Kung Fu Skills Not Essential
You know that English has truly become the global language of choice when you see a situations vacant advertisement posted online by an ancient Chinese Buddhist temple seeking a Brand Builder who is fluent in English!
What am I talking about? – Reductions!
What are reductions? – These are shortened, combined, or ‘reduced’ forms of English words. For example gonna (going to), wanna (want to) and hafta (have to). There aren’t ‘real’ words in English and are not used in writing however they are frequently used in spoken and informal English, especially in movies and music, so it’s a good idea to know about reductions in order to understand these and to sound more natural when you are speaking with native English speakers.
So let’s have a look at some:
gonna – going to
gotta – got to
hafta – have to
hasta – has to
wanna – want to
whaddaya – what do you
howdya – how do you
Have a look to see if you can hear these the next time you listen to some English pop music.
My favourite is ‘dunno’, which means ‘I don’t know’!
Contact Rachel today > http://www.italki.com/teacher/1394345
I think crime drama adds a bit of spice which helps to fire up the imagination. Why not try this on a wet and rainy Sunday afternoon?
Contact Rachel today > http://www.italki.com/teacher/1394345
For the majority of my students, making “small talk,” or short conversation with strangers or co-workers, is the most difficult part about using their daily conversational English. Here are some tips that I have found useful when making small talk:
1) Talk about the weather.
This one seems to be common in most cultures. Some examples are,
*A main point you should remember is to use the phrase “calling for.” This is another way to say “to forecast,” or “to predict.” In American English, it is much more common to use “calling for” than “forecast” (“forecast” seems too professional or proper in some cases). Try using this next time you talk about the weather.
2) Talk about the latest news
Here are some ways to bring up a topic:
3) Talk about something you have in common.
If you are talking to your co-worker, this is a great chance to talk about things you have in common. Some examples are:
The list could go on and on! I’ll update it again soon, but for now, try to use these phrases next time you’re making small talk! You might even be surprised that you’re talking too much at work!
I’d be happy to answer any questions, and leave your own tips if you have them!
Yes, it’s that time of year again, and yet again many of the acts in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest will be singing in English instead of their own native languages. English, it appears, is taking over Europe.
It wasn’t too long ago when French was the dominant European language, it was the official language of the European Union and the second language learnt by most UK school children, and of course it was the host language of Eurovision, although scores and commentary were always translated into English at Eurovision as well. However, nowadays Eurovision is hosted in English, with a simultaneous translation into French. How times have changed!
If you think back to previous winning entries of Eurovision, can you remember any acts who didn’t sing in English? Only those acts who can sing in English tend to make a big impact on the European music scene, take ABBA for instance who became a global phenomenon after winning Eurovision in 1974. Although, to be fair ABBA did actually perform their winning entry Waterloo in Swedish during the competition, but they are the only previous non-British winners I can think of at the moment!
Nowadays, Eurovision is renowned for its politics, more so than its musical acts, with multiple groups of countries voting in favour of each other for reasons other than the best performance on the night. English has now become the language of choice for acts wishing to not only win Eurovision, but to also use the contest as a platform to burst onto the international music scene.
Language experts tell us that in the future, native English speakers will be in the minority as the global uptake of English as a second language means that there will be around 2 billion people, a third of the entire population of our planet, speaking English as well as their own native language. This majority of ESL speakers will soon start to influence and eventually control the evolution of our language and this, it is believed, will leave native English speakers at a distinct disadvantage. So, in the future, is it possible that instead of reaching for your Oxford English Dictionary you may have to instead rely on your newly acquired Beijing English Dictionary, in order to ensure that words and phrases are spelt correctly? Could majority English eventually evolve into a dominant language and leave us natives behind, much like Eurovision and the EU have done to the French language?
Only time will tell!
Contact Rachel today > http://www.italki.com/teacher/1394345
Have you seen the movie ‘Notting Hill’? Have you seen the scene where Hugh Grant keeps saying ‘whoops a daisy!’?
Each spring, people throughout the world celebrate Easter. Many spend it painting or hunting for eggs and eating chocolate bunnies. Often, children will even flock to their local malls to meet and take pictures with the biggest bunny of all, the Easter Bunny. But how did a giant bunny even become one of the most recognizable symbols of Easter? Here are the top five reasons why we celebrate Easter with a bunny!
For centuries, rabbits and hares have represented not only Easter but spring in general. Rabbits have long been known for being a symbol of fertility and new life. This is because rabbits are very fertile animals and can give birth multiple times in a year. The gestation period for rabbits is between 28 and 30 days and a doe can become pregnant again even just hours after giving birth.
In Anglo-Saxon pagan tradition, there was a goddess called Eostre known as the goddess of spring. Her main symbols were the egg and the rabbit. There was a legend that the goddess found an injured bird during winter and in order to save its life, she transformed it into a hare. Although it was no longer a bird, the hare was able to lay eggs.
Actually, the first Easter Bunnies probably were not rabbits at all, but instead hares. It is unclear why this change from hare to rabbit occurred, but one noticeable difference between hares and rabbits is that hares are generally larger. They tend to have longer legs and ears just like the modern day Easter Bunny.
Since the Goddess Eostre was so important at springtime, there was a month-long festival dedicated to her. The festival started on the vernal equinox in March and lasted throughout the majority of April. When Christianity spread to Anglo-Saxons, many of the traditions during the festival of Eostre were adapted into the ceremonies in honor of the Resurrection of Christ because they both occurred in the same month and encouraged many pagans to convert. As a result, the English name of the Easter holiday is derived from Eostre.
Now, rabbits (or hares) come into this story because they’re the symbol of Eostre, but also because the rabbit has a strong connection to the moon in pagan tradition. The hare was believed to be a symbol of the moon, and the cycles of the moon are actually what determine what day we celebrate Easter each year. Easter is celebrated on the next Sunday after the Paschal moon which is the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox.
In other Easter folklore, the fabled white bunny we’ve come to know originated in Germany in the 1500s, where it was originally a white hare. It was believed that if a young child was especially good, the Easter Bunny would leave a nest full of colorful eggs. At the beginning, the children would use their caps or bonnets as nests for the eggs, but these were later replaced by the now familiar baskets.
In the eighteenth century, German immigrants to Pennsylvania brought the Easter Bunny tradition to the United States where it became quite popular. Germany is also where the first edible Easter Bunnies originated in the 1800s. They were first made of pastry and sugar.
The way you celebrate Easter each year may be somewhat different depending on where you live. Many places celebrate with the Easter Bunny but a few others have different animals delivering their Easter treats. For example, in Switzerland, cuckoos deliver colorful eggs to children, and in Westphalia, Germany, they believe in the Easter fox.
However, the most popular way to celebrate still seems to be with stuffed animal bunnies, rabbit-shaped chocolate and marshmallow candies and, of course, large anthropomorphic rabbits. One has even made it to the White House, presiding over the annual Easter Egg Roll with the Presidential family.
How do you celebrate Easter in YOUR country?
You MUST surround yourself with everyday English as much as possible. The first time that you hear or read a word/idiom/phrase that you don’t know, write it down and look it up or better yet, ask someone (sometimes the dictionary can confuse you with idioms or phrasal verbs). When you take the time to do a little research, the word/idiom/phrase is more likely to stick in your mind. Then the next time you come across it, it will become reinforced and more of a part of your active vocabulary. The more you hear or see something the more likely you are to remember it, right? And that, my friends, is why you need to listen and read English whenever you can!
The next step is to be able to actively use the word/idiom/phrase in your daily interactions. This is where difficulties can arise. Anyone can LEARN a word/idiom/phrase by using a book or the internet, but it is much more difficult to get that word/idiom/phrase into your active vocabulary and be able to easily use it yourself. This is where PRACTICE comes in. PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE! (another catchphrase of mine). Once you learn the word, you need to use it!
Speaking with a native speaker is an excellent way to practice, but that may not be possible for everyone. I am always posting on facebook, twitter, pinterest and tumblr to help students surround themselves with English as much as possible. I hope that you will take advantage of it and spend a little time everyday to improve your English.
catchphrase (noun) a word or expression that is used repeatedly and conveniently to represent or characterize a person, group, idea, or point of view
come across (phrasal verb) to find or encounter, especially by chance