The Land of Broszka

What dictionaries do I recommend?

2016-04-27T21:42:00.000+02:00

I get a lot of questions about dictionaries and which I would recommend to students. I decided to create a post about it so that replying to you is much easier in the future (clever me :) ).

First off, I do not think google translate is the key to everything. Once in a while, sure, especially if, like me, you know the English phrase but for some crazy reason you cannot remember its Polish equivalent and looking up the word is simply a matter of reminding yourself of the word.

Google translate (GT) is a quick fix if you need something ASAP but not if you want to learn something (hopefully) permanently.

The magic of the dictionaries I want to show you is that they are all recognised and respected sites which definitely give you accurate information in various contexts and clear examples.

(Let it be known that I am not actively promoting any particular dictionary, no one is paying me for endorsing these sites and all I get is the satisfaction of letting you know that these websites exist :) )

1) Oxford Learner's Dictionary (O)

- an Advanced Learner's Dictionary but could also prove useful for less proficient learners.

As you can see above, it is quite straightforward.

It gives you the part of speech, very often the most common synonyms. And what is most important for me: examples, examples, examples of various meanings. In other words, you have the clear context of a definition and also the associated grammar connected with a phrase (like take a dog for a walk)

A nice nice touch is also the British and American pronunciation.
As some of you may know, I am a big fan of American English - so whenever I see dictionaries with both options I am pleased. :)

Now, the million dollar question: what is this little key next to the word?

This is Oxford's way of indicating that the phrase/word is part of the group of 3000 most common words in English. Whether a word/phrase belongs to this group depends on its frequency. So how often it appears in written or spoken texts. All these texts are stored in the British National Corpus and the Oxford Corpus Collection.

2) Longman English Dictionary (L)

- A dictionary that prides itself on giving definitions of words that use only 2000 of the most common words. This means that you can can be a B1 student (intermediate) and should be able to understand the definitions and not always rely on bilingual dictionaries.

The difference between this dictionary and the first one is that in (O) you can get lost in the list of all the phrases and meanings of one phrase/word. You need to scroll down to the bottom of the page if you are looking for idioms or something more complex than the simple "dog".

In (L) you type in the word in question, and the first thing you need to do is decide exactly what phrase you are looking for:

This is a great opportunity to actually learn new stuff, as even if you are looking for a simple definition of "dog" you see there are countless other options and start browsing. You don't get lost or discouraged by the vast amount of text like in (O).

Also,

what you don't get in (O) is a professional pronunciation of not only the phrase you want but also (many of) the examples! Because it is not read by a machine ( at least from what I've noticed) you can listen to the stress and connected speech which is a huge advantage if you don't have access to a teacher. :)

Longman's dictionary also shows you how often a word is used in English (according to the Corpus). It uses a different method, though.

You will not see this with every entry but it looks like this: Where W=used in writing, S= used in speech, 3= 3000 most common words, 2= 2000 most common words.

3) Cambridge Dictionaries Online (C)

The EXTREMELY useful thing about Cambridge is that it offers you a bilingual option for many popular languages including Polish!

This means you have a much more reliable souce of information than Google but you know for sure that the translations of phrases/ idioms / words are accurate!

It is very similar in its layout to (O) with more phrases on the right in the corner; it gives you both British and American pronunciation. And also allows you to check the word/phrase in various languages. But, to me, it seems to be less detailed than (L) or (O).

Does it mean it is more aimed at Intermediate / Pre-intermediate students?

It does, however, have a feature that I find very useful as a teacher:

It states what level (according to CEFR) a word/phrase belongs to.

To sum up:

All the dictionaries above are excellent for language learners (or teachers). They provide much more information than your beloved Google Translate. They all have something unique about them and all should be used on a regular basis.

What would be the ideal thing to do? When studying new vocabulary to check the meaning of an item in all three dictionaries, to see the differences in explanation, listen to different pronunciation, examples. But realistically speaking, do we have time for all this? :)

What dictionaries do you use? Tell me in the comments! And once you start using these, tell me what you think, there probbably is a ton of stuff I still have not discovered about those websites. :)

Peace and love people. Happy studying!

How to ask question in English CORRECTLY - the QUASI method (1/3)

2016-04-14T16:32:00.002+02:00

Hi guys!
First a little test for my Polish readers (sorry rest of the world :) ).
Write down these questions in English:
1) Skąd jesteś?
2) Kiedy tu przyjechałeś?
3) Jak często jadasz ryby?

Now, let's see if you were correct. :) This might seem odd to you but suprisingly many even very high level students make silly mistakes when asking questions in English. That is why whenever I start a new group, or start lessons with an individual student, I go over the basic rules of asking questions.

There are basically three ways of asking questions.

1. using the QUASI method
2. using inversion (e.g. to be)
3. asking about the subject.

This post will deal with the QUASI method. What is this magnificient acronym?

QU - the question word,
A - the auxiliary verb, which I like to call the helper verb as they determine the tense (whether past or present) in the sentence,
S - the subject - the main "person" or "thing" in the sentence,
I - infinitive - a verb in its basic form, without any endings. I also call it Verb 1 (if we consider the irregular verb list in three forms)

Now, 90% of verbs in English follow the rule of QUASI if we ask a question in the present or the past. So all we need to do is look at the table and follow the format!

e.g.
I love cats. -> What do you love? (QU=What, A=do, S=you, I= love)

I spent my holiday in Rome. -> Where did you spend your holiday?*

(*notice that it is a question about the past. but where is the "information" about it? In the helper verb (did) that is why there is no need to make the verb spend in the past.

Easy, isn't it?

So, my dear Polish students: let's check if you wrote your questions correctly....

1) Skąd jesteś? - > Where do you come from?
2) Kiedy tu przyjechałeś? - > When did you arrive?
3) Jak często jadasz ryby? -> How often do you eat fish?

Were you correct? Did you emember about the "helper verb"?

Let me know in the comments!!!

TIME TO PRACTICE!!

Let's make it a game, I'll start....

I write a sentence with a number next to a word:

Yesterday, I passed my (0) exams.

You need to ask about the word next to the number:

(0) What did you pass yesterday? Answer: my exams.

Now you need to write your sentence (with number (1) next to the word...)

You can play all you want! (believe me, it's good practice...)

I will moderate and correct if necessary....

So...

I need a (1) back massage.
.
.
.

Long Time No See!

2016-04-06T21:53:00.002+02:00

Hello Internet!

Yes, It's me. I'm back. Officially. Back after four years of silence.
Funny story: I completely forgot about the existence of this blog!

A lot has changed in my life... In the last four years I lived in two foreign countries, taught hundreds of students from all over the world and walked hundreds of kilometers. I also visited extraordinary places and now that I'm back in Poland with tons of memories and teaching experience,
my hope is that I will be able to share some of these amazing stories with you!

I also want to come back to "teaching" you. Unfortunately, I will probably not have enough time to post educational videos for you on YT (as editing takes ages) but writing posts on this blog is a different matter.

Hold onto your hats, people! It's going to be a rough ride ;)

(source: http://cosmicawareness.org/hang-onto-your-hats/)

PS. Look to your left. Please fill in the questionnaire :)

Out of the blue

2016-04-06T00:35:00.004+02:00

The Brooch is back.
Brace yourself.

Fanpage vs. Funpage!

2012-05-22T23:07:00.006+02:00

A short video showing the difference between the two words :) (in Polish)

Remember "fun" is not pronounced the same way as "fan" :)
And in my opinion this is why so many people make this mistake in Poland :(
Oh well... maybe my vid will change that :)

Have any more examples? Ideas? frustrations? Don't hesitate to post them :)

Rozmowa na podst. materiału stym. Matura ustna 2012

2012-05-19T14:09:00.002+02:00

Here is the last part of my "Matura Emergency" series for this year :)
Keeping my fingers crossed for you guys!

And remember - your result is due to your hard work! You keep thanking me for ALL that help :)
I really didn't do that much :) It's your accomplishment :)
You baked the cake, I merely topped it with a little cherry :) Or perhaps added the icing :)

Motivating myself :)

2012-05-15T18:26:00.001+02:00

Hi guys!
Today a gobbledygook video about self-motivation and preparing oneself for an event/occasion etc.
Now I will tell you something about myself.... It's a secret...

I've wanted to start my driver's course since September last year when I came back from the States.
But I am the type of person that needs time to process a lot of information and, more accurately, I need to find time and motivation to enroll.
So I wanted to, but was too lazy to actually do the first step. :)
However, I am the type of person that makes decision REALLY quickly when I must or am forced to.
For example during my university years (I miss them!) when there was one (!) day left to apply for another major (spanish Philology) and no time to lose, I managed to get all the papers, take some necessary photographs of my horrible face, fill in all the paperwork and officially apply.
If I had had more than a day (like maybe two weeks), I probably would not have done anything, and never would have enrolled!

The same thing was with this driver's course. As I was saying, I wanted to but had no motivation.
Then one of my work buddies (another English teacher) said she had just enrolled and was waiting for the first class. She asked me to join (as we spoke about the necessity of having a licence the month before) and having NO TIME to make up my mind, I decided "what the hell! It's time!" and did it :)

How is it with you guys? Do you need to force yourselves to get somewhere?
Do you need someone to push you a bit?
For me it's basically about the first step - and then I either get involved or not :)

And if you haven't seen the video yet, here it is :

Rozmowa na podstawie ilustracji - Matura Ustna 2012

2012-05-14T23:55:00.002+02:00

how to describe the photograph in task 2? how to answer questions afterwards? What kind of questions can I expect?

The answers are all in this video :) In Polish :)

Rozmowa z odgrywaniem roli - "chmurki" - Matura Ustna 2012

2012-05-14T23:54:00.002+02:00

If you only know me through this site, there is another Matura Video out there :)
I'm examining tomorrow myself, will see how it goes :)

Rozmowa Wstępna - Oral Matura!

2012-05-07T22:02:00.002+02:00

Hello my dear readers!
Today an addition to my Polish/ English video on YT.
You can naturally watch thru my blog as well :)

Here are some questions and simple answers.
How would you elaborate and create something more complex and automatically something that would give you more points?

Example:

Question: What music do you listen to?

SIMPLE REPLY

Answer: I listen to rock n' roll , sometimes rap.

BETTER REPLY (using very easy grammar!)

Answer: (Let me think...) It depends on my mood. For example when I am sad and depressed I usually listen to rock or pop. This cheers me up. Sometimes I'm in a more romantic mood, then I listen to classical music - Tchaikovsky is my favorite. Finally, when I am happy and cheerful I listen to ballads as they never bring me down.

(I used present simple and very easy adjectives like sad, depressed, happy, cheerful. Of course the more difficult your speech the better! But this is an excellent improvement to the one above!)

Exercises:
(try to make these answers as long as possible)

1. Where do you live?
2. Do you have any siblings? How do you get along?
3. Do you celebrate any events in your family?
4. What do you do when you come home from school?
5. Have you ever worked during the holidays? (remember to lie! if you haven't! you need to show off vocabulary!!!)
6. what house work do you do around the house?
7.What is your favorite dish?
8. Have you ever been seriously ill? ( lie!)
9. what is the most expensive thing you have ever bought?
10. what have you recently seen in the cinema?

Edinburgh!

2012-05-03T02:04:00.002+02:00

Uploading to youtube is my new video from yet another trip! This time to Edinburgh! I am truly enchanted with this city though it was freakishly cold! But i love the Scots (even the kilts), I love buildings... I will post at least three parts of my adventure so stay tuned.

Washington!

2012-04-20T01:23:00.001+02:00

My dear readers (if you are even here...)
I present you with part I of my Washington adventure that I had with Jarek in August 2011.
I have some time on my hands (because of being sick) and wanted to swim in some precious memories from the past. :) I always wanted to edit the video material I had from Washington but didn't have the time nor inspiration.
Well it changed today :)

Without further ado here it is:

Stay tuned for part II tomorrow :)

Matura Emergency! [opinion essay]

2012-04-15T16:13:00.002+02:00

Hello everyone!
I plan on recording a whole video about how to write an essay (rozprawka) on Matura rozszerzona. With tips what words to use etc.
For now I will give you just this post with two sample essays. Enjoy! I hope you find it useful!

There are two types of essays on MR:

For/against essay
Opinion essay

__________________________

Wyraź swoją opinię na temat posiadania zwierzęcia w domu.

Animals have been part of man’s life since the dawn of time. Cats in Ancient Egypt were the symbol of pharaohs, dogs – the help with hunting. But what happens when an animal is locked up in an apartment? Shouldn’t it be free? I believe keeping pets in an apartment is a marvelous idea.

First of all, You are never alone. Coming home after work to an empty apartment is depressing. To have a pet greet you and crave your attention, could seriously boost your self-esteem. After all, people feel needed when they know someone is waiting for them.

What is more, they are also excellent company: they always listen, never judge, and love you no matter what you do.

Furthermore, owning a pet is great exercise. You need to walk the dog, so you go out and get some fresh air. Also, you need to plan ahead and always include some time off with the pet so that it does not feel lonely. Consequently, you also relax.

On the other hand, keeping an apartment clean is extremely difficult. For instance, long-haired cats or dogs shed during the summer, so the owner needs to vacuum more. Grooming the pet can be messy as well.

All in all, although there are drawbacks to keeping a pet in an apartment and it might sometimes be difficult to take care of it, I still think life without a furry little animal beside you is empty and everyone should try to have a loyal friend like that in their life.

256

COMMENTS:

1) It is good to include rhetorical questions. You give the essay a bit more action.

2) The essence of every essay are linking words. THE MORE THE BETTER! That is why always remember to put some in each paragraph to:

introduce an argument,
give more arguments,
give examples,
give an opposite agrument,
give a conclusion

There a A LOT of linking words to choose from, if you want me to make you a list. Write a comment. :)

3) Because this is an Opinion Essay - you state your opinion in the introduction. Follow the essay according to your views and then sum up with your opinion again.

The rule is to have about (about) 3 arguments that agree with your opinion and one counter argument to balance it out. So for example:

INTRO: (+) or (-)

ARGUMENT 1 (+) or (-)

ARGUMENT 2 (+) or (-)

ARGUMENT 3 (+) or (-)

ARGUMENT 4 (-) or (+)

CONCLUSION: (+) or (-)

What phrases to use? [YOUR PHRASE]

In my opinion....
I strongly believe that....
I think that....
I believe that...
I have a strong opinion that....
To me...
My views are....

In this essay you are allowed to be more emotional and use language to your advantage because the task of the essay is "state YOUR opinion about" :)

4. INTRO and CONCLUSION are similar. You give your opinion in the intro, and repeat it (in different words) in the conclusion. It is good use words like:

although there are drawbacks/advantages .... |
although there are pros and cons... | [YOUR PHRASE]
I have stated both sides of the problem but.... |
there is disagreement between X and Y but |
People do not seem to agree with X or Y but |

5) Grammar:
The better grammar you use the more points you have for "bogactwo językowe"

Start sentences with a verb: "To have a pet greet you and crave your attention, could seriously boost your self-esteem" (this is not a simple sentence! remember to have a second clause as well)
Start sentences with a gerund: "Grooming the pet can be messy."
Use linking words, also to give examples, reasons, and results of something: " Also, you need to plan ahead and always include some time off with the pet so that it does not feel lonely. Consequently, you also relax."
(Doesn't this sentence look better than: " you need to plan ahead and always include some time off with the pet"?)
By adding more info and having more elaborate sentences, you will be given more points!

Wait for the video on YT to be posted soon :D Link
How to write for/against essay

Matura Emergency! [for/against Essay]

2012-04-15T15:41:00.004+02:00

For/against essay
Opinion essay

________________________________

Napisz rozprawkę na temat wad i zalet posiadania zwierzęcia w domu.

INTRODUCTION:
Animals have been part of man’s life since the dawn of time. Cats in Ancient Egypt were the symbol of pharaohs, dogs – the help with hunting. But what happens when an animal is locked up in an apartment? Shouldn’t it be free? Many people debate this subject.

ARGUMENTS AGAINST:
Firstly, it is common knowledge that big animals need a lot of space to feel truly comfortable. If you put a huge dog in a tiny apartment, both the owner and the dog will feel trapped and out of space. Secondly, keeping that apartment clean will be extremely difficult. For instance, long-haired cats or dogs shed during the summer, so the owner would need to vacuum more. Additionally, one needs to realize that animals tend to destroy things, so an adorable kitten might scratch somebody’s favorite sofa.

ARGUMENTS FOR:

Yet, coming home after work to an empty apartment is highly depressing. To have a pet greet you and crave your attention, could seriously boost your self-esteem. After all, people feel needed when they know someone is waiting for them. On top of that, a pet is also great exercise! You need to walk the dog, so you go out and get some fresh air. Finally, many people have no problems with being cramped in a small apartment with a pet. On the contrary, they find it cozy.

CONCLUSION:

All things considered, it is hard to say whether an animal should be kept in an apartment or not. There are both positive and negative approaches to this subject. The decision remains a matter of personal choice.

259 (word limit 200-250)

Comments:

1) It is good to include rhetorical questions. You still remain objective, but you give the essay a bit more action.

2) The essence of every essay are linking words. THE MORE THE BETTER! That is why always remember to put some in each paragraph to:

introduce an argument,
give more arguments,
give examples,
give an opposite agrument,
give a conclusion

There a A LOT of linking words to choose from, if you want me to make you a list. Write a comment. :)

3 )IN A FOR/AGAINST ESSAY YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO WRITE YOUR OPINION!! YOU HAVE TO REMAIN OBJECTIVE AND USE WORDS AND PHRASES THAT DO NOT START WITH: "IN MY OPINION...." "I BELIEVE..." "TO ME..."

Instead you can use passive voice:

"it is believed that..."
"it is common knowledge that...."

or use general terms:

Many people say...
Many people think...
Scientists claim that....

There is also a nice phrase with the word "one".

Instead of using the generic "you" in "you need to feed the cat" (meaning "people need to...")
you can say: "one needs to feed the cat" - It is much more formal and advanced!
(ONE functions as third person singular so has an "s" at the end of verbs!)

4) INTRODUCTION and CONCLUSION is very similar as you can see. Remember to remain objective. The point of a for-against essay is to give an equal number of (+) and (-) and have a neutral introduction and conclusion. So phrases like:

"People debate this subject/problem"
"there is an equal amount of pros and cons of this situation"
" The are both negative and positive aspects to this subject"

are essential.
So the essay would look like this:
INTRO                     (+)/(-)=NEUTRAL
ARGUMENT 1        (+)    or    (-)
ARGUMENT 2        (+)    or    (-)
ARGUMENT 3        (+)    or    (-)
ARGUMENT 4        (-)    or    (+)
ARGUMENT 5        (-)    or    (+)
ARGUMENT 6        (-)    or    (+)
CONCLUSION        (+)/(-)=NEUTRAL

5) Grammar:
The better grammar you use the more points you have for "bogactwo językowe"

Use conditional sentences: "If you put a huge dog in a tiny apartment, both the owner and the dog will feel trapped and out of space"
Use phrases with "one": " one needs to realize that that animals tend to destroy things"
Start sentences with a verb: "To have a pet greet you and crave your attention, could seriously boost your self-esteem" (this is not a simple sentence! remember to have a second clause as well)
Start sentences with a gerund: "keeping that apartment clean will be extremely difficult."
use linking words, also to give examples, reasons, and results of something: " For instance, long-haired cats or dogs shed during the summer, so the owner would need to vacuum more."
(Doesn't this sentence look better than: "long-haired cats or dogs shed during the summer"?) By adding more info and having more elaborate sentences, you will be given more points!

Wait for the video on YT to be posted soon :D Link
How to write opinion essay

knock knock?

2012-04-06T02:07:00.000+02:00

Knock, knock...
Who's there?
Me...

Are you guys still here? Do you come here often? :)

Lviv here I come!

2011-11-24T21:32:00.001+01:00

iT'S GONNA BE A REALLY DIFFICULT DAY TOMORROW....
And then a night on a bus to Lviv, one of the most famous cities of Ukraine...
It's a social / working trip.
I enrolled to be a holiday rep, and we're going to have practice lessons in Lviv...
And then a huge party...
when do i sleep?
:(

Keep your fingers crossed for me my sweeties! :)

"It's been a hard days night...."

2011-11-08T21:33:00.001+01:00

Hello world! Or should I say good evening?

It's been a really long day for me... But when I think about the long weekend I'm glad there are only two more days of work left :) I plan on having a Dress-up Halloween party on Saturday :) - Would you like to see my outfit? :P

Anyway, coming back to the subject: Let's speak about being tired....
You could say after a long day that you're dog-tired - which basically means - you are extremely tired.
To use a lot of intelligent words, you could say: I am utterly exhausted! - which also means being very, very tired :)

You could also quote (or sing) a Beatles Song:
It's been a hard days night, and I've been working like a dog,
It's been a hard days night, I should be sleeping like a log.

To make your teachers exceptionally proud of you you could say:

I am so dog-tired that I need to hit the hay at once!
to hit the hay - means to go to sleep...
Imagine the time of peasants when after a long day's work in the field they came home to their little cottages and beds of straw and hay and went to sleep. For some reason the saying "hit the hay" is still used :)

I know you want another idiom, don't you? :D:D
Ok, here you go...
You could be very tired but you might not be able to sleep at night.
So you might toss and turn all night - which would mean you kept moving and moving and couldn't "find you place", or if you didn't sleep at all, you would say "I didn't sleep a wink!"

I hope that makes you sleepy my dear readers! :) Any plans for the long weekend?

________
Glossary:

a log - a cut-down tree
peasants - farmers/workers - the low social class in the Middle Ages / past :)
a wink (more often used as a verb so: "to wink") to quickly close and open you eyes or eye...

New week, new dream, new idiom :)

2011-10-23T21:02:00.001+02:00

Tomorrow a new week begins- hurrah? Why are weekends so damn short?!
But at least I rested a bit, though I should be doing stuff for my other "jobs"...

I wish there was a way to sleep ahead of time... Like you know: you sleep for e.g. 50 hours during the weekend and "store" those hours for later. And then during the week when you're tired - you open the jar with those 50 hours and say: "Let me take out 8 hours of sleep" and you immediately regenerate, you are rested and ready to do stuff again, without wasting time to sleep :) Like saving money in a piggybank and taking bits and bits during the week for little stuff... :)

As for an idiom - let's have to start from scratch - it is about beginning after all.
Imagine a situation when you are doing an experiment or project but in the middle it turns out it was wrong and you need to start again - so you start from scratch :)

Please remember, though, that you cannot say from the scratch of time - meaning from the beginning of time.
To start from scratch means "to begin" but refers to e.g. repeating a project, experiment, investigation (they frequently use it in CSI etc.

Anyway - What are you guys doing this week? :)

Youtube Read-along!

2011-10-22T02:18:00.000+02:00

I finally posted your voice sample onto wrzuta! They are all on facebook. Please vote for your favorite voices so we can record this masterpiece :)
here's a link to the main page: Facebook voting.

If you like any voice in particular - you can write it here :)

Voting? :)

2011-10-18T12:47:00.002+02:00

I'm taking part in this comeptition to win a Nokia 500 :)
If you like my entry please vote for your Broszka (I never asked for any votes but I see everybody does so why shouldn't I? :P )
My entry
You can also take part and come up with a nice story :)

You really can't teach an old dog new tricks...(idiom)

2011-10-17T23:03:00.000+02:00

Today a bit pessimistically.
To start off, the topic of today's post: You can't teach an old dog new tricks which basically means that many people have fixed ideas about the world, a certain type of character or a habit that is difficult, or sometimes impossible to change.

To give an easy example: your grandmother may be very reluctant to learn how to use facebook or turn on the computer. For some, she is the perfect example of the "dog" that doesn't want to learn anything new (the new trick) which in this case is using the computer.

I have a friend, a very dear friend who is a wonderful human being - caring, helpful, trustworthy and would do anything to help you if you were in trouble, BUT he sucks at long distance communication (unfortunately, he lives quite far away from me so we can't easily communicate). The sad thing is, he suddenly becomes this totally different person: he seems to stop caring. Why is he "the dog"? Because explaining that contact is needed, and sending him countless e-mails doesn't work. He simply can't write long e-mails or keep in touch on a regular basis! and neither I nor anyone else can teach him to write more often. That's just not his style.
And I'm afraid, I have to accept it. It is a bitter pill to swallow but what else can I do?

Do you have similar experiences? with friends that don't stay in contact? or maybe you have other examples of "dogs not learning new tricks"? Tell me!!! (practice your English god damnit! :) )

_______

Glossary:
(adj) fixed - already decided and unable to be changed
(noun) reluctant - not willing (= unwilling)
(phrasal verb) to keep in touch with sb - to stay in contact
(idiom) A bitter pill to swallow - an unpleasant situation that simply needs to be accepted.

My Teeth! (Idioms)

2011-10-15T22:17:00.005+02:00

Hello,
As some of you may or may not know - it is not always possible to create a video. You may lack time, you may look terrible, you may be sick, you may be tired etc. So in many cases it is much easier to post a message and put it on a blog. That is one of the reasons why this site came to exist.

Today, trivially, about teeth. A while back I posted a video about teeth and my wisdom teeth. Well, they're acting up again! And Maciuś has also recently suffered because of his teeth :( He had one of his fangs removed because it was broken :( He had to be anesthetized and it was a terrible experience for him :(

So as you can see, the topic of teeth just won't go away! Hence, I must return to this topic and give you some more idioms connected with teeth :)

IF you have no idea what I'm talking about, here is a video with the first portion of tooth idioms (in PL): Idiom Vlogu: "Zębowe idiomy" (Beware! It's old!!!!)

In this one you have:

by the skin of one's teeth - just barely
to be armed to the teeth - have a lot of weapons
search something through a fine-tooth comb - look for something really carefully.

To make learning more interesting here are two more!

1) To lie through one's teeth

If you lie through your teeth - you are a terrible liar!
Jesse was lying through his teeth when he told me about the accident! it was a big fat lie!

2) To set one's teeth on edge

if you set somebody's teeth on edge -

a) you are irritated because it's a terrible sound:
It really sets my teeth on edge when she scratches her fork against the plate...

b) you are annoyed / upset because of someone:
It sets my teeth on edge when he lies through his teeth! (NOW THAT'S A NICE DOUBLE IDIOM SENTENCE!!!!!)

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE LESSON, BYE!!!
(And I seriously need to go to the dentist.... :( )

__________

Glossary:

to lack something - when sth is missing.
wisdom teeth (or tooth) - the infamous number 8 teeth :)
to act up - to become active (e.g. hurt again) after a period of being inactive.
Beware! - Look out!/ (in many cases: be careful!)

Cleaning! (Vocab)

2011-10-15T00:13:00.002+02:00

Today (Friday) I cleaned throughout most of the day. I finally threw out half the contents of my shelves near the bed. They were mostly old medicine, pills, lozenges, lotions etc. You won't believe how old some of the stuff was! I think the oldest lotion had the expiration date of 2008! Jesus... gotta take more care of that :)
I also cleaned my workplace - all my course books are in place, dictionaries, pens and pencils - ready to give more NDST (Fails) hahaha! Joking....

I guess I might say my desk is clean as a whistle - which means squeaky clean and this means it's really really clean :)

PS. Naturally Maciuś had to test it out, so he slept on that squeaky clean desk for about an hour :)

______

Glossary:
lozenges - "suckable" pills for the throat :)
to squeak - to make a high-pitched sound (like a mouse)
In the case of squeaky clean I think it means that something is so clean from scrubbing that if you scrubbed or rubbed it any more, there would be a squeaky sound :) I think it's actually pretty easy to imagine :)
to be clean as a whistle - very very clean

Greetings

2011-10-14T22:53:00.002+02:00

Hello everybody it's me Broszka :)

I'm new to this thing so I need some tips, advice and a bit of understanding for the future :)
I'll try to write posts as often as it is possible.
I figure, we can all benefit from it:

You, as readers and participators, practice your English, hopefully learn new stuff;

I, the writer, will keep myself busy and possibly have a teeny bit of accomplishment and feel appreciated. You may not know this, but the job of a teacher is not generally respected. Kids tend to hate you, you frequently have to force them to do anything... They have negative feeling towards you, so sometimes you have negative feelings towards them... To cut a long story short - we are the bad guys. *sigh* But that's a topic for a whole new post. :)
Anyway - hope we'll all enjoy the journey :)
See you next time, bye!!!!

_______

To cut a long story short - a nice idiomatic expression that means exactly what it says :) So instead of talking about something for a very long time you decide to skip the boring stuff and just talk about the most important,