Smart Educational Resources US

Parts of the body, bones and organs

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 06 May 2013 14:40:00 +0000

New English lesson overview, "Parts of the body" posted on the youtube video bar on the right hand column of this blog. For more information on my English video lessons you can follow this link: http://store.payloadz.com/results/results.aspx?m=248108

Passive Voice

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:18:00 +0000

Here is the structure of the Passive Voice: subject + auxiliary verb (be) + main verb (past participle).

After you have finished reading the structure read the short story, "Haunted House" and try to work out what the constructions in bold and italics mean.

Sometimes a modal verb can be used before the auxiliary verb: subject + modal verb (could)+ auxiliary verb (be) + main verb (past participle)
We use the passive when:

we want to make the active object more important

we do not know the active subject

A Model of Learning Objectives

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 11:33:00 +0000

I found this on stumbleupon under the topic of education, "A Model of Learning Objectives" Stumbleupon helps you easily discover new and interesting stuff on the Web. Tell us what you like, and we’ll introduce you to amazing web pages, videos, photos and more that you wouldn’t have found on your own.

As you Stumble through great web pages, tell us whether you Like or Dislike our recommendations so we can show you more of what’s best for you. We’ll show you web pages based on that feedback as well as what similar Stumblers and the people you follow have Liked or Disliked. Whether you’re interested in Humor, Photography, Fashion or Sports, we have something for you. Every Stumble is an adventure, and something amazing is always just a click away. Come Stumble with me http://www.stumbleupon.com

New Lesson Posted to English - Idioms - When and How to Use Idioms

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 15:24:00 +0000

This is a four part video series on, "When and How to Use Idioms." You will see and hear idioms in all sorts of speaking and writing, in this series you will learn when and how. This series includes an overview, details and descriptions, examples of idioms and exercises presented by a native English teacher.

Who knows the difference between who's and whose?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 05:53:00 +0000

Who knows the difference between who's and whose?

Who's

Who's is a contraction of who is or, less commonly, who has.

Who's watching TV?
Do you know who's going to speak?
Who's ready to go?
Who's in the kitchen?
Who's this?
Who's already eaten?

Whose

Whose is the possessive of who or, somewhat controversially, which.

Whose book is this?
Do you know whose car this is?
I know a woman whose kids study there.
Whose side are you on?
An idea whose time has come.

The Bottom Line

The trouble here is due to the apostrophe, which on 99% of English words indicates possession, but on this one simply indicates a contraction. If you can replace the word with who is or who has, use who's. If not, use whose.

You can find this lesson and more free English lessons at e Learn English - online language learning with Laura K. Lawless

New lesson posted to, "English Lessons - Idioms"

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 13:23:00 +0000

Formulaic Language, Idioms are a fixed combination of words whose meanings are often difficult to guess from the meaning of each individual word - idioms are a type of formulaic language. Learn what formulaic language is and different types of formulaic language. You can see an overview of this video lesson in the video bar to your right.

Easter Wishes

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 06:31:00 +0000

Progressive Verb Forms

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 04:33:00 +0000

Progressive Verb Forms (also known as Continuous Forms).
Structure of the Progressive Forms:
subject + auxiliary verb (be) + main verb (gerund) Sometimes a modal verb can be used before the auxiliary verb: subject + modal verb (could/would/should) + auxiliary verb (be) + main verb (gerund) There are other structures such as the Present Perfect Continous: subject + auxiliary verb (have) + past participle (been) + main verb (gerund) We use the progressive from when:

we want to describe an action that is happing right now

we want to describe an action that will be happening in the future

we want to describe an activity or process that started in the past and is still going on

Here are some examples:

We are reading an interesting story right now.

My wife is flying to Madrid tomorrow.

My wife would be flying to Madrid tomorrow if she had a holiday.

Our partners have been working with us for 10 years now.

You can create an perfectly personalized Easter card at Cardstore

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 04:32:00 +0000

English Around the World

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 05:12:00 +0000

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England. Around 375 million people speak English as their first language, making it the largest language by number of native speakers after Mandarin Chinese. However, when combining native and non-native speakers, English is the most commonly spoken language in the world. It is claimed that non-native speakers now outnumber native speakers by a ratio of three to one. Read the rest of the story, "English Around the World" here and get a free
free English language course

How to Get a Taxi Cab In English

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 06:07:00 +0000

Most of us know that the standard color of a taxi cab is yellow; however, that may vary depending on where one lives. No matter what the color is we can always identify a taxi by the big bold letters printed on it; "TAXI". Hailing a taxi cab can be challenging for anyone. That's why I am not only going to review where and how to get a taxi cab, but the art of 'hailing' a taxi cab. It's also important to remember that in most Western countries (like the U.S. and Canada) taxi drivers do expect to be tipped. Read the rest of the article, "How to Get a Taxi Cab In English" here.

Learn English Through Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 02:29:00 +0000

Picture This - The Tenses Illustrated For 14 years Learn English has been the free and independent web site for EFL/ESL learners and teachers.

Principles of Language Learning and Teaching (5th Edition)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 09:01:00 +0000

Principles of Language Learning and Teaching (5th Edition) Principles of Language Learning and Teaching, Fifth Edition, by H. Douglas Brown, is the classic second language acquisition text used by teacher education programs worldwide. Principles introduces key concepts through definitions of terms, thought-provoking questions, charts, and spiraling. New "Classroom Connections" encourage students to consider the implications of research for classroom pedagogy. An up-to-date bibliography and new glossary provide quick access to important works and key terminology in the field. The fifth edition takes a comprehensive look at foundations of language teaching through discussions of the latest research in the field, including: * Vygotsky's and Bakhtin's theories * Thorndike's law of effect * error treatment, noticing, recasts * intercultural communication * language policy and politics * corpus linguistics *"hot topics" in SLA * connectionism and emergentism * flow theory, willingness to communicate * strategies-based instruction * contrastive rhetoric * attribution theory, self-efficacy * output hypothesis Also by H. Douglas Brown: Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy Language Assessment: Principles and Classroom Practices Strategies for Success: A Practical Guide to Learning English

Find Top Private Tutors in Your Neighborhood

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 07:06:00 +0000

Future Tense

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 04:22:00 +0000

There is a common belief that the only way to express the future in English is to use the two little modal auxiliaries «will» and «shall». Sure they play a major part in this function but there are other ways too of expressing the future. Read 6 ways of expressing the future for details.

Below you can see a story written by Alan Townend, using some highlighted examples of how you can express the future.

Jealousy

I want you to imagine that you are about to visit a small village. It doesn't matter which country it's in because all villages are the same whichever part of the world they are in. There were only about 300 inhabitants in total in this particular village and everyone knew everybody's business. A typical street conversation would run like this: «I hear Joan's going to have a baby next year. I expect it'll be a boy this time I wouldn't be surprised. She's having a nurse come next week to help her with her 5 girls and maybe a boy will make life easier for her!» In this village people usually help each other whenever they can. Read the rest of the story of Jealusoy here.

Learning Through Stories -Present Continuous

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 15:55:00 +0000

One of the features of the English language is that there are two sides to every tense: a simple one or a continuous one (also known as progressive). The question is when do you use one and not the other? We’re looking at the Progressive Forms in general in the story entitled: Going, going, gone! and at the Present Simple in particular in the story called: ―It never gets you anywhere― and now it's the turn of the Present Continuous/Progressive and this is called: What a Performance! Which has a double meaning because it can describe a performance in the theatre and it can also describe a long and complicated process. I only hope when you are reading it, that you don't find it too complicated...

«What a Performance!»
I can't myself. Well, I just couldn't get up on the stage and take part in a play. Some people are always doing that. They do it for a hobby and are never happier than when they are declaiming other people's lines in front of a live audience. They are living in a realm of fantasy. They belong to that select world called amateur dramatics, a world that once a year invades the town where I live. Just when the weather is getting warmer the festival of amateur drama comes to our local theatre. For one entire week three separate groups are performing one play each every evening. In one mad moment a few years ago I agreed to buy a season ticket to see the different productions for all six nights and ever since then each year I get this very correctly written letter beginning: 'I am writing to inform you that the Summer Festival of Drama is taking place….' Click here to read the rest of the story.

Learning English grammar from stories - Present simple tense (part 1 of 4)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 08:48:00 +0000

In this story you will find many examples of how the Present Simple Tense can be used. As you know we use the present simple for things that are true in general, or for things that happen sometimes or all the time:

She likes black tea.

I start work at 9 o'clock and finish at 5:30.

Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.

We usually visit our friends on the weekend.

Learning English grammar from stories - Present simple tense (part 2 of 4)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 08:44:00 +0000

You probably remember that after he/she/it an «s» is added to the verb as in these examples:

She speaks excellent French.

He sometimes calls her «my darling».

It makes perfect sense to me.

Learning English grammar from stories - Present simple tense (Part 3 of 4)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 08:41:00 +0000

When we want to make a negative sentence we use the following structure: subject (I/you/we/they) + auxiliary verb (don't) + main verb (infinitive) subject (he/she/it) + auxiliary verb (doesn't) + main verb (infinitive) Examples:

I don't speak Chinese.

You don't work very hard

She doesn't call me every day.

Learning English grammar from stories - Present simple tense (Part 4 of 4)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 08:39:00 +0000

When we want to make a question we also use don't after I/you/we/they and doesn't after he/she/it:

Do you speak Chinese?

Does she work here?

What do you do for a living?

How do you usually get to work?

Now enjoy the following story and find the present simple in italics: «It never gets you anywhere»

An Idiom for Election Week

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 08:46:00 +0000

The term dead heat was originally used in horse racing. When two horses raced against each other and tied, the heat was called “dead” and did not count. The winner was undecided. This term is still used in horse racing, but is also used in political races. When two candidates are so close (according to the polls) that you can’t guess who will be declared the winner, it is considered “a dead heat”.

Related Words and Expressions

What is the opposite of a dead heat? When a candidate wins by a large margin it is considered a landslide victory. Richard Nixon was re-elected in 1972 with a landslide victory. This term is also used in sports. My brother sent me a text yesterday to inform me of the results of my nephew’s hockey game. The text said: “It was an ugly win.” In other words, my nephew’s team won by a landslide. You could also say they won hands down. The term “hands down” also came from horse racing. Jockeys who were way ahead of their opponents could loosen the reins, and win without putting in a lot of effort.

The candidates will likely be battling down to the wire (the finish line in horse racing). Do you think this election will require a recount?

Exploring your personal learning style

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 06:38:00 +0000

Research has shown that the more we become aware of our own learning styles, the better we learn. Find out what is your best leaning style here at Learning to learn series

Raising Bilingual Children: The Different Methods to Success

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 02:48:00 +0000

There are a multitude of strategies for raising bilingual children. Most multilingual families have discovered that a fixed language system in the home greatly reduces the tendency for children to mix the languages -- or worse, the flat-out refusal to speak the second language. In choosing your system, you'll absolutely need to consider what will work best for your family, click here to read the article on the two most popular methods written by Christina Bosemark, founder of the Multilingual Children's Association.

$5 coupon off of mastering language courses

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 14:33:00 +0000

Get $5 off $25+ * Use code SAVE5 * 47 foreign languages and 14 languages for English learners available in a variety of formats: CD, MP3 and 4 top languages are available in a new fully-portable interactive software format (Mac, PC, Nook compatible)
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Improve Your English: English in the Workplace

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 10:14:00 +0000

Improve Your English: English in the Workplace combines the video advantages of DVDs with the educational benefits of fluent American English speakers in unscripted interviews. You will benefit from hearing real people--men and women from various regions and occupations--having spontaneous conversations about the workplace, their jobs, and careers. The DVD also has a transcript and workbook designed to refine your listening and speaking skills.
Customer Review: Great Learning tool I was astonished to see how different the written words of natural spoken slang are from what we normally read. This book is extremely insightful and helpful to anyone that might not know how to express themselves in a more natural tongue. The book exposes how English is actually spoken and does an excellent job of pointing out and defining phrases that everyday speakers are not even aware they use. This can be critical for someone that doesn't know the language to understand the meaning and inflection behind the conversation. Improve Your English: English in the Workplace (DVD w/ Book): Hear and see how English is actually spoken--from real-life speakers