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I don’t know where to start for a job interview

Student: I don’t know where to start for a job interview in America because the system I use is only Russian.

Teacher:  Get comfortable with the terms in English so you can easily explain what you do in English.  This is going to require a lot of reading, both about the system itself  (in this case: 1C: Enterprise 8 )  and then general IT interview questions.

Interviews require a lot of research.   You need to know exactly what they are looking for and explain how you fit their needs.  You also need to know about the company and their practices.  In the IT industry the required skill set may be the same, but how the companies operate vary from one to the next.   You need to find out how they operate and make sure that your answers fit with how they do things.

 

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http://voxy.com/proven-approach/

It takes a long time to learn a language if you only study once a week. With regular practice, even in small amounts, your skills will remain sharp and you will h ave frequent opportunities to improve.

I’ve been saying that for years! … just in different words 😉 I found this quote when I was reading about Voxy (http://voxy.com/proven-approach/)

People often ask me, “How long will it take to improve my English?” I respond with the same answer every time, “That depends on YOU and how much time you are willing to put into it.” I have spent thousands of hours speaking with people on Skype and I have worked with all levels of learners. I have had students who use websites for grammar, listen to podcasts, watch youtube, and even practice with facebook and twitter. And others who think that speaking to a native speaker once a week is going to be the key to their English success, but don’t have time for those other things. Who do you think excels faster?

excel: Be exceptionally good at or proficient in an activity or subject

YOU NEED TO PRACTICE EVERYDAY -even just a little tiny bit! Get your brain thinking in English at least once a day.

  • read the English version of your local news
  • make your homepage a site that you like to use to practice your English, so everyday it is IN YOUR FACE
  • need to know something? Google it in English
  • follow blogs (in English) that interest you
  • facebook – twitter – pinterest – reddit
  • find a site that you like that has daily grammar activities and exercises… give your brain a work-out (just reading isn’t enough)
  • find a radio station (in an English speaking country) you like and stream it online
  • watch TV series and movies
  • write a ‘phrase a day’ on a post-it and stick it where you will see it

HELP ME ADD TO THIS LIST! What do you do to improve your English everyday?

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Gustavo – Brazil

 

Gustavo, from Brazil, found me on twitter and signed up for lessons to improve his English so that he could get a job in the USA. He is a software developer and is an Android aficionado. We worked together on his CV and interviewing skills and it must have paid off because now he is living in New York City!

aficionado: A person who likes, knows about, and appreciates a particular interest or activity

 

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Other ways to say ‘SAID’

“He doesn’t see us hiding here”, whispered Jose.

“I LOVE pizza more than anything in the world”, grinned Ray.

Our mother was always scolding us, “Stop teasing your brother!”

“I hate school”, complained the little boy.

“Stop tickling me”, Jennifer laughed.

My father demanded, “Give me those car keys!”

Tony asked, “Why do we have to go home now?”

As I watched the dog chasing his own tail, I thought, “I wonder why he does that?”

“GO TEAM GO”, I yelled from the bleachers.

“Why don’t you give me back my doll”, cried the little girl. “”Because I don’t want to”, replied Henry.

“That dress looks great on you”, I lied.

“Please can we have tacos for dinner”, Allison begged. “Nooo, I hate tacos”, whined her brother.

“I got the highest score”, I bragged. “Good for you!”, exclaimed Kate.

” I hate mornings”, moaned Zack.

“AHH! That is hot!”, shrieked Sarah as she dropped the hot plate.

“I don’t think you should go to that party”, warned Dennis. “Well I want to go and I will go”, argued Fred.

 

 

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Adjectives

St

udent:   I can't understand it. What's the grammar rule ?

Screen shot 2013-04-17 at 12.31.23 PM

Teacher:  You are treating these words as verbs, but they are adjectives in these sentences.  They are describing the feelings of the subject.    A few simple examples:  I am annoyed.  She is excited to go on vacation.  The dog was tired.  Marathons are exhausting.

Think of emoticons (from skype) when you are trying to decide if a word is an adjective…  neutral I am bored.  

Here is a 'text book' explanation from http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/adjectives.htm

Adjectives that are really Participles, verb forms with -ing and -ed endings, can be troublesome for some students. It is one thing to be a frightened child; it is an altogether different matter to be a frightening child. Do you want to go up to your professor after class and say that you are confused or that you are confusing? Generally, the -ed ending means that the noun so described (“you”) has apassive relationship with something — something (the subject matter, the presentation) has bewildered you and you are confused. The -ing ending means that the noun described has a more active role — you are not making any sense so you are confusing (to others, including your professor).

The -ed ending modifiers are often accompanied by prepositions (these are not the only choices):

  • We were amazed at all the circus animals.
  • We were amused by the clowns.
  • We were annoyed by the elephants.
  • We were bored by the ringmaster.
  • We were confused by the noise.
  • We were disappointed by the motorcycle daredevils.
  • We were disappointed in their performance.
  • We were embarrassed by my brother.
  • We were exhausted from all the excitement.
  • We were excited by the lion-tamer.
  • We were excited about the high-wire act, too.
  • We were frightened by the lions.
  • We were introduced to the ringmaster.
  • We were interested in the tent.
  • We were irritated by the heat.
  • We were opposed to leaving early.
  • We were satisfied with the circus.
  • We were shocked at the level of noise under the big tent.
  • We were surprised by the fans' response.
  • We were surprised at their indifference.
  • We were tired of all the lights after a while.
  • We were worried about the traffic leaving the parking lot.

Do you have any questions?  Please!  Feel free to contact me with them

 

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Frequently Confused Words #1 Tell and Say

For my first post I want to try to help you to understand when and how to use tell and say . This is often a big problem for many English learners.

So, when to use tell? Tell is used for instructions and information and we usually say who is told (a personal object) as in this example:  I told Peter to finish his homework (instruction) and here’s another Please tell him I will be late (information).

We tell someone something.

Also, we tell the time, tell a story, tell a lie, tell the truth, tell a joke and tell the difference.

The teacher told a story to the class

I was telling a joke to Emma

If you tell the truth he will understand

 

Say is more often used in direct speech and to report someone’s words and is often used without a personal object, for example:he said it was my last chance.

What did you say? I  said the exam will take 2 hours.

When a personal object is used say is always followed by ‘to’: I said to him that we will be leaving at 9.00pm. & Please say to Tom; I’ll call him when I return

Say is used to ask about language: How do you say that in French?

Also, we say hello, goodbye, please, thank you, yes, no, Happy Birthday, congratulations.

Now why not follow this link to practice using say and tell?

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Sentence starters, transitional and other useful words

Student: I’ve noticed I use the same speech patterns every lesson. I mean some of sentence structures like “it depends…”, “I think/suppose/guess …”, and etc. Does exist some common speech patterns helping to speak? 

Teacher: The fact that you notice it yourself means that you are conscious of it and going to be looking for other options 😉 Listen to others and how they start their sentences. Sitcoms are a good tool to observe “natural” speech patterns. Podcasts and interviews about topics you are interested in will be helpful as well. For natural speak- stay away from stuffy news programs or topics that don’t interest you.

Here are about 10,000 examples to get you started  >  http://www2.eit.ac.nz/library/ls_guides_sentencestarters.html

Do you have any questions?  Please!  Feel free to contact me with them

 

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Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal Verbs. Yuck. A phrasal verb is a verb plus a preposition or adverb which creates a meaning different from the original verb. Basically, when some words are used together, they form a new “word” (they have a meaning that has NOTHING to do with the two words that are combined).

common phrasal verbs

UsingEnglish has a great way to practice common phrasal verbs>>

The verbs in the list below all have several different phrasal verbs associated with them. The number in brackets represents the number of phrasal verbs available containing that verb. Clicking on a verb will take you to a quiz of between 5 and 10 questions designed to test your understanding of the phrasal verbs in that group. If a group has more than 10 phrasal verbs in it a random selection of questions will be presented for that verb.

http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/phrasal-verbs/quizzes-verbs.html

 

You basically have to treat these as “new” vocabulary. Train your brain to recognize them together and then pull up that meaning. See, right there! Pull up. Do you know the meaning of pull+up? Sadly, some phrasal verbs have more than one meaning 🙁 So context is also very important. If you google it, you will see this:

pull up

Does that exercise (shown in the picture) fit with my sentence? Train your brain to recognize them together and then pull up that meaning.

What do you think?

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Prepositions of Place: at, in, on

I’ve seen many ways to help students understand prepositions and I have come to the conclusion that EnglishClub does it the best!

In general, we use:

  • at for a POINT
  • in for an ENCLOSED SPACE
  • on for a SURFACE
at in on
POINT ENCLOSED SPACE SURFACE
at the corner in the garden on the wall
at the bus stop in London on the ceiling
at the door in France on the door
at the top of the page in a box on the cover
at the end of the road in my pocket on the floor
at the entrance in my wallet on the carpet
at the crossroads in a building on the menu
at the front desk in a car on a page

Look at these examples:

  • Jane is waiting for you at the bus stop.
  • The shop is at the end of the street.
  • My plane stopped at Dubai and Hanoi and arrived in Bangkok two hours late.
  • When will you arrive at the office?
  • Do you work in an office?
  • I have a meeting in New York.
  • Do you live in Japan?
  • Jupiter is in the Solar System.
  • The author’s name is on the cover of the book.
  • There are no prices on this menu.
  • You are standing on my foot.
  • There was a “no smoking” sign on the wall.
  • I live on the 7th floor at 21 Oxford Street in London.

Notice the use of the prepositions of place at, in and on in these standard expressions:

at in on
at home in a car on a bus
at work in a taxi on a train
at school in a helicopter on a plane
at university in a boat on a ship
at college in a lift (elevator) on a bicycle, on a motorbike
at the top in the newspaper on a horse, on an elephant
at the bottom in the sky on the radio, on television
at the side in a row on the left, on the right
at reception in Oxford Street on the way

http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/prepositions-at-in-on-place.htm

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Prepositions of Time: at, in, on

I've seen many ways to help students understand prepositions and I have come to the conclusion that EnglishClub does it the best!  

We use:

  • at for a PRECISE TIME
  • in for MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG PERIODS
  • on for DAYS and DATES
at in on
PRECISE TIME MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG PERIODS DAYS and DATES
at 3 o'clock in May on Sunday
at 10.30am in summer on Tuesdays
at noon in the summer on 6 March
at dinnertime in 1990 on 25 Dec. 2010
at bedtime in the 1990s on Christmas Day
at sunrise in the next century on Independence Day
at sunset in the Ice Age on my birthday
at the moment in the past/future on New Year's Eve

Look at these examples:

  • I have a meeting at 9am.
  • The shop closes at midnight.
  • Jane went home at lunchtime.
  • In England, it often snows in December.
  • Do you think we will go to Jupiter in the future?
  • There should be a lot of progress in the next century.
  • Do you work on Mondays?
  • Her birthday is on 20 November.
  • Where will you be on New Year's Day?

Notice the use of the preposition of time at in the following standard expressions:

Expression Example
at night The stars shine at night.
at the weekend* I don't usually work at the weekend.
at Christmas*/Easter I stay with my family at Christmas.
at the same time We finished the test at the same time.
at present He's not home at present. Try later.

Notice the use of the prepositions of time in and on in these common expressions:

in on
in the morning on Tuesday morning
in the mornings on Saturday mornings
in the afternoon(s) on Sunday afternoons
in the evening(s) on Monday evening

When we say last, next, every, this we do not also use at, in, on.

  • I went to London last June. (not in last June)
  • He's coming back next Tuesday. (not on next Tuesday)
  • I go home every Easter. (not at every Easter)
  • We'll call you this evening. (not in this evening)

http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/prepositions-at-in-on-time.htm

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