Saturday, October 30, 2010
Listening Lesson – “My Jack-O’-Lantern!” (podcast & video)
This is an English lesson designed to help you practice and improve your English listening and pronunciation skills. The listening lesson is a short story about something that happened in my life in Canada. There is also a short pronunciation explanation about a word or sound I used in the story.
Story: Carving a pumpkin for the first time in years!
Pronunciation explanation: The ‘tapped t’ sound!
If you have trouble with your listening skills, here’s something that may help:
How to practice listening
Listen to the podcast:
*Try to listen at least once without looking at the words!
Download the podcast in .mp3 from Podbean.com or itunes!
Watch the video:
Listening Comprehension Questions:
1. What is a ‘jack-o’-lantern’?
2. What 3 things did I do to make a jack-o’-lantern?
3. What did I do with the pumpkin seeds?
4. What did I use to draw the face on the pumpkin before I started cutting?
Transcript:
(*Click on the links to learn more about the grammar, vocabulary and expressions used in the story!)
Halloween is fast approaching, so I thought I would do something I haven’t done since I was a little girl…I decided to carve my own jack-o’-lantern. This is a Halloween tradition! A jack-o’-lantern is a hollowed-out pumpkin with a scary face carved on one side and a candle inside to light it up. It’s not hard to find a pumpkin at this time of year – they’re everywhere! I bought mine at the grocery store for $5.99.
Carving a pumpkin is time-consuming! It took me an entire afternoon. I cut a hole in the top of the pumpkin to make a lid. I thought it would be difficult because the outside of a pumpkin is quite hard, but it was surprisingly easy. It’s important to cut the lid on an angle, so it doesn’t fall into the pumpkin.
Then came the fun part – scooping out the pumpkin guts from inside the pumpkin! The easiest way to do it is to stick your hand into the squishy mess and pull it all out. I used a peeler to scrape out everything I couldn’t pull out. I think I went a bit overboard. Once I had all the guts out, I separated the pumpkin seeds from the mess and put them in the oven to roast – one of my favourite memories of childhood is the taste of roasted pumpkin seeds!
I drew the face on the pumpkin in black crayon before I started cutting. I cut two triangles for the eyes, a triangle for the nose and a mouth with sharp teeth. I don’t think my jack-o’-lantern is going to scare anyone away, but it’s not bad for my first attempt in years!
Pronunciation: the tapped ‘t’ – is it /t/ or /d/?
In a previous podcast, we looked at the unvoiced tapped t sound. Remember the –sts consonant cluster in the words ‘lasts’ or ‘costs’? Your tongue quickly taps the top of your mouth to make the’t’ sound in this cluster.
In this week’s story, I used words like:
little
cutting
Both of these words are spelled with the letter ‘t’, but it doesn’t sound like I said the letter ‘t’.
In American English, when the letter ‘t’ is between two vowel sounds, and is at the beginning of an unstressed syllable, it is not a fully pronounced t.
A fully pronounced ‘t’ is unvoiced – meaning there is just air coming out of your mouth: /t/.
However, vowel sounds are voiced – meaning your vocal chords vibrate. So, when the letter ‘t’ comes between two vowel sounds and is at the beginning of an unstressed syllable, your tongue quickly taps the top of your mouth, while your vocal chords vibrate.
This is why some people say that it sounds like a ‘d.’ Remember that the ‘t’ and ‘d’ sounds are made with the exact same mouth position. The only difference between these two sounds is that the ‘t’ is unvoiced and the ‘d’ is voiced.
However, the tapped ‘t’ isn’t really a ‘d’ either. I didn’t say ‘liddle’ or ‘cudding.’
Again, to make the tapped t sound, your tongue quickly taps the top of your mouth while your vocal chords vibrate.
Here are some more words to practice. Listen, and repeat after me:
daughter
writing
vitamin
better
water
ability
total
The tapped t sound can also occur when words are linked. Listen carefully:
In the story, I didn’t say: I thought I would do something
I said: I thought I would do something
The ‘t’ at the end of ‘thought’ is linked to the vowel sound ‘I’ /aI/. The ‘t’ is between two vowel sounds: the /a/ in ‘thought’ and the /aI/ sound. It also begins an unstressed syllable.
Listen again: I thought I would do something
Listen to the entire story again. Can you hear more examples of the tapped t used in words and word combinations?
* a candle inside to light it up
* I cut a hole in the top of the pumpkin
* but it was surprisingly easy
* stick your hand into the squishy mess and pull it all out
* I think I went a bit overboard
Vocabulary
time-consuming
(adjective)
Carving a pumpkin is time-consuming!
= it consumes/takes a lot of time (to do something)
a peeler
I used a peeler to scrape out everything I couldn’t pull out.
= a small kitchen tool used to peel the skin off (to take the skin off) fruit and vegetables (like apples, potatoes, carrots)
go overboard
I think I went a bit overboard.
= to do more than is necessary, to do too much
a crayon
I drew the face on the pumpkin in black crayon.
= a small stick of coloured wax that children use to draw and colour; I used it on the pumpkin because it washes off easily.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Grammar: Present Perfect Self-Study Resources
For many English learners, the present perfect is one of the most challenging verb tenses to use because it does not exist in many languages. Here are some resources I have collected that may help English learners to better understand the present perfect.
The main thing to remember about the present perfect is that it connects the past to the present.
When I teach the present perfect, I find that students understand it better if I explain it in categories:
1. Life Experiences
2. How long have you…?
- How long you have done an activity that started in the past and continues in the present
3. Giving News
4. The Recent Past
- When the past is not the past yet
For the websites below, I have noted where the website uses British English (BrE). For the most part, the present perfect is used the same in American and British English. The only difference is that when talking about the recent past, Americans will sometimes used the simple past, while the British will always use the present perfect. The only reason I point out that the website is BrE is because some of the vocabulary may be different than American English.
How to form the present perfect:
http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/present-perfect.html (BrE)
http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verb-tenses_present-perfect_s.htm
http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/presentperfectforms.html
http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/courses/elc/studyzone/330/grammar/prperf.htm
JenniferESL – Lesson 6a – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IMTNomhg-E
List of irregular verbs:
http://www.myenglishteacher.net/irregularverbsprintable.html
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/irregular-verbs (BrE)
Pronunciation of past participle:
Regular verbs: http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/how-to-pronounce-ed.html (BrE)
Irregular verbs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u00f2oZJ_eA (BrE)
Review of Uses:
http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/present-perfect-use.html (BrE)
http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/presentperfect.html
http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verb-tenses_present-perfect_u.htm
http://esl.about.com/od/beginningenglish/ig/Basic-English/Present-Perfect.htm (BrE)
http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/courses/elc/studyzone/330/grammar/upperf.htm
JenniferESL on YouTube:
Lesson 6b – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doh7BbpC5V4
Lesson 6c – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eA1wmKfEAQ
Lesson 6d – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asq05S5Ijbw
*adverbs, prepositions, present perfect continuous
Lesson 6e – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVh67rScKjA
*present perfect continuous/progressive
Since and For:
http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verb-tenses_present-perfect_fs.htm
Quizzes:
Positive form:
http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/courses/elc/studyzone/330/grammar/prperf1.htm
http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/courses/elc/studyzone/330/grammar/prperf2.htm
http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/present-perfect-exercise-1.html (BrE)
Negative form:
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/present-perfect-simple/exercises?06 (BrE)
(*sentences with ‘never’ – put a period at the end of your sentence.)
http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/present-perfect-exercise-2.html (BrE)
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/present-perfect-simple/exercises?05
(BrE – put a period at the end of your sentence.)
Question form:
http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/courses/elc/studyzone/330/grammar/upperf3.htm (Have you ever?)
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/present-perfect-simple/exercises?07 (BrE)
http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/present-perfect-exercise-3.html (BrE)
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/present-perfect-simple/exercises?08 (BrE – you have to decide which question word to use)
All forms:
http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/present-perfect-exercise-4.html (BrE)
http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/present-perfect-exercise-5.html (BrE)
http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verb-tenses_present-perfect_quiz.htm
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/present-perfect-simple/exercises (BrE)
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/present-perfect-simple/exercises?04 (BrE – put a period at the end of your sentence)
Since and For:
http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/courses/elc/studyzone/330/grammar/upperf1.htm
Simple past vs. present perfect quizzes:
http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbs5.htm
http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbs6.htm
http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/courses/elc/studyzone/330/grammar/upperf2.htm
http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/past-simple-present-perfect-1.html (BrE)
http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/past-simple-present-perfect-2.html
http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/past-simple-present-perfect-3.html
Tests:
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/tests/present-perfect-simple-1 (BrE)
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/tests/present-perfect-simple-2
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/tests/present-perfect-simple-3
*Remember to put a period (.) at the end of your sentences.
Grammar – Present Perfect II: Have you ever (done something)?
Related post: Have you ever been to…?
Have you ever . . . (done something)?
The present perfect can be used to talk about things you have done in your life, without saying when you did them. It can be used to talk about experiences you’ve had, or things you have done or tried in the past.
Have you ever bungee jumped?
Have you ever eaten Japanese food?
Have you ever smoked a cigarette?
Have you ever been on a plane?
Have you ever read a Stephen King book?
*Remember – the present perfect is used to talk about IF you did something, not WHEN! If you want to talk about WHEN you did something, then use the simple past.
Correct answers:
Yes, I have!
Yes, I’ve bungee jumped / eaten Japanese food / smoked a cigarette etc.
Yes, I’ve done/tried it (once).
I’ve ___________ once in my life!
No, I haven’t.
No, I’ve never __________ .
No, I’ve never done/tried it.
Incorrect answers:
Yes, I have ever!
Yes, I have ever bungee jumped!
Why are these answers incorrect?

Even though ever is used in the question “Have you ever…?”, you cannot say: “Yes, I have ever bungee-jumped.”
You CAN use ever in superlative statements:
Yes, I’ve been to Rome. It is the most beautiful city I have ever visited!
Yes, I have eaten Japanese food. It was the most delicious food I have ever tasted!
I went to a Madonna concert in 2008. It was the worst concert I’ve ever seen!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Listening Lesson – “A Dilemma on Thanksgiving!”
This is an English lesson designed to help you improve your English listening and pronunciation. The listening lesson is a short story about something that happened in my life in Canada. There is also a short pronunciation explanation about a word or sound I used in the story.
Story: Thanksgiving dinner
Pronunciation lesson: How word stress changes the meaning of a word.
If you have trouble with your listening skills, here’s something that may help:
How to practice listening
Listen to the podcast:
Download the podcast in .mp3 from Podbean.com or itunes!
Listening Comprehension Questions:
1. When is Thanksgiving Day?
2. On what day did we have Thanksgiving dinner?
3. How many people were at Thanksgiving dinner?
4. What did we eat for dinner?
5. What was my dilemma?
6. In the end, what did I do?
Transcript:
(*Click on the links to learn more about the grammar, vocabulary and expressions used in the story!)
Every October, Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving. Originally, it was a day to thank God at the end of the harvest season. Now, we celebrate the day by eating a big turkey dinner with family. Thanksgiving Day is officially on the 2nd Monday in October, but most people have Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday, so they can relax on Monday.
This year my mom’s sister and her family came over. There were 9 of us around the dining room table. Outside, it was a colourful day with the sun shining on all the leaves changing colour. Inside, the house was full of fun and lively conversations. I don’t know how my mother cooks such a large meal: we had turkey with stuffing, gravy and cranberry sauce, as well as fall vegetables like potatoes, squash, turnip, and carrots in a cinnamon sauce. Every year, she makes such a delicious meal!
I had a real dilemma this year! Everyone who came to the dinner brought a dessert: we had chocolate cupcakes, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, cherry pie and apple crisp! Dessert is my favourite part of the meal. How could I possibly eat dinner AND all the desserts? Do I eat a big dinner and choose only one dessert? Or do I eat a little less at dinner, so I can save room for more of the desserts? This was my dilemma.
In the end, I compromised. I ate some turkey and vegetables – but not too much. I attempted to eat a little bit of all the desserts, but I only had room for 1 cupcake, some apple crisp and a slice of pecan pie. We put the pumpkin pie in the freezer to save it for a later date, and during the week after Thanksgiving we ate the cherry pie.
It was a very happy Thanksgiving!
[Note: The American Thanksgiving is in November. You can read more about Canadian Thanksgiving here.]
Pronunciation:
One of the most important elements in spoken English is word stress. One syllable in a word is said louder and longer than the other syllables.
Word stress is important in English, because there are a few words where the meaning of the word changes completely depending on where the stress is!
For example, a desert is large area of land covered in sand, but if you desert someone, you abandon them. Dessert with two‘s’ also means a sweet kind of food at the end of a meal.
A record is something you listen to. A singer or a band records a record.
Can you see a pattern?
In the noun form, the stress is on the first syllable: desert, record
In the verb form, the stress is on the last syllable: desert, record
Here are some more words where the stress changes the meaning of the word:
present
conflict
contest
object
permit
If you are not sure where the stress in a word should be, check your dictionary. A good dictionary will always mark which syllable the stress should be on.
http://www.learnersdictionary.com
http://dictionary.cambridge.org
Can you think of anymore words where the stress changes the meaning of the word?
Vocabulary:
the harvest season
Originally, it was a day to thank God at the end of the harvest season.
= in Canada, we have one short season in which to grow fruits and vegetables; the harvest season is when the last of the fruits and vegetables are picked from trees/the ground. Winter starts soon, so nothing will grow until the spring.
to save room (in your stomach!)
Or do I eat a little less at dinner, so I can save room for more of the desserts?
= to make sure that you don’t eat so much that you are full; make sure there is enough space left in your stomach so you can eat some more (in this case, dessert!)
apple crisp
= also known as apple crumle; baked apples with a crispy topping, usually oats + sugar, among other ingredients
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Pronunciation – 60 Words with / ʌ / ‘uh’ Vowel Sound
This is a pronunciation practice lesson designed to help you improve your pronunciation of the English vowel sound / ʌ / (under, won). In this pronunciation lesson, I say words and phrases with the / ʌ / vowel sound. Many English learners know how to make this sound, but don’t know in what words this sound occurs!
/ ʌ / is the IPA symbol for this sound. Throughout the video I use IPA symbols to help explain pronunciation.
Listen and repeat after me to practice your pronunciation!
I speak with a standard American accent. This is great practice if you want to learn standard American English pronunciation. If you are interested in improving your American English pronunciation, you can contact me for private lessons over the internet. Your first lesson is free!
Learn how to make the the / ʌ / sound here:
http://www.rachelsenglish.com/vowel_uh_butter
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/sounds/vowel_short_3.shtml
Friday, October 15, 2010
Happy 1st Birthday to My Blog!!!
Thank you so much to everyone who has visited my blog, subscribed, and left a comment!
Your support and kind words encourage me to keep working. I have had so much fun blogging about English and I have enjoyed getting to know many of you over the past year! Thank you for your support! I hope you continue to find my blog useful and it helps you to improve your English!
My very first post was:
Vocabulary Spotlight on: Weddings
I chose this topic because I often heard students say “wedding party” and I wanted to correct that mistake.
I didn’t blog regularly as I was still thinking about what I wanted to do with my blog! It wasn’t until January 2010 that I started posting 3-4 times a week.
I knew that I wanted to teach things that English learners wouldn’t be able to learn in other places, for example, about daily life in Canada, or everyday expressions that didn’t fall into the “grammar” or “idiom” or “vocabulary” category.
The most read blog post in the last year was:
Listening Lesson #1 – “Stars on Ice!”
Is there something you would like to see on my blog in the future? Please let me know!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Vocabulary Spotlight on: Chilean Mine Rescue
Were you glued to your TV watching the rescue of the Chilean miners? I was! It was amazing! The story of their survival and rescue is inspirational, and I was so impressed at how well organized the rescue operation was!
In English, Chile is pronounced exactly like the adjective ‘chilly’: / ‘tʃI.li /. People from Chile are Chilean / tʃI.’leI.ən /. Chilean is the adjective used to describe anything and anyone from Chile.
On Aug. 5th, 33 miners were trapped underground when a landslide caused a tunnel in the mine to collapse. More than 700,000 tonnes of rock blocked the entrance to the mine. The cave-in happened about 500m (m=metres) underground, and the miners were trapped 700m underground. The 33 miners were all together because it was their lunch break. They were eating lunch in an emergency shelter when the collapse occurred. It was a copper and gold mine called the ‘San José’ mine. In English, ‘San José’ = Saint Joseph. The mine is located in the Atacama desert, near the town of Copiapo in northern Chile.
Almost immediately after the cave-in, rescue efforts began. No one knew if the men were alive. Large drilling machines starting boring holes into the ground in an effort to find the men. On Sunday, Aug. 23rd, one of the miners tied a note to a drill bit (the end of a drill) that had reached the miners in an underground shelter. It was the first sign that the miners were alive.
Sixty-nine days after the cave-in, the miners were finally rescued. Each miner was brought up to the surface in a capsule. The capsule was pulled to the surface by a huge winch. Each miner was attached to the capsule in a harness. All the miners and rescuers were wearing hardhats to protect their heads.
Families and friends of the trapped miners camped out on a rocky hillside near the mine. They lived there the entire time the miners were trapped underground. They called it ‘Camp Hope’!
Mining is a very important industry in Chile – according to the CIA WorldFactbook, 30% of government revenue comes from copper mining alone.
More Reading:
Photo Gallery: Trapped Chilean Miners Underground (National Post)
http://news.nationalpost.com/2010/08/23/photo-gallery-trapped-chilean-miners-underground/
Iron discipline that saw the 33 through (The Independent)
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/iron-discipline-that-saw-the-33-through-2105631.html
Chile: First rescued miners to leave hospital
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11547889
The story behind the Chilean miners’ Jesus T-Shirts (CNN Religion Blog)
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2010/10/14/the-story-behind-the-chilean-miners-jesus-t-shirts/
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Grammar: Is it OK to use ‘fruits’ and ‘food’ in the plural form?
*Fruit and food are usually used in the singular form.
Quick review:
In English, there are countable (count) nouns and uncountable (non-count) nouns.
Countable nouns = things that you can count:
1 plant, 2 plants, 2 plants
1 tooth, 2 teeth, 3 teeth
etc.
Uncountable nouns = things that you cannot count, or nouns that represent a group:
information
advice
homework
furniture
clothing
grammar
*They have NO plural form.
Usually food is an uncountable noun. You can’t count one food, two foods, etc.
Do you have any food to eat?
There was so much food at our Thanksgiving dinner!
Food is also an uncountable noun when we talk about different kinds of food:
fast food
junk food
health food
Chinese food
Italian food
etc.
When I said foreign foods I used foods to describe the food from different countries:
foreign foods = Chinese food, Italian food, Indian food, Japanese food, German food, etc.
*In this case, it’s OK to use foods in the plural form.
Usually fruit is an uncountable noun. In English, we usually count fruit by saying 1 piece of fruit, 2 pieces of fruit, a bowl of fruit, etc.
It is OK to use fruits when you are talking about many different kinds of fruit:
You can find bananas, grapes and other fruits in the produce section.
Make sure to eat five servings of fruits and vegetables daily.
Other uncountable nouns that can be countable:
BBC Learning English: peoples, persons
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Canada Fun Fact #4 – We Remember When Alanis Morissette Was a Teenage Dance-pop Singer Called ‘Alanis’! (video included)
When Alanis was 11 years old, she was on a Canadian sketch-comedy TV show called “You Can’t Do That on Television.” (You can watch some clips of the show on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1Q55CLrTkg )
While she was still a teenager, Alanis moved into music. She had big curly hair and called herself just ‘Alanis.’ She recorded two albums that were released only in Canada and won a Juno Award [Canadian music award] for ‘Most Promising Female Artist.’
Here is 17-year-old Alanis singing her most popular dance-pop song “Too Hot”:
(* The logo in the corner is from MuchMusic, Canada’s music TV station)
The she disappeared for a couple of years and no one knew what happened to her! All of sudden, she burst back onto the scene in 1995 with her blockbuster album Jagged Little Pill. This was a very different Alanis!
Her album Jagged Little Pill was considered her ‘debut’ album because her previous two albums were only released in Canada, while Jagged Little Pill was released worldwide. Jagged Little Pill has sold well over 30 million copies and to this day it remains the best-selling debut album by a female artist worldwide in music history.
Vocabulary:
a sketch-comedy TV show
…she was on a Canadian sketch-comedy TV show
= think ‘Saturday Night Live;’ a sketch-comedy show is one with several comedy skits, each only 1-3 minutes long, with several comedic actors
to release an album
She recorded two albums that were released in Canada.
= when an artist releases an album, it is made available to the public to buy.
a logo
The logo in the corner is from MuchMusic, Canada’s music TV station.
= a symbol used to represent a company or other organization
to burst onto the scene
…she burst back onto the scene in 1995…
= she suddenly appeared in the public spotlight; prior to this, no one outside of Canada knew who she was
debut
Her album Jagged Little Pill was considered her ‘debut’ album…
= the first of something done in public: an appearance, an album, a new product etc.
Sources
http://www.alanis.com/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001551/ (Alanis Morissette)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078714/ (You Can’t Do That on Television)
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Expressions with ‘Baby’!
This post is a companion to the listening lesson “Baby Gifts.” Let’s take a look at some English expressions with ‘baby’!
be having a baby/be expecting a baby
When I talked about my friend in the listening lesson, I said…
Did you notice I used the verb have? When a woman is pregnant, you say she is having a baby, OR she is expecting a baby.
Baby boomers
You may have heard or seen this expression in American movies or books. ‘Baby boomers’ are a demographic: people who were born after the Second World War (during the years 1945-1965). Soldiers returned home from the war and started making families! Because of the large number of them, baby boomers have had an incredible impact on American life.
*A ‘baby boom’ is a large number of babies born at a particular time.
Baby steps
Because babies are small, they take very small steps and move slowly (when they are learning how to walk). If you take ‘baby steps,’ you are doing something very slowly and carefully, and in small pieces.
Baby steps to financial preparation
Baby steps on medical e-records already saving money: study
Cuban-American relations: Baby Steps
A designer baby
This is a new phenomenon. Because of advances in medical technology and ‘genetic engineering’, parents can ‘design’ the perfect baby instead of leaving it up to nature. They can choose the sex of their baby, the hair colour, the eye colour, or other things.
A baby shower
This is a party thrown for a woman expecting a baby! Her friends and family give her gifts – all the things that she will need for the baby.
…as soft/smooth as a baby’s bottom
This is a common simile: newborn babies have very soft skin, so when people want to describe how soft something is, they compare it to a baby’s bottom (*bottom is polite way of saying ‘bum’!)
…like taking candy from a baby
= something is very easy
This is another common simile: it’s very easy to take something away from a baby – a baby might cry, but it can’t fight you or come after you!
Don’t throw out the baby with the bath water!
= when you get rid of something you don’t want, be careful not to get rid of something you do want
= don’t throw out good stuff with the bad stuff
Don’t sell your car just because you don’t like the stereo in it – you’ll be throwing out the baby with the bath water. Buy a new stereo!
Just because you don’t like her appearance doesn’t mean you shouldn’t listen to what she has to say. Don’t throw out the baby with the bath water.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Vocabulary – Stages of Life
The listening lesson “Baby Gifts” is about presents I bought for my friend’s new baby. In this vocabulary post, I explain the different terms we use for the stages of life!
a preemie
= a preemie is baby that is born ‘prematurely’ – before it has completely developed in the mother’s womb. Generally it takes 37 weeks/9 months for a baby to fully develop, so if a baby is born before 37 weeks/9 months, it’s considered a preemie.
a newborn
= a baby that was just born; this term is usually used for the first 4 weeks of life.
an infant / a baby
= the first year of life (from birth to 1 year old); an infant is a baby who has not started talking or walking yet and who needs constant care.
a toddler
= a child who is learning to walk; the 2nd year of life (generally between 12 months and 2 or 3 years old)
a child
There is no set age definition of ‘a child’; ‘childhood’ can be both the time before someone becomes a teenager and the time before someone become an adult. Most of the time, it refers to someone younger than a teenager.
pre-teen / tween
= around 10–12 years old; a child who has not yet reached the ‘teenage’ years. ‘Tween’ is short for ‘in between’!
a teenager
= someone who is 13–19 years old (any number with ‘teen’ in it!)
an adolescent
= a formal term for the teenage years; someone who is becoming an adult.
a young adult
This is hard to define! Generally someone becomes an ‘adult’ at the age of 18, but nowadays people are taking longer to mature into the adult years! A young adult could be anyone over the age of 18 but before ‘middle age.’ Most of the time a young adult is someone between the ages of 18 and 24.
middle-aged / over the hill (adjectives)
Since people are living longer, ‘middle age’ is changing. Generally, ‘middle–aged’ is the term for someone in the middle of their life, around 40–50 years old. “Over the hill” is a humorous (sometimes insulting) way of saying someone is old!
a senior citizen
= a polite way of saying ‘an old person’! The age at which someone becomes a ‘senior citizen’ can vary from country to country: it could be 55 years old, or it could be 65 years old!
elderly (adjective)
= a polite way of saying that someone is very old!
Monday, October 4, 2010
Listening Lesson – “Baby Gifts!”
This is an English lesson designed to help you improve your English listening and pronunciation. The listening lesson is a short story about something that happened in my life in Canada. There is also a short pronunciation explanation about a word or sound I used in the story.
Story: Gifts for my oldest friend’s first baby!
Pronunciation lesson: How to pronounce the -sts consonant cluster at the end of a word.
If you have trouble with your listening skills, here’s something that may help:
How to practice listening
Listen to the podcast:
Download the podcast in .mp3 from Podbean.com or itunes!
Listening Comprehension Questions:
1. How did I meet my friend?
2. Where does she live now?
3. What is the first gift I bought for her new baby?
4. What’s so special about the sweatshirt?
5. What’s the second gift I bought?
Transcript:
(*Click on the links to learn more about the grammar, vocabulary and expressions used in the story!)
My oldest friend in the world just had her first baby! My friend and I met in the 7th grade when the teacher made us sit next to each other in class. She lived in Canada for another year before she moved back to her native England. We’ve kept in touch ever since!
I wanted to get her new baby a special gift that would remind my friend of her time in Canada. When we were young, the most popular item of clothing was a Roots sweatshirt. Everyone had to have one. Roots is a popular Canadian clothing chain. Even though it’s been a long time since we were young, Roots still makes the same sweatshirts! They even make them small enough for a baby! I got one large enough for an 18-month-old baby, so her daughter can grow into it.
I also had another great idea. There’s a Build-A-Bear Workshop [link to Build-A-Bear Workshop website] not too far from here and I remembered that they had a unique Canadian animal. I searched their website and discovered they had a ‘Patriotic Pup’ – a white dog with red maple leaves all over it! I dressed the pup in special Build-A-Bear 1950s outfit, complete with a poodle skirt – because my friend’s mother made us poodle skirts for Halloween one year! Build-A-Bear things are very good quality, so I hope the Canadian ‘Patriotic Pup’ lasts a long time.
Now I have to pack everything up and send it to England. I hope my friend and her adorable new baby enjoy the gifts and the memories of Canada!
Discussion Questions:
What about you? If you were me, what would you buy as a baby gift for your oldest friend in the world?
Pronunciation:
English words often include something called ‘consonant clusters’ – a group of consonants with no vowel between them. These consonant clusters are often difficult for English learners to pronounce.
One of these difficult consonant clusters is the –sts at the end of a word, like in the words guests, costs, and artists.
Let’s look at how to pronounce the –sts consonant cluster at the end of a word!
Forget about the t. Pretend there is no t in this cluster.
Start by making the ‘s’ /s/ sound. This is an unvoiced sound. That means it’s just air coming out of your mouth… /s/
Then, what you need to do is quickly tap the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth, just behind your top teeth. The tip of your tongue quickly goes up and comes back down. This stops the airflow. Again, it’s just a quick tap of your tongue.
Listen carefully…
Can you hear how there is a stop in the airflow? Listen again…
A bit quicker now…
There is no t /t/ sound.
In the listening lesson, I used the word ‘lasts’: I hope the Canadian Patriotic Pup lasts a long time.
Here are some more words you can practice. Listen and repeat after me:
lists
forests
ghosts
dentists
trusts
Listen to words that end in -sts used in sentences:
Paris is a popular destination for tourists.
I have a lot of tests at school this week.
My mother insists that you eat dinner at our house tonight.
Atheists do not believe in God.
Lately the weather forecasts have been wrong.
With more practice, this sound will get easier, until the tongue tap is so quick you can barely hear it!
*More practice words and sentences:
terrorists
wastes
nests
protests
priests
fists
hairstylists
suggests
chests
beasts
He invests his money in gold stocks.
Edward thirsts for Bella’s blood.
The sales analysts in our company are simply the best.
There are too many cyclists on the road these days.
My wrists are sore from playing the piano.
I love making playlists on itunes.
Vocabulary:
my oldest friend in the world
My oldest friend in the world just had her first baby!
= the friend that I have known the longest. In this context, ‘oldest’ does not mean that she is older than me, it means that I have known her longer than all my other friends.
7th grade
My friend and I met in the 7th grade…
= In Canada, students are 12 years old. The 7th grade is considered ‘middle school’ or ‘junior high.’
her native England
…she moved back to her native England.
= My friend was born in England; she moved to Canada for a few years, then moved back to England.
a clothing chain
Roots is a popular Canadian clothing chain.
= there are Roots stores all across Canada; they all sell the same clothing (the Roots brand)
Build-A-Bear Workshop
[link to Build-A-Bear Workshop website]
There’s a Build-A-Bear Workshop not too far from here…
= this is a popular toy store where you can make your own stuffed animal!
patriotic
…they had a ‘Patriotic Pup’ – a white dog with red maple leaves all over him!
= having / showing love for and being proud of your country
a pup
…they had a ‘Patriotic Pup’ – a white dog with red maple leaves all over him!
= short for ‘puppy’ – a baby dog
a red maple leaf
…a white dog with red maple leaves all over it.
= the maple leaf is the symbol of Canada; there’s a red maple leaf on the Canadian flag
a poodle skirt
I dressed the pup in special Build-A-Bear 1950s outfit, complete with a poodle skirt.
= a type of skirt worn in the 1950s; it was usually a solid colour skirt with a picture of a poodle on it!
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Pronunciation Practice – /v/ vs. /w/
This is a pronunciation practice lesson designed to help you improve your pronunciation of the English letter v.
Do you say /w/ instead of /v/? This is a common English pronunciation mistake. This is a very common mistake for Russian, Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, German, Polish, Hungarian, Gujarti, Punjabi, Romanian, Slovak, Serbo-Croatian, and Urdu speakers.
Part 1 – Minimal Pairs /v/ and /w/
Part 2 – Words with /v/
Part 3 – Words and phrases with /v/ and /w/
Part 4 – Sentences with /v/ and /w/
This video was originally made for one of my Russian private-lesson students. If you are interested in improving your American English pronunciation, you can contact me for private lessons over the internet. Your first lesson is free!
/p/private-lessons.html
You can learn how to make the /v/ sound here:
BBC Learning English
Rachel’s English
Related video:
Pronunciation Practice – /v/ vs. /b/
Pronunciation Practice – /v/ vs. /b/
This is a pronunciation practice lesson designed to help you improve your pronunciation of the English letter v.
Do you say /b/ instead of /v/? This is a common English pronunciation mistake. This is a very common mistake for Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Punjabi, and Tagalog speakers.
Part 1 – Minimal Pairs /v/ and /b/
Part 2 – Words and phrases with /v/ and /b/
Part 3 – Words and phrases with /v/
This video was originally made for one of my Spanish private lesson students. If you are interested in improving your American English pronunciation, you can contact me for private lessons over the internet. Your first lesson is free!
/p/private-lessons.html
You can learn how to make the /v/ sound here:
BBC Learning English
Rachel’s English
Related video:
Pronunciation Practice: /v/ vs. /w/
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