The $5 Million Comma: The True Tale of the Oxford Comma Lawsuit
If you don’t think bad grammar can cost you, think again. In this case, one teeny, tiny, little comma actually cost one company five million dollars. That’s one expensive comma! The Serial Comma Strikes Again An Oxford comma, also known as a serial comma, refers to the final comma in a list of items. It […]
Target Pronunciation: How To Pronounce -ED Words in English
Alternate Endings The pronunciation of words ending in -ed in English can be really confusing. For every -ed word, there are three alternative ending sounds to choose from: Alternate endings might be great for TV series, but alternate pronunciation in English? Not so much. Look at the words rated and raked, for example. They are […]
Happy -ED Endings: A Story About Pizza, Pets, and -ED Pronunciation
Every seasoned ESL teacher knows the good old -ED pronunciation rules. When a word ends in |t| or |d|, an extra syllable is added and pronounced as |id|. When a word doesn’t end in |t| or |d|, the pronounced ending is truncated to a stopped |t| or |d| and no extra syllable is added. If […]
Digital Flashcards Are Here, and I’m So Flipping Excited!
I recently transitioned to online teaching again, so I really needed a way to showcase my original deck of 72 irregular verb flashcards in a digital format. I uploaded them digitally and I now have a fantastic set of digital flashcards to use in my classes and share with ESL teachers around the world. Irregular […]
Variations on 4 Card Games ESL Students Will Flip Over
Breaking News! ESL Students prefer playing games to studying grammar. Thanks, Captain Obvious. Now, let’s really drive it home: Hello, students! Raise your hand if you want to study grammar. (crickets.) Raise your hand if you want to play a game. (48 hands are up in a class of 24.) What have we learned from […]
Roadblocks To Reading in ESL and How To Pave The Way Toward Literacy
Let’s face it. If our ESL students aren’t reading now, what’s going to change that? ESL teachers know that reading is essential to language acquisition, and the science backs it up. So how can we encourage students to find fluency through fiction?
The 30-Day English Challenge
Can I really improve my English in 30 days? Yes, you can! The 30-Day English Challenge is designed to improve your speaking, writing, fluency and confidence by following simple, yet meaningful daily tasks. How does it work? The idea behind a 30-day English challenge is simple. Your English will improve quickly because you will be […]
Conversation Club: December 18, 2020
Do you want to know a secret? Learning English is nearly impossible if you don’t have the right people to speak it with. This may come as a surprise, but practicing English with an English teacher just isn’t enough! Yes, an English teacher will understand everything you say. English teachers use simple, clear language that […]
From Zoom back to Room: Writing a Reflection To Maximize Online Learning
It might sound simple, but taking 3 to 5 minutes to write a daily reflection following each Zoom lesson is one of the most important ways to boost language acquisition in online learning environments.
8 Phrasal Verbs with BACK and How To Use Them Like a Pro
The preposition back generally means to return. But there are many different ways you can return something or somewhere! By using phrasal verbs like go back, get back, and come back, you can increase your vocabulary and be more specific in communication. Let’s look at a few of these phrasal verbs with back in a fun short story about a trip to a tropical island. At the end of the story, there’s a short quiz you can take to see if you really know how to use these return expressions like a pro.