Word of the week: Job (or work?!)

job ... or work???

JOB is countable and it means

• a paid occupation >> He's got a new job as a teacher.
• a task >> We've got lots of jobs to do today!
• a duty or responsibility >> Painting the house is a big job.

WORK is usually uncountable (we cannot say: I have a new work) and it means

• one's place of occupation >> Things aren't going to well at work at the moment.
• undefined tasks >> I've got a lot of work on right now.

They can be used with little or no change in meaning:

• Is your job/work interesting?
• What kind of job/work do you do?

Read, Listen (and repeat!) - method 2

Please read Read, Listen (and repeat!) - method 1 first!

Method 2: CHUNKING. To improve your rhythm and intonation.

Suitable for: pre intermediate +

Skills focus: Listening, reading and pronunciation 

In any language, when we read and speak, we do it in multiword units:

For example, look at the sentence below: 
a) The rain ■ in Spain ■ stays mainly ■ in the plain.

It sounds smooth if we break it into chunks as shown above. 
What about if we chunk it as shown below?

b) The ■ rain in ■ Spain stays ■ mainly in the ■ plain.

Now it no longer sounds smooth or rhythmic. Why? 
In a) we split it into lexical chunks - each chunk has a discrete meaning. 
In b) we split it randomly - the chunks have no meaning.

A native speaker of the language does this without thinking. For a non-native speaker, however, chunking may have to be learned. (Some languages do not have chunking, such as Chinese.) Speakers of these languages need to work on this issue in order to sound natural. 

To practice chunking, simply choose a passage in your graded reader and place markers where you think the chunks are. Listen to the CD and compare where you have marked the chunks with that of the speaker on the CD. Correct as necessary and then read the passage out loud. 

After a while, you will find it easy!

How to: Introduce and start a meeting in English

Here are some phrases to help you introduce and start a meeting:

>> I'd like to start by formally welcoming everyone here today.
>> So, if we could start by looking at the first item on the agenda.
>> Right, shall we start?
>> Shall we make a start?
>> I think we're all here, so let's get going.

TIP: we refer to an item on an agenda. For example: Let's look at the first item on the agenda.
We discuss an issue at a meeting. For example: We can discuss (talk about) the recruitment issue at a later date.

Word of the week: DISCUSS

verb - to discuss

The verb DISCUSS means to talk about something and exchange opinions. It is not negative. When there is a real disagreement, we should use the verb ARGUE. 

Examples: 

DISCUSS -

• We need to discuss the next plans of the project.
• Yesterday, at the meeting, we discussed the new project plans.
• We had a very useful discussion about the next quarter.

ARGUE -

• Last night me and my boyfriend argued about which film to watch.
• Jane had a huge argument with her sister a couple of months ago, and they still aren't speaking to each other!

Read, Listen (and repeat!) - method 1

Suitable for: all levels

Skills focus: Listening, reading, pronunciation and new vocabulary

Following on from the LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN article, something I suggest you do to help improve your listening skills is to invest in a graded reader (in other words, books for learning English, graded by level). These books are GREAT and cost from €6. You can find lots of different titles and lots of different genres; from Billy Elliot to The Grapes of Wrath!


Choose the correct level for you (you can find the level on the back of the book) and try this method:

1. Listen to the first chapter (without reading).

Try to understand the general sense but don’t worry about understanding every single word. (Remember to try and enjoy the story!)

2. Now listen again, but this time READ at the same time. 

Did you understand more? I imagine the answer will be yes. Consider why? Is there a lot of new vocabulary? Or do you understand the words when you read them, but not when you hear them? 

3. Listen and read again

This time stopping the CD when you come across words that you find difficult to understand or pronounce. Highlight these words and mark the word stress and the pronunciation. Listen and repeat until you feel you can say that word well.
4. Use the same method for each chapter.

We love: PENGUIN READERS and Oxford

The English Language in 24 accents

Check out this you tube clip of a young English lad impersonating various different accents. He is very good and it's really funny. 


The English Language in 24 accents

ps) he swears quite a lot (uses bad language) so don't listen to it if you are offended by bad language!!

3 common errors that make you look thick!

Well, maybe not thick (tonto!) exactly, but it got your attention right? Here are some common errors to avoid: 

1. live vs. leave

“I leave in London.”  

Umm I don’t think you do! You live in London. You leave your house at 8.30 to go to work.

LIVE - (vivere)

LEAVE - (partire / lasciare)

2. pretend vs. demand, want, expect

“My boss pretends too much from me.” 

Umm...what?! Maybe your boss pretends to be nasty, but deep down inside he’s all lovely jubbly ... but he doesn’t pretend anything from you.

FINGERE = pretend

PRETENDERE = want, demand, expect

“My boss expects/demands too much from me.”

3. The Responsible!

“Ms Monroe is the responsible for the marketing.”

We don’t use ‘responsible’ as a noun. You can say:

‘Ms Monroe is responsible for marketing’ or ‘Ms Monroe is the marketing manager’. 

(This post is dedicated to my Italian friends!) 

Word of the week: thick

Poor Dopey is just a bit thick

adjective - thick 

Thick has a variety of different meanings, depending on the context it is used. Today I want to look at the informal use of the word thick!

Meaning: Thick can mean to be stupid or slow

Example: I couldn't answer the question in class and felt really thick! 

Click for other meanings of thick: 

LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN!

The most popular advice I’ve been hearing from all you guys out there learning English is to LISTEN, LISTEN and LISTEN again.

As someone who lives in a foreign country, I would agree this is a fundamental thing to do.  I picked up Italian by living there and hearing it everyday. When I lived in London for two years, I lost practically all of it because I wasn’t hearing it everyday. So it essential that you try to listen to as much real English as possible.

So what does listening to authentic English help you do?

You told me:

1. It improves my accent. I hear the correct pronunciation of words and I copy them - listen and repeat
2. Songs are great for new words. And because I sing them over and over, I learn the words by heart.*
3. I learn lots of new words from the TV shows I watch
4. I listen to podcasts in the car - the same ones over and over until I understand it. 
5. The more I listen to, the more I can understand.
6. It doesn’t matter if I don’t understand every word individually, it is important that I understand the general gist.

What can I listen to? 

• Listen to podcasts - they're free and there are lots available
• Watch TV series (from the UK, USA and Australia ) 
• Listen to music - download the lyrics from the net and sing sing sing
• Listen to digital radio or the World Service
• Buy a graded reader with audio CD
• Watch the news
• Watch a documentary
• Watch a clip on youtube
• Join a group on skype and chat to people from all over the world

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be blogging about my favourite things in English that I recommend to my students. I’ll tell you what level it is suitable for and where to get your hands on it.

I’ll be in touch soon!