Monday, April 11, 2011
Phrasal verbs are very similar to English idioms in the sense that different prepositions radically change the entire meaning of a verb. Look at this sentence, for instance: “You might still get on with your supervisor, even though he has an annoying habit of getting on at you every once in a while.”Confusing, indeed. But don’t let these complications get to you; instead, check out our tips on nailing down English phrasal verbs.
First of all, you’ll need to find a good reference. You can start with the Longman Pocket Phrasal Verbs Dictionary. It’s very compact and neat but very informative - it has over 3,000 entries. It is also very affordable: the price varies from $2 to $8. The dictionary is also available for download as an ebook. (With a little bit of luck, you can also find it online for free).
First of all, you’ll need to find a good reference. You can start with the Longman Pocket Phrasal Verbs Dictionary. It’s very compact and neat but very informative - it has over 3,000 entries. It is also very affordable: the price varies from $2 to $8. The dictionary is also available for download as an ebook. (With a little bit of luck, you can also find it online for free).
With prices starting from $23, Cambridge Phrasal Verbs Dictionary is a slightly more expensive, yet more comprehensive choice. It has almost 6,000 verbal expressions along with thousands of example sentences and easy-to-use thematic sections.
Or, check this Online reference with almost 3,000 phrasal verbs organized alphabetically. The website also has phrasal verb quizzes where you can test yourself and find out where you need to pay more attention. You can find more tests here.
Or, check this Online reference with almost 3,000 phrasal verbs organized alphabetically. The website also has phrasal verb quizzes where you can test yourself and find out where you need to pay more attention. You can find more tests here.
If you plan to learn English, New York City is definitely the right place to be. Not only is it one of the most exciting and vibrant cities in the world, but it also has such an amazing cultural and national diversity that regardless of where you are from and what language you speak, you will feel at home here. It’s one of the most popular tourist destinations, and for a good reason. Whether you are interested in music, architecture, history, art or nightlife, you will definitely find something to enjoy, from going to the world-famous museums to the underground galleries featuring works of up-and-coming artists, from seeing Broadway shows to tasting unique cuisine in three-star restaurants, from visiting historic sites to exploring new trendy neighborhoods. Your stay in New York can certainly be one of the most interesting and memorable times of your life, and the best thing about it is that you do not necessarily have to spend a lot of money to make it happen. Even though New York is one of the 30 most expensive cities in the world, there are a lot of things that you can do and see for free.
With summer on its way, everyone tries to spend more time outdoors and the city offers a lot of great opportunities to do that. We suggest you start with visiting one of the many green and leafy escapes from the chaotic life of the megapolis.
Central Park is one of the city’s landmarks and a definite must-see, but it’s just one of the many New York’s urban oasises. The Fresh Kills Park is spread over 2,200 acres of land in Staten Island and is about to become the largest park in New York. Take a Free 90-minute bus tour and learn about the transformation of the former landfill into a green gem of the Staten Island waterfront while enjoying the view of the surrounding bridges.
Fort Totten Park of Queens is a home to Civil War masonry forts and everyone interested in U.S, History should consider going there. Sign up for a Free guided tour and enjoy a glimpse into the historical part of New York. You can also participate in one of the many events and festivities taking place here all year round, from bird watching in the winter to visiting the park’s haunted mansion at Halloween.
If the only means of transportation you acknowledge is a bike, reserve a spot at the Bronx River Ride to The Source. Keep in mind that this 5-hour ride is not for the faint of heart.
Park Slope, an up-and-coming neighborhood in Brooklyn, was not always a home to artists and writers. If you want to know what the area was like before the invasion of art galleries and upscale coffee shops, the Urban Ranger tour is a good way to find out.
With summer on its way, everyone tries to spend more time outdoors and the city offers a lot of great opportunities to do that. We suggest you start with visiting one of the many green and leafy escapes from the chaotic life of the megapolis.
Central Park is one of the city’s landmarks and a definite must-see, but it’s just one of the many New York’s urban oasises. The Fresh Kills Park is spread over 2,200 acres of land in Staten Island and is about to become the largest park in New York. Take a Free 90-minute bus tour and learn about the transformation of the former landfill into a green gem of the Staten Island waterfront while enjoying the view of the surrounding bridges.
Fort Totten Park of Queens is a home to Civil War masonry forts and everyone interested in U.S, History should consider going there. Sign up for a Free guided tour and enjoy a glimpse into the historical part of New York. You can also participate in one of the many events and festivities taking place here all year round, from bird watching in the winter to visiting the park’s haunted mansion at Halloween.
If the only means of transportation you acknowledge is a bike, reserve a spot at the Bronx River Ride to The Source. Keep in mind that this 5-hour ride is not for the faint of heart.
Park Slope, an up-and-coming neighborhood in Brooklyn, was not always a home to artists and writers. If you want to know what the area was like before the invasion of art galleries and upscale coffee shops, the Urban Ranger tour is a good way to find out.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Once you learn enough vocabulary and polish your grammar, you won’t have as much fear as at the very beginning and will be eager to use your English in conversation. However, even though Americans are known to be very open-minded and straightforward, certain conversational topics are better to be avoided.
It is never a good idea to discuss standards of living. Curiosity is in human nature; yet, inquiries of this kind are frowned upon. Job-related questions are fine as long as they do not involve anything salary-related. Or, ask a New Yorker how much they pay for a wonderful downtown loft and watch how quickly this person finds an excuse to walk away from you.
One question you will hear very often, usually accompanied by a genuine smile, is “How are you?” It makes you think your response should be just as sincere and honest-to-goodness. Yet, hold on – do not go into the gruesome details of your latest break-up, an atrocious behavior of your coworker, or paying off an outrageously high interest on your credit card. There will be time when you’ll talk about what and how you feel; for now, just say, “I’m good” and move on to the next topic.
America is probably more ethically and culturally diverse as any other country. But even after centuries of people of opposite beliefs and ideas living side by side, certain tensions and grievances still exist in the American society. You might feel strong about politics, religion, race issues, or reproductive rights, but these topics are rather controversial and might easily turn a discussion into unpleasant, heated arguments.
New York is a great place to be an ESL student. You are fully immersed into American culture, exposed to the English language and get to see with your own eyes everything that makes New York one of the most exciting cities in the world. But as welcoming and densely populated as the city is, sooner or later you might run into a problem of not knowing enough people with whom to practice your English language skills. Your classmates might not be always available – after all, everyone has a lot of responsibilities to deal with on a daily basis – and your new American friends might not be always willing to play the role of English tutor due to the very same reason. Online language communities like Livemocha that we wrote about earlier are definitely a great solution, but nothing beats a face-to-face conversation.
Enter Meetup.com, a hugely popular online network of local groups. The membership on the website is free and you can join as many groups as you want. Those of you interested in practicing your English, should check put these groups:
We Are New York was founded in January 2011 and has only 7 members to date. Yet, it’s very active – in less than 3 months, WANY held 2 meetups and has 6 more scheduled. The events are not only free but also are a lot of fun. Along with your fellow Meetup group member, you will sing karaoke to one of the most famous songs about Big Apple, Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York.”
New York City English as a Second Language was created in 2005 and has over 450 members, all of whom are raving about the group. If you want to make new friends, practice your conversational and reading English skills in a relaxing atmosphere and have fun while doing that, email the group’s organizer, Al, and ask to join the NYCESL.
Enter Meetup.com, a hugely popular online network of local groups. The membership on the website is free and you can join as many groups as you want. Those of you interested in practicing your English, should check put these groups:
We Are New York was founded in January 2011 and has only 7 members to date. Yet, it’s very active – in less than 3 months, WANY held 2 meetups and has 6 more scheduled. The events are not only free but also are a lot of fun. Along with your fellow Meetup group member, you will sing karaoke to one of the most famous songs about Big Apple, Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York.”
New York City English as a Second Language was created in 2005 and has over 450 members, all of whom are raving about the group. If you want to make new friends, practice your conversational and reading English skills in a relaxing atmosphere and have fun while doing that, email the group’s organizer, Al, and ask to join the NYCESL.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
English idioms are one of the most difficult topics for any ESL student to master since they are not translated literally and cannot be understood from the individual meanings of their elements. If your new smart phone cost you an arm and a leg, it does not mean that you actually had to amputate your limbs in exchange for a high-tech gadget. There are over 15,000 idioms in the English Language so it’s understandable why it might be quite a challenge for a non-native speaker to know them through and through. Yet, there is no need to look for a shoulder to cry on. If you happen to stumble upon an expression you don’t know, you can refer to one of the many online idiom dictionaries.
A good place to start is The Free Dictionary. With over 12,000 idioms, it’s one of the most comprehensive resources on the web. You can browse through a list of random idioms and pick up a couple of new expressions. If you want to see the idioms containing a specific word, enter it in a search field and see what you get.
Online Idiom Dictionary is another must-see website. Similar to The Free Dictionary, it also provides you with a list of most common idioms and expressions picked at random. For every idiom, there is an example of its use in the sentence. The dictionary is significantly smaller – it contains about 5,000 expressions – but it’s less crowded and more pleasing to the eye.
If money is no object, you should consider investing in the Cambridge Idioms Dictionary. It has up-to-date content, a section on the most commonly used idioms and the option to search for an idiom by different topics. Click on the picture to learn more about pricing and availability.
A good place to start is The Free Dictionary. With over 12,000 idioms, it’s one of the most comprehensive resources on the web. You can browse through a list of random idioms and pick up a couple of new expressions. If you want to see the idioms containing a specific word, enter it in a search field and see what you get.
Online Idiom Dictionary is another must-see website. Similar to The Free Dictionary, it also provides you with a list of most common idioms and expressions picked at random. For every idiom, there is an example of its use in the sentence. The dictionary is significantly smaller – it contains about 5,000 expressions – but it’s less crowded and more pleasing to the eye.
If money is no object, you should consider investing in the Cambridge Idioms Dictionary. It has up-to-date content, a section on the most commonly used idioms and the option to search for an idiom by different topics. Click on the picture to learn more about pricing and availability.
Everyone has a favorite social network. It’s either a ubiquitous Facebook, or straight-to-a-point Twitter, or down-to-business LinkedIn. Here’s another service that you might want to check out, LiveMocha. It’s an online language learning community offering free and paid lessons. The website is very popular and has over 9 million members from all over the world. What you can do there, is to find a native English speaker for language practice. You can ask questions about grammar, word usage, translation, take online tests or quizzes, and more importantly, work on your English speaking skills. Since practice makes perfect, you should use all resources you have to perfect the language, and this website offers just that.
Livemocha community is built on reciprocal approach wherein people work together to help each other learn the languages they want. When you create a profile on Livemocha, you need to specify what language you want to learn and what language(s) you speak fluently, and the website will match you with other members.
Livemocha has an online chat where you can practice your written English Skills. If you don’t know a meaning of any word, you can use the built-in Phrase Translator to look it up. You can also work on your understanding and maintaining a conversation using the Conversation Scenarios. This will definitely come in handy when you’ll be taking tests or writing essays. You can use a microphone and/or webcam to talk to your Livemocha partner and practice your conversational skills. If you want to work on pronunciation, you can record phrases, words or texts and submit a spoken exercise for review.
All basic features of Livemocha membership that you might need to work on your English skills – chat, messaging, and flashcards - are free.
Livemocha community is built on reciprocal approach wherein people work together to help each other learn the languages they want. When you create a profile on Livemocha, you need to specify what language you want to learn and what language(s) you speak fluently, and the website will match you with other members.
Livemocha has an online chat where you can practice your written English Skills. If you don’t know a meaning of any word, you can use the built-in Phrase Translator to look it up. You can also work on your understanding and maintaining a conversation using the Conversation Scenarios. This will definitely come in handy when you’ll be taking tests or writing essays. You can use a microphone and/or webcam to talk to your Livemocha partner and practice your conversational skills. If you want to work on pronunciation, you can record phrases, words or texts and submit a spoken exercise for review.
All basic features of Livemocha membership that you might need to work on your English skills – chat, messaging, and flashcards - are free.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
To develop and practice your English skills, you need to talk as much as you can, preferably with native speakers of English, so you could get a feel of the English speech flow. For those of you who have American roommates, friends or coworkers, it should be pretty easy. However, for most of you finding conversational partners other than your classmates and professors might be a bit challenging, even in a city as big as New York. Yet you don’t need to know someone to start a conversation; you can talk to cashiers at the supermarket, sales assistants at department stores, people you meet at a party, or commuters on a train. The good news is that you don’t need to engage into long discussions which might be hard for you to maintain at this point; all you need to do is to master the art of small talk. Small talk is actually a big part of American culture and the ability to start a light yet interesting conversation is valued very highly. Here are some topics that you should definitely consider discussing:
Weather
It does not matter if it’s raining cats and dogs or it’s the hottest day of the year; you can talk about how much you like or hate it, whether it makes you miserable or happy, and of course, how it’s different from your home country.
Hobbies
It’s always interesting to learn what other people like to do in their spare time, so don’t be shy, go ahead and tell a person you met at a party about your lifelong passion for writing poetry, painting, or running 5 miles every day. If they happen to share your enthusiasm, you might have just made a new friend.
Entertainment
Talk about new releases, hottest bands or latest scandals in the world of show business, which there are plenty of. Remember, though, that we all have different tastes and preferences, so don’t be too quick judging Justin Bieber’s haircut, Blake Lively’s acting chops, or Snooki’s drinking habit. A shouting match or, worse, a fistfight with a die-hard fan of any of the above is never a good idea.
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