Merry Christmas

Every boot that marched in battle and every uniform stained with blood will be destroyed and thrown into the fire. ⁶ This will happen when the special child is born. God will give us a son who will be responsible for leading the people. His name will be “Wonderful Counselor, Powerful God, Father Who Lives Forever, Prince of Peace.” ⁷ His power will continue to grow, and there will be peace without end. This will establish him as the king sitting on David’s throne and ruling his kingdom. He will rule with goodness and justice forever and ever. The strong love^[b] that the Lord All-Powerful has for his people will make this happen!

Isaiah 9: 5 - 7 (Easy-To-Read Version of the Holy Bible)

English is a funny language...

Red Nose Day!

Red Nose day helps raise money to fund cures and better treatments for conditions like childhood cancer, heart disease, asthma, and many more life-threatening illnesses that mean the children affected often miss out on a normal childhood.

Funny :-)

Fun class

Quiz answers!

 Here are the corrections from yesterday's grammar quiz.  I have put extra notes in brackets.

 Do you like Would you like to work in one of the world's largest business businesses? Don't miss this exciting business opportunity.
Our Corporation wants to broad broaden our activity in the New Zealand. ("Broad" is an adjective, "broaden" is the verb).  We are seeking for self-motivated worker workers to help us expand our business in New Zealand sector.   in the New Zealand sector. 
 
To get in candidates:  To apply candidates must: or Essential requirements:
- 18+ age Be over 18 or 18+ (without "age")
- Must be proficiency in computer, be proficient with or have proficiency in computers / computer packages especially in MS Office (Word, Excel, Outlook)
- Part & Full time positions, Work-from-Home positions 2-6 hours per day
- Bases salary ranges Base salaries range from or the base salary range is from 5000 to 6000 NZD monthly depending on working shift. shifts / which shifts you work / shift hours
- Candidates must be smart and motivated.
 
Customer service and administrative positions are available.
 
No relocation is essential!  necessary!
 
Interested person people should write back respond to this e-mail. ("write back" is too casual.  This is a formal advertisement).
 
Thank you for your interest.


Notes
We don't use the article "the" with countries, unless they are groups of islands or states.
New Zealand
China
Korea
Japan
not the Japan


but:
the United States
the United Kingdom
The Philippines
The Caribbean
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Prepositions:
These are difficult - you need to memorize, study and revise which prepositions go with which verbs.
Look for something
Seek something (no preposition)


Do you need help improving your English writing skills?  Contact me for more information!

Find the grammar and vocabulary mistakes!

This was written by a non-native speaker of English.  I have highlighted the mistakes.  Can you correct them?

Answers tomorrow!

Do you like to work in one of the world's largest business? Don't miss exciting business opportunity.
Our Corporation wants to broad our activity in the New Zealand. We are seeking for self-motivated worker to help us expand our business in New Zealand sector.
 
To get in candidates:
- 18+ age
- Must be proficiency in computer, especially in MS Office (Word, Excel, Outlook)
- Part & Full time positions, Work-from-Home positions 2-6 hours per day
- Bases salary ranges from 5000 to 6000 NZD monthly depending on working shift.
- Candidates must be smart and motivated.
 
Customer service and administrative positions are available.
 
No relocation is essential!
 
Interested person should write back to this e-mail.
 
Thank you for your interest.

Awesome adjectives: bold

A bold person is a person who is brave and confident in themselves.  It is used more to do with your interactions with people rather than to do with activities.  The meaning is positive.

Compare:
"He's so bold, yesterday when he saw a really pretty girl he went over to her and asked for her phone number."
"He's so brave, he's been sky-diving and bungy-jumping lots of times."
"She boldly told her boss that she didn't agree with him."
"He was very brave.  He went into the burning house and rescued the child."
"They were very bold and went over to Will Smith and asked for his autograph."

Adverb:  boldly
Antonyms (opposite adjectives):  afraid, cowardly, fearful, meek, shy, timid, weak

It also is the word we use to describe this - bold font!  The meaning is similar - bold font is stronger and it stands out more than normal font.

A flower and a party!

Thanks for the party!

Grammar Quiz - spot the mistakes - solution!

"In addition, one of the key roles of the co ordinator co-ordinator is to producing produce marketing and advertising meterials materials such as videos making, brochures and magazines as well as promoting (the company) via numerous diverse sources of offline tools like Facebook, Twitter, Youtume etc.
Accordingly a senior level of practical work experience are is essential and qualifications are can be advantageous."


Here is a corrected version - 

One of the key roles of the co-ordinator is to produce marketing and advertising materials such as videos, brochures and magazines.  The successful applicant will also be responsible for online promotion using social media such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.

Experience in a similar role at a senior level is essential.  Relevant qualifications will be an advantage.

The author of this advertisement has very poor English writing skills despite being in a senior level position in an English speaking country.  Do you find it difficult to write in English too?  Don't be like him/her but get help with your English writing skills now!

Contact me for more information!

Quiz - find the mistakes!

This is a job advertisement I saw today.  The person who wrote it doesn't have an advanced level of English and there are lots of mistakes.  Can you find them?

"In addition, one of the key role of the co ordinator is to producing marketing and advertising meterials such as video making, brochures and magazines as well as promoting via numerous diverse source of offline tools like Facebook, Twitter, Youtume etc.
Accordingly senior level of practical work experience are essential and qualification can be advantageous."

There are at least eight errors!

Easy English video - good practice!

  Great easy English for practicing listening skills!

Grammar Quiz explanation!

I lived in Rome. This means I don't live in Rome anymore.  This is the past simple tense.
 
I've lived in Paris, London and Los Angeles.  This means I know all these cities now.  This is the present perfect tense for past experiences with no time/date.
 
I've been living in London for 5 years.  This means I'm living there now.  The present perfect continuous tense is used to emphasize the length of time.
 
I'm living in London.  This is the present continuous tense - and it means that usually I live somewhere else, I'm only in London temporarily.  If London is your home, you would say I live in London.

Grammar quiz!

What are the different tenses in these sentences, and what are the differences in meaning?

I lived in Paris.
I've lived in Paris, London and Los Angeles.
I've been living in London for 5 years.
I'm living in London.

Awesome adjectives: quaint

quaint

[kweynt] 

This means - attractive/interesting and also old-fashioned - old style. 

It has a positive meaning.

Examples:

A quaint village

An old, quaint house

A quaint green door

A quaint shop

A quaint bar

Comparative and superlative:  quainter, quaintest
Adverb:  quaintly
Noun:  quaintness

Antonyms  (opposites): ordinary, modern, new

Grammar quiz answer

Are both of these sentences correct or not?  Why?  What's the difference? 

1)  He's been married three times.
2)  He married three times.

Both sentences are correct.

The first sentence uses the present perfect tense, because the man is not dead.  He's still alive, so his life isn't finished.  Maybe he will marry again.

The second sentence uses the past simple tense,  because the man is dead.  His life is finished, so he won't marry again!

Note - "married" can be both used as an adjective, and as a verb.

"He's married" - this is an adjective.
"He married his wife last year" - this is a verb in the past simple tense.

It is more common to say "get married" rather than "marry".
E.g.  "They got married last year."  "She is getting married in December."  (Instead of "she is going to marry in December" or "They married last year".

A little grammar quiz!

Are both of these sentences correct or not?  Why?  What's the difference? 

1)  He's been married three times.
2)  He married three times.

Read the answer here tomorrow!

Awesome adjectives: ecstatic!

ecstatic

This means: very, very, very happy and/or excited.
E.g. "She was ecstatic she had passed her exams!"

Useful synonyms (similar words) - overjoyed, thrilled, rapt

Opposites - depressed, troubled, miserable

Pronunciation -
ec'static - (ek-STAT-ik) the stress is on the second syllable.

Listen to the word here:

Great students :-)

Awesome adjectives: gooey!

Gooey

This means: -
Sticky, soft, often sweet.
We often use this word to talk about food.
"The honey has leaked out of the jar - the jar is all gooey."

It can have a negative meaning: "Don't touch it, it's gooey!"

Or positive - see this recipe for gooey chocolate chip cookies:
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/26606/gooey+chocolate+chip+cookies

Yum! Gooey chocolate is definitely a good thing :-)

'gooier, 'gooiest, 'gooily

Lovely class :-)

Awesome adjectives: fluffy

Awesome adjective of the day:

Fluffy

This means soft, light and puffy, especially used for describing animal fur. 
E.g.  "Your cat is so fluffy, she's so cute!"

Fruit vocabulary

This is my all time favourite fruit - the feijoa!  

They're so delicious I could eat about twenty in one go.  Feijoas come from South America - Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina and Colombia.  They are widely grown in New Zealand, and also can be found in Australia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, southern Russia and South Africa.

Another favourite of mine is the nectarine - 

 Yum!!  These can be yellow or white inside.  

And this fruit - 

is called kiwifruit, not kiwi.

This is a kiwi!

Or this is a Kiwi - 

More fruit - 

Vegetables!

 

Another name for eggplant is aubergine, used chiefly in British English.

Michael Jackson - listen and read subtitles!

Songs are a great way to practice your English.  Watch this video of Michael Jackson performing live - what a great dancer!  Sing along and read the English subtitles

"Friends" episode with English subtitles

Watch a bit of "Friends" - listen and read the subtitles at the same time!

What do you think - is Joey a good waiter, or a bad waiter?!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDSIM4xxsCc

Pronunciation practice - excellent :-)))

This is a great website for pronunciation practice.  You just click on the sound and repeat!  Very important!!  I recommend this for everyone.  You don't need to feel embarrassed, you can practice in private where nobody can hear you all the sounds you find difficult!

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/activities/phonemic-chart

Fun game for advanced students!

Guess how common these words are in English - do we use these words a lot, or just a little?  Fun game, see what you score!  Can you do better than me?  I only got 75%!!

http://www.macmillandictionary.com/red-word-game/

Fun English game - make words!

http://www.eastoftheweb.com/cgi-bin/top_scores.pl

Tip of the day

Tip of the Day:  Expressing Age

From Kenneth Beare, your Guide to English as 2nd Language Expressing Age We use the verb "to be" to express age in English. There are two possibilities: He is eight. OR He is eight years old. Example Sentences Tom is twenty-two. My brother is thirty-six years old. Cathy's extra tips -  Wrong Sentences Don't say - Tom is 22 years. Don't use 'have' -  She have 32.

Practise your English with me...

FREE trial lesson!

speaking / pronunciation / vocabulary / listening skills

In our lesson we will talk about at least 2 different topics, and I will help you with new vocabulary on the topics.  I will also give you feedback on your level and correct your mistakes and pronunciation.

Email me for more details!
internetenglishteacher@gmail.com

Excellent online listening lessons!

There are some great listening lessons on this website - basic, intermediate and advanced listening.  You can practice at home, for free!

http://www.talkenglish.com/Listening/LessonListen.aspx?ALID=100

We say "get" all the time... very useful!

Help for reducing your accent in English!

Does Your Accent Get Stronger When You Feel Nervous?

By Susan M Ryan

Many of my accent reduction clients tell me that their accent gets worse when they feel nervous.
Even my clients who have made huge improvements with their spoken English tell me that they speak too quickly, become hoarse or stumble over their words when they are nervous.
So what can you do to prepare for "high stakes" speaking situations such as meetings, phone call and key negotiations?
Here are three easy to implement ideas.
1. Breathe
When people have to speak in front of a group, (or even at a virtual meeting) they often become so nervous that they forget to breathe properly. Lack of proper breath will not support a nice strong voice.
When you feel nervous while speaking in "high stakes" situations be sure to take some deep breaths. This will both calm you down and give you the air you need to support your best voice.
2. Warm Up Your Voice
There are some easy exercises that you can do to warm up your voice before speaking. These warm ups will make your voice sound strong, help you focus your energy and calm yourself down.
One exercise is to hum. Hmmmmmm... feel the vibration in the facial mask area between your mouth & nose. Humming will warm up your vocal chords and bring a nice resonance to your voice.
Breathe & hummmmm!
You can even hum up and down the musical scale a couple of times. Just be sure to breath from your diaphragm as you do this.
3. Lip flutters
I first read about lip flutters in Susan Berkley's book, Speak to Influence. Then my voice teacher recommended that I do these to warm up my vocal chords before my Skype calls (sometimes I sound a bit froggy).
To do lip flutters, purse your lips together and push the air through. Try to push the air from your diaphragm, not from your mouth.
I love doing this vocal warm up before I speak with people... but my cat really hates it!
Once I started to do breathing, humming and lip flutters before my Skype coaching sessions, my voice sounded stronger and clearer. This in turn made me feel more confident and relaxed.
Try to warm up and calm down with these three easy voice tips next time you have an important talk, meeting or presentation. They are sure to help you sound more clear and confident when you speak.
As I often tell my clients, speaking with a slower pace and rich tones will make you sound more confident and in control.
Speaking with a high speedy voice will make you sound hurried and nervous. You don't want to sound like that!

You CAN speak American English more clearly with the right kind of training. Continue to improve as a speaker by getting a book or taking a course. You will be happy that you invested in training to enhance your life and your career!
Susan Ryan is an American English & Accent Reduction Coach. A past Toastmasters International officer and mentor, Susan helps non native English professionals speak English with clarity and confidence.
Her new iPad book, American Accent Fundamentals, will teach you the basics of clear American English communication.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Susan_M_Ryan

This class was so much fun!

My September class :-)