Real English® is listening

How to Use Real English - Our 31st Translation: Slovenian

2011-10-24T23:09:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Anja, we now have the translation of the instructions in 31 different languages. Thank you Anja, and all the other contributors!

See Anja's translation at the top of this post:

http://the-original-real-english.blogspot.com/2010/02/instructions-for-beginners-for-using.html

Anja wrote:
Kako se uporablja Real English®
1 - Pojdite na http://www.real-english.com/new-lessons.asp in izberite lekcijo.
2 - Oglejte si zgornji video, brez podnapisov.
3 - Kliknite "Exercise 1". Sledite navodilom in naredite vse vaje.
4 - Sedaj si oglejte video s podnapisi.

Andrew and Andy - Rolls off the Tongue

2011-04-07T01:01:00.000-07:00

Rolls off the Tongue

Thanks to The English Blog, I discovered an excellent site which deserves additional observations.

The idea is simple and inspired. Look at a cartoon, and then try to figure out which idiom is illustrated by it.

Instead of looking for existing pictures to illustrate meaning like I am constantly doing, the site is made by 2 artists who make original drawings, which are a lot of fun in themselves.

This is not only for students of English. On the contrary, it's made for anyone interested in idioms and a quiz to go along with it. It's over the heads of most English learners, but that's not the point. The ones who are really good at quizzes will find the idiom! Everyone else will simply click on the answer button, or on the button giving more complete information, such as this for the cartoon above:

Idiom: ON A ROLL
Meaning: To be very successful over a period of time
Usage: Informal, spoken general English
Origin: Gambling – rolling dice as in craps. When you continually roll winning combinations. Also based on the idea that an object in motion continues in motion.
Sample Sentence: The hot dog couldn’t shut up; he was really on a roll!

The mind blowing aspect for me was to see that both the literal and figurative meanings were illustrated, and that a multiple choice quiz is even provided. This would help teachers in classes where everyone is stumped.

There's also a Hint button for generating more classroom activity.

Hats off to Andrew and Andy.

From Newsweek: Finland's Educational Success? The Anti-Tiger Mother Approach

2011-04-06T00:05:00.000-07:00

Excellent article:

The "Tiger-Mother" approach to education is common in South Korea, Singapore, and China for example, meaning "work VERY hard to to be the best" while in non-competitive Finland, this type of motivation is completely absent, while Finland nevertheless remains at the top of global testing results along with the "tiger mothers".

This article attempts to explain why.

CNN News for Students - April 5 - with Transcript and Questions

2011-04-05T07:22:00.000-07:00

Watch the first 3 minutes of today's CNN News for students

Then:

do the 4 Multiple Choice Questions and
read the Transcript made by CNN. I will try to improve the transcript since it was made in a rush.

Students try to answer the questions BEFORE reading the transcript.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The important point about the first news story concerning 9/11 trials is that:
A- Obama has not kept his promise.
B - Most Americans want terrorist suspects tried in civilian courts, not military courts.
C - Most Americans don't want 9/11 terrorist suspects tried in the USA.

Key word: "try" in a court of law: To examine or hear (evidence or a case) by judicial process, in a trial.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Second news story concerning "Plane Investigation":
A - The Boeing-737 airplane is an old model
B - 79 people were hurt in the accident.
C - Southwest airlines has not found any other airplanes with cracks.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Third news story concerning "Air France Mystery":
A - The flight data recorder (the black box) is damaged.
B - The flight data recorder (the black box) has not been found yet.
C - If they find the black box, it will probably end the mystery.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Fourth news story concerning "Japan Radiation Fears":
A - The combination of a tsunami and earthquake is simply too destructive for an old nuclear plant like this one.
B - Japanese officials say they have several choices, but they prefer to dump millions of gallons of radioactive water into the sea.
C - Japanese officials say they have not yet used a great deal of water to prevent a meltdown.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

What to do: Type the 4 letters which are the answers to the 4 Questions, for example " C - A - B - A" as a comment to this post, and ask any questions or/and let me know if you find a mistake in the transcript :-)

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Transcript:

CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR:
You're locked in for 10 minutes of commercial-free news headlines! My name is Carl Azuz, it is Tuesday, April 5th and CNN Student News is up and running.

1 - First Up: Change in Plan

AZUZ: The Obama Administration announced yesterday afternoon, that five suspected 9/11 terrorists will get military trials at the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Here's why that's significant: before he won the 2008 election, candidate Obama promised he'd close the prison at Guantanamo Bay. And his Justice Department said the terrorism suspects would be tried in civilian courts -- not by military tribunals. Most Americans didn't want those suspects tried in civilian courts. When Attorney General Eric Holder announced the trials at Guantanamo, he criticized Congress for restricting the Justice Department's ability to prosecute the five suspects.

2 - Plane Investigation

AZUZ: Hundreds of flights aboard Southwest Airlines have been canceled over the past few days. It's because one of its Boeing-737 passenger jets had a problem on Friday: this. A hole measuring five feet long and one foot wide. It opened up over passengers' heads on a flight from Phoenix, Arizona to Sacramento, California. The pilots made an emergency landing in Yuma, Arizona, and no one was seriously injured. Southwest grounded 79 of its planes to check them out afterward. The model with the problem is an older one. One that's not made anymore. Southwest found indications of cracks in three other aircraft while dozens of others have been inspected and returned to the flight line.

3 - Air France Mystery

AZUZ: It's not known exactly what caused the crash of an Air France jet two years ago, though. Flight 447 was traveling from Paris to Rio de Janiero, Brazil, when it went down in the southern Atlantic ocean. That was on June first, 2009. And until recently, large parts of the plane had not been found. On Monday, though, a French government minister said search teams located this: what's believed to be the wreckage of the Airbus 330 plane. The 228 people aboard were killed in the crash. And even if the flight data recorder is located, it's possible it won't be working anymore because of corrosion and water pressure. This area of the Atlantic typically has rough and quickly changing weather.

4 - Japan Radiation Fears

AZUZ: This is a shot of radioactive water leaking from one of Japan's damaged nuclear reactors. It's spilling into the Pacific Ocean. Japanese workers have tried a couple different methods to stop this leak; nothing has worked yet. But because so much water has been used to prevent a nuclear meltdown, Japanese officials say they have no choice but to intentionally dump millions of gallons, into the sea. They're hoping a planned silt fence will keep radioactive material from spreading into the ocean. This is just one of the major problems caused by Japan's March 11th earthquake and tsunami -- it killed more than 12,000 people; more than 15,000 are still missing. And Kyung Lah explains how concerns about nuclear contamination are reaching far beyond Japan.

A Must-Read for Teachers

2011-04-04T02:29:00.000-07:00

David Deubelbeiss of EFL Classroom 2.0 has some words of wisdom for all teachers, and not just for those involved in EFL.

Read about his 10 nuggets of truth, explained with his usual clarity and modesty:
"1. Teach students not the subject" to...
"10. There is a difference between “busy work” and “busy working’,"

You will find some of your own experience here, and will be reminded of the best paths to take for most every important teaching context.

It's all here and should simply not be missed!

Real English® News # 1

2011-03-28T09:25:00.000-07:00

I spend a lot of time reading and watching the news. I thougt it would be a good idea to share my favorite reports, while providing some vocabulary interruptions for students. This is for Upper Intermediate and Advanced levels.

This the first paragraph of the article:

New York Times - Published: March 27, 2011
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK and KAREEM FAHIM

TRIPOLI, Libya — American and European bombs battered Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s most important bastion of support in his tribal homeland of Surt on Sunday night, as rebels seeking his ouster capitalized on the damage from the Western airstrikes to erase their recent losses and return to the city’s doorstep.
batter has a few definitions as a verb and a noun.
In this case, it is a verb of course: "to hit heavily and repeatedly with violent blows."
bastion: " A well-fortified position." is the best of several definitons in this case.

ouster: "removal" is a good synonym in this case.

A New Lesson for Beginners: Spelling Test

2011-03-09T03:22:00.000-08:00

The new spelling test for beginners starts here:

http://www.real-english.com/reo/3b/3b-1.htm

The other 2011 lessons recently added include

"Dream Job" and "Describe Your Loved Ones".
These two are for intermediate students.

In Search of the Perfect Lesson

2011-03-04T11:48:00.000-08:00

I just finished a new Real English lesson - 40b, about how we describe other people, beginning with our loved ones.

http://www.real-english.com/reo/40b/unit40b.html

The videos in each exercise are even shorter than usual, and highly specific for the needs of the exercises, and correspond to very small parts of conversations. There are 27 exercises, many with several questions.
I hope you like these,
Mike

Feb. 2011 Update: Instructions for Beginners in 30 languages

2010-07-04T01:17:00.000-07:00

The instructions are simple but real beginners must understand them too!
Please contribute YOUR native language if you don't find it here:

http://the-original-real-english.blogspot.com/2010/02/instructions-for-beginners-for-using.html

Globish or English?

2010-07-04T01:14:00.000-07:00

Do you sepak Globish http://bit.ly/b2SfcB or English? If you do speak Globish, is that good enough for you, or do you want to speak more correctly?

"Globish" is an approximate English, not correct English. Is it good enough? If you can communicate most of the time in "Globish" is that sufficient for you?

How Google Works

2010-07-03T01:08:00.000-07:00

Amazing stuff, and a little scary:

Infographic by PPC Blog

Real English Receives 2 Awards

2010-06-26T07:33:00.000-07:00

Real English® has received awards from Enjoy Learning English and Online Degrees. I was quite surprised to get a blog award because I concentrate on my site, and only occasionally write on this blog.

I want to thank these 2 sites for having a look. I imagine they were thinking more about the Real English learning site when they decided to include me.

The first award, "Vale a pena ficar de olho nesse blog" or "It's worth keeping an eye on this blog" has a unique approach. The chosen blog has to copy the picture - at the top of this post - with a link to the blog from which it has received the award. Then the receiver (myself in this case) must write ten more links to the esl / efl or educational blogs which he or she likes best. These are my choices, which were rather difficult to make. There are so many good blogs out there!

1 - EFL 2.0
2 - Virtual = Real
3 - adVancEducation
4 - Library Webhead
5 - Webheads make the world flat
6- Larry Ferlazzo’s Web Sites of the Day
7 - Nik's Learning Technology Blog
8 - Collablogatorium
9 - I hope it works
10 - blog-efl

The Secrets to Learning English

2010-06-18T06:48:00.000-07:00

I see sites that speak about the "secrets" to learning English. There are also stupid sites which speak about "the secrets" as if magic will help you.

Other sites say that you can learn English without making efforts. This is FALSE. These people are Snake Oil Salesmen. THERE ARE NO SECRETS to learning English.

These are the top 10 "secrets":

1 - You must be REALLY interested in learning (motivation comes first!). Why do you want to learn English? Identify your motivation. Is it for school, for your job or for understanding another subject in English?

2 - Practice EVERYDAY. **Practice makes perfect.** Use the free online learning sites. There are MANY free sites!

3 - Try to meet people who speak English fluently, especially native speakers of English. Try to speak with them. Offer to teach them your language in exchange for English conversation.

4 - Don't get discouraged. EVERYBODY learns little by little.

5 - Watch movies in English. Read books with a dictionary (online dictionary or a good old book dictionary). Learn the words to your favorite songs in English.

6 - It is MUCH better to spend 15 minutes EVERYDAY instead of 3 hours once a week.

7 - Write to your friends in English. Write on Facebook or Twitter, etc., in English. Don't worry about your mistakes. Ask for corrections.

8 - Learn new vocabulary. The Real English site always explains vocabulary with text, pictures, and audio. This is the best combination. Reading is also very good for learning new vocabulary.

9 - Never be afraid to try speaking. And speak out loud when you are learning. This helps you assimilate new sounds. This is why the Real English lessons always include the "Record yourself" button.

10 - Have fun. Learning English is a challenge, but it's exciting. Real English was made to HELP you have fun, but it is not a "magic bullet".

Please Help Me Help a Deserving Deaf Student

2010-06-10T07:06:00.000-07:00

This is Zachariah Ngechu on the right, with his friend Joseph who is also deaf.

Born in 1983, Zachariah lives in a small village called Karagita, Naivasha, north of Nairobi in Kenya. He has access to an internet connection, and wrote me a message on my previous blog where there is a discussion about the special problems which the Deaf encounter when learning English as a second language.

We began exchanging email. He has been accepted by Gallaudet University, a world leader in liberal education and career development for deaf undergraduate students in the USA.

Zachariah, from a poor background, has no financial resources, and his acceptance to attend is conditional upon coming up with $27,000 (USD) for a school year.

Being naturally and justifiably suspicious of requests for money originating on the internet, I emailed his contact person, Mr. Ali Sanjabi, at Gallaudet University, who did indeed confirm that he has been conditionally accepted and that his application will remain active until he finds the necessary funds.

I haven't done much for the poor during my life, so I decided it was time to act.

My first and still my best idea, I think, is to launch a fund-raising campaign using PayPal. PayPal has become ubiquitous, and allows contributors to make a donations in very small or very large amounts, and everything in between, using any of the major credit cards. The PayPal module would be at the bottom of a blog or web page similar to this one, without the following questions about logistics, but with excerpts from the many emails we have exchanged. And since Zachariah can communicate by internet, he could also answer your questions in his own words.

I asked Mr. Ali Sanjabi if Gallaudet could possibly create this PayPal account for Zachariah so as to avoid intermediaries. Mr Sanjabi suggested that I contact Mr Matthew Sickon, the Donor Relations Specialist at Gallaudet, who replied, in turn, that as a non-profit, Gallaudet is able to accept gifts to the University for student scholarships but that money given for a particular student's tuition cannot be accepted as a gift by the University.

In other words, "the federal laws in the United States are strict" to quote Mr. Sickon. American tax regulations block my simple idea. It certainly isn't Gallaudet's fault, it's just the way things are. Who would have imagined?

I personally would prefer not to create the Pay Pal account in my own name, but I will do such if it becomes impossible to find a reputable charitable organization which could do the job without having to appropriate a percentage of the contributions. All suggestions most welcome!

This is his conditional acceptance letter from Gallaudet University:

I really hope that some of you will give me a hand to ensure that this fundraising campaign is a success. I have never done this type of work before. I could definitely use a bit of guidance, and a lot of support to attain the goal!

Zachariah has provided me with other documents, including a letter from a Nairobi-based Association of the Deaf, of which he is a member, which outlines his education, "up to STD8 and then proceeded to Bible College in Uganda".

Finally, in his own words, a very small portion of our ongoing discussion: "My hope after graduate,I promise.to be serious with my studies in improving good English and after improving good English.I will be promoted to the first degree in international development after graduate from Gallaudet University I will representation deaf peoples in local and international to advocate for deaf Constitution right through economic,social and political". He also intends on returning to his village to help other Deaf people thanks to the knowledge and experience we will have acquired at Gallaudet.

Vietnamese Instructions for Beginners added by Vũ Đức Tiệp

2010-06-06T08:08:00.000-07:00

Please see all 23 languages here. Many thanks to Vũ Đức Tiệp for the Vietnamese translation!

Hướng dẫn học Real English®
1 - Bạn truy cập vào trang http://www.real-english.com/new-lessons.asp và chọn một bài học.
2 - Xem đoạn phim ở đầu trang, và không có phụ đề.
3 - Nhấn chuột vào "Exercise 1". Và làm theo hướng dẫn. Nhớ là làm hết các bài tập nhé.
4 - Bây giờ bạn hãy xem đoạn phim cùng với phụ đề.

Also: Danish instructions by Anne Fox and her daughter. Please see all 24 languages here.

Let 'er rip!

2010-05-26T10:31:00.000-07:00

Haiyen asked a question

hi real English your website is very interesting.its help me a lot.by the way can you tell me the meaning of the phrase 'let it rip' that i saw in a film.thanks so much

Hi Haiyen – There are several meanings of “rip”. I know the probable meaning, but it all depends on the CONTEXT (the context includes the words just before or/and after "Let it rip!" ; the context is also the general circumstances - it's the setting – when you say that you saw it in a movie, that gives us a very small bit of the context).

As you can see at the Free Dictionary, “rip” has about 10 meanings when used as a verb. The most common meaning is “to tear” (for example, to cut something roughly, with your hands). But one of the meanings marked “INFORMAL” is “to move quickly or violently”. Imagine a film where 2 actors blow up a bridge. They have explosives at 10 different points and set them off all at the same time. Just before the explosion, one actor says “Let it rip”. This is a slang lexical item. “Let it rip” can be used just before ANY violent or VERY SPECIAL (usually rough) action that one causes to take place.

In the USA, we have a tendency to also say Let 'er rip!. The 'er is "her" I suppose, like a ship to her captain & sailors.

Instructions for Beginners Reminder

2010-05-26T10:00:00.000-07:00

Please contribute YOUR native language if you don't find it here:

http://the-original-real-english.blogspot.com/2010/02/instructions-for-beginners-for-using.html

Reminder: this is to ensure that real beginners begin the lessons.

Hien Pham from Vietnam asked an interesting question:

2010-05-26T09:56:00.000-07:00

"hi real English. I've read a book in English, but have some trouble with phrase " go first in line". Can u explain its meaning to me? Thanks so much."

My Reply:
Note: First in line (USA) = First in (the) queue (UK)

This picture is from the first exercise in the 2nd of 5 lessons concerning numbers, at
http://www.real-english.com/reo/8-b/8b-1.htm

It's nice to have an answer with a picture all ready like that ;-)

Thanks Shewa

2010-05-26T09:41:00.000-07:00

	shewa realenglish fshampede@yahoo.com 62.240.71.77	PASTED FROM OLD WORDPRESS BLOG INTO NEW BLOGGER BLOG EXPERIMENT ------2010/05/26 at 4:29 pm hi.. thans for all your lessons im very intresting all of lessons im very usful so if you make hollywood movies with englsh subtitiles its very power ful for every body..thanks again for everything hi.. thans for all your lessons im very intresting all of lessons im very usful so if you make hollywood movies with englsh subtitiles its very power ful for every body..thanks again for everything fshampede@yahoo.com shewa http://realenglish 1 ApproveUnapprove \| Reply \| Quick Edit \| Edit \| Spam \| Trash

Funny Translations

2010-04-25T04:26:00.001-07:00

The Oral Route

This is the first in a series called Funny Translations

I've translated from French to English part time, but regularly for about 40 years. In the beginning, it was an interesting challenge to really understand what was being said and understood by the original author and those reading the translation. But this is not interpretation, which is even more challenging to do well. We're only talking about text here. Translation.

My first funny observation concerns ubiquitous bad translations. My favorite is the pharmaceutical French to English text on all medicine of all sorts.

In French, there is clear emphasis on through which “hole” you take your medicine. There are quite a few, such as Voie parentérale - Voie intra-nasale - Voie pulmonaire... - and the 2 most common - Voie orale and Voie Anale.

I have read the following translations for many years in France, sometimes on the outside of the package but always on the informative leaflet inside: "Oral Route" & "Anal Route".

How many packets of aspirin pointing out "Oral Route" for example, have you seen on aspirin sold in the UK or the USA? So what's a good translation of "Voie Orale"? No translation at all is the best translation. The only "translation" is contained in the instructions, such as "Take 2 at bedtime with a glass of water.", or something similar. The oral part is simply assumed as part of the sentence. We're not going to stuff aspirin up our nostrils (or anyplace else).

And yet, literally MILLIONS of over-the-counter and prescription drugs (tablets and capsules distributed by pharmacies in France) are translated/labeled "Oral Route". Ubiquitous insanity.

Recording of WiZiQ Presentation of Real English

2010-03-21T02:10:00.000-07:00

George Machlan introduced me with a funny slideshow, lasting 15 minutes, and then I present my most recent video lesson. Download or view here.

We now have 22 languages of Instructions for Beginners

2010-03-16T23:42:00.000-07:00

Thank you, contributors! See all the languages here.
Native-language translations of the instructions will help real beginners get started on the Real English video lessons!
If you do not see YOUR native language in the list, could you translate from English? TIA!

Newsletter # 6 - Meet Michael Marzio, creator of Real English®.

2010-03-16T03:01:00.000-07:00

George Machlan will interview Mike on Saturday, March 20, 2010. Mike will then take you on a tour of Real English lessons, and will show how the videos work with the exercises, emphasizing the nature of Real English Learning Techniques and also, quite simply, How to Use Real English®.

This session is primarily designed for teachers, but students are most welcome too!
All Details Here.
LOL is guaranteed since George will be in charge.

Meet Jennifer!

2010-03-09T01:27:00.000-08:00

Jennifer has just created her own site.

My friends know that I'm a big fan of JenniferESL. Some have asked me why I like her work so much. They look at the kind of work I do and point out that she seems to represent an approach to learning English which is the opposite of mine.

I don't speak clearly and intelligently like she does. In fact I don't speak at all. The people I film do the talking for me. Whether they're intelligent or not, these people mumble sometimes and are often hard to understand.

Having created a brick-and-mortar language school for the companies in Provence, France 34 years ago, I learned early on that the very first step in classroom teaching for adults is to put them at ease and create a friendly atmosphere. Here in France, and in most parts of the world, the public education systems actually made, and sometimes still make students fear English instead of embracing it. This "environmental" aspect of the classroom is just as important as good teaching techniques and being well-prepared for every class.

What impresses me so much is that Jennifer does the same thing, but on the internet. That's a simple sentence, but the implications are ground-breaking. The first thing you notice about her online teaching videos is that she puts her students at ease. It's her persona and inner self. She does it naturally. She knows her subject inside and out, and that's one reason why she herself is relaxed.

This feeling permeates every video she has made and is one reason for her incredible success.

With clear purpose, excellent technique, work becomes recreation. Students learn and love learning.

My ESL Friends: Real-English Exposed!

2010-03-04T10:41:00.000-08:00

My ESL Friends: Real-English Exposed!