Taking the bull by the horns: taking control and taking initiative.
Shoot the breeze: talk leisurely with a friend or someone you know.
You snooze, you loose: If you don't pay attention you can miss out on an opportunity.
Facebook Badge
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
English Idioms
Taking the bull by the horns: taking control and taking initiative.
Shoot the breeze: talk leisurely with a friend or someone you know.
You snooze, you loose: If you don't pay attention you can miss out on an opportunity.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Tricks for Learning English
1. Take a short course: Learn English online with Prof. Rebecca using Skype or try a local university.
2. Repetition: One imitating word - for - word the speech, sounds even actions of the other? It's called mimicking and it's so effective you'll be using this technique to get talking in record time yourself. The procedure is simple, you repeat exactly, word-for-word, everything your model says. That model can be a newscaster, character on a soap opera, documentary narrator or the voice coming from your tape player or radio. Don't worry if it isn't perfect. Just start by trying to get your tongue around the words. You'll acquire speed and ease with practice. You may feel silly at first, but persevere. You'll get there sooner than you think.
3. Reading Aloud: One of the most effective language-learning tricks is to use the counsel found in The Bible itself at Joshua 1: 8, "...and you must in an undertone read in it day and night, ..." and again at Psalms 1:2 stating, "... And in his law he reads in an undertone day and night." Read passages in the target language aloud to yourself. This powerful technique not only develops speaking and pronunciation skills, but contributes to listening comprehension, vocabulary and grammar too.
Almost any reading material in your target language will do as long as it's interesting and fairly short. You wouldn't start an English language learner off by reading "War and Peace" now would you?
4. Watch TV: If you have cable, is there a station broadcast in the language you're interested in? Check with your cable supplier or programming guides to see what's listed. Programs to watch are the news, soap operas and documentaries. Record programs you like and watch them repeatedly.
5. Listen to Music: In Japan, English students karaoke the Beatles. In Latin America, students mimic Bruce Springsteen. In Africa, the Backstreet Boys rule the airwaves. Lip-syncing popular songs is all the rage for English language learners, so why don't you turn the tables and use it to your advantage. Check at music shops and bookstores for song CDs and tapes. Ask around for recommendations on where recordings in your target language might be available.
6. Read: Stop at the library for a grammar book and some reading material. But don't overburden yourself with grammar and rules. A copious variety of entertaining magazines exist in English. A newspaper, general interest magazine, the bible, brochures, even comics can help you along. Short articles are best at first. Although you can wade through one or more of those in a matter of minutes, your personal satisfaction at doing so will be boundless. Try http://www.amazon.com for hard-to-find titles
2. Repetition: One imitating word - for - word the speech, sounds even actions of the other? It's called mimicking and it's so effective you'll be using this technique to get talking in record time yourself. The procedure is simple, you repeat exactly, word-for-word, everything your model says. That model can be a newscaster, character on a soap opera, documentary narrator or the voice coming from your tape player or radio. Don't worry if it isn't perfect. Just start by trying to get your tongue around the words. You'll acquire speed and ease with practice. You may feel silly at first, but persevere. You'll get there sooner than you think.
3. Reading Aloud: One of the most effective language-learning tricks is to use the counsel found in The Bible itself at Joshua 1: 8, "...and you must in an undertone read in it day and night, ..." and again at Psalms 1:2 stating, "... And in his law he reads in an undertone day and night." Read passages in the target language aloud to yourself. This powerful technique not only develops speaking and pronunciation skills, but contributes to listening comprehension, vocabulary and grammar too.
Almost any reading material in your target language will do as long as it's interesting and fairly short. You wouldn't start an English language learner off by reading "War and Peace" now would you?
4. Watch TV: If you have cable, is there a station broadcast in the language you're interested in? Check with your cable supplier or programming guides to see what's listed. Programs to watch are the news, soap operas and documentaries. Record programs you like and watch them repeatedly.
5. Listen to Music: In Japan, English students karaoke the Beatles. In Latin America, students mimic Bruce Springsteen. In Africa, the Backstreet Boys rule the airwaves. Lip-syncing popular songs is all the rage for English language learners, so why don't you turn the tables and use it to your advantage. Check at music shops and bookstores for song CDs and tapes. Ask around for recommendations on where recordings in your target language might be available.
6. Read: Stop at the library for a grammar book and some reading material. But don't overburden yourself with grammar and rules. A copious variety of entertaining magazines exist in English. A newspaper, general interest magazine, the bible, brochures, even comics can help you along. Short articles are best at first. Although you can wade through one or more of those in a matter of minutes, your personal satisfaction at doing so will be boundless. Try http://www.amazon.com for hard-to-find titles
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Expressions
A bit much: excessive.
A chain is as strong as its weakest link: a team or company or organization is dependant on the strength of its members.
A fool and his money are soon parted: people who aren't wise with their money lose it.
A little bird told me: this is a way to avoid revealing the source of some information.
A steal: a good bargain.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)