Bill Watterson quotes (American Author of the comic strip Calvin & Hobbes, b.1958)
Albert Einstein quotes Hello,
Today I’d like to talk a bit more about how the meaning of what we say in English can vary or change, either depending on the stress on the words, or sometimes just the words that we use. This happens in quite simple sentences – not just in complicated ones.
An example for you:- If I say this sentence:
Take your bag
without accent, it can sound like a simple instruction or invitation
If I say:
Take your BAG. This would mean a bag, not your camera, watch, cup or anything else you may feel like taking
If I say:
Take YOUR bag - I’m meaning your bag, not someone else’s bag
If I say:
TAKE your bag - this emphasises the word "take" rather than kicking it, or whatever else...
Even with so simple a sentence, a changed accent can give a different meaning.
Another example of the way English can be difficult is when the meaning isn’t so clear. We can emphasise this in two silly examples
I like Ice cream sundaes (sundae is a dessert) or I like Ice cream, Sundays (the time I like ice cream)
Do you like fruit fool?(a dessert) Do you like fruit,fool? (an insult)
There are some ways of saying things that sound a bit strange
Hang up the telephone (put the telephone receiver back on the telephone or press the button to finish the call)
Lay the table (hens lay eggs... why do we say lay the table for meaning put the knives and forks and crockery onto the table before a meal)
Climb the stairs (we climb mountains as well!) simply means go up the stairs
Mow the lawn – which just means cut the grass
Catch a cold – how do we catch the virus that we can’t see? It just means we become ill with a cold
I go to bed – but when I get to the bed – I have to get on the bed to sleep I think....
Fall asleep – which means to go to sleep – Personally I just lie in bed and then sleep – I don’t fall anywhere...well, hopefully I don’t fall out of bed...
Throw away my old clothes – I don’t ever throw them – I just put them in a waste bin
Put the kettle on – I just switch on my electric kettle on to heat water. This is an old saying from when people placed the pot on a fire to heat water.
Take a bath – (have a bath) – My bath is still in the same place it hasn’t moved.
To fire someone – means they lose their job – they don’t get burned – we’ll unless the boss has other ideas.... It’s no easier in England as we say "to sack someone" which also means to lose their job – do we put someone in a sack??
Why do we say "I can’t wait for Christmas!" (meaning, "I’m eager for Christmas to arrive") when quite obviously we have to wait
So, English is quite a silly language sometimes
Bye for now
See you next time
Sat, 21 November 2009  Here is my new guitar tune. I hope you like it. Bye Alan Comments[2] | ||||||||||||||||
Thu, 19 November 2009  When we learn languages, it's often quite difficult to get the chance to actually hear someone speaking in a casual way. It is interesting how words are created. Computer and Internet terms are springing up all the time and the two words "blog" for "weblog" or "web diary" and "podcast" from "I-pod (MP3 player) and the word "broadcast". These are recent words in English which are now well known to Internet users. The English language is always expanding. It's interesting to think how many words have come into the language since I was a child. Also words become old-fashioned and disappear from use. This makes English one of the biggest languages in terms of vocabulary as well as number of people who speak it. In Britain there are many accents. I speak with a Northern English accent, or more precisely with a Lancashire accent. But even in Lancashire there are quite a number of slightly different sounding accents. So I could say that I speak with an East Lancashire accent. Even then, I could say that some words and vowel sounds are a little different between the town where I live and the next town nearby. In fact accents are also changing quite a lot in my country. Most people used to speak with a pronounced (or very strong) regional or local accent, and many still do, but for a lot of people, their accents are not as strong as they used to be and this is because people move around the country more than they used to in the past. Also, TV and films have a big influence and people modify their speech to make themselves more understandable to others. Some of the more noticeable differences are the short open vowels in the North such as "bath" (short "a")where in the South it would sound more like "barth" (long "a") In the North of England people often shorten the word where the "th" in the word "the" sometimes is shortened to "t" - walking t"dog instead of "walking the dog". A recent Northern pronunciation which sounds quite funny is " t'Internet" instead of "the Internet". If you find that some of the words or phrases a little difficult to understand, then please leave me a comment and I"ll try to explain it.
Nowadays it is so easy to contact people on MSN, QQ, Skype and speak with them around the world. I think it is really fantastic that the technology exists that allows this to happen. It makes you wonder how this will develop in the future. Comments[1] | ||||||||||||||||
Tue, 17 November 2009 Fluency - setting up a conversation Hello everybody. Today I want to talk about how to make your spoken English flow better and to help you with making it a little easier to talk to people, particularly native speakers.
To have a good conversation you need to start well, enjoy the conversation and make it a two way thing and to find a good way to finish. This is useful and has nothing to do with the length of time you speak for.
To start off a conversation, try to remember some good opening sentences: If you know somebody already… (informal) "How are you today?” “Nice to see you, how's it going?” “What"s new? How are things?” “It’s good to see you” If you are meeting someone for the first time (formal) “It’s a pleasure to meet you, my name is…..” “Nice to meet you, my name is, how are you?” “Let me introduce myself, I’m……(name)”
The next part is to let the other person do something similar and then you have names. If they use first names, then you can also use first names. The next stage is to give yourself time to think. The small pauses seem to be a long time, but they will only be a few seconds. “I’m learning English and…………. I’m finding it so interesting” “It’s great to be able to speak with you in English………………, I’m enjoying learning it” “I would like to improve my English…..I do have a few problems now and then, so forgive me if I am a little slow at times….” “What a pleasure it is to be able to speak some English…… I like learning it and I’m hoping to improve it” Then you can follow my advice about keeping the conversation going by letting the other person speak more, asking questions, saying phrases like: “ah really?” “that’s interesting” “I see” “hmmm, well you make a good point there” “I agree with you…” (if you do agree) “That’s right!” If you are uncertain, or you don’t understand so well “Oh, I’m not sure what you mean there…” “Could you repeat that please?” “That’s interesting, but I’m not sure what you meant by……” “Really? Well, it’s certainly something to think about” Many of these sorts of sentences can be used to keep conversations going and also give you time to relax and enjoy the conversation because most of the work will be on the other person. The more time you can give yourself in a conversation, the more time you have to think of the right words you want to say . If they ask you what you think about something and you are not sure what to say, then you can use these sorts of phrases: “Oh, I’m not sure about that, tell me what you think again please?” “Well, I would think it is something to consider yes,” “I think it’s not easy to answer that, what’s your opinion?” All the time, these sentences and pauses give you more time without the other person realising that you are doing this because they are also answering your questions. Enjoy your conversations! Bye for now Comments[1] | ||||||||||||||||
Tue, 17 November 2009 Thanks for all your feedback on my podcasts – I really appreciate it.Today I want to talk some more about the way we speak in normal conversation as opposed to the language you read in text books or in English language classes. Obviously I can only talk about my own experience in England, When people speak quickly, it happens that some words become harder to distinguish and this can be difficult for English language learners I think. For instance, If I asked a friend of mine, “would you like to go to the cinema?” it can often become “would yer like t’go to the cimema?” You can hear that the word “you” becomes more like “yer” and “to” becomes more like the letter “t” This can be considered lazy speaking, but between friends, with work colleagues etc it is just easier and doesn’t mean that we are lazy. Another example is “Do you want to?” which often becomes “do yer wanna?” Here is a list I have made of some common phrases that can often be shortened. I have got to go – I’ve gotta go When I come back – when I’m back What time is it? = what’s the time? (what time do you make it?) I need to put some fuel in my car – I need to fill up (my car) Do you sell sandwiches? Have you any sandwiches (sarnies) Do you have a pen I can borrow please? Have you a pen please? Could you pass me the salt please – could I have the salt please? Did you take any good photographs when you were on holiday? did you take any good pictures(photos) on your holidays? I’m trying to show you examples of where we use alternative sentences to those that would normally be taught in English classes. I’m also trying to avoid (as much as I can) using examples of dialect – because some dialects in England shorten words as a feature of the dialect. I’ll give you an example: Do you have a pen I can borrow please – often becomes Have you got a pen please? and in my dialect, I could say “d’y’ave a pen please?” So I’m not trying to show you dialects in this podcast – I’m simply discussing how we choose different sentences sometimes – because they seem less formal, friendlier, easier to say – for quite a number of reasons. Often it may be simply because of habit. Do y’want a coffee? is much more common to ask as a question to a friend or member of the family than “would you like a cup of coffee?” This type of “everyday speech” is, I think, what can make it more difficult for English learners to understand when listening to spoken English – it is quite often not like the written standard forms. Some other examples: Hello! it’s very nice to see you, please come in – “Hi, come on in!” Well, I am really tired so I should go to bed – “I’m off to bed - I’m tired” Did you enjoy that TV programme that was shown yesterday evening? Did you like that programme on telly yesterday evening? Hopefully, you’ll be able to hear and read these differences and it may give you more understanding of why English may seem more complex – when in fact, it is often being made simpler to make it easier and quicker to have a conversation between friends and family. See you next time Comments[3] | ||||||||||||||||
Tue, 17 November 2009 I speak this in Chinese and English on the recording. Here is a little project for you. I like learning Chinese because 1。我能交中国朋友 Bye 阿伦 Comments[0] | ||||||||||||||||
Sat, 14 November 2009 Another way to make a text easier to read and understand, is to make gaps between words and phrases. We cannot do this with books, but we can do this with computer texts. Bye for now! Alan
Here is a text from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia May you live in interesting times May you live in interesting times, often referred to euphemistically as the Chinese curse, is reputed to be the English translation of an ancient Chinese proverb and curse, although it may have originated among the English themselves (or Americans). No known user of the English phrase has supplied the purported Chinese language original, and the Chinese language origin of the phrase, if it exists, has not been found, making its authenticity doubtful. One theory is that it may be related to the Chinese proverb, "It's better to be a dog in a peaceful time than be a man in a chaotic period" (寧為太平犬，不做亂世人; pinyin: níng wéi tàipíng quǎn, bù zuò luànshì rén).
Here is the same text split up. We can use the gaps to add explanations:
May you live in interesting times, often referred to euphemistically>(subsituted name) as the Chinese curse, is reputed>(accepted without evidence) to be the English translation of an ancient Chinese proverb and curse, although it may have originated>(started) among the English themselves (or Americans).
Origins No known user>(speaker) of the English phrase has supplied the purported> (same as reputed) Chinese language original, and the Chinese language origin of the phrase, if it exists,>(if it is real) has not been found, making its authenticity>(truthfulness) doubtful.>(undecided) One theory is that it may be related to the Chinese proverb, "It's better to be a dog in a peaceful time than be a man in a chaotic> (disordered/completely confused) period" (寧為太平犬，不做亂世人; pinyin: níng wéi tàipíng quǎn, bù zuò luànshì rén). Category: Text Blog -- posted at: 6:17 PM Comments[0] | ||||||||||||||||
Thu, 12 November 2009 I've copied the webpage for those of you who can't open it - you can download it here. Bye for now Alan Comments[1] | ||||||||||||||||
Thu, 12 November 2009 Here are some sentences for pronunication practice: R Right royal rebellions really rock regal regents randomly Th This is the thought that the three thinking thatchers thought W When we walk we wander where we will V Very viscious vixens vexed very vunerable vermin Y Yesterday your young yobs yomped yonder yolking your yellow yacht D Deeds done daily don't doubt dainty daughters digging dirt S Strumming sun seekers stretch strong strings F Friends frown for fresh flowers fetch for friendly fellows B Be bountiful by bringing black beer breaks by buskers L Lovely Linda likes looking longer lately M May my mind make me mild mannered N Nine knights never needed nine new necklaces Nigel knows H Happy hippos heaved heavy horses heartily T Try to take Tim's ten T-shirts to tiny tailors
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Thu, 12 November 2009 Here is a good website with facts about different countries. This is the link to the United Kingdom. Bye for now Alan Category: Text Blog -- posted at: 6:49 PM Comments[0] | ||||||||||||||||
Thu, 12 November 2009  Have you ever thought about keeping a "language learning scrapbook"? Many children and teenagers keep a scrapbook for reminding them of nice holidays with postcards, friends' photos, special poems, hand-written texts, magazine articles. We can make a language learning scrapbook (either a real scrapbook, or a computer folder with different files in it) Here are some ideas for the scrapbook: 1.Photos/postcards with captions 2. Diary entries 3. words you find difficult to remember 4. friends messages 5. grammar notes 6. special words of things that you are interested in 7. Internet addresses 8 Newspaper or magazine articles 9 Maps of the country of the language you are learning 10 Pictures of national or local costumes 11. local customs 12. Food and drink recipes 13. Word games 14. Crosswords or card games 15. Tongue twisters Bye for now Alan Here is a good website: http://thecreativescrapbooker.wordpress.com/2007/04/29/scrapbook-materials-photos/ Category: Text Blog -- posted at: 8:03 AM Comments[5] | ||||||||||||||||
Wed, 11 November 2009 Hello everybody,
When we need to understand a complex text, what can we do to make it easier? Here is a text. Charles John Huffam Dickens 7 February 1812 - 9 June 1870), pen-name "Boz", was the most popular English novelist of the Victorian era and one of the most popular of all time. He created some of literature's most memorable characters. His novels and short stories have never gone out of print. A concern with what he saw as the pressing need for social reform is a theme that runs throughout his work. Look at what you already know.. and highlight it Charles John Huffam Dickens 7 February 1812 - 9 June 1870), pen-name "Boz", was the most popular English novelist of the Victorian era and one of the most popular of all time. He created some of literature's most memorable characters. His novels and short stories have never gone out of print. A concern with what he saw as the pressing need for social reform is a theme that runs throughout his work Now read again the words in simpler way... *Charles John Huffam Dickens- *the most popular English novelist *of the Victorian Era - *most popular of all time. *He created memorable characters. *His novels and short stories never gone out of print. *Need for social reform, *theme that runs throughout his work Then look for words you do not know and then read the whole text again.. Charles John Huffam Dickens 7 February 1812 - 9 June 1870), pen-name "Boz", was the most popular English novelist of the Victorian era and one of the most popular of all time. He created some of literature's most memorable characters. His novels and short stories have never gone out of print. A concern with what he saw as the pressing need for social reform is a theme that runs throughout his work. If you understand even 10% more now, you have made some progress!! Bye for now Alan Category: Text Blog -- posted at: 12:29 PM Comments[2] | ||||||||||||||||
Tue, 10 November 2009 Thanks to all who have contributed so far. I will make the next magazine issue on Sunday 15th November. If you want to record your voice, I am happy to put the recording on my website also. If you want me to check the text first, please send to: Look forward to reading and hearing you! bye Alan
Category: Lore -- posted at: 7:41 PM Comments[2] | ||||||||||||||||
Mon, 9 November 2009  Here are some happy words and let's link them to language.. We need happy words to keep us learning. Lets make some sentences.. aglow - I was aglow when I discovered I could speak some Spanish with a native speaker
blessed - I feel blessed when people find my website articles interesting.
bright - I think some of my friends who learn languages are very bright
content - I feel content when I think of a new language learning idea delight - it's a delight to help people with English elated - I am elated when I get some nice feedback to my website articles. So just make up some sentences and feel better about language learning Then read them out loud a few times... You can make you own sentences... Here are some more words.. enjoy fortunate Be good BE HAPPY! Alan
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Sun, 8 November 2009  Here is my latest guitar tune... Bye for now Alan Comments[4] | ||||||||||||||||
Sat, 7 November 2009  Here is a suggestion for speaking practice:
It may seem silly, but I believe it helps speaking.
1. Find a good text to read out loud. Maybe 200 words. 2. Before you read it, get a text in your own language, maybe 100 words. 3. Read out loud your native language text pretending to be English person with a foreign accent 4.Read slowly with accented speech like an actor Then...after doing this 5. Read out the English text without stopping
It seems a bit silly, but it makes you think the English sounds in your mind, before you speak English.
I do this with French, German, Chinese and Spanish.
I read English with a "pretend" foreign accent before I try to speak the language I am learning.
You can try it....see if you like this idea If it seems silly, don't worry
Just see if you can read the English more fluently after trying it!
It's worth a try!
Bye for now
Alan
Category: Text Blog -- posted at: 12:35 PM Comments[3] | ||||||||||||||||
Thu, 5 November 2009 
When we are children, we spend many many hours learning new things. Our minds are well-prepared for this. As a child, we just learn new things by experience or from adults teaching us. We even learn from other children. As adults learning a foreign language, we need to trust our brains also know how to learn. As a child or as an adult, we need to find ways to get understandable written or spoken language to our ears and eyes, so we can build up our skills. We also need to produce language: spoken and written. I think our minds know when this information is useful and helpful and also when we are learning well. I also think our minds know when we have tried too much and when we are tired. When we need to relax, when we need to work well.
So we can trust our minds to help us! Bye for now Alan
Category: Text Blog -- posted at: 4:42 PM Comments[2] | ||||||||||||||||
Mon, 2 November 2009  Hello everybody. A lot of serious students of English listen to BBC radio for practicing English listening. I believe that this can be useful, but we must not expect too much to be gain from this. It is good to listen to speech patterns, certain words and phrases and pronunciation. But, I want to show you with this article, that just 30 seconds of a news bulletin (2 November 2009) contains only 106 words, but more than 20 cultural, historical and special words and phrases. This is a huge amount of information to listen to and understand. My recommendation, is if you want to listen to English on the radio, then only listen to very short passages. This will give you plenty of things to discover and learn. Now I will play the passage for you, then I will speak the same words more slowly. You can compare my accent with that of the newsreader. cNow here in Britain, Windsor Castle is hosting a unique gathering of religious leaders over the next three days. A meeting for what's been called "a celebration of commitments by the world"s religions to take action on climate change”. The conference has been sponsored by the United Nations. And faith groups are presenting firm plans showing how they’ll tackle the issue. Pledges include making all China’s Daoist temples solar-powered, and printing sacred books on environmentally-friendly paper. Our religious affairs correspondent Christopher Lander has been to New York to find out about the Jewish plan , which includes a pledge to halve the community’s intake of meat. 106 words. 1.Windsor Castle - Famous English castler 2.Unique gathering - a gathering of people for a special meeting 3. Religious leaders - leaders from different religions 4. Celebration of commitments - a complex new phrase someone has thought up to show that the meeting participants are both committed to the reasons for the meeting and also linking to the use of the word “celebration” as a religious idea. 5. World’s religions 6. Climate change - the way the worlds climate is changing through “global warming” 7. Conference 8. Sponsored 9.United Nations 10. Faith groups = religious groups 11. Firm plans - definite plans agreed 12. Tackle the issue - discuss the subject to find solutions and ideas 13.Pledges = promises 14.China’s daoist temples 15. Solar-powered – powered by sunlight 16. Sacred books 17. Environmentally-friendly - a special phrase meaning “not harmful to the environment” 18. Religious affairs correspondent - a journalist who looks at religious matters 19. New York 20. Jewish plan – a plan made by Jewish people in New York 21.Pledge 22. Community’s intake of meat – the amount of meat the Jewish community in New York buys and consumes.Comments[6] | ||||||||||||||||
Sun, 1 November 2009  Hello everybody. When we learn a language, we need solid foundations: 1. Grammar (rules of language) 2. Syntax (word order & inflection) "inflection" means how words change for different reasons: tense, mood, voice, aspect, person, number, gender and case 3. Semantics (meaning of language) 4. Phonology (pronunciation) These are complex linguistics ideas. I am not a trained linguist. However, we can think in more simple terms. 1. How the language rules work. 2. Which order to put the words and how to change them in the correct way 3. The meaning of what we want to say 4. Pronunciation of words and phrases. I use the photo of the Eiffel Tower in Paris to demonstrate these 4 important things. The Eiffel Tower is very high and heavy. It is made from iron. Its four tall "legs" rest on four strong pillars. We can build our language "tower" on our four language pillars. So, we should enjoy learning: 1. The structure of language we speak or write (our language output) 2. Do our best to put words in the right order for understanding. 3. Make sure that people understand the meaning of what we want to say or write. 4. Concentrate on pronunication of words and phrases. We have 4 language pillars! That is 4 BIG ways to develop our language skills!!
Bye for now Alan
. Category: Text Blog -- posted at: 4:08 PM Comments[4] | ||||||||||||||||
Sun, 1 November 2009 We often want to speak and write in a complex way. But it is interesting what we can do with no more than 7 words! A sentence needs a subject: candles 1."candles are lighting up the room" 2."the room is lit up by candles" 3."lighting up the room by candles" 4. "by candles, the room is lit up" 5. "the room; candles light it up" 6. The candles light the room up 7. The candles light up the room 8. Do the candles light the room? 9. The room is lit up by candles? 10. Is the room lit by candles? Here is another: grass 1. The grass is green in the garden 2. In the garden, the grass is green 3. Garden grass is green 4. Green grass in the garden 5. The grass in the garden is green 6. Green garden grass 7. In the garden is green grass 8. Is the garden grass green? 9. Is the grass in the garden green?
Good exercise? Bye for now Alan Category: Text Blog -- posted at: 11:41 AM Comments[1] | ||||||||||||||||
Sat, 31 October 2009  When it comes to speaking a foreign language, I have a system I call "the Six Keys" 1. Speaking 5% slower than you normally feel you want to - to give yourself a little more time to think of what you want to say, how to say it, to work at great pronunication and grammar. 2. Remember that people listening to you speak will not notice that you are slowing down 5% or will not mind if you told them! 3. Speak to non-native speakers with as much enthusiasm and interest as native speakers. All conversations are useful. If a native speaker conversation gives you a "full meal", then a non-native speaker provides a "snack". Either way, we still have "language food". 4. End words carefully. The English language has important word endings: Try this word for example: welcome/welcoming/welcomed, welcomer,welcomes, 5. Take careful note of word syllables: example word: meanderingly me-an-der-ing-ly (5 syllables) 6. Take careful note of word intonation: example word: meanderingly meANderingly So, next time you try speaking, try the "six keys" Bye for now Alan Category: Text Blog -- posted at: 2:18 PM Comments[7] | ||||||||||||||||
Thu, 29 October 2009  If we are reading a difficul text, we can mark up the text in a way to separate the words and phrases. I don't believe it matters exactly how this is done. I just think that adding some colour, or making the text different in some way, helps reading. I think this makes our eyes recognise phrases and identify difficult words. The small words: and, a,to,in, as, are can be left in the original style. Here is a text that I think is quite difficult, I will show it before and then after "text". See which you find easiest to read and understand. Bye for now Alan http://www.self-confidence.co.uk/social_skills.html Before highlighting 6 Key Social Skills Social skills are arguably the most important set of abilities a person can have. Human beings are social animals and a lack of good social skills can lead to a lonely life, contributing to anxiety and depression. Great social skills help you meet interesting people, get that job you want, progress further in your career and relationships. Happily, like any skill, social strategies and techniques can be learned… The main social skills are as follows: 1) The ability to remain relaxed, or at a tolerable level of anxiety while in social situations 2) Listening skills, including letting others know you are listening 3) Empathy with and interest in others' situations 4) The ability to build rapport, whether natural or learned 5) Knowing how, when and how much to talk about yourself - 'self disclosure' 6) Appropriate eye contact After highlighting http://www.self-confidence.co.uk/social_skills.html 6 Key Social Skills Social skills are arguably the most important set of abilities a person can have. Human beings are social animals and a lack of good social skills can lead to a lonely life, contributing to anxiety and depression. Great social skills help you meet interesting people, get that job you want, progress further in your career and relationships. Happily, like any skill, social strategies and techniques can be learned… The main social skills are as follows: 1) The ability to remain relaxed, or at a tolerable level of anxiety while in social situations 2) Listening skills, including letting others know you are listening 3) Empathy with and interest in others' situations 4) The ability to build rapport, whether natural or learned 5) Knowing how, when and how much to talk about yourself - 'self disclosure' 6) Appropriate eye contact
Category: Text Blog -- posted at: 5:22 PM Comments[2] | ||||||||||||||||
Tue, 27 October 2009  Hello everybody. Remember when you were very young. Do you remember being excited about people being interested in what you could do? Your parents, friends and family would encourage and support you. Remember when your team members in a sports team used to encourage you and challenge you to play well? Remember when you achieved something special and the people there applauded you? Remember being happy when your teacher in class gave you a good mark and said "keep trying"? Everybody remembers these times when we found achievement, encouragement and a When we learn a language, especially on our own, I think a part of our mind thinks we are still the small baby, the schoolchild, the sports player or the performer. However, this can be dominated by all the negative thoughts sometimes: apprehension, anxiety, hesitation, indecision, uncertainty, doubt, reservation, reluctance..... need I go on?? The only use these negative words have for us is to know them as part of a vocabulary, but not as words we want to use to describe our language learning! I often talk about being relaxed when we learn. I even call it "relaxed learning". I believe this is a good attitude to take. However, we need to challenge ourselves at the same time. The challenges we faced as small children, on the sports field, in class, performing something on stage. To guide ourselves, we need a way to both meet a challenge, work to achieve it and then congratulate ourselves if we do achieve it, or if we do not quite get there, then give ourselves special thanks for trying. This way, we get a feeling of continuing along our learning path and meeting the challenges in a way where we can see a "straight line" not a zigzag line. Some people are very disciplined, like a professional soldier or a professional sportsperson. They are ready, willing and able to meet any challenge big or small. These confident people are to be admired. However, I am not one of these people. So to keep myself motivated, I need to set myself small challenges for getting to where I want to go with language learning. Let's keep these feelings we had when we achieved something and were encouraged to do it well and were congratulated. Here are 10 small challenges we can enjoy with our language learning: 1.Getting a difficult text correct when we didn't think we could do it. How many can you think of? Bye for now
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Mon, 26 October 2009 Hello to Chinese visitors 你们好！Because I want to keep this "Language Explorer" website mostly English posts, I have decided to practice a little Chinese on "QQ"! QQ number 1146217092 再见 阿伦 Category: 中文 (Chinese) -- posted at: 6:41 AM Comments[5] | ||||||||||||||||
Sun, 25 October 2009 audacity sound recording program. You must change this to an .exe file when you download it or it will not work. Bye Alan Comments[1] | ||||||||||||||||
Fri, 23 October 2009 
Definition: An emotional word picture is a communication tool used to help convey to your family member or close friend how you are feeling. It is a way of clarifying your thoughts and feelings so the other person can experience them. Example: (man to his wife) "When our children were young and taking delight in experiencing something new like having a catepillar walk on the back of their hands, I felt joy, wonder, thanksgiving, and awe. There was a sense of quiet excitement to this feeling. That's the feeling I have when we work on a project together and everything turns out great!" Example: (friends talking) "I really like going out for a Chinese meal. It isn't just the different food and tastes, it is also the different styles of food; how it is served and presented. The other thing I like is the social occasion of people sat around the table sharing to food. I also like the challenge of trying to use chopsticks! Although I am a bit ham-fisted (clumsy) with them, it all adds to the enjoyable experience of eating Chinese food" Try some "emotional word pictures"! Just write or speak using any words you can think of to bring in some emotion to what you say or write. Happy emotional words: joy, awe, wonder, excitement, happiness, cheerful, glad, Bye for now Alan Comments[3] | ||||||||||||||||
Fri, 23 October 2009  When we spend a lot of time learning language, we can spend just a little more time to "smooth out" our language skills. This is like planing some wood and sandpapering it to make the wood smooth and look nice.
Why should we try to smooth out our language skills? Because we can make the language we speak and write more interesting and attractive to ourselves, and hopefully for anyone reading our writing or listening to us speak.
How do we smooth out our language skills? Here are a few ideas:
1. Speak about 5% slower than you want to. This gives us 5% more time for thinking out more interesting words or a grammar point.
2. Check through your written texts one sentence at a time, and read it out loud. This is good speaking practice, but also you can hear how the language flows and see if all the sentences make sense.
3. Take care with vowel sounds. A E I O U. Try saying these words so that you can hear a difference between them: "cap" "cup" "see" "say" "look" "luke" "lick" "like" "not" "nut" "mad" "made" "silk" "sulk"
4. Take care with consonants. Make sure that words are ended well. Try saying these words: "see" "seeD" "seal" "sealed" "seeN" "seaT" "sieVe" "seaP" "seeTH" "siFT" "seeR" "cieliNG" (don't say the G sound too much, just slightly)
5. Take care with syllables. Make sure you don't add them.
tel e vis ion (4 syllables(
Rum ple stilts kin (4 syllables)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumpelstiltskin
com mun i ty (4 syllables)
Aus tra li a (4 syllables)
se ren di pi ty (5 syllables) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serendipity
6. Start some ideas with a friendly link words "well," "ok" "So," "now"
ok, now we can discuss... ok, now we will go shopping
well, it's a nice idea
so, what do you think?
now, what shall we do?
7. Take notice of the intonation of words. Small two syllable words are the most important: toDAY, weekEND, ice CREAM, FIRE works, APril.
Enjoy smoothing out language!
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Thu, 22 October 2009
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Thu, 22 October 2009  I want to keep talking about my idea for a language diary. I believe this idea is very useful. As an extension to the diary idea, I think we can develop the diary to get even more learning and development from it. Here are my original text blogs concerning the "language diary" http://www.language-explorer.co.uk/index.php?post_id=490822 http://www.language-explorer.co.uk/index.php?post_id=500877 Here are some more developments to the idea... 1. We have a go at a diary of 50 words (approximately) using written short sentences (Start with really easy sentences, then build it up to the more complex) 2. We then try our best to translate using a dictionary when we need to - not worrying about grammar. Just sentence structure Make the best sentences you can, from your mind, or dictionary if you need some help. But don't take a long time to think about all the words. 3. We then read it back a few times for improving speaking speed and accuracy and check pronunication via an IPA dictionary Read it very slowly out loud first. Check for the right number of syllables as you read. Don't worry if it sounds quite unnatural and strange by reading out loud in a slow way. Read the passage at a normal speed (perhaps 5% slower than you feel is a good speed. This gives you 5% more time to pronounce well. If you find a word hard to pronounce, or you do not know the pronunciation, then underline it, or separate the word into a list. 4. If we have a language partner or native speaker to communicate with, then we send the diary entries if they are willing to see them. Native speakers will not mind correcting small texts 50-100 words. Highlight any words you feel are new to you and if you need clarification about them. 5. Corrections made (by native speaker or by us) Don't look back on the orginal diary you wrote. Just enjoy and save the corrected one. We don't need the original anymore. 6. We can file away for review later -We can revisit words from old diary entries when needed. Read all diaries once a month or so This way, all four skills are tried out, practiced and reviewed with just a 50-100 word exercise. The only judgement to make is: Did I enjoy writing the diary? Do I enjoy reading the diary? Do I enjoy speaking the diary out loud? Do I enjoy hearing myself read the diary? Do I think I am learning more? Do I want to keep making a diary? Keep a diary, keep it going! Bye for now Alan
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Wed, 21 October 2009
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Tue, 20 October 2009 Today I'd like to talk about common mistakes which people make when they are learning English. These are often only small mistakes and really don"t matter to a native English speaker like me when we hear them - but I thought it might be interesting to discuss some of these small mistakes here,
Remember that part of my learning philosophy is to not worry about making mistakes - so with this podcast I'd like you to know that am not trying to make you worry about them – just to know a little more about my language.
The first common mistake people make is to use the word "since” when talking about things that are happening now that started in the past, for example when people say "I am learning English since 2 years” when this should be “ I have been learning English for 2 years”. We use the word “since” to describe things that started in the past, but not for talking about duration of time someone has been learning or doing something. Some examples of English using “since”
“Since I started learning English I find I enjoy writing letters more” “Since you left I have been very sad” “I"ve changed a lot since we last met”
Another common mistake is to use the phrase “of course” in the wrong context. If, for example someone offers you a cup of tea “would you like a cup of tea?” the correct answer would be “yes, please” or “no, thankyou”. Sometimes learners of English will say “ of course!” meaning to them “how kind of you, I would like a cup of tea, yes”
But if they say “of course” it could sound to the native English speaker something like “ yes I do, and you should already know that I do!” – in other words a little bit impolite. Of course, we do you the phrase “of course” – which I just used!
Some examples:
“Of course, when we go to the beach, we must not forget our towels” “Of course I would like to go with you to the show – because we’d love seeing it together” “I would, of course, need to bring my swim suit if we are going to the beach!”
These statements are used to agree with someone or affirm something needs or should be done.
Of course, there are many more uses for “of course” and of course, I would like to tell you more about it, but of course, I haven’t much time to do this today!
Common pronunciation difficulties:
The “th” sound as in think, thought, thanks as also the slightly different sound with the, these, though, there and those for example
The “r” sound for running, riding, rowing, rocking and rolling! The “w” sound for walking a wonderful way to work Category: Text Blog -- posted at: 7:06 PM Comments[5] | ||||||||||||||||
Tue, 20 October 2009 It’s interesting how many ways we can ask questions in English.I wanted to explain a little in this podcast about the different ways do this. In fact I had to think about this a lot before I recorded the podcast – as a lot depends on the situation and who were are talking to. Regarding asking people for things. In English we use the "conditional" form a lot. This is where the question sounds more polite. For example: "Could I have a cup of tea please?" sounds more polite that "Can I have a cup of tea please?" The reason is that English people usually ( but not always of course) try to be polite and the word "could" means that the person who is being asked would feel that the person asking the question was not demanding a cup of tea – almost that the person being asked has a choice. Of course if you were in a café asking this question, it would seem a bit silly that they would not want to give you some tea – but this way of asking questions still stays in our language. "I would like…" is similar " Could I trouble you for….?" Is very polite and fomal Between friends and family, it is less formal: "Can you lend me a garden rake?" is perfectly acceptable. "I want a…." is not normally used – as it sounds impolite. However as always, there are exceptions. " I want a holiday – I’ve been working too many hours" could be used as a statement. But, if you were to ask your boss for a holiday, you would say "Could I have next week off please? I want to go on holiday" "Have you got some stamps?" is ok to use when asking for stamps in a Post Office Also, "Do you have some(any) stamps?" Would be the right question to see if the place selling stamps had any e.g. Newsagents "Do you sell stamps?" would also be ok – if you were in a shop and wanted to see if they sold stamps To add emphasis, we often say: "I really would like…… do you have any? (or "could I have?) "Do you mind if I take….?" A useful phrase in, say a Tourist Information office and they offer leaflets and you think that they are being offered for free – but you are not sure. "Will you come to my party?" a direct question to a friend – which means that they should give you an answer "yes" or "no" An alternative (and more polite) would be " Would you come to my party?" this means that the person being asked might say "no thanks – I have to visit my mother – thanks for asking me" "Shall we go to the seaside for our holidays?" is more direct than "should we go to the seaside for our holidays?" and usually you would get a different response. The first question would normally mean the person being asked would say "Yes, it sounds a good idea" or "No, I don’t want to go to the seaside this year" The second question would normally mean the person being asked would say "Let me think about it, it might be worth doing" or " I’m not sure – whether I like the idea or not" So, it is worth learning the different ways to ask for things in English and see what response you get. If you find that the question seems too direct – then try using: Could I/you/we? Should I/you/we? Would I/you/we? Might I/you/we? Another very polite way is "is it ok if?" or "do you mind if?" More direct ways or asking questions are Can I/you/we? Shall I/you/we? Will I/you/we? Don’t be worried about using these ways of asking if you need help or are in trouble or you need a direct "yes" or "no" answer. Category: Text Blog -- posted at: 6:53 PM Comments[3] | ||||||||||||||||
Tue, 20 October 2009 SleepI'ts surprising how many things we can talk about related to sleep in English. Apparently the Swedes have 95 different words for sleep. I don"t think we have anything like that many in English, but even so, we talk about sleep and sleeping in quite a number of ways. For instance, we have: sleep for the noun to sleep, sleeping - the verb and other words that describe sleep in different ways: Examples: A nap or a "catnap” = a short sleep – usually in the daytime to snooze, or a snooze” same as a “nap” Often, an alarm clock will have a “snooze” button – so that we can sleep a little longer and then another alorm will sound. To doze – where it’s describing someone not sleeping too deeply. “Don’t doze off when you’re driving!!” an important thing to remember. There are other slang words or expressions. Here are some I know and quite like: “Shut-eye” “Kip” “40 winks” “Nod-off” “Zonked” (usually after someone has had a lot to drink” “Slaughtered” (very tired) “Dead to the world” – when someone can’t wake up very easily – after a late night I remember that Americans sometimes say “bushed” – meaning tired – but maybe they don’t use that so much these days... We sometimes use the Spanish word “siesta” to talk about sleeping during the daytime – for a rest, when on holidau or having a sleep when the weather is very hot. There are many others I can’t remember just now. Perhaps you’d like to do a bit of research yourself! When someone needs to get to sleep, we sometimes “count sheep” in our heads. The idea is to get so bored counting sheep – you fall asleep! Try it! Category: Text Blog -- posted at: 6:45 PM Comments[5] | ||||||||||||||||
Sun, 18 October 2009  Learning a language is like making a long uphill footpath. I use this "footpath analogy" because we can use the idea to help us with language learning. 1."We need to see a destination". In language learning, we need a destination, a direction to go, so we keep going towards this. Some people just call the destination "fluency". I think we can have many such "destinations" able,capable, competent, proficient, adept, skilful, practiced, accomplished 2."We need to go towards our destination and not veer off the path". In language learning, we need to keep our mind focused on the things that help us learn and enjoy language. This keeps us on the path. 3."We need a smooth surface to walk on" We can keep our path smooth by being relaxed and moving carefully along our "path". tranquil, calm, comfortable, restful,stress-free, hassle-free, unpeturbed, 4. "Our path sometimes has little pot-holes and puddles". We can not avoid walking through them. This is like when we make mistakes when speaking, listening, reading or writing. We must remember that "we can get our feet wet in puddles, or trip in a pothole, but it does not stop us continuing to walk along the path." So, thinking of our "path" helps us to keep going and keep learning! Bye for now Alan
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Sat, 17 October 2009 Category: Text Blog -- posted at: 9:03 PM Comments[4] | ||||||||||||||||
Wed, 14 October 2009 Saying Hello to "Hello”
English has a lot of intonation on syllables, which sometimes can change meaning. I chose the word “hello” to demonstrate this.
I have recorded the pronunciation of each example along with a full sentence that explains the meaning. My advice is to listen and copy the pronunciation.
/ rising tone \ falling tone V falling-rising … steady tone
The word hello has two syllables: 1.hell 2 o
Interesting?
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Sun, 11 October 2009 Sometimes we need to challenge ourselves with language learning. I like to use the words "relaxing challenge" I want to use the word "L.E.A.D.E.R" as a way to remember the technique: "Look- Enquire- Assess- Do- End Result" *LOOK - for a subject to talk or write about *ENQUIRE - for information about the subject *ASSESS - what you think you can do well *DO - what you can to the best of your ability *END RESULT - see what you can do Here is an example: I LOOK for a subject: "Facebook" I ENQUIRE some information about "Facebook" I ASSESS the information - I found some information I then DO some writing (or speaking) practice The END RESULT is this: "Facebook is a social utility networking website that connects people with their friends and others who work, study and live around them. People use Facebook to keep up with friends and family;things they are doing and to share information and opinions. Follow the LEADER! Bye for now Alan Category: Text Blog -- posted at: 6:58 PM Comments[3] | ||||||||||||||||
Sun, 11 October 2009  Here is my latest guitar tune "Pendle" is a mysterious hill near where I live. Bye for now Alan Comments[6] | ||||||||||||||||
Sat, 10 October 2009  Here is issue 3 Thanks to all who contributed! Bye for now Alan Direct download: Microsoft_Word_-_explorerlore3.doc.pdf Category: ExpLoRErs LoRE Magazine -- posted at: 4:15 PM Comments[2] | ||||||||||||||||
Sat, 10 October 2009  Hello everybody, A good exercise for speaking is to write down some unusual situations and pretend they are true - and then speak about them or write about them. This will encourage you to think about and learn more vocabulary. I will give you some examples of situations/ideas: "I met the Queen in 2002" " My brother likes to go mountaineering" "I saw a UFO" " I have visited Moscow" All these statements are untrue, but can be useful for making an interesting presentation or written text... Here is an example: "I saw a UFO" "One evening, when I was driving along in my car, I saw a big light in the sky. It was unusual as it was very big. The light was moving across the night sky. It caught my eye, because it was so big. Suddenly the light moved very quickly, much faster than an airplane could. I was amazed to see it speed away. I believe it was a UFO. Unfortunately, I had no video camera, so I could not show someone else." Vocabulary: UFO = Unidentified Flying Object. It caught my eye = I noticed it I just made this up. I have never seen a UFO. So, just use your imagination. Write it, say it or both! Bye for now Alan
Category: Text Blog -- posted at: 12:56 PM Comments[5] | ||||||||||||||||
Mon, 5 October 2009  When we read difficult texts, I find that a technique of "fast/slow" reading can help 1. Read one short sentence or phrase fast, then immediately go back and read it again slowly. 2. Move to next short phrase or sentence and repeat. 3. See if you can understand it 4. Check the words you don't know 5. Keep moving on through the text. I've added a diagram to show you Bye for now Alan Comments[4] | ||||||||||||||||
Sun, 4 October 2009  I hope you like new guitar tune. Bye Alan Comments[8] | ||||||||||||||||
Sat, 3 October 2009  http://42explore.com/talltale.htm Easier - Throughout history/ people have told and written stories/ about their heroes. A tall tale/ is a special kind of hero story/ because the heroes of tall tales/ are 'larger than life'./ They are bigger or stronger/ than real people,/ even when/ the tall tale/ is based on a real person/. Tall tale heroes/ solve problems/ in funny ways /that are hard to believe Harder - A tall tale/ is a uniquely American/ story form/ that features/ (1) a larger-than-life, or superhuman, main character/ with a specific task, (2) a problem/ that is solved/ in a humorous or outrageous way/, (3) exaggerated details/ that describe things/ larger than they really are/, and (4) characters/ who use/ everyday language. /Many tall tales/ are based/ on actual people/or on a composite/ of actual people/. Exaggeration/ is the major element/ in tall tales.
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Fri, 2 October 2009 If we break down difficult texts by marking using a pen or the / key on a computer, we can make texts easier to understand: It is only a simple / mark, but it helps us to understand sentences quicker and easier: Here is a text from: http://news.bbc.co.uk "China has been staging mass celebrations to mark 60 years since the Communist Party came to power." Break it down: "China/ has been staging/ mass celebrations/ to mark 60 years/ since the Communist Party/ came to power." China has been staging (holding) mass celebrations (very big celebrations) to mark 60 years (to recognise 60 years) since (from the time) the Communist Party came to power (became the government) Breaking down sentences can help us understand and learn. It would be a lot of work to do this with all our reading. But for complex texts I think it is a useful technique. Bye for now Alan
Category: Text Blog -- posted at: 12:05 PM Comments[2] | ||||||||||||||||
Fri, 2 October 2009 If any visitor wants to contribute to the next issue of ExLoRErs LoRE magazine - please send me a message to
thanks and Bye for now Alan Category: Text Blog -- posted at: 12:00 PM Comments[2] | ||||||||||||||||
Sun, 27 September 2009  I know there is a special Moon festival in China coming soon. So I wrote a special guitar tune for it. I hope you like it. Bye for now Alan Comments[6] | ||||||||||||||||
Wed, 23 September 2009  I find it useful to think sometimes about what could be achieved, accomplished and attained. I call it "Triple A" This is thinking about being where you would like to go with language learning and look back at what has been achieved, accomplished and attained. This may be like looking for the "pot of gold at the end of the rainbow" (an impossible dream) or it maybe be that I can do everything I wish to in the future. I do not know. But whichever it is, there is nothing wrong with thinking about the "Triple A" time. We can make a list and change the list anytime we feel like. Here is mine for now (but I can change it anytime) **I'd like to be able to always enjoy speaking, reading, writing and listening to different languages **I want to be able to communicate with people very easily in different languages **I'd like to be able to always find more and more interesting things to do with languages **I'd like to be able to make friends and develop friendships using my languages **I'd like to learn more about different people and cultures around the world using my languages **I'd like to be able to read any book, watch any film, listen to any speech in the languages I learn **I'd like to be able to sing songs in the languages I learn **I'd like to help other people learn my language I'd like to always have a sense of achievement at any level **I'd like to always discover something new about languages **I'd like to never give up "exploring languages"! Take care Bye for now Alan
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Tue, 22 September 2009 In English, there are many verbs linked with other words for example: sign up, sign in, sign out come in, go out, There are others which are more difficult to understand because the two words making them mean different things: take = to take heart = heart take heart = buck up, get courage, cheer up butter up butter =butter up = up butter up = excessively praise or flatter someone fight = to fight flab = unwanted fat fight flab = to slim/to diet So, when you read English, look for context so you know when you are reading a small saying I went to my friend's house last week. I didn't try to butter him up. I just told him to take heart and fight some flab! He weighs too much! So be careful to read looking for these types of verb phrases. There are many of these in English and the difference can be very big: example: see through a window = look through a window (very litteral - easy) see through somebody =to understand someone's hidden intentions without them knowing that you know (complex) Bye for now Alan
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Mon, 21 September 2009  Hello everybody, In English we sometimes say about a situation "getting all the chess pieces right". This means making the best of a situation and planning things well. We often talk about "language learning", "language study", "language development" I am suggesting we think about: *language practice/activities *language performance *language action *language use *language achievement *language accomplishment So, to do this we need to move our "chess pieces" to get our language working well. We can do this at any level. Chess is a game of tactics and strategy. I think for languages, we are playing a chess game with what life brings us. So, to play our language chess well, we need to know what we can do with each of our "pieces" So, to play a good "chess game" For practicing at home (or for studying) *plan our speaking practice *choose some interesting reading practice *ask the right questions and get some good answers *choose some interesting listening *write about interesting things and when we are actually given the chance to make contact with native speakers: *keep a positive attitude *keep friendly *try to avoid feelings of frustration *keep relaxed (as always! haha) *try not to do too much (and get very tired) *don't forget to ask questions *listen carefully *make short notes/write things down (if you can) *look for visual clues as much as possible
Playing the "chess game" is to put all these things in the right position and time them well. Hopefully, your tactics and strategy will pay off and you will play a good game! Lets go for a checkmate and win! Bye for now Alan
Category: Text Blog -- posted at: 3:57 PM Comments[5] | ||||||||||||||||
Sun, 20 September 2009  Hello everybody, I found a book on memory and language last week. The book lists the most important 100 words for conversation. The idea is if you learn these, you will have 50% of the words you need for a conversation. The rest of the words you need will be added onto these words. LIST OF 100 MOST IMPORTANT WORDS is attached. Click on the 100 most important words in English.rtf to the right of "direct download" below. If you are learning other languages than English, then using this list, it is time to get out the dictionary to make your list. You can write the words in the boxes. I've made this file in RTF (Rich Text Format) which will work with most word processors. Bye for now Alan
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