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English on Twitter

Using English on Twitter is a great way to get daily practice and keep your English skills sharp.

Do you use Twitter?  If you do, you are one of 236 million monthly active users!  If you don’t, you should (go sign up and come back and continue reading).

How do you use Twitter?

Many people use twitter to share information.  Whether it is sharing personal things for friends to see or other information that you want the whole word to see, Twitter gives you that platform.  Some people just use twitter to communicate directly with other users and direct their tweets to them using their @username.

Practice your English on Twitter by reading English articles shared by people or watching videos about topics that interest you.  Communicate with people!  If you see a funny picture that someone shared, tweet back to them and tell them what you think.

Do you use #hashtags?

Twitter started the hashtag craze that we now see all over every type of social media.  This is where you really get the good stuff.  Do you like pizza?  Enter #pizza into the search box and every person that has ever used the hashtag #pizza is going to come up in the results.

Practice your English on Twitter by using hashtags that will bring you to an endless supply of helpful links.  Here are some of the ones I use (and they all link directly to the results on Twitter so give them a click, you’re welcome)

#English #LearnEnglish #ESL

#BusinessEnglish: Anything related to Business English / English used at work

#EngDaily: English should be practiced on a daily basis, so this # is for when you have a little bit of free time and want to get your brain going in English.

#EngGrammar: Any link related to Grammar

#EngVocab: Any link related to Vocabulary

#EngQuiz: Any active learning exercise/Quiz

#EngNow: Involves you NOW!  Practice opportunities, active learning exercises or videos

#EngPls: ‘English Please’ Anything in English.  A common # for learners who want to communicate in English.

Exam prep? #IELTS #TOEFL #TOIEC 

Do you have twitter friends?

As I mentioned above, some people use twitter to chat with their friends and other users.  Some people find it easier to express their feelings when they are using a ‘user name’ and people may have no idea who they really are.  Things can get messy, I suggest keeping it clean and not getting involved in any cyberbullying.  Use the anonymity to your advantage and get practicing, no need to be shy if nobody knows who you are!

Practice your English on Twitter by making friends with others who are learning English.  Get involved in discussions and answer questions from English teachers.  Use #EngPls and #Twinglish to find other learners just like you and get chatting.

Do you follow me?

YOU BETTER!  @SkypEnglish4U  Tweet to me with any questions you have and I will do my best to get back to you ASAP.

 

#EngVocab
platform(noun)  A place, means, or opportunity for public expression of opinion
Cyberbullying (noun) The use of electronic communication to bully a person, typically by sending messages of an intimidating or threatening nature
anonymity (noun) the condition of being anonymous.

*practice using these words in the comments section and I will check them and give you feedback*

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Daily Grammar

Like fruits and vegetables, grammar is part of a healthy balanced life.  Well, maybe not for everyone, but if you are learning a language, daily grammar activities should be part of your routine.

Many people don’t have time to eat the proper nutrients during the day, so they take vitamins and get their daily dose of  whatever they are missing.  (ex- I take a vitamin every morning to make sure I get my daily dose of Vitamin C.)  “I don’t have time for that”, a commonly heard excuse for not doing something.  Exercise, cooking properly, improving a skill such as a language…  I’d say we are all guilty of  procrastination at some point or another.

I tell my students that they need to exercise their brain daily and fit some English language activity in everyday.  Activity being the key word there.  Listening and reading are great, but those fall into the category of passive learning.  This is easier because you do not have ‘to act’.  Active learning is when you have to produce something, like an answer in a quiz or a spoken response to someone else.

Fitting grammar in every day does not mean that boring heavy text-books have to be a part of your daily life.  It can be a simple little quiz (Active learning FTW!) or a quick review of something you think you know pretty well already.  The key is to make it part of your routine.  Perhaps everyday while you are eating breakfast with your lap-top open (you know you do this!) you can open up a grammar quiz page and do one.

I’m going to start using #EngGrammar on twitter to tag grammar activities.  So make some time and get your daily dose of grammar! 

dose (noun) a quantity of a medicine or drug taken or recommended to be taken at a particular time
procrastination (noun) the action of delaying or postponing something
fit (something) in (phrasal verb) to give a place or time to
FTW (slang) “For The Win” An enthusiastic emphasis to the end of a comment, message or post
*practice using these words in the comments section and I will check them and give you feedback*
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Do Does Did

Complete the following sentences using the correct form of do.

Hints

Use does when the subject is a singular noun or a third person singular pronoun (e.g. he, she, it).

Use do when the subject is a plural noun or a plural pronoun. (e.g. they, we). The first person singular pronoun I also takes do.

Use did in the past tense. It is easy to decide whether a sentence is in the past tense. You just need to look for past time adverbs. For example, if you find words/phrases like yesterday or last year, it is safe to assume that the given sentence is in the past tense.

Read more at http://www.englishpractice.com/quiz/grammar-exercise-8/#PsyhIs1EA69d57jf.99

 

Keep going!  Do Does Did! Practice makes perfect, so here are some more!

http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=5523

http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/tenses/do3.htm 

http://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-2/exercise-english-49467.php

http://a4esl.org/q/h/lb/dodoesdid.html

Need more help?  Here is a very detailed explanation of ‘Do – Does – Did – Done’ from Woodward English
http://www.grammar.cl/english/do-does-did-done.htm

Most common idiomatic expressions in English

The English language is full of idiomatic expressions. While it is nearly impossible to learn all of these expressions, you should be familiar with the most important ones. Here is a list of the most widely used idiomatic expressions in English.

A penny for your thoughts

This expression is another way of asking what somebody is thinking.

Add insult to injury

To add insult to injury is to make a bad situation worse.

A hot potato

A hot potato is a topic or an issue that is widely discussed.

Once in a blue moon

If something happens once in a blue moon it happens very rarely.

Caught between two stools

When you are caught between two stools, you have difficulty choosing between two alternatives.

See eye to eye

When two people see eye to eye, they agree on something.

Hear it on the grapevine

To hear it on the grapevine is to hear a rumor.

Miss the boat

To miss the boat is to miss your chance at something.

Kill two birds with one stone

To kill two birds with one stone is to do two profitable things at the same time.

On the ball

When you are on the ball, you understand the situation very well.

Cut corners

To cut corners is to do something badly to save money.

Costs and arm and a leg

If something costs and arm and a leg, it is very expensive.

Sit on the fence

When you sit on the fence, you don’t make a decision.

This and other helpful information can be found on http://www.englishgrammar.org/category/writing/