Consonant Clusters

Idioms

Every man for himself (0:16)- Each person will have to fight for their own survival; no one will help anyone else.

Idioms

0:18 turn off- lose power

1:14 black out- lose electricity in a city or large area

Idioms

WOW! They talk FAST!!

Totally pimped out (00:21) - it will have a lot of extra features and is very nice.

International Business Tips

Idioms

Full ahead (short for full steam ahead) (0:45)-we are going to make the ship go as fast as we can.  The ship was powered by steam, and they would have to heat the water as much as they could to create as much steam as they could, for the engine to be run at full capacity.  For more information on the engine of the Titanic click here.
Put your backs into it (0:46)- Work as hard as you can, with all the strength you have.

Idioms

Batten down the hatches (0:51)- this expression originates from nautical terminology meaning to literally close the hatches on a ship in preparation for a storm.  It's used in the idiomatic sense to mean: get ready for difficult times.

Pronunciation- THR

Idioms- The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games Trailor

Take off (0:13)- leave a place or location, usually quickly without specific intent or plans.
Take off can mean a lot of different things.
A few examples are:
Take off your hat- Remove your hat
The plane will take off soon- the plane will leave soon
Her career will take off- she will have a successful career

English Online

The Twenty-first Century classroom is no longer in front of a dusty blackboard, but behind a crisp, clean, high definition computer screen.

The advantages are innumerous. 

Globalization is occurring in all aspects of life, and communication is the key to success.  The international language is English, and the race to learn it is on.  However with busy lives, hectic schedules, and rising gas prices, language schools may not be the answer. 

A wealth of information is now at our fingertips, the internet a portal to vast resources, and instant connections.

Skype has fast become the most popular VoIP software around the world, with over 100 million users, and is an excellent teaching tool.  VoIP stands for voice over internet protocol, and simply means communication through the spoken word using the internet.  Other VoIP software programs include Google Talk, Windows Live Messenger, and TeamSpeak.   

Along with being able to talk to people for free, the option of seeing them using video is also offered.  There is a text box, which can be used to type in information while simultaneously speaking or teaching.  The benefit of this over teaching in person is that weaknesses can be identified and addressed instantly by the teacher.  In the case where a student is having difficulty in a certain area, such as properly using the present simple tense, the teacher can send links to online resources that they can go over together during the lesson, and can also be referred to later by the student on his/her own.  Other free resources online include dialogues, idiom exercises, TOEFL preparation, and even current event articles, with practice exercises following.  Breaking News ESL is an excellent resource, with recent news stories written for speakers of English as a second language.  Topics of interest hold the student’s (and teacher’s) interest, new vocabulary is learned, and sentence structure improved.  Conversation flows easily, providing the learner with the opportunity of having a real life discussion with a native speaker, and pronunciation issues can also be addressed by the teacher as needed.  Utilizing the text box for this, words can be written down (often while the student is speaking without him or her knowing so as not to interrupt the dialogue) and then sent to the student.  For example, if a student is having difficulty pronouncing the word “thorough” the teacher can type the word in the text box, along with a phonetic spelling (not necessarily using the phonetic alphabet as not everyone is familiar with this) “thur- o” and then go over the word with the student, practicing it together.  The student then has the word saved in his text box for future reference, and can practice the word for the following week. 

Writing can be worked on as well, as files can be sent via the text box, and corrections can be made and explained during the lesson, providing the student with conversation and structural instruction simultaneously.  And as the teacher identifies repetitive mistakes or problem patterns in the writing, links to work on these areas can be sent to the student providing him/her with innumerous resources instantly.  No more time is wasted hunting through bookshelves, or making photocopies. 

International conference calls are now commonplace in the boardroom, and most often made in English as the global economy expands, and foreign markets merge.  Skype becomes more than just a convenient, effective teaching tool for the executive, but a common source of communication at work and school. 

Most companies have their own VoIP system they use for conference calls, however Skype also provides this feature, and it’s free for all Skype users, making group lessons online possible as well. 

Talk and Write is a free software program provided by Skype for business and education.  Providing a mutually shared white board and meeting room, it enables users to communicate instantaneously, as they can write in the same space at the same time, point out certain areas on the screen, highlight texts, and erase annotations. 

Payments for lessons can be made using Paypal, bank transfers, or other methods as agreed upon by the student and teacher.  Teachers should be experienced professionals, and native speakers.  A fifteen minute free trial lesson is often offered to make sure students are comfortable with their new teacher.  If lessons are being offered at a very low cost, the buyer should be wary.  However, people living in large cities like Tokyo and Hong Kong may be surprised at how much less the cost for an online lesson is, when doing comparative shopping with local language schools, which can run up to twice the amount of an online lesson.

Convenient, effective, and efficient, online lessons with the right teacher can be an enjoyable and lucrative experience for anyone wanting to get a head start in the global race of international communication. 

Rebecca Wolbach Silva
http://www.blogger.com/goog_449582381

Idioms

Cowboy (1:54) - a person taking a lot of financial risks (day trading, for example).

"That's when I draw the line." (1:55) -that is the limit and that's the point at which I won't tolerate anymore (of this behavior).

Idioms

"Everybody's drinkin' the same Kool-Aid"

-Everybody’s completely buying into (believing in/participating in) an idea or system, whether good or bad.

Pronunciation- TH

Silva English Online: You tube English lessons

Silva English Online: You tube English lessons: Mike and Molly- Victoria's Birthday This video is hilarious but they do speak very fast in this clip. Look up the vocabulary words and rea...

You tube English lessons

Mike and Molly- Victoria's Birthday
This video is hilarious but they do speak very fast in this clip.  Look up the vocabulary words and read the questions before watching the video.  You will subconsciously make more of a concerted effort to listen, and your listening skills will improve faster!

Vocabulary:    Folks, bouncer, pop-up camper, long-term, Winnebago, hot dog truck, extension curb, half-eaten bun, curb, load

Questions:

1.       Why is Victoria upset?

2.       How old is Victoria?

3.       When she says, “the same man a bunch of nights in a row” what does Molly say another name for that is?

4.       Molly asks if the bouncer in the pop-up camper was a long term thing.  What is Victoria’s response?

5.       What does Victoria say happens when you show up for a second date with a guy who lives in a Winnebago, pop-up camper, or hot dog truck?

6.       She says they don’t leave a note, but what two things do they leave behind?

7.       Molly tells Victoria she shouldn’t pin her happiness on what?

8.       Victoria tells Molly that’s easy for her to say because she has a what?

9.       Victoria tells Molly that at least she has someone to be ____________ in?