ESL News: Teachers Uses New Method to Teach ESL

This article by Alla O. Schlate in the Tribuna Connecticut is about the use of recordings to help students to start to think, speak and express themselves in English. Here is an excerpt from the article:

Since I believe that language is more than just “plugging in the words of one language into the English slots” (J. McWhorter 2000) and that students must share ownership of the second language acquisition, I require that my students keep journals, starting with their reflections on my classes and then proceeding to insightful observations of their learning process. 

One example is a grammar course, “Recording Your Inner Voice: Think and Dream in English” for ESL students, in which I complement a learning centered syllabus based on the readings from S. Pinker and P. Bloom with interpretive dance, Kundalini meditations and other non-orthodox techniques. Students are required to think and “speak inside themselves” in English while outside the classroom and to reflect upon the process of their learning in the form of journals documenting every obstacle they came across when expressing themselves in English. (A major benchmark of success has been the moment the students begin dreaming in English, hence, the title.)

The rest of the article can be read here.

ESL News Article: Schools on Shoestring Budgets

This article by Manny Fernandez of the New York Times discusses what schools in the USA are like after heavy budget cuts. You can read an excerpt here:

For Hutto and the 1,264 other public school districts in Texas, this has been the year of doing without. Texas lawmakers cut public education financing by roughly $5.4 billion to balance the state’s two-year budget during the last legislative session, with the cuts taking effect this school year and next.
The budget reductions that districts large and small have had to make have transformed school life in a host of ways — increasing class sizes, reducing services and supplies and thinning the ranks of teachers, custodians, librarians and others, school administrators said.

The rest of the article is available here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/09/us/for-texas-schools-a-year-of-doing-without.html?_r=1&ref=education

"The Advantages of Online Education for Professionals"

This article by careerealism addresses three of the most prominent advantages of online education for professionals. Here is an excerpt: 

How many hours are left in the day after work?

Is it enough to go to college?

Maybe not if you have to commute, but if it simply meant logging on to your school’s website, you could complete a simple reading assignment in the amount of time to watch a television show.

An estimated 6.1 million colleges take online courses, according to a report by the Babson Survey Research Center. The flexibility of online school has allowed working individuals to rise ahead, procuring a better position at a current company or even transitioning into a better working environment. Online education has really changed the game for military families and single parents as well. For these students, taking courses over the Internet really saves time and even money.

Click the link to read the full article! 

Defending Online Learning, Part One By Thomas K. Lindsay

This article by Thomas K. Lindsay of the National Review is an opinion piece on online learning. Here is an excerpt:

"For some time now, we’ve heard the following criticism of online education: “Its only virtue is that it’s cheap; it has little educational value compared with traditional, fact-to-face education.”
This claim no longer can withstand scrutiny.

 

In 2009, the U.S. Department of Education published a review of no fewer than 44 studies evaluating post-secondary students. The report concluded that “students who took all or part of their class online performed better, on average, than those taking the same course through traditional face-to-face instruction.”

ESL Lesson: Tenses (Part 1)

This blog entry is all about tenses in the English language. What are tenses? Tenses are a part of speech involved with verbs (action words) that let you know what time something occurred. It is a bit complex, but tenses are very important in the English language. The three basic tenses are past, present and future tense. Past refers to events that have happened already. Present refers to events that are happening right now. Future refers to events that will happen.

Consider the following verbs with special tenses:

To be

In the past tense, this verb becomes was for singular nouns or pronouns and were for plural nouns or pronouns.

In the present tense, this verb becomes is for singular nouns or pronouns, am for the pronoun “I” and are for plural nouns or pronouns.

In the future tense, this verb becomes will be for singular and plural nouns and pronouns.

To go

In the past tense, this verb becomes went for all singular and plural nouns or pronouns.

In the present tense, this verb becomes goes for singular nouns or pronouns, and go for the pronoun “I” and plural nouns or pronouns.

In the future tense, this verb becomes will go for singular and plural nouns and pronouns.

To eat

In the past tense, this verb becomes ate for all singular and plural nouns or pronouns.

In the present tense, this verb becomes eats for singular nouns or pronouns, and eat for the pronoun “I” and plural nouns or pronouns.

In the future tense, this verb becomes will eat for singular and plural nouns and pronouns.

To have

In the past tense, this verb becomes had for all singular and plural nouns or pronouns.

In the present tense, this verb becomes has for singular nouns or pronouns, and have for the pronoun “I” and plural nouns or pronouns.

In the future tense, this verb becomes will have for singular and plural nouns and pronouns.

To see

In the past tense, this verb becomes saw for all singular and plural nouns or pronouns.

In the present tense, this verb becomes sees for singular nouns or pronouns, and see for the pronoun “I” and plural nouns or pronouns.

In the future tense, this verb becomes will go for singular and plural nouns and pronouns.

Do you have any other questions or comments about this or any other ESL subject? Leave them in the comment section and we will answer them. Stay tuned for more free advice on this and other subjects as well as promotions and news!

If you want individual tutoring and help in learning English, contact Kingston University USA today!!

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ESL Lesson: Contractions

Contractions

This blog entry is all about contractions! 
What are contractions? 
Contractions are a part of informal English frequently used in conversation and in casual or creative writing such as an email to a friend, an anecdote (or a true story someone tells) or a fictional story. 

Don't is a contraction of the words do not.

Contractions are the shorthand way of writing or saying two words as just one word. Very often contractions use the apostrophe (‘) and the removal of letters to make a new word. Contractions should not be used in formal writing such as business letters. In business letters, you should write out words instead of using shorthand like contractions. Here are some examples of contractions.

Can't

Can’t is a contraction of the words can not or the word cannot. The second “o” is replaced by an apostrophe (‘), and the space in between the two words is eliminated. Consider the following two sentences.
I can not meet you this Friday as I am very busy.
I can’t meet you this Friday as I am very busy.


Don’t

Don’t is a contraction of the words do not. The second “o” is replaced by an apostrophe (‘), and the space in between the two words is eliminated. Consider the following two sentences.
I do not have any appointments next Monday.
I don’t have any appointments next Monday.


Doesn't

Doesn’t is a contraction of the words does not. The “o” in not is replaced by an apostrophe (‘), and the space in between the two words is eliminated. Consider the following two sentences.
She does not like to drink coffee.
She doesn't like to drink coffee.


Didn't 

Didn’t is a contraction of the words did not. The “o” in not is replaced by an apostrophe (‘), and the space in between the two words is eliminated. Consider the following two sentences.
I did not talk to Mr. Jones last week.
I didn't talk to Mr. Jones last week.


Couldn't 

Couldn’t is a contraction of the words could not. The “o” in not is replaced by an apostrophe (‘), and the space in between the two words is eliminated. Consider the following two sentences.
I could not reach Mr. Jones last week through phone calls or email.
I couldn’t reach Mr. Jones last week through phone calls or email.


Wouldn't 

Wouldn’t is a contraction of the words would not. The “o” in not is replaced by an apostrophe (‘), and the space in between the two words is eliminated. Consider the following two sentences.
I would not spend too much money on office supplies. I wish to stay within my budget.
I wouldn't spend too much money on office supplies. I wish to stay within my budget.


Haven’t

Haven’t is a contraction of the words have not. The second “o” is replaced by an apostrophe (‘), and the space in between the two words is eliminated. Consider the following two sentences.
I have not reviewed your paperwork yet.
I haven’t reviewed your paperwork yet.


Won’t

Won’t is a contraction of the words will not. The second “o” is replaced by an apostrophe (‘), and the space in between the two words is eliminated. Consider the following two sentences.
I will not be able to attend the meeting this Thursday.
I won’t be able to attend the meeting this Thursday.


I hope these explanations help you understand the concept of contractions better. Remember that contractions are informal and that these are general contractions. We’ll post more on other contractions in the future. Do you have any other questions or comments about this or any other ESL subject? Leave them in the comment section and we will answer them. Stay tuned for more free advice on this and other subjects as well as promotions and news! If you want individual tutoring and help in learning English, contact Kingston University USA today!!

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ESL Lesson: Possessive Adjectives

This blog entry is all about possessive adjectives. What are possessive adjectives? They are a type of adjective that describe nouns by showing that they possess something. Here are the seven different possessive adjectives:

My

My is a possessive adjective that describes that something belongs to the speaker/writer or the pronoun “I.”

Examples:

I looked at her and said, “My book is on the table next to yours.”

My uncle is visiting me next week.

She said, “I cannot drive today, because my car is being repaired.”

Your

Your is a possessive adjective that describes that something belongs to the pronoun “you.” Remember that “you” can be either singular or plural.

Examples:

Your pet parrot is so pretty and talkative.

I told the students, “The cleanliness of the classroom is your responsibility.”

We are throwing you a party with cake for your birthday tomorrow!

We are throwing you a party with cake for your birthday tomorrow!

His

His is a possessive adjective that describes that something belongs to a male noun.

Examples:

His shirt was dirty after he fell down in the mud at the park today.

I visited his house to welcome him to the neighborhood.

He shared some apples he picked from his apple tree.

Her

Her is a possessive adjective that describes that something belongs to a female noun.

Examples:

She looked very similar to her mother.

Laura purchased new boots for her upcoming hiking trip.

Ling printed off copies of her business proposal to share with her co-workers.

Its

Its is a possessive adjective that describes that something belongs to things, animals, places, ideas, events or the pronoun it.

Examples:

The rabbit scratches its ears with its hind legs.

The house is white but its porch is dark brown.

The ethical life is its own reward.

Our

Our is a possessive adjective that describes that something belongs to the pronoun we or a group that includes the speaker/writer.

Examples:

My sister told me, “Our parents’ wedding anniversary is next week.”

The coach told his team, “Our fate is in our hands!”

Our responsibilities are shared at times.

Their

Their is a possessive adjective that describes that something belongs to a group, multiple persons, animals or things, or the pronoun they.

Examples:

The wolf cubs played in their den.

The children shared and played with their toys.

The businessmen shined their shoes before going into the meeting.

Do you have any questions or comments about this or any other ESL subject? Leave them in the comment section and we will answer them. Stay tuned for more free advice on this and other subjects as well as promotions and news! If you want individual tutoring and help in learning English, contact Kingston University USA today!!

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ESL Lesson: Introduction to Symbols

This blog entry is all about symbols. What are symbols? Symbols are things that represent, stand for or show other things. They can be found in writing, keyboards, everyday objects or as part of signs. Signs are messages using words and/or symbols to tell an important message to people. They are found on objects, along roads, and in buildings.

Let’s learn about some symbols in writing that can be found on the keyboard by pressing control or alt followed by one of the numbers one through seven.

@

This is the at symbol. It stands for and means the word “at.” It is frequently used for email addresses. Email addresses are written as kingstonuniversityusa@gmail.com , username@website.org , or username@website.net.

#

This is the number symbol. It stands for the word “number” or for numbering. For instance, “Teamwork is our number one value,” can be written as “Teamwork is our #1 value.”

$

This is the dollar symbol. It stands for either the dollar or the idea of money. For instance, “This hat costs ten dollars,” can be written as “This hat costs $10.”

%

This is the percentage symbol. This symbol stands for percentage, which is a number expressed as a fraction of the number 100. This symbol is often used in business, finance, retail, and culinary endeavors.

^

This is a caret. The caret is used in mathematics and finance to represent exponential functions.

&

This is an ampersand. It is sometimes called the “and symbol.” It is used to write the word “and” in a short way.


The following symbols are a bit more difficult to produce in a word document when typing. For Mac software or Apple products, you can use the Mac OS character palette, which is available in many programs by selecting Special Characters from the Edit Menu, or from the Input Menu (flag) icon on the menu bar. In Microsoft Office and many similar programs, there is often also an Insert menu with an Insert Symbol or Symbol command that brings up a graphical palette of symbols to insert, including the degree symbol.

∞

This is the infinity symbol. It is used for the idea of infinity, which is often treated as or acts as a number in mathematical equations.

Π

This is the pi symbol. Pi is a constant ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. It is most often used in mathematics, science and engineering.

¢

This is the cent sign. It is used to represent cents in countries' whose currencies or money can be divided by 100. An example of this sign in action is "This drink costs 79 cents," expressed as "This drink costs 79¢."

€

This is the Euro symbol. It is used in much of Europe and around the world as a symbol for money expressed in the Euro currency system.

£

This is the pound symbol. The pound is a currency in the United Kingdom.

¥

This is the Yen symbol. The Yen is the currency of Japan.

°

This is the degree symbol. It is used in science and everyday life to stand for degrees in regard to temperature. An example of the degree symbol in use is, "It is cold today with the temperature of 4° C."

Do you have any questions or comments about this or any other ESL subject? Leave them in the comment section and we will answer them. Stay tuned for more free advice on this and other subjects as well as promotions and news! If you want individual tutoring and help in learning English, contact Kingston University USA today!!

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ESL: Singular and Plural

This blog post is about helping you better understand singular and plural nouns in the English language. 


What is a singular noun? A singular noun is a noun that refers to one person, one animal, one thing, one place, one event or one idea.
Here are some examples where the singular nouns are underlined:
The woman goes to the cafe to have a drink.
A runner races through the park.
The puppy wags his tail.
The bird sings a song.
Sarah picked up her backpack and her books.
The apples are in the fruit bowl.
What day is today?
Happiness is an exciting feeling to have.


A plural noun is a noun that refers to a number besides one. 
This could be anything more than one, zero or negative numbers.


Most plural nouns are made by adding -s or -es to the singular noun.
Singular - Plural:
room - rooms
hat - hats
house - houses
river - rivers
day - days

minute - minutes

student - students 

gas - gases

box - boxes

A noun ending in -y preceded by a consonant makes the plural with -ies.
Singular - Plural
fly - flies
puppy - puppies

city - cities

baby - babies

lady - ladies

There are some irregular formations for noun plurals. Some of the most common ones are listed below.
Singular - Plural:
person - people
woman - women
man - men
child - children
tooth - teeth
foot - feet
mouse - mice
leaf - leaves
fungus - fungi
nucleus - nuclei 

goose - geese
half - halves
knife - knives
wife - wives
life - lives
loaf - loaves
cactus - cacti
focus - foci
syllabus - syllabi/syllabuses
analysis - analyses
thesis -  theses
crisis - crises

Some nouns have the same form in the singular and the plural.
Singular - Plural:

sheep - sheep

fish - fish

deer - deer

shorts -shorts

moose - moose

you - you

species - species

aircraft - aircraft

Some singular nouns group more than one person, place, or thing together. Even though the group contains more than one, the noun is still considered as singular because there is one group. These types of nouns are called collective nouns.
Examples:
Corps
Team
Neighborhood
Litter
Pride
Group

Remember, singular means one. It could be one person, one place, one idea, or one thing, as well as a single group of multiple people, things, ideas or places.

Nothing can improve ESL and general language skills more than practice with specialized instructors. Contact Kingston University USA to find out more about enrolling in an English language course or receiving ESL tutoring. You will discover that you can live locally and learn globally no matter what your current English abilities are!

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ESL Practice: The Basics of English Words

Here are some pictures that can help demonstrate some of the fundamentals of English. You will see the pictures, followed by a sentence that describe them, and then we will explain to you what category each word fits in English.

"She is using the computer at her desk."

She is a pronoun  in this sentence.

Using is a verb in this sentence.

Computer is a noun  in this sentence.

At is a preposition  in this sentence.

Desk is a noun  in this sentence.

"Ling is drinking coffee while listening to her co-worker."

Ling is a proper noun in this sentence.

Is is a verb in this sentence.

Drinking is a verb in this sentence.

Coffee is a noun in this sentence.

While is a conjunction in this sentence.

Listening is a verb in this sentence.

To is a preposition in this sentence.

Co-worker is a noun in this sentence.

"The workers discuss business ethics in the office."

Workers is a noun in this sentence.

Discuss is a verb in this sentence.

Business ethics is a noun  in this sentence.

In is a preposition in this sentence.

Office is a noun in this sentence.

"Ling answers the telephone call and she listens to her boss' instructions."

Ling is a proper noun in this sentence.

Answers is a verb in this sentence.

Telephone call is a noun in this sentence.

And is a conjuction in this sentence.

She is a pronoun in this sentence.

Listens is a verb in this sentence.

To is a preposition in this sentence.

Instructions is a noun in this sentence.

"Michelle is typing an email to send on her computer."

Michelle is a proper noun in this sentence.

Is is a verb in this sentence.

Typing is a verb in this sentence.

Email is a noun in this sentence.

To is a preposition in this sentence.

Send is a verb in this sentence.

On is a preposition in this sentence.

Computer is a noun in this sentence.

I hope these examples show ESL learners how English vocabulary, grammar and sentence structure works in practice. Can you form different sentences that describe the actions and images in these pictures? Do you have any questions? What are some things you wish to learn about the English language and how to write, speak and understand it? Stay tuned for more blog entries on advice and opportunities to learn through Kingston University USA.

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