Three – It’s The Magic Number

There is something special about the number 3, throughout history it has been a significant number and continues to be so today. The Egyptians built the Pyramids, the Bible talks of the 3 Wise Men and the Holy Trinity. There are 3 primary colours, 3 dimensions, 3 parts to time, we live on the third planet in our Solar System and there are 3 kingdoms on Planet Earth.

I could go on, but we would be here all day, so take a look at this page for more facts about the number 3.

The point I am trying to make is that we use the number 3 in many ways everyday without even realising that we are doing it, and in teaching it can be a very powerful weapon to have in your armour.

Think about it for a second or 3

Stories contain a beginning, middle and ending, and when we speak and use descriptive nouns we tend to use them in threes automatically. Presentations and reports normally include an introduction, main body of information and a conclusion. Our world seems to revolve around the number 3.

So, how can we use the number 3 in language lessons?

I am constantly working with a number of students who are preparing for IELTS speaking test, whose level of English is good, but they just need to show greater fluency on the day. The best little trick I can pass on to them is to think about the number 3.

What I mean is, when you are asked something about yourself, instead of just replying with a single answer such as, ‘I like to watch movies‘, what you need to do is think bigger.

In any answer, you need to think in threes, not in single nouns. So, let’s take movies, drinking coffee and reading as example personal traits, three not one. Next we need to add adjectives to each noun and where possible put them into a specific order of emotion, in order to end up with a response such as: ‘I like to read magazines and drink coffee, but most of all I love to watch movies.’

What you achieve by always thinking in threes is to actually help yourself to achieve greater fluency, which by return means a better score. However, it isn’t just nouns and adjectives that make us seem proficient and fluent. Idioms and phrasal verbs are just as important, and again 3 is the magic number to use. Try to introduce 3 simple idioms and 3 phrasal verbs, and to make sure that you practice using them before your speaking test, so that you understand how and when they are appropriate.

This method actually arms you with 3 tools for getting the score you need on your speaking test; always being able to answer questions with 3 responses, plus 3 idioms and 3 phrasal verbs to use. Interestingly enough, there are 3 parts to an IELTS speaking tests, so the idioms and phrasal verbs can be split equally between them.

 

For more on the Magic of 3, take a look at this video from EngVid.

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Contact Rachel today > http://www.italki.com/teacher/1394345

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Standard Contractions in English

contraction is a word or phrase that’s (or that has) been shortened by dropping one or more letters. In writing, an apostrophe takes the place of the missing letters.

Standard Contractions in English

aren’t are not
can’t cannot
couldn’t could not
didn’t did not
doesn’t does not
don’t do not
hadn’t had not
hasn’t has not
haven’t have not
he’d he had; he would
he’ll he will; he shall
he’s he is; he has
I’d I had; I would
I’ll I will; I shall
I’m I am
I’ve I have
isn’t is not
it’s it is; it has
let’s let us
mightn’t might not
mustn’t must not
shan’t shall not
she’d she had; she would
she’ll she will; she shall
she’s she is; she has
shouldn’t should not
that’s that is; that has
there’s there is; there has
they’d they had; they would
they’ll they will; they shall
they’re they are
they’ve they have
we’d we had; we would
we’re we are
we’ve we have
weren’t were not
what’ll what will; what shall
what’re what are
what’s what is; what has; what does
what’ve what have
where’s where is; where has
who’d who had; who would
who’ll who will; who shall
who’re who are
who’s who is; who has
who’ve who have
won’t will not
wouldn’t would not
you’d you had; you would
you’ll you will; you shall
you’re you are
you’ve you have

 

This list and many more valuable grammar articles can be found at http://grammar.about.com/ 

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Grammar Girl’s Top 10 Language Myths

Grammar Girl’s Top 10 Language Myths:

10. A run-on sentence is a really long sentence. Wrong! They can actually be quite short. In a run-on sentence, independent clauses are squished together without the help of punctuation or a conjunction. If you write “I am short he is tall,” as one sentence without a semicolon, colon, or dash between the two independent clauses, it’s a run-on sentence even though it only has six words. (See episode 49 for more details.)

9. You shouldn’t start a sentence with the word “however.” Wrong! It’s fine to start a sentence with “however” so long as you use a comma after it when it means “nevertheless.” (See episode 58 for more details.)

8. “Irregardless” is not a word. Wrong! “Irregardless” is a bad word and a word you shouldn’t use, but it is a word. “Floogetyflop” isn’t a word—I just made it up and you have no idea what it means.  “Irregardless,” on the other hand, is in almost every dictionary labeled as nonstandard. You shouldn’t use it if you want to be taken seriously, but it has gained wide enough use to qualify as a word. (See episode 94 for more details.)

7. There is only one way to write the possessive form of a word that ends in “s.” Wrong! It’s a style choice. For example, in the phrase “Kansas’s statute,” you can put just an apostrophe at the end of “Kansas” or you can put an apostrophe “s” at the end of “Kansas.” Both ways are acceptable. (See episode 35 for more details.)

6. Passive voice is always wrong. Wrong! Passive voice is when you don’t name the person who’s responsible for the action. An example is the sentence “Mistakes were made,” because it doesn’t say who made the mistakes. If you don’t know who is responsible for an action, passive voice can be the best choice. (See episode 46 for more details.)

5. “I.e.” and “e.g.” mean the same thing. Wrong! “E.g.” means “for example,” and “i.e.” means roughly “in other words.” You use “e.g.” to provide a list of incomplete examples, and you use “i.e.” to provide a complete clarifying list or statement. (See episode 53 for more details.)

4. You use “a” before words that start with consonants and “an” before words that start with vowels. Wrong! You use “a” before words that start with consonant sounds and “an” before words that start with vowel sounds. So, you’d write that someone has an MBA instead of a MBA, because even though “MBA” starts with “m,” which is a consonant, it starts with the sound of the vowel “e”–MBA. (See episode 47 for more details.)

3. It’s incorrect to answer the question “How are you?” with the statement “I’m good.” Wrong! “Am” is a linking verb and linking verbs should be modified by adjectives such as “good.” Because “well” can also act as an adjective, it’s also fine to answer “I’m well,” but some grammarians believe “I’m well” should be used to talk about your health and not your general disposition. (See episode 51 for more details.)

2. You shouldn’t split infinitives. Wrong! Nearly all grammarians want to boldly tell you it’s OK to split infinitives. An infinitive is a two-word form of a verb. An example is “to tell.” In a split infinitive, another word separates the two parts of the verb. “To boldly tell” is a split infinitive because “boldly” separates “to” from “tell.” (See episode 9 for more details.)

1. You shouldn’t end a sentence with a preposition. Wrong! You shouldn’t end a sentence with a preposition when the sentence would mean the same thing if you left off the preposition. That means “Where are you at?” is wrong because “Where are you?” means the same thing. But there are many sentences where the final preposition is part of a phrasal verb or is necessary to keep from making stuffy, stilted sentences: “I’m going to throw up,” “Let’s kiss and make up,” and “What are you waiting for” are just a few examples.  (See episode 69 for more details.)

You can find more information about each of these myths in the Grammar Girl archives.

 

LINDA’S PROFILE

 

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Common Marriage Phrases

Marriage.  A timeless conversation topic.  People talk about it before it happens, when it is happening and after it happens.

In the English language we commonly use the word GET before the word married.

The moment you say ‘I do’ (or actually sign the document) that is the moment you get married.

Phrases speaking about it happening in the FUTURE

Some little girls dream of getting married.

I want to get married on the beach.

I never want to get married.

I’m getting married!

We will get married next year.

Phrases speaking about it happening in the PAST

We got married in May.

They got married in Mexico.

He never got married.

marriage vocabulary

The actual marriage ceremony is the wedding (celebration) 

The marriage ceremony will be at a church.

The wedding will be in New York.

The marriage ceremony was lovely.

Kim’s wedding was the best I have ever been to.

Once you get married (sign the document) you are married

I am married.

James is married.

They are not married.

And FINALLY the word MARRIAGE (which is a noun)

I have a great marriage.

Their marriage was bad.

When friends get together, they often talk about their marriages.

 Try it out!  Write a sentence about marriage in the comments below and I will correct it.

Learning a language… When the time comes to dig in!

I have been trying to learn Russian for a year now, and on a day when my teacher had to cancel the lesson due to a severe cold I sat considering whether I wanted to continue or throw in the towel.

The reason that I started to learn Russian was due to curiosity, since I had a lot of Russian students learning English, but also I wanted to put myself through the student process and see what insight this gave me to help me to improve as a teacher. In this I have achieved many things and it has been an invaluable experience, plus I have been proud of my achievement in understanding the language too, but I also see, with shame, that if I had just tried that bit harder I would have achieved so much more. I have come to truly appreciate that ‘less is more’ when you come across new grammar or concepts. That time to revise and revisit previous learning points is never time wasted. That ‘a little… often’ is priceless advice, and that ultimately homework rules, as it really does reinforce your learning and understanding.

So were there any negatives? Yes. My Italian has suffered and that must now resume priority because I live in Italy. I have seen myself struggle to find words that were once known so well, and have heard myself automatically respond in Russian, then English before finding the correct Italian words. It worries me and I intend to resolve that with haste.

However, I am reluctant to let go of my Russian. I have become extremely interested in the process of learning and the construction of the language itself. I am now curious to see if my return to learning Italian will actually be improved. I have a sneaky suspicion that I will be braver in tackling the more difficult grammar and pronunciation now. I mean, nothing can be as difficult as Russian, surely!

So I conclude, as possibly most students of English do at one time or another, that when you think about giving up, it is really the time when you take stock, appreciate and then prepare to dig in deeper than before. Keep learning! If you’ve taken a break from your English studies over the festive period, now is the time to come back with vengeance and start again. Refresh your memory, renew your efforts, progress to new levels. SkypEnglish4U is the perfect place. We’re a fun group, flexible and friendly. We understand the highs and lows of learning a language. We will help you.

So are you ready? Yeah… Bring it on!

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Contact Rachel today > http://www.italki.com/teacher/1394345

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Google Phrasebook

Google announced their ‘Phrasebook’ in 2013 > Official Release Statement 

I was very excited by this because I am not only a language teacher, but also a language learner.  I am at a very beginner level, slowly and steadily learning Greek.  Taking my own advice that I give to my students, “you must have English in your life everyday if you want to improve…”  I’ve decided to start a journal writing very simple phrases in Greek.  Using my active vocabulary, each day I’ll write a few things down.

I wanted to check a few words using Google Translate (I know, I know, it’s not always correct, but for simple basic words, usually it is ok- and I am at that simple basic level!) and I remembered about phrasebook.  Happy times!  It is so simple to use and I think VERY useful for helping language learners review vocabulary.

First you just type in the word or phrase in your language using Google Translate

google phrasebook

 

Here I actually searched for the phrase first in English-> Greek and then switched it because I want my phrasebook to have the Greek words first, but either way works.

Next you just click on the little star below the phrase or word and you will see a little notification pop up in the upper left-hand corner showing that a word has been added.  That is your phrasebook icon!

google phrasebook

Click on that little star-book icon and you will see all of the words/phrases that you have previously saved.

google phrasebook

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I mentioned earlier, I have mine with the Greek phrase first, but you can sort by language and by the date you added it.

You can even export it to a spreadsheet by clicking on that icon under the search tool.

google phrasebook

 

 

 

 

 

google phrasebook

 

 

 

 

 

There are so many great tools out there to help us with language learning.  I hope that you will try it out and let me know how it works!

Please share some of the tools you use to improve your vocabulary in the comments section below and perhaps be featured in a future blog….

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Active Vocabulary vs Passive Vocabulary

 

active vocabulary

VS.

passive vocabulary

 

The questions is…. How do YOU change Passive Vocab to Active Vocab?  Comment below and possibly be featured in a future post!

 

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Memory Retention | Remembering Vocabulary Words

Do you have a good memory?  Do you have issues with remembering vocabulary words?

 memory ˈmɛm(ə)ri/  noun

1) the faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information  “I have a great memory for faces”  2) something remembered from the past “My favorite childhood memory is visiting my Grandmother”

Memory plays a HUGE role in language learning.  It is all about remembering vocabulary, grammar rules, idioms, phrasal verbs, the list goes on and on…

In this info graphic from Online Colleges  we can see  Hermann Ebbinghaus’ ‘forgetting curve’

Memory Retention | Remembering Vocabulary Words

As you can see, REVIEWING information is very important for retaining the things that you learn.  If you do not review, you will quickly forget the things you have just learned.

Reviewing and using the language are a very important part of the learning process.  Some people focus on learning new words everyday, but never actually practice using them in a real-life setting.  When you actively use a word (with speaking or writing), you are reviewing it.  Listening and reading also are forms of reviewing as they are reinforcing the words in your memory, but they are a passive form of review.

Anyone can read a page in the dictionary, but to truly ‘know’ the words, you have to be able to use them.

Get involved!  Make it fun!  Sign up for speaking sessions, practice daily by commenting on twitter and facebook  posts.  I’m always happy to respond.  Learning new words is very important, but remembering them is even more important.

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Non-continuous Verbs

Non-continuous verbs are verbs that we do not normally use with continuous tenses. These “stative” verbs are about state, not action, and they cannot express the continuous or progressive aspect. Here are some of the most common non-continuous verbs:

  • feeling: hate, like, love, prefer, want, wish
  • senses: appear, feel, hear, see, seem, smell, sound, taste
  • communication: agree, deny, disagree, mean, promise, satisfy, surprise
  • thinking: believe, imagine, know, mean, realize, recognize, remember, understand
  • other states: be, belong, concern, depend, involve, matter, need, owe, own, possess

Look at these example sentences, right and wrong:

I want a coffee. not I am wanting a coffee.
I don’t believe you are right. not I am not believing you are right.
Does this pen belong to you? not Is this pen belonging to you?
It seemed wrong. not It was seeming wrong.
I don’t hear anything. not I am not hearing anything.

Notice that we often use can + see/hear:

  • I can see someone in the distance. not I am seeing someone in the distance.
  • I can’t hear you very well. not I am not hearing you very well.

This and more wonderful grammar tips can be found on English Club

 

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Stick with your English Language goals

Constant dripping hollows out a stone. LUCRETIUS

Constant dripping hollows out a stone.
LUCRETIUS