In this pronunciation practice video, we’ll do some exercises to practice the L and R consonant sounds at the beginning of a word or syllable. Get your mirror ready, so you can make sure that your mouth is doing the same thing as my mouth. If you need to review how to make these sounds, watch this video first. Let’s get started!

That’s it! If you still have trouble hearing the difference between L & R, watch this video again. Watch it as many times as necessary for you to hear the difference … and remember: practice these sounds for AT LEAST 15 minutes every day! Good luck, and I’ll see you in the next video.

Monday, May 21 is a public holiday in Canada and the last day of a 3-day weekend! It’s Victoria Day, and we call the entire weekend the ‘Victoria Day Long Weekend.’

May 24 is Queen Victoria’s birthday. I can hear you asking, ‘who?’ She was the Queen of the British Empire from 1837–1901. She is the longest-serving British monarch in history, and the longest-serving female monarch in the world. When she became queen, the land that is now the country of Canada was part of the British Empire. During her reign, the British Empire greatly expanded, and became the dominant world power. Also during her reign, Canada officially became a country, although we were still part of the British Empire.

The Victoria Day Long Weekend is also considered the unofficial start of summer! It’s the weekend when people open up their cottages and start planting their gardens. Winter is long gone, so there is no longer a threat of snow or frost!

Some people celebrate Victoria Day by attending a parade or setting off fireworks. Some people spend the day relaxing, or having picnics or barbecues with friends. What goes better with a barbecue on a beautiful summer day than beer?! For beer companies, this is one of their biggest selling weekends! It helps that in Canada, one way to buy beer is in a case of 24 bottles, which in Canadian slang is called ‘a two-four.’ Amongst young people this weekend is also known as ‘the May two-four weekend.’

Strangely, we’re the only country that celebrates Queen Victoria’s birthday with a public holiday. It’s rumoured that she never actually visited Canada! Furthermore, it’s a moveable holiday, so Victoria Day doesn’t always fall on her actual May 24 birthday. To ensure that Victoria Day would always fall on a Monday, thereby making it a long weekend, it is always on the last Monday before May 25th.

Some people think that celebrating a dead British queen is antiquated, but I think it’s an important part of our history. Canada is still part of the British Commonwealth, and the current queen, Elizabeth II, is still our head of state. Queen Elizabeth II is on one side of all our coins she’s on our $20 bill! For a lot of people in Canada, Victoria Day is just as important to our country as Canada Day [July 1] is!

*If this post seems familiar, it was previously a podcast put out in 2010.

/mɑ:kjə’mɛntri/

Sacha Baron Cohen’s new movie The Dictator comes out this weekend! This style of film is called a mockumentary. This word has been around since at least the 1980s, when director Rob Reiner described his film This is Spinal Tap as a mockumentary!

mockumentary = mock + documentary

mock = (adj.) fake / artificial / pretend, but made to seem real!

a documentary = A fact-based movie about real people and real events; not a fictional story with actors and actress

(Mock is also a verb. To mock someone/something means to make fun of someone/something although not always in a friendly way. People mock someone/something to make other people laugh, but sometimes it can be considered insulting.)

A mockumentary is a film in the style of a serious documentary, but it’s a comedy film about fictional (not real) people and events. A mockumentary makes fun of someone or something. For example, The Dictator is about Admiral General Aladeen (not a real person!), a dictator from the Republic of Wadiya (not a real country!). It is believed to be loosely based on Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. The movie makes fun of the way Gaddafi’s lived and ruled his country.

Synonyms: parody, satire, spoof

Other mockumentaries:
Best in Show
Tropic Thunder
Drop Dead Gorgeous
Borat
Brüno

Do you enjoy watching mockumentaries?

In this video, I explain how to pronounce the /l/ and /r/ consonant sounds at the beginning of a word or syllable! These sounds are often difficult for English learners from East Asia. I explain what to do with your lips and tongue to make these sounds.

By the end of this video, you’ll finally be able to pronounce the /l/ and /r/ consonant sounds!

Transcript:

Hi, everyone! I’m Melanie, and this is an English pronunciation lesson on how to pronounce the letters L and R at the beginning of a word or a syllable.

You need a small mirror so you can make sure that your mouth is doing the same thing as my mouth.

Let’s get started!

1. IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) Symbols
This is the letter l. This is the symbol for the the /l/ consonant sound.

This is the letter r. This is the symbol for the English consonant sound, however most dictionaries and English pronunciation books use this
symbol instead.

2. Continuants
The L and R consonant sounds are continuants. We can continue making these sounds as long as we have air in our lungs. The sound does not change until
we move into a new sound. When L & R occur at the beginning of a word or a syllable, they are always followed by a vowel sound, so the L & R consonant
sounds smoothly move into the vowel sounds.

3. Lips
When I make the /l/ consonant sound, my lips are completely relaxed. My lips are slightly open, but they don’t move and they’re not rounded.

Check your lips in your mirror. Make sure your lips are in the same position as mine.

When I make the /r/ consonant sound, the corners of my lips move in, my lips are rounded, and they stick out a bit.

Check your mirror. Make sure your lips are in the same position as my lips.

If you don’t have the same /r/ sound in your language, it can feel very awkward making this sound. Many of my students tell me is that they
feel silly making this sound. It does not feel natural or comfortable, and they worry that they’ll look funny with their lips sticking out.
It is very important for you to know that you don’t look silly making this sound. You look like you’re speaking English!

4. Tongue
When I make the /l/ sound, the tip of my tongue is pressed against the gum ridge. In your mouth, the gum ridge is the area right behind your top teeth.
You should be able to feel a hard, flat surface right behind your teeth top teeth. That’s where you want to place the tip of your tongue.

There are two ways you can make the /r/ sound.

It’s very important to remember that your tongue does not – DOES NOT! – touch the top of your mouth. That’s very important!

When I make the /r/ sound, I can feel that my tongue is curled up – not all the way back and not touching the top of my mouth. It’s just curled slightly
up, pointing towards the gum ridge.

However, if that is too difficult for you, here is an easier way …

In the back of your mouth, press the back sides of your tongue up against your back top teeth, while keeping the front of your tongue down.

Try both methods and find the one that works best for you.

5. Practice
Practice these sounds for at least 15 mintues every day until they feel as natural and comfortable as sounds in your language. You have to teach your
brain the correct mouth position for these two English sounds.

In the next video, we’ll practice some words, phrases, and sentences with l and r at the beginning of a word or syllable.

I hope you enjoyed this video! Thanks for watching. I’m Melanie from EnglishTeacherMelanie.com. Goodbye everyone!

Do you celebrate Mother’s Day in your country? When is it?

What did you do for your mother on Mother’s Day? -OR- What are you going to do for your mother on Mother’s Day?

~

Throughout history, mothers have been celebrated for giving us life and taking care of us until we are ready to go out into the world on our own. Mothers dry our tears when we’re hurt and love us unconditionally. In Canada and the U.S., we celebrate Mother’s Day on the 2nd Sunday in May. This year it is on May 13. It’s a day to thank our moms for everything they have done for us. People spend so much money on phone calls and gifts on Mother’s Day, that it’s the second biggest holiday next to Christmas in terms of how much money is spent! Can you believe that?

I always thought Mother’s Day was invented by Hallmark to sell more cards, but it was actually invented by an American woman named Anna Jarvis. In 1907, she decided to have a ceremony to honour her mother who had died a couple years earlier. It probably would have been better if Ms. Jarvis had honoured her mother while she was still alive, but better late than never! They’d had an argument, and Ms. Jarvis felt guilty that she was not able to make up with her mother before she died. She later campaigned tirelessly for the day to be recognized across America, and in 1914 American President Wilson declared Mother’s Day a national holiday on the 2nd Sunday in May! The funny thing is, Ms. Jarvis never became a mother herself! At some point in history, Canada decided to observe Mother’s Day on this day too.

My mother likes our family to have dinner together on Mother’s Day. Last year we had dinner at home, but this year she would like to go out to a restaurant. I will give my mother her gift before we go out for dinner. I bought her the complete DVD set of her favourite TV series! She has wanted this for a long time, so I am happy that she’ll finally have it!

Vocabulary
Hallmark
I always thought Mother’s Day was invented by Hallmark to sell more cards
= an American company that has many stores throughout the U.S. and Canada, and sells cards for every occasion.

a holiday
= a day of celebration; a ‘public holiday’ means no one has to go work.
= it could also mean a vacation.

to make up (with someone)
..and Ms. Jarvis felt guilty that she was not able to make up with her mother before she died.
= Ms. Jarvis was not able to apologize to her mother or correct whatever was wrong between them; she was not able to make their relationship better

tirelessly (adverb)
She later campaigned tirelessly …
= someone who does something with a lot of energy, without stopping and without getting tired

*If this looks familiar to you, it was originally a podcast from 2010.

I suggest that you visit Paris before you die. It’s a beautiful city!
(Photo by Moyan Brenn)

I notice that a lot of English learners struggle with the verb suggest, so I want to explain how to use it properly. The verb suggest (to mention or recommend something to think about or something someone should do) is an unusual English verb. It is not used in a sentence the same way that other verbs are.

For example, these sentences are NOT correct:

The company suggested us to take an extra day off.
I hope you suggest us a good hotel.

This is the most common way that English learners try to use the verb, but it is incorrect.

Why are these incorrect? Suggest is never followed by a direct personal object (like ‘you’ or ‘us’), and it is never followed by an infinitive.

Here are 3 ways that you CAN use the verb suggest:

1. Suggest + that-clause + the subjunctive
Don’t let the word ‘subjunctive’ scare you! This is not a verb tense that you need to memorize. It is not used very often. All you need to remember is that the subjunctive is the same as the base form of the verb.

Suggest is most commonly followed by a that-clause in which the subjunctive is used:

subject + suggest + (that*) + subject + subjunctive

*In this that-clause, ‘that’ can be left out of the sentence

Let’s rewrite sentence #1 from above:

The company suggested us to take an extra day off.
The company suggested (that) we take an extra day off.

More example sentences:
She suggests (that) we go out for dinner after the movie.

My parents suggested (that) I get a job after school.

Her brother suggests (that) she study harder so she can get into a good university.

Negative:
The teacher suggested (that) we not waste time playing video games after school.

2. Suggest + gerund
An infinitive is never used after suggest. If you use a verb after suggest, the verb must be in the gerund form. The meaning of the sentence is the same as using the subjunctive.

We can rewrite sentence #1 from the top of the post:

The company suggested us to take an extra day off.
The company suggested taking an extra day off.

More example sentences:

Her brother suggests studying harder so she can get into a good university.

My trainer suggests eating less and exercising more.

Her family suggested waiting a few years before she gets married.

3. Suggest + noun
This is the form to use when you are talking directly TO someone! However, you do not need to say who you are talking to.

Let’s rewrite sentence #2 from the top of this post. You want someone to tell you about a good hotel:

X: I hope you suggest us a good hotel.
I hope you can suggest a good hotel (to me).

It may help to remember this: you suggest something (to someone)

More example sentences
Can you suggest some interesting apps?

No politician has suggested a way to improve the economy.

Suggest an idea for a blog post!

He suggested several different things to do after dinner.

The company is looking for a new marketing manager, so I suggested Mary for the job.

Hopefully this blog post has helped you to better understand the verb suggest!

I began this post after an English learner on Facebook asked about the names of baby animals. I soon realized we have a lot of other words associated with animals, like different words for male & female animals, words for their meat, and words for the sounds they make, so I decided to write a post with as many words as I could think of for animals! It became a very long list, so I decided to focus on a specific group of animals in this post: farm animals.

Farm animals in North America are collectively called livestock (cows, horses, pigs, etc.). Poultry is the collective term for birds raised on a farm for meat and eggs (chicken, ducks, turkey, etc.).

Farm animals have been domesticated. They are animals that have been tamed and trained for work (or to live with humans). The opposite of tamed and domesticated animals is wild animals (or animals that live in the wild).

(Photo by Rick Harrison)

Cattle (commonly known as ‘cows’)
- a male is a bull
- a male that has had its sex organs removed & is used mainly for meat is a steer
- a female is a cow
- a baby is a calf
- a group of cattle is a herd, (a herd of cattle, a herd of cows)
- meat from cattle is called beef, meat from calves is called veal
- the sound a cow makes is moo*

NOTES:
*Moo is an example of onomatopoeia, a word created to imitate a sound (in this case, a sound that an animal makes); in English there is often a verb to describe the way an animal makes a sound, and a noun to represent the sound

(Photo by Compassion in World Farming)

Chickens
- a male chicken is a rooster
- a female chicken is a hen
- a baby is a chick
- a hen lays eggs; when the chicks hatch (come out of the eggs), the hen has a brood of chicks
- a group of chickens is a flock, (a flock of chickens)
- a chicken clucks (verb) to make a sound, and the sound it makes is cluck (noun)
- meat from a chicken is … chicken

NOTES:
- chick is also a slang word for a young girl (it is sometimes considered offensive)
- a brood is also used to describe all the children in a big family

(Photo by Klearchos Kapoutsis )

Donkeys
- a male donkey is a jack or a jackass
- a female donkey is a a jenny
- a baby donkey is a colt or a foal
- a donkey brays (verb) when it makes a sound, and the sound it makes is hee haw (in American English) or eeyore (in British English, where the ‘r’ is not pronounced)
- donkeys are kept on farms mainly for labour, not for their meat

NOTES:
- donkeys are thought to be dumb animals, so the term jackass now also means a stupid person in English (it is a very impolite & sometimes offensive word)
- Eeyore is also the name of the donkey in the stories of Winnie-the-Pooh

(Photo by Kevin Collins)

Goats
- a male goat is a buck or a billy (a billy goat)
- a female goat is a nanny (a nanny goat)
- a baby goat is a kid (yes, the same word for a young human!)
- a goat bleats (verb), but there is no word for the sound it makes
- meat from a goat is called … goat meat

(Photo by Milos Milosevic)

Horses
- a male horse is a stallion; if the horse is used to breed (to produce more horses),  it is called a stud
- a female horse is a mare
- a baby horse is a foal (male – colt, female – filly)
- the sound horse makes is neigh; a horse also whinnies (makes a high sound)
- horse meat is not eaten in North America

NOTES:
- a pony is a small horse (it could mean a child horse, or it could mean a breed of horses that is smaller than others)
- stud is also a word used jokingly to describe a young, attractive man who has no problem finding women to have sex with; an even funnier term is stud muffin
- the word horse is used in a lot of idioms in English; here’s one of them:

Wild horses couldn’t drag it out of me! = I will not tell you my secret ['it' = secret information]!

(Photo by Woodley Wonder Works)

Pigs
- a male pig is a boar
- a female pig is a sow
- a baby pig is a piglet; a female pig gives birth to a litter of piglets
- the sound a pig makes is oink
- pig meat is called pork

NOTES:
- pigs can’t fly, but a common expression in English is when pigs fly, meaning something will never happen!

He says he’ll get a Mac when pigs fly!

It can also be used to answer a question:

“Do you think you’ll get into Harvard?”
“When pigs fly!”

(Photo by Keven Law)

Sheep
*The singular & plural forms of sheep are the same: 1 sheep, 2 sheep, 3 sheep etc.
- a male sheep is a buck or ram
- a female sheep is a ewe
- a baby sheep is a lamb
- a group of sheep is a flock (a flock of sheep)
- when a sheep bleats (verb), the sound it makes is baa
- the meat from an adult sheep is called mutton; the meat from a lamb is … lamb

NOTES:
- in North American pop culture, counting sheep has become a common reference for sleep or insomnia (the inability to sleep); people who can’t sleep are told to imagine sheep jumping over a fence and then count them – a task so boring that it is supposed to put the person back to sleep!
- it doesn’t work, but in pop culture sheep have become a symbol for sleep!

(Photo by Amancay Maahs)

Turkey
- a male turkey is a tom
- a female turkey is a hen
- a baby turkey is a poult
- the sound a turkey makes is gobble
- meat from a turkey is … turkey

NOTES:
- a turkey is also a play or film that is failure or a flop, and it is also a silly, stupid, foolish person
- if you quit something cold turkey (like smoking), you just stop doing it, suddenly and completely, with no help

(Photo by Oliver Wilke)

In English, we use some fictional names in conversation. These are not names of real people! They are just names we use when we don’t know someone’s name, his/her name is not important, or we just need a funny name to call someone! These are names that are commonly used in American English.

Jane and John Doe
If you watch a lot of American TV shows and movies, you will have heard of these two people. Their names are frequently used in three different situations:

1. Unidentified dead bodies
Often police investigate a crime where someone has died or has been killed, but the name of the person is unknown. The body is simply called ‘Jane Doe’ (female) or ‘John Doe’ (male), until the police (or hospital, if the victim died in a hospital) can discover the identity of the body.

John Doe was found shot to death in the city park. If anyone has any information about his identity, please call the police.

2. A person must remain anonymous
Sometimes in legal cases, the name of person must be kept secret. The person must remain anonymous. Though the person is alive and has a real name, that person will still be called ‘Jane Doe’ or ‘John Doe.’

The woman was identified in the lawsuit as Jane Doe.

3. A placeholder name
Jane and John Doe are also used as an example to explain how to fill out a form.

Write your name on the form wherever you see the name John Doe.

Joe Blow and Joe Shmoe
(sometimes spelled Schmoe or Shmo)

A typical, ordinary, everyday person. These names are used in conversation when you are not talking about one person specifically, but an average, random person.

The average Joe Blow has really suffered during this recession.

Although he has been in many famous movies, he doesn’t seem any different than any other Joe Schmoe in the neighbourhood.

John Hancock
Someone’s signature. [A signature is your name in your handwriting. Usually you write your signature on official documents.]

*In this case, John Hancock is an actual person! He signed the U.S. Declaration of Independence with such a large and unique signature, that his name has now become a synonym of ‘signature.’ Sometimes, the name is shorted to just Hancock.

He has a guitar with Bryan Adams’ John Hancock on it!

collocation: to put one’s John Hancock (on something)
= to sign something

“Just put your Hancock right here on the contract.”

Nervous Nellie
A Nervous Nellie (or nervous Nellie) is someone who is very nervous or very fearful about something.

Mary is being a nervous Nellie about her party. She thinks no one is going to come!

“Stop being such a nervous Nellie! The plane is not going to crash!”

Debbie Downer
A Debbie Downer is someone who is really depressing or unpleasant to be around, someone who can really bring down the mood of a conversation.

Jane is a real Debbie Downer. Every time I talk to her, she always has something negative or depressing to say.

Michelle was really depressed about her breakup with Dan. She was such a Debbie Downer and ruined our whole trip to Mexico.

Whatsisname or Whatsisface
(Alternative spellings: whats-his-name, whatshisname, whats-her-name, whatshername, whats-his-face, whatshisface, whats-her-face, whatsherface)

*In American English pronunciation, the ‘h’ at the beginning of ‘her’ or ‘his’ is often not pronounced when the word is unstressed in the middle of a sentence.

This is what to call someone when you can’t remember his/her name, or you don’t know the persons name (and you don’t care). It’s not a polite name, but it’s often used in informal conversation.

“I went to a party last night at my friends house. Alan was there with his new girlfriend, whatserface.”

“You know the guy I’m taking about – whatsisname, the one who was in the movie with Brad Pitt!

Bob’s your uncle! [used mainly Britain and Canada]
(According to the dictionary, this expression is not commonly used in America, though I’m sure I’ve heard in an American movie or TV show.)

This is used at the end of a list of instructions or other explanation to express that something is very easy to do.

Assembling furniture from IKEA is very easy! You just lay out all the pieces, follow the simple instructions, and Bob’s your uncle!

Similar expressions: “There you go!” “You’re all set!”

Do you know any other fictional names used in English? Are there any fictional names used in your language?

This video was requested by an English learner on Twitter! I’m sure everyone is familiar with these names, but you may not be confident saying them out loud! In this pronunciation lesson, I explain how to pronounce:

Facebook
Flickr
Google+
LinkedIn
Pinterest
Tumblr
Twitter
YouTube

*NOTE: In English, there are two spellings of the word colour. In American English, the word is spelled color. I have used the American spelling in this post because many of these expressions are used mainly in American English. Everywhere else (Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, etc.), the word is spelled colour.

(Photo by Sir Fish)

An English learner recently asked me on Facebook to define some expressions in English that include color names! For each phrase, I have included a headline from an online newspaper that includes the phrase so you can see how it’s used in context. Here are 10 phrases and idioms in English that use color names!

a black eye – (1) an eye injury; the bruise (dark area on skin) that results when someone is punched/hit in the eye; (2) idiom – dishonour or shame

Trayvon Martin case is a black eye for Sanford

to blackball (someone) (verb) – to prevent someone from joining a group by voting against him/her, or to prevent a project from being approved by voting against it

Experts blackball Brisbane tower project

to blackmail (verb) / blackmail (noun) – a crime; to threaten to tell someone’s secrets or harm them in some way unless that person gives you money or does what you want them to do

Man posed as footballer to blackmail girlfriend

a brownout – a period of time in which electricity going to a house or building is reduced, because the power company cannot produce enough electricity to meet demand

Davao City downtown area hit by brownout as electric post falls

a blackout – (1) a period of time when there is no electricity and therefore no lights or power; more severe than a brownout

a blackout – (2) a period of time when information is deliberately kept from the public (for example, a media blackout)

US soldier’s lawyer slams Afghan killings ‘blackout’

a green thumb – If someone is good at gardening and is able to make plants grow, that person has a green thumb!

Michelle Obama shows off her green thumb.

a pink slip (idiom) – an announcement or notice from an employer that an employee is being laid off (the employee’s job is ending, the employee is not needed anymore)

55 employees receive pink slip from Hutchinson Regional Medical Center

a red flag (idiom) – a warning sign; anything that lets you know something is wrong, there is a problem, or there is danger ahead

Facebook’s defensive Instagram M&A [merger and acquisition] raises red flag

red ink – A situation where an organization, business, or government is losing money (by spending more money than it is taking in) and accumulating debt; in the past, when a company was in debt it was written in red ink in the accounting books

Red ink plagues ethanol producers this year

a white elephant (idiom) – something (a possession, business venture, a building, etc.) that is useless and not very valuable, but that requires a lot of care and money, much more care and money than the thing is worth

Egypt’s military struggles with Sinai, its white elephant

What are some other English expressions with color names?