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Improve your English by using English!
I have a similar blog at www.lieasyesol.blogspot.com that I update more frequently.
Use "used to" for habits in the past that aren't true now. We used to wash our clothes by hand, but now we use a machine.
We did an EL Civics module about finding information about Fairfax County. We read a story about three people that needed information to solve a problem. They needed to learn how to recycle a refrigerator, find a really cheap dentist, and find an easy computer class.
Vocabulary:
Terrible--very bad
Stolen-Taken-past participle for steal
Suspicious--Looks like there may be a problem
up to something--planning mischief--wants to do something bad
theft--noun for stealing, a bandit incident
crime--any violation of the law
brand--mark of a company like Samsung or Sony
favorite--like best
gerund-- ing form (present participle) of a verb used like a noun
examples: swimming, exercising, walking, watching TV.
noun-person, place, thing, or idea
--- Our favorite nouns include: mother, father, family, children, wife, dinner, sleep,
verb-action word
We talked about was and were. Use was for one; were for two +; only were for you (1 or 2)
Alvi said that she once bought a new car, and she was surprised how much she paid when she finished the loan.
If you buy a $15,000 car with a 5-year loan with 5% interest, your payment would be $283.07/each month.
If you always pay on time, you'll pay a total of $16,984.11.
If you get a $20,000 loan at 5% interest for 60 payments, your payment will be $377.42/month, and you will pay a minimum total of $22,645.48.
If you get a $25,000 loan at 5% for 60 payments, your payment will be $471.78, and your minimum total will be $28, 306.85.
We talked about the difference between "where" and "wear?" Where is for location; wear is for clothes.
Examples: Where are we? (We're at school.) What color do you like to wear? (I like to wear blue.)
Do you wear a uniform? (Yes, I do/No, I don't) Where do you wear your uniform? (I wear it at work)
We talked about short answers. Short answers should match the question. Be with be. Do with do.
(Did with did, have with have, should with should, can with can, will with will....)
Examples: To Be: am, are, is...
Are you happy? Yes, I am.
Are you tall? No, I'm not.
Is he here? Yes, he is.
Is she here? No, she's not
Are we learning a lot? Yes, we are.
Are they learning a lot? No, they aren't. They aren't at school. ( No, they're not. They're not at school. is also correct.)
Do: do, does
Do you like to watch movies? Yes, I do.
Do I talk too slowly? No, you don't.
Does he like her? Yes, he does.
Does she like him? No, she doesn't.
Does it rain a lot? Yes, it does.
Are we busy? Yes, we are.
Do you like movies? Yes, we do.
Do they have cell phones? Yes, they do.
We talked about should. Should is good advice. When you do what you should do, you do the perfect, excellent deed. We do many good things that we should do. We do some bad things that we shouldn't do.
Use a simple, base verb with should. No s, ed or ing.
I should give some examples.
You should practice every day.
He should come to class.
She should tell me what happened.
It should be sunny tomorrow.
We shouldn't worry.
You should speak more loudly.
They shouldn't be cruel when they tease her.
Use a simple/base form verb after should. No to, s, ing, or ed.
Some people practiced writing and advising each other with should. Some people took a reading "CASAS" test.
Vocabulary: near-close cruel-mean, where/wear, should, tease, double-times 2, twice-two times,
once-one time,
nag-repeat advice too much,--VERY FAST example video of common advice from moms.
Vocabulary:
hurry--go fast
Thought it through--think about all the options before making a clear decision
reach for -- work to get something that's not close by
goal--target, what you want
give up-- quit stop
We talked about people with goals. The soccer player wants to kick a ball into the goal. He wants to win the game. He wants to win the world cup. The driver wants to to go to California. He reads a map. The smoker wants to give up cigarettes. The woman wants to lose weight. She exercises.
We set goals for our English class.
We voted about topics to talk about. Consumerism and Civics tied! Some people were interested in GED practice.
Some of us played a game. We wrote two true and one fiction statement about ourselves and guessed which one wasn't true.
We did a quick needs assessment for writing and grammar.
We talked about when to say "have" or "having." Never use "having" when have means possession. You can use to be + "having" for eating or experiencing. She's having a baby means she's pregnant.
Expansion: Using present or present progressive. Video Example--Using present and present continuous dialog examples Detailed explanation with examples Quiz (Note: We usually use simple present with always and never, but not with strong negative emotion. Using present continuous with always and never gives it extra emphasis.)
Some of today's vocabulary:
stood up- (past for) stand up
felt-(past for) feel
gonna-- going to-intended future--I'm gonna talk to her= I am going to talk to her.= I decided to talk to her in the future/I intend to talk to her.
cause-because
fright--fear, feeling scared
get over my fright -- recover from or control my fear
nervous-worry that something bad will happen
