Archive for 'English Language'
A Robert Frost Poem: ‘The Road Not Taken’ Posted by Gabriele on Feb 9, 2012
Robert Frost is a great American poet from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is one of my favorite poets and today I’d like to share with you one of his more famous poems. This poem is entitled, The Road Not Taken, and it is one of his most beloved poems. In this…
Compound Words Posted by heather on Feb 8, 2012
If you have been learning English for quite some time, then you have probably come across the idea of compound words before. If you aren’t familiar with compound words, here is what you need to know. A compound word is formed by joining two words together to make a single new word. Some examples are…
Texting in English Posted by Gabriele on Feb 6, 2012
If you have a cell phone (and who doesn’t these days?) chances are that you text. Texting (also called “text messaging”) refers to the exchange of short written messages between two cellular phones. Texting is not the same as calling, because texting uses the written word, while calling or talking over the phone uses the…
What to Do When the Words Get Mixed Up Posted by heather on Feb 4, 2012
So you have been really practicing your English for the past few months. You have fine-tuned your listening skills and can follow most of a conversation. You are ready to take the plunge and start a conversation with a stranger. You pull up your socks, find a friendly looking face and rattle off your question…
Knowledge is Light Idioms Posted by Gabriele on Feb 2, 2012
Idioms are expressions or phrases that have figurative* meaning that is different from the literal** meaning of the words that make up the expression or phrase. Generally idioms require some foundational information or experience within a culture to understand their meaning. Most of the time idioms are so culturally dependent that the same idioms do…
Young Ones Posted by heather on Feb 1, 2012
With all this cold and snowy weather that many places are having, it might seem like a strange time to be thinking about babies. Usually spring is the season for that. But just this weekend one of my friends had a new baby, so I thought it might be the perfect time to review the…
An Average Joe Posted by Gabriele on Jan 30, 2012
“Average Joe” is an expression used in English to describe an average, typical, or normal American male. The expression “Average Jane” is sometimes used to describe the hypothetically average or normal American woman. We have other terms used to describe someone as average, normal, and like everybody else as well, for example: “Ordinary Joe”, “Joe…