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Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss! Posted by Gabriele on Mar 2, 2012
Today is Dr. Seuss’ birthday! Dr. Seuss is the pen name* for a famous American children’s book author, poet, and cartoonist. Dr. Seuss’ real name is Theodor Seuss Geisel. He was born and lived in the United States from 1904 to 1991. Geisel received many awards and accolades** for his writing during his lifetime, but…
Bored vs. Boring Posted by Gabriele on Mar 1, 2012
A very common error I often hear ESL speakers commit is the misuse of the words “bored” and “boring.” These two words are homophones. Unfortunately, when you misuse or interchange one of these words for the other there is a big difference in meaning! When you say someone or something is “boring” you are saying…
Gibberish and Gobbledygook Posted by Gabriele on Feb 27, 2012
Gibberish is a generic* term in English for speech that sounds like actual English words or language, but actually are not words and are just groups of sounds that have no real meaning. Gobbledygook is a term similar to gibberish, but it is used to explain meaningless text or written language. The best thing about…
Birds of a Feather Flock Together Posted by Gabriele on Feb 26, 2012
The phrase ‘birds of a feather flock together’ is an expression, which generally means: people with similar tastes and interests stick together or form groups. The phrase often stands on its own, is used as a response to something someone has said to you, or it is used to simply make an observation. Here are…
Body Parts and Their Verbs Posted by Gabriele on Feb 24, 2012
Today I am going to present a quick review of the vocabulary related to different parts of the body as well as present some of the verbs you might use to describe the actions of these body parts. Head: to shake; to nod (Shake your head from side to side.) (I need you all to…
A Virtual Tour of Los Angeles: “The City of Angles” Posted by Gabriele on Feb 23, 2012
Below I have put up a video tour of Los Angeles, California. I lived in Los Angeles for four years while studying for my doctorate and although I didn’t like the city much when I first moved there, I learned to love it! It really is a great city with a lot to offer in…
Job Suffixes and Uncommon Professions Posted by Gabriele on Feb 21, 2012
Most beginning English classes have a lesson on vocabulary related to jobs and professions. Usually these lessons cover jobs like: baker, teacher, and lawyer. One piece of grammatical information people often learn early on about profession title words in English is that they often end in the suffix –er. This suffix is commonly used to…