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Tips on making “small talk”

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,

  • “The weather today is beautiful, isn’t it?”
  • “I can’t believe how (hard it is raining/sunny it is/much snow is) outside!”
  • “What are they calling for* tomorrow?/They are calling for* (rain/snow/sunshine/clouds) tomorrow.”

*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:

  • “Did you hear about….”
  • “I can’t believe the news about….”
  • “What do you think about….”(used often for discussing opinion)
  • “Did you see….” (used often for news stories on TV)

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:

  • “What do you think about the new (item in the office)”
  • “I love your shoes! Where did you get them?”
  • “Did you watch the game last night? What did you think?” (for talking about sports)
  • “Have you eaten at any good restaurants lately?”

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!

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Eurovision’s Favourite Language – And the 12 Points Go To English!

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

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Common Mistakes in Speaking and Writing 

Here are three errors that I regularly encounter inside and outside the classroom. Do you make these mistakes? Listen to yourself, and check your writing. These are some errors that are not deadly or fatal because native speakers usually understand what you mean. Because of that, they will rarely correct you. Nevertheless, these mistakes mark you as not quite as advanced or proficient in English as you may think you are.

Common Mistake 1

At lunchtime, I often hear students asking each other if they want to go outside and eat together.

INCORRECT:
A: “Do you like to eat lunch with us today?”
B: “Yeah, sure. Where do you go?”

What’s wrong with this dialog? To ask someone to join you for lunch, we would say,

CORRECT: 
A: ” Would you like to eat lunch with us today?” OR “Do you want to eat lunch with us today?” (more informal)
B: “Yeah, sure. Where are you going/are you going to go?”

EXPLANATION:
In English, the present simple using ‘do you like to…’ is not a request form. Also, B’s response asking for more information using the simple present sounds odd because the speakers are talking about ‘right now.’ Thus, the appropriate question asking for more information about the plan for lunch would be “Where are you going/are you going to go?” (present continuous/future plan)

Common Mistake 2

Another common error especially in speaking for the Cambridge or for the iBT (TOEFL) test is

INCORRECT:
”I would prefer to study by my own rather than study with others.”

CORRECT:
”I would prefer to study on my own/by myself rather than study with others.”

EXPLANATION:
Prepositions are such a pain in the you-know-what, aren’t they? I always tell advanced level students that prepositions are the last thing to master in English. These little words (in, on, at, by, for, to, and so on) quickly mark people – even those who have lived in the U.S. for decades – as foreign-born  (including British English speakers, e.g., ‘on the weekend’ vs. ‘at the weekend’). 😉

Common Mistake 3

Students need to be able to express their opinions. Of course, the easiest way to start off your sentence is to say, “In my opinion, …..” However, there are other ways to begin a discourse about your personal views.

INCORRECT:
”In my point of view, we should raise taxes on gasoline.”

CORRECT:
”From my point of view, we should raise taxes on gasoline.”
”In my view, we should raise taxes on gasoline.”

To try to give a visual image of how to use these last two expressions correctly, I often draw a mountain peak with a little person standing on top. From that point, the person can see a lot, but (s)he is not in that point.

I hope this helps you to improve your speech so that you sound more native.

Confusing WordsVocabulary

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The 3 best ways to learn new vocabulary

Flashcards

Flashcards can be very effective as long as you are aware of their limitations and don’t overdo it so that it becomes a chore. Of course they work best with pairs of words that have a close correspondence between languages, typically basic nouns.  Single word flashcards will get you quickly up and running with some basic vocabulary, although in the longer term you will want to use whole sentences so that you understand how the words are used in context. Of course as you read, and listen, eventually you will just naturally absorb words after you have encountered them enough times. This is probably the best way, but is a bit more of a long term method. Also over time you learn to recognise parts of words with common meanings and patterns that make it easier to remember.

Notebook

1- Get a notebook and draw columns in it.
2- Write new words in the first column so every row starts with a new word.
3- Title the remaining columns as “day 1, day 2, day 3, week 1, week 2, month 1” etc, that indicates when you saw the word last time, for example “day 3” on 15/04/14, “week 1” will be on 22/04/14.
4- On the next page, write the meaning of each word.
5- In front of every word there will be 6 blank rows, if you remember the meaning of that word, fill in the blank with a ‘+’ sign, if not fill in the blank with a ‘-‘ sign.
6- You can refer to the next page if you don’t remember a word’s meaning and see its meaning again
7- You can also use a part of notebook for the grammar.

If you can remember the meaning of the word in “month 1” then you have memorised the word forever!

Post-it Notes

Use a wall to cover with word stickers! You may want to buy stickers of different colours (one colour for one part of speech, for example, of even one colour for one word, if you need to memorise the forms of one word, or phrases). You can then also play with it, creating sentences! You may even put stickers on objects, such as pieces of furniture to memorise the words for them. Although remember that in the long run you need to memorise not words but phrases, to find out how words ‘behave’ in different contexts. It’s particularly true for English because of the quirkiness of spelling verses pronunciation.

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Having a ‘whoop’ of a time thinking about ‘whoops a daisy’!

Have you seen the movie ‘Notting Hill’? Have you seen the scene where Hugh Grant keeps saying ‘whoops a daisy!’?

 

‘Whoops a daisy!’ is an expression of surprise or dismay, as shown by Hugh Grant when he fails to climb over the garden wall. The modern-day equivalent is thought to probably be ‘Doh!’ The term has been shortened to “whoops” and some people think it may be related to the expression “to whoop,” as in giving “whoops of joy.”
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With regards to the historical background of “whoop” as a verb, it relates to a falconer who whoops his hawks and dates back to the early 1400s.  If you cried ‘whoop’ during a hunt this would indicate to your fellow hunters that your quarry, your target animal, or game, was dead.
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Whoop also appears in slang, for example ‘to whoop it up’  which means to have a jolly good time, or to ‘live it up’. “Making whoopee” arose in the US around 1927. Plus, something not so pleasant, for us Brits the term “whoopsie” is apparently a child’s word for excrement. So for anyone who mixes American and British English you must be careful to be clear between making whoopie, and making whoopsie! Things could go really wrong!
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Finally, yes people really do say this! Well… I do, and so does Hugh Grant!
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Click

This cartoon is based on the double meaning of click.
click_idiom
A click is a short, sharp sound.
“The door closed with a click.”
“Turn the handle until you hear a click.”In informal English, click is used to describe what happens when you suddenly understand or remember something.
“When she started talking about Boston, it suddenly clicked where I had met her before.”
“I had to read the report a couple of times before it clicked.”A seat belt fastens around someone travelling in a vehicle or aircraft and holds them in their seat if there is an accident.

more helpful vocabulary from …
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“Oo” vs. “W” – Especially for my Japanese students!

This topic is one that doesn’t seem to be a problem for some people when learning English, but I’ve seen that it can be especially difficult for Japanese learners. Because most Japanese learn with カタカナ(katakana), some of the sounds are not exactly right.

For example,

ウ is the English sound for “oo,”  as in “blue,” “chew,” or “do.”

Unfortunately, sometimes theウ sound is also understood to be the “w” sound as in “would” or “winter.” Actually. these “w” sounds do not exist in the Japanese language. It will take some extra training to learn how to move your mouth to pronounce this sound. You can do it!

oo

Above is a picture of pronouncing “ウ” or “oo,” that most of you know how to do.   Simply make a small circle with your lips when you are pronouncing the sound (find the full lesson here).

w

This picture, however, is more difficult to do. Try to focus on closing your lips a little more, and bringing them in closer to your teeth. Also, the “w” sound is not a whole syllable like the “ウ” sound, it is only the first part of a longer sound. So, say it quickly.

Try to pronounce these words without using the “ウ” sound:

Winter.
Weather.
Where.
Win.
Sweet.
Rewind.
When.
Why.
While.

Did it sound different from the “ウ” sound? If not, try again and listen to the lesson here. Keep trying until you get the sound you want, practice makes a better English speaker!

“Oo” vs. “W” – Especially for my Japanese students!

 

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Oxford Comma

It’s just a comma! Or is it?
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I’ve had a lot of questions recently about punctuation and the role it plays in English. So is punctuation important when you speak English? I think so. Let’s look at the simple comma.
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Some people say that commas can help you put pauses in a sentence, to help you speak with clarity and definition. I agree. I think that they help you to deliver a message clearly. Yet others insist there are rules for when you use a comma or not, although they do help you to translate written words into effective verbal communication, with the correct significance.
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In truth, there is a lot of discussion about it. There is a comma, known as the Oxford comma, which the rules of American English do not see as important but the rules of British English insist you use correctly. This is the comma used before the coordinating conjunction (e.g. and, or, etc.) at the end of a list.
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For example,
‘I booked the comedians, Laurel and Hardy.’ This could signify that you booked some comedians for your celebration and they were called Laurel and Hardy. Yet if you write, ‘I booked the comedians, Laurel, and Hardy.’ This signifies that both Laurel and Hardy were booked for the event, as well as some comedians.
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I like the idea of using the Oxford comma, but what do you think?

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Connected Speech

What is connected speech?

Simply put, connected speech is when a speaker puts words or sounds together in a sentence such as “gonna” (going to) or “wanna” (want to). Usually, this is not understood at all by the English learner!!

Have you ever heard something like “I’m gonna go ta tha store, do ya wanna come?” What does this mean??
When the native English speaker says things like this ^, it is usually just to make their speech easier and more efficient. In fact, the main goal of a native speaker is usually not to be correct, but to be efficient. So, when you are trying to speak perfectly, remember that even native speakers don’t always sound perfect! Elemental English discusses this topic here. 

So, let me explain the sentence “I’m gonna go ta tha store, do ya wanna come?”

Correctly written, it is “I am going to the store, do you want to come?”

“Going to” changes to “gonna,” “to the” changes to “ta tha,” “you” changes to “ya,” and “want to” changes to wanna.” Of course, this is not correct English and should never be in writing… However, if you want to better understand native speakers, I would recommend practicing listening for these connected words.

Below is a great example of connected speech in a scene from the classic movie “Remember the Titans.” Watch the video and see if you can understand what they’re saying. If it is difficult, try reading the text below and notice the connected speech. Does it make sense this time? Great!

Bertier: Aight man. Listen, I’m Gerry, you’re Julius. Let’s just get some particulars and get this over with, alright?

Big Ju: Particulars? Man, no matter what I tell you, you ain’t never gonna know nothin about me.

Bertier: Hey- Listen, I ain’t running any more of these three-a- days, okay?

Big Ju: Well, what I’ve got to say, you really don’t wanna hear ‘cuz honesty ain’t too high upon your people’s priorities list, right?

Bertier: Honesty? You want honesty? Alright, honestly, I think you’re nothing. Nothing but a pure waste of God-given talent. You don’t listen to nobody, man! Not even Doc or Boone! Shiver push on the line everytime and you blow right past ‘em! Push ‘em, pull ‘em, do something! You run over everybody in this league, and everytime you do you leave one of your teammates hanging out to dry, me in particular!

Big Ju: Why should I give a hoot about you, huh? Or anybody else out there? You wanna talk about the ways you’re the captain?

Bertier: Right.

Big Ju: Captains supposed to be the leader, right? Bertier: Right.

Big Ju: You got a job?

Bertier: I have a job.

Big Ju: You been doing your job?

Bertier: I’ve been doing my job.

Big Ju: Then why don’t you tell your white buddies to block for Rev better? ‘Cause they have not blocked for him worth a blood nickel, and you know it! Nobody plays. Yourself included. I’m supposed to wear myself out for the team? What team? No, no, what I’m gonna do is I’m gonna look out for myself and I’m gonn get mine.

Bertier: See man, that’s the worst attitude I ever heard. Big Ju: Attitude reflects leadership, captain.

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Easter Bunny

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.

easterbunny-1

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.

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How do you celebrate Easter in YOUR country?

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