity. I still felt so embarrassed, but I wanted to improve my English. I looked for another app. Also this time, I wanted an app for connecting with other people. I deemed7 that this would be the most effective way.

This time, I wasn’t so afraid to use my name. Finally, there are more Agnieszkas in the world. The app was called Hello Talk , and it lets you chat with people and correct all the mistakes that your partners make.

You should’ve seen my first message that I sent there. My fingers were so sweaty that I felt sorry for my smartphone. My hands shook. I was so concentrated that I forgot about the world around me. But I did it.

The answer that I received was all red, which meant that I’d made a lot of mistakes. Gosh! What a shame! I felt like I was burning up8 in flames. But I thought: “Easy Agnieszka, do you remember? You’re still learning. It is exactly what you would expect. Let it go.” And I sent another message…

It launched9 like a rocket 😉  When I allowed myself to not to be perfect, I found many awesome people to talk to and make friends with. In a very short time, I felt that my writing was better and better. Obviously, I met various people there.

Somehow, it turned out that I met only men there. I could tell you a lot about scammers10, flirts, and even about harassment11. Whenever I felt uncomfortable, I just blocked, reported, or stopped replying. But despite that, I met a few incredible friends, for whom I’m so very grateful.

One of them was Robert. He learned Polish for his Polish wife and her family. He asked me if I would like to help him to improve his speaking skills. Well, I thought… if we spoke Polish, I could handle it. So we scheduled a call. I was so nervous (Oh my! Talking to a stranger!) that I canceled the meeting using some lame excuse12. 

Can you imagine? I was so afraid of talking even in Polish! I was a shy person. I always sat aside quietly, didn’t take the floor13 in meetings, I hated small talk14. And all of the sudden I was supposed to talk with strangers! I felt that I wasn’t able to do it.

But on the other hand, Robert needed that. I wanted to help him. So, we scheduled another call. And we did it! He spoke Polish pretty well. I was proud of him. Polish is such a difficult language! From then on we had many conversations. We spoke Polish, but obviously, when he couldn’t express what he wanted to tell me, he switched to English. I never spoke English then… That was too much for me. Oh, how much I missed!

I met another friend. Tom was an Irish guy who was learning Polish, as there are lots of Polish people in Ireland. He wanted to understand them. He made me send him voice messages. I’m telling you, how embarrassed I felt sending my first voice message in English. I needed so much time for preparation: I went to a room where nobody could disturb me, practiced pronunciation for a while, and then I tapped the record button and spoke my message almost without breathing. And I waited for his feedback. I was close to passing out every time. I was lucky, as Tom was able to tell me what I said wrong in a very friendly manner.

The Guide to the Treasure

Tom told me about his ways of learning. He watched YouTube videos, listened to podcasts. That was completely new for me. I thought that if he could find Polish sources for learning, there must’ve been even more of them for an English learner. There were! I fell in love with Learn English with TV series , and I, finally, found Reallife English podcasts . And also I found my treasure: 7 things not to do when speaking English . This article changed everything! I finally understood that speaking English was my treasure, a value itself, and that I should be proud of myself that I was trying to speak English despite making many mistakes.

At that time, I felt that I was far further with my English than people who I took my class with. They learned only in classes and didn’t do anything more. I decided to leave the course and continue learning by myself. I finally found a safe environment15 with many people who had the same needs as me. I felt so awesome and happy.

The Moment of Despair

After a while, I got an offer to join a Skype meeting with English speaking people. That was my first chance to talk to anybody in English. I felt excited… but even more, I was stressed out! I had no experience using Skype and I barely spoke English. I was scared to death. But the only thing I knew was that it was my big chance!

So, I attended the meeting. Try to imagine it yourself: I was a very shy person, there were many people from all over the world, they spoke English very well (in my opinion), everybody knew each other, except me, and they had FUN talking to each other… I wasn’t able to articulate16a word. At all! The meeting lasted about an hour. That was an awful time. I felt unhappy, I hated myself and felt weepy17. What had I thought! Conversations in English weren’t for me! I couldn’t imagine myself in another meetup like this one.

But…

I had another meetup a week later, and also the next week, and so on. With each session, I felt more and more confident. After some time I felt that I liked them. I met wonderful people from every corner of the world, I had a very nice time, and we had fun together. My speaking skills were getting better and better. I began to organize meetings like this on my own. I came up with topics to make them more interesting and to build our vocabulary.

Here, I have to tell you that I mainly met people who aren’t English natives. I’ve found talking to them very interesting: I had an opportunity to get to know other countries and their cultures, and many differences and similarities in how we look at the world. I have learned a lot from them and become more open, curious, and conscious about the world. 

It also allowed me to get used to other accents. I think it is very important to be comfortable with how people from different cultures talk. This help is useful because we have a lot of chances to speak with non-natives, for example: during holidays, while we’re traveling, and also at work.

Rebirth

You know, a month ago I had an accidental Skype meeting with a native English speaker. Recently, I’ve become very interested in self-development. It’s because of the positive impact that learning English has made in my life.

So, I had the meeting with a life coach, Didi . She was completely unknown to me. Our conversation wasn’t related to learning English at all. We talked about leaving fears that block us, so that we were able to go ahead, and about the necessity of getting to know ourselves to reach our goals. I was waiting for the conversation with a feeling of only excitement. I didn’t feel the fear of speaking English at all.

It turned out that we had a very smooth conversation. My intermediate level of English wasn’t anything that bothered us. The only important thing was that I was courageous, confident, and fearless in my speaking.

It’s Your Turn

I showed you my way to gain confidence in speaking English because I believe that sharing it may help you. On your way to fluency, you will meet a lot of obstacles, and you may feel like giving up many times.

I went a long way from nothing to the first excitement in English classes, through embarrassing situations while I was forming first relationships, moments of doubting myself while I started to talk in English, to the moment when I had a fulfilling conversation with a native English speaker. I have become more confident, sociable, I have gained new skills that allowed me to feel better in social situations. I wish you the same for you.

You can read more about how to not give into your fears and why you should step outside of your English comfort zone . However, the most important thing right now is… start to speak English with anybody. That will give you power.

Vocabulary from this article

to tame: to control a wild animal

breakthrough: an important event that helps solve a problem

trial: a test of the performance, qualities of someone or something

foe: an enemy or opponent

to blush: to become pink in the face

horny: sexually excited

to deem, deemed: to consider in a specified way

to burn up: to be destroyed by fire

to launch: to start in motion

scammer: someone who makes money using illegal methods

harassment: behavior that annoys or troubles someone

lame excuse: an excuse of poor quality

take the floor: speak in a debate or assembly

small talk: a polite conversation about unimportant matters, as engaged in on social occasions

environment: the conditions that you live or work in and that they influence how you feel

articulate: to express thoughts and feelings in words

weepy: feeling like to cry

Posted in English Learning

Learn and practice these 5 tiny pronunciation differences

Posted on by Chester Exchange

Hello students! We have a saying in English that “the devil is in the details” – this means that you need to be careful, because the small parts of a situation/task can cause major problems or difficulties.

Sometimes this is the case for learning pronunciation – a tiny difference in a sound can change the word completely. In today’s lesson, I’m going to help you practice 10 words that students often mispronounce, resulting in a totally different word.

nosy / noisy

Nosy has the same “o” sound as in go, slow, and those. Noisy has the same “oi” sound as in boy, toy, and coin. Saying someone is nosy means they are annoyingly curious about other people’s personal matters. Saying someone/something is noisy simply means they make a lot of noise.

quite / quiet

Quite is one syllable. It rhymes with right, white, and fight. The word quiet has two syllables, with the stress on the first one: QUI-et.

still / steal

Still rhymes with fill, will, and kill. The word steal rhymes with feel, deal, and meal.

three / tree

The TH sound and the TR sound are definitely challenging for English learners – but it’s important to differentiate them! Three has a “soft TH” like in the words think and thirsty, and the “soft TH” is followed by an R sound – same as in throw, thread, and thrift. In the word tree, the T has more of a CH sound, so it should be almost like TCHREE. This TR combination is the same as in true, transfer, and trip.

ankle / uncle

The “an” in ankle should be like in the words bank and thanks. The “un” in uncle should be like in the words fun and under.

care / car

Care rhymes with air, square, and wear, and car rhymes with far, star, and bar.

Get the more information about Best Online English Teacher in Livermore , if you want to learn the English perfectly please send me your questions in the comment section below.

Posted in English Learning

25 Classroom Phrases in English for Teachers and Students

Posted on by Chester Exchange

There is so much vocabulary to be used in an English-speaking classroom along with phrases as well!

Teachers have many different ways of telling students to do things and also of interacting with their students in a social way. In addition, students have their own phrases to communicate with each other and also to talk to their teacher.

This article will discuss a few examples of phrases used in the classroom. These phrases are mostly familiar to me from British classrooms but I have tried to add American variations as well.

We will go through the school day in chronological order, so it is an easy step-by-step guide:

  1. Beginning the day
  2. Activities
  3. Lunchtime
  4. End of the day (home time)

Here we go!

Beginning the day

It’s the morning and things are crazy at school, friends are sitting down chatting and teachers are organising for the day ahead. We start first with the register:

1. Register (role-call)

The teacher takes (or ‘does’) a register every day to make sure they know who is present in the class and who is absent. The teacher would initiate this process by saying something like:

  • Now, class, we are going to take (or ‘do’) the register.

At this point students would have to be silent and respond only when their name is called with “present” or “here”.

It is considered impolite to answer with “Yep” or “Mhm” and some schools even make students answer “Yes Sir/Miss”.

Also, the teacher may use the register to ask students about previous absences or times when they were not in class. Parents are usually required to inform the school about why their child was not present, but they may also write a note in the student’s “journal” or “contact book”.

It can also be a time for the teacher to talk to students and ask them what they did at the weekend or if they saw the big game on television last night.

Mrs Smith: Johnny?
Johnny: Here, Miss!

Mrs Smith: Did you watch the Arsenal match last night? It was fantastic!
Johnny: Yes! It was brilliant Miss, I didn’t know you watched football!

Often, there will be a “register monitor” which is a student nominated to deliver the register from the classroom to the school office. This is a big responsibility but most students love to do it!

Often after the register, there might be a bit of noise as students are excited, so then the teacher may gently use this phrase…

2. Is everybody ready to start?

This is something the teacher would say at the start of the lesson, mainly to gain attention.

Often after the register is taken, students begin talking and chatting about what they did yesterday or something they think is more interesting than school! So, the teacher saying “Is everybody ready to start?” is not really asking polite question but rather “Can everyone pay attention, please? I’m starting the lesson”.

Other examples of this include:

  • I’m waiting…
  • Settle down please.
  • We won’t start until everyone is quiet.
  • Okay, that’s enough…

And if that doesn’t work, the teacher will say politely:

3. Fingers on lips!

Another one that’s used to keep people quiet!

Teachers may say this if there is an argument or a group of children that are making too much noise in the class. It’s a way to cut through this noise and make sure everyone knows the teacher is in charge. The idea then is that the children literally put their fingers on their lips to stop them speaking over each other.

Then maybe the teacher will encourage the class to share ideas together about what they did at the weekend or something interesting that they have to show the class. They can do this in a couple of ways or by using a couple of activities.

Homework excuses

In the morning, students usually have to hand in their homework so that it can be graded by the teacher. This is definitely one for the students, excuses for not having done homework!

Here are 5 of the best:

  • The dog ate my homework. – I don’t know if this has ever actually happened, but its the classic excuse for all students.
  • I did it but I left it at home. –This is a brilliant excuse because the student can pretend to be surprised and also claim to be a good student having done the assignment!
  • I left it in my mum’s car. – Same as above, although the danger here is that the teacher may call your mum to ask her to bring the homework that isn’t complete!
  • I didn’t know it was due today. – An excuse that sometimes works, but usually not in my experience.  The student claims that they thought it was due on a different day (usually after the weekend) to gain some more time.
  • I have a note from my parents. – Fantastic, as long as you actually have the note to backup the excuse! This is usually a lie.

If you are a teacher, you need to be ready to see these excuses on a regular basis! And if you’re a student, well maybe it’s time to start doing the homework (or to start thinking of some better excuses).

Activities

It’s time for the first activities of the day! Everyone is ready to start learning and having fun.

1. Show and Tell (showtime)

Show and Tell is a part of the class where students bring in something that is special or important to them and talk about it to the rest of the class. This helps students that may be shy or timid to participate and contribute to class discussion whilst gaining confidence.

This is an exercise generally used with younger students, but I have also used it with older, more mature students to get them talking and asking each other questions.

It can also be highly entertaining!

Here is an example of a show and tell dialogue:

Mrs Smith: Now, Ben has brought in something to show the class! Ben, what have you brought for us?
Ben: I have brought my dad’s guitar. I love listening to him play it. It has six strings and it is brown.

Mrs Smith: That’s great! Can you play the guitar?
Ben: A little bit, my dad teaches me a new song every month so that I can play little bits of music!
Mrs Smith: Fantastic, thank you for sharing Ben!

This can be done in many different ways. You can ask students to show and tell as a whole class, or you can ask three people each day to prepare something, that way it won’t take up the whole lesson.

2. Circle Time

This is very similar to Show and Tell and also helps to get students talking!

It is a very good way to facilitate a group discussion and would be fantastic with all language learners of all ages. In Circle Time, the class sits in a circle and will take it in turns to speak about a chosen subject. 

The thing is, they can only speak whilst they are holding an object and when a student does not have the object, they cannot speak. This helps to keep people focused and listening to each other.

3. Find a partner/get into groups of (number)

These phrases are used for group work and to get students to work together.

Some classes have predetermined groups to make sure that friends aren’t always together.

Mrs Smith: Now, class, get into groups of three please! We’re going to do an activity.
Ben: Miss, can I work with James and Ricky?

Mrs Smith: Of course you can, as long as your group is a group of three, it’s not a problem!
Ben: Yay, thanks miss!

Be careful, this one can cause chaos as students are moving all over the place and often teachers will start counting down from 10 to add a sense of urgency!

4. Come up to the front and show the class!

Teachers can ask students to come up to the front of the class for a variety of reasons but we will focus on the good ones.

It can be an honour for a student to go to the front! It means that your work is great or you have done something really well, much better than the other children!

Here are a few examples:

  • Come up to the front and explain the problem to the class – this is a reward for somebody who is doing well in class. They can explain it to the students to make everyone understand it better.
  • Come up to the front and write your answer on the board – This can be fantastic for students because usually the board is reserved for the teacher’s writing!

Sometimes if the student does well, the teacher will tell the class to give them a round of applause which means that they get clapped for their efforts! This is a great feeling!

Lunchtime

Lunchtime! Finally!

Before anything, the teacher will check that everyone has their lunch because if not, then he/she will need to get them some lunch.

1. Does everyone have their lunch?

Followed by…

  • Who has a packed lunch? – A packed lunch is a lunch that a student has brought. This will usually be sandwiches and fruit with a few small treats.
  • Who is having a hot dinner? – A hot dinner is provided by the school usually for a small fee.

Lunchtime is a great time of the day for students because (if the weather is good) they get to go outside and eat their lunch whilst also playing sport or another type of game.

There are lots of possible games to play at lunchtime:

  • Sport – football, rugby, basketball – Depending on the equipment you have!
  • Tag – Everyone runs around the playground, one person is “It” which means they have to try and catch other people by chasing them and then touching them. The person that is touched becomes “It” and they chase everyone else.
  • Catch – You throw a ball to each other and try to catch it.
  • Dodge-ball – More American, but a game where you have to try and dodge (move out of the way) a ball that is thrown at you!

Ben: Jamie, do you want to play dodge-ball when I’ve finished my sandwiches?
Jamie: No, everyone is playing tag! Then after we are going to play football.
Ben: Okay! Let me finish my lunch and I’ll be there!

End of the day (home time)

After a few more activities and lessons comes home time!

A child’s favorite time of the day, time to go home! Here are some things that the teacher may say:

1. Pack your things away

This phrase can be used to make students tidy up the classroom.

Often after an art class or another class requiring a lot of equipment, students will have made a mess. The teacher certainly does not want to tidy the class by themselves so they ask the students to do it for them! 

This usually happens 5 minutes before the end of class and should be done very quickly. To make this happen, the teacher will often offer a reward for the quickest people to tidy up and sit down such as a sweet or a sticker.

Other examples of this include:

  • Tidy up time!
  • Tidy your things away!
  • I need the classroom spotless in 5 minutes!

There may be some time left before the bell rings so the teacher will carry on talking…

2. Have you had a good day?

A nice way to end the day is to ask students if they have had fun at school or even What did you learn today?

This can be an excellent way to end things and to make sure that students are learning. It also gives the students another opportunity to talk and express themselves!

Look at the dialogue below:

Mrs Smith: Okay children, it’s the end of the day! But before we go, Ellie, have you had a good day?
Ellie: Um… Well I loved painting, I think I would like to be an artist one day!

Mrs Smith: Great! You are a really good artist! Now, Ben, what did you learn today?
Ben: Well, I learned that quadrilaterals are shapes with 4 sides.
Mrs Smith: Very good! That’s exactly right!

This makes sure that the students go home happy and ready to tell their parents all about what they have done today.

These are all great phrases to use in a classroom environment!

What do you think?

Teachers, what phrases do you like best?

Students, which phrases would you be scared to hear?

Get the more information about English Second Language Teacher in Livermore , if you want to learn the English perfectly please send me your questions in the comment section below.