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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.
Examples that use "simple present": My name is Laurie. I like chocolate. She doesn't like hot weather. Do you like to cook? She has long, wavy hair in a bun.
Good Evening. How's it going? I'm fine. How was your day? busy. How was your weekend? pretty good. What did you do? I went to an airshow in Leesburg with my family and some friends.
We took a reading test. Don't worry if it was difficult. It's supposed to be difficult. You may have a really good score even if you didn't finish it.
"Read All About It"
The "Oh's: are a little long. "Bite your tongue" means be quiet when you really want to say something. "The papers" are newspapers. "Wanna" is how we say "want to." "Gonna" is how we say "going to" Never write "wanna" or "gonna" in a formal essay, but you can use this spelling for texting or for a note to a close friend. If you like lyrics, you'll see them spelled these incorrect ways really often.
A few people practiced unscrambling sentences into Subject--Verb--Object order.
A subject is the main noun. The verb is an action word. The object usually receives the action.
Examples in Subject--Verb--Object order: I ate chicken. You took a test. He read the book. She did her homework. We will study a lot in English class. They drove the car.
Subjects: I, You, He, She, We, They. Verbs: ate, took, read, did, will study, drove.
Objects: chicken, test, book, homework, a lot, car.
Auxiliary Verbs--helping verbs. When you have a verb that's two or more words, the main verb tells the meaning and the auxiliary verb(s) usually shows the tense. Auxiliary verbs also start yes/no questions. Do, be, have, should, can and will are common auxiliary verbs.
I enjoyed meeting you today. We met our classmates. We talked about the class. We talked to each other.
Some of my students improved quickly by watching lyrics videos while listening to the songs. .
A verb is an action word. The verb tense indicates whether the action happens in the past, the future, right now, all the time, etc. We practiced asking questions with do or did.
A: Hey! What's up? B. Not much The weather is terrible, isn't it? A. Yes, it is. I hate the rain. C: The weather is terrible, isn't it? D: Not for me. I love the rain!
We often use negative-sounding (isn't/aren't/don't) "tag questions" to ask for confirmation or agreement. You're in my English class, aren't you? (Yes, I am) Answer tags just like a positive question.
Are you reading the class blog? Yes, I am.
You're reading the blog, aren't you? Yes, I am.
Are you at school right now? No, I'm not.
You're at school right now, aren't you? No, I'm not.
Make tags with the contraction of the negative form. Do not separate.
don't you? do not you
aren't you? are not you
isn't he? is not he Practice Vocabulary
Tonight we worked on goals.
Many students want to improve their speaking. We'll talk a lot in this class.
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Our second biggest group wants to practice reading.
Most students worked on dictations in pairs. Most of you did a tremendously good job on those.
We also asked each other questions to play BINGO.
In BINGO, when we asked about something finished in the past, we asked with "Did you...." (past tense)
When we asked about preferences and habits, we asked with "Do you... (present tense)
Tonight we started to get to know each other. We introduced ourselves and interviewed partners.
We read an overview of the class and some class rules.
We practiced saying, "I do too" when we agree with positive things (in present tense.) We say, "I don't either" when we agree with negative things.
He lives in Springfield, and I do too.
She doesn't like to wait, and I don't either.
She likes chocolate, and I do too.
You can say, "she likes watermelon, and I like it too." DON'T say "she likes watermelon and I like too."
We practiced using to+base verb when talking about activities we like.
Don't use an "ing" form of a verb after "to"
I like to talk. (talking)
I like to cook.
I like to listen to music.
He likes to drink wine.
She likes to eat fish.
We like to go shopping. (going)
We listened to "I won't give up on you." It was fast for most of the students. We went over a little of the vocabulary.
Tell me about your family.
(I'll tell you about my family as an example)
I have a husband and five children. I don't have any brothers or sisters. My parents are 83 years old. They work part-time because they like their jobs. They love to watch American football on TV. My dad loves the Washington Redskins. My mom loves the Dallas Cowboys. They are happily married anyway.
My children are growing up. Two go to college. Two go to high school. My sweet baby is in seventh grade. Four of my children are taller than I am. (I tell them it's not a big accomplishment because I'm very short.) Four of them have light blonde hair. My 4th child has dark brown hair like her grandparents. Two girls have very long, blonde hair. My brown-haired child keeps it cut to medium-length. My older son has a crew cut. All five of the children have pale skin and blue eyes. My girls are short and skinny. My boys are average in height with wide shoulders. All my children work hard at school. They like to read, swim, sing, and play computer games.
(After 1:40, the video plays instruments and repeats)
Autumn is harvest time for many farmers. If you miss living close to farms and eating really fresh food, don't be sad. It's a little more expensive, but it's possible to get fresh produce here.
What is your favorite season? I love autumn, but I like spring a little better. I like pretty flowers better than leaves. My husband likes autumn better because his allergies are bad in the spring.
School started for my kids, but not for us. I'm cleaning, organizing, and getting ready for classes. What are you doing?
Today, outdoor pools opened for the last day in 2014. People had picnics and family get togethers. Stores had sales. Banks and federal offices were closed. Many schools start tomorrow. Today is Labor Day!
