Practice reading aloud to expand your vocabulary and experience popular metaphors
US History from 1896 becomes current events in 2022 !
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| From Lanny Medlin on https://www.findagrave.com/ |
https://guides.loc.gov/plessy-ferguson
More US History CSET notes here
Is learning Latin good for your health?
I can't answer that, but there is an oft-repeated claim that the process of learning Latin helps with vocabulary acquisition and with learning a spoken language in addition to your native language. Whether that's any spoken language or a spoken language with Romance roots seems to be bypassed.
As a student of language pedagogy (teaching practices) and as a language teacher and as a language student, I would like to see a pair-wise study comparing increased L1 vocabulary acquisition rates and retention for L2 learners (English, Latin); (English, Spanish); English, medical jargon); (Spanish, French); (Hebrew, Arabic); etc.
So in "case" you are interested what your teacher means when declining nouns and conjugating verbs, here are some links to examples.
On Latin:
two thirds of English words are derived from Latin roots
has been the language of science -> and its terms are still used in
medicine, law, and [my addition] tech , but then it changed.
from https://mcl.as.uky.edu/benefits-latin#: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xj-zCfVC2Zg&t=96s
Copernicus wrote in Latin!
Literary licks lend levity to your lexemes (and writing)
fiend-is-fish-food/ This May 3, 2011 headline remains
an example of alliteration and filmic allusion.
an example of alliteration and filmic allusion.
"sleeps with the fishes" THE GODFATHER film (at 26 seconds)
ESL Lesson Plans
Thanksgiving or July 4th - Will your store be open? 
Jenkins, Rob, and Staci S. Johnson. Stand Out: Standards-based English. Boston: Cengage Learning, 2009. Print.
First Day of class - Line up in the order of your respective birthdays
Stand Out 1, 2nd edition
Introductions +s suffix for plural, present, and possessive to express shared preferences
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| Amazon, NGL students, WorldCat |
Telegraphic writing
The term derives from the per-word charges when sending telegrams. It is used here in describing the developmental speech patterns of child when learning their first language.
Here is an abuse of telegraphic speech.
This is an example of the wrong teaching goal: Student must learn to pack parachute with 80% accuracy.
This is an example of the wrong teaching goal: Student must learn to pack parachute with 80% accuracy.
The key to telegraphic writing is to write the sentence's phrases in different orders before selecting the order that will be the least ambiguous to the reader. The challenge of writing like this is that we may not be able to picture what the audience looks like and we cannot predict how much attention the reader will devote to anything beyond the first few points. Nevertheless, we attempt to create a document so compelling that the reader will want to meet its author.
Here are additional resources for writing telegraphic sentences and for choosing verbs to introduce them:
https://resumewriternatalie.
Collocations for "request" (verb) ; "recommend" : subjunctive status
This blogpost shows you how one might investigate whether a verb currently takes the subjunctive form and how that might have changed over time.
Compare "request" to “I recommend that …”
"Recommend" takes the subjunctive form of the verb.
This has examples and an interactive exercise: https://www.businessenglishresources.com/subjunctive-exercises/
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/english-subjunctive-what-is-it/#
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Here is a screenshot of 17 of the 352 sentences that are the output from the COCA corpus for the search key "I request" as entered into my account at https://www.english-corpora.org/coca/
Sentence (15) (COCA: Websites(?): 2012) is understandable but violates common usage by using the infinitive as though it applies to the preceding noun. You can use the infinitive for the second verb so long as both verbs apply to the subject, "I,' in this case. We leave aside the obvious lack of object for the word "verify." So we can say (15a) if we want to use the infinitive "to verify," but only (15b) and (15c) capture the meaning in (15).
(15b) I request that people verify your notes via email in order to ....
(15c) I request people's verification of your notes vi email in order to ...
(15) I request people to verify via email in order to try to avoid such situations and hope to know the answer soon.
(15) I request people to verify via email in order to try to avoid such situations and hope to know the answer soon.
Keith Folse's ESL grammar book categorizes these requesting verbs (make, let, have, help) as Group 4F because they require an object (noun or pronoun) with a bare infinitive, that is, an infinitive that lacks the "to" part (2016, p. 248). Let's add "request" in with Group 4F!
The source for (15) has five further examples that use "request," with four being in the comments as a verb. (To see all five you may need to enter from the archive index for June 2012; look for the April or June capture; stop the page from uploading by pressing the X on your browser; then check the 5 locations using control-f FIND. Without those steps, otherwise Disqus flags an error and the webpage comments get truncated so no longer appear.)
Let me gather the text together here, so that the usages are easier to follow and model, right or wrong. I leave it to you, glorious reader, to sort out the year in which Sentence (1) was written. It, too, uses the infinitive "... and I request any gentleman to point out ..."
Bottom of the Ninth - baseball poetry and more
If you are taking a break from living in the US of A, try keeping up with your English by listening to baseball broadcasts. Poetry is surprisingly another home grown aspect of the centrality of the sport to American language and culture. Here is a printable version of Casey at the Bat without ads.
This website describes Casey at the Bat as "the most famous baseball [first?] poem ever written. Ernest Lawrence Thayer hit this one right out of the park [succeeded with this poem] in 1888 when it was published in the San Francisco Daily Examiner."
In 1994 Garrison Keillor published a parody, which takes the perspective of the other team, envisioning the victory of the Dustburgs over the Mudvilles.
The original poem has archaic word forms: bade (past tense of bid); its variety of words has prompted it to be part of the common core curriculum for fifth graders in
Connecticut and elsewhere. Here and here are more definitions based on word lists derived from the poem and there is at least one Casey at the Bat Vocabulary Flashcards | Quizlet .
Tennessee included the poem in its fifth grade at-home COVID curriculum.
part II of Tennessee's Casey at the Bat
Fancy-schmancy
Although reduplication is not generally a productive process, there is an exception when creating rhyming words with the prefix [shm] .
So pervasive is this term that a number of websites track it as the answr to a crossword pluzzle clue:
http://crosswordtracker.com/clue/fancy-schmancy/
http://crosswordtracker.com/clue/fancy-schmancy/
Style guidelines and when to ask your instructor
with thanks to the PTSA discussion board at my son's school
MS Word's style section (Go to File/Options , depending on the version) allows you to auto-magically select one or two spaces after a period. The key is consistency. The other key is to ask the instructor. Another area of variation is the Oxford comma: a, b, and c. Still another stylistic area is the length of phrase that requires coordinating conjunctions to have a comma. If you use a style guideline (APA, MLA, Chicago, IEEE, or who knows what else), the guideline will likely direct you on how whether one or two spaces follow a period.
This has a helpful article with screenshots on how to tick off (check off) the style settings in MS Word, which now defaults to one space after a period.
More discussions and responses to those discussions here:
When your first language pops its head up
Various authors and schools have documented L1 interference in English Language Learners. I would like to explore whether L1 interferes more frequently among EFL (out-of-country) or ESL (in-country) learners. There is also a question about the extent of L2 interference when English is not the L2--I hypothesize false cognates and phonemes (sound substitutions) over phonology (example TBD).
In the meantime, here's what's available on L1 interference.
Links
https://web.archive.org/web/20210224170739/https://blog.talk.edu/grammar/grammar-errors-common-to-turkish-esl-students/
Grammar Books and how to apply them
- 2022 Collaborative Textbook on English Syntax, CUNY
- https://integrity.mit.edu/
handbook/academic-writing/ summarizing - 1901 edition in public domain https://www.gutenberg.
org/files/48702/48702-h/48702- h.htm The Project Gutenberg EBook of English Grammar and Composition for Public Schools, by George Armstrong - http://web.archive.org/web/
20210413092415/https:// content.byui.edu/file/ de2e1cf1-9df9-487f-82c4- 29237f1c3056/8/basics106.pdf - https://www.gutenberg.org/
ebooks/search/?query=English+ grammar&submit_search=Go%21 - Spanish - English 6 pages http://web.archive.org/web/
20150907001839/http://www. loyno.edu/language-center/ sites/loyno.edu.language- center/files/GrammarBasics.pdf - https://archive.org/details/UnderstandingAndUsingEnglishGrammarFourthEditionWithAnswerKey/
Websites for Pedagogical Grammar:
Specific to teaching ESL
Folse, Keith. (2016). Keys to Teaching Grammar to English Language Learners, Second Ed.: A Practical Handbook Second Edition, linked here.
Videos SBN: 978-0-472-00364-8 | Copyright 2019
https://michelt.ublish.com/book/keys - excerpts posted to website
Audio Key 6, Chapter 3, p.189: Prepositions (4:38 portion of 53:59)
Audio Key 11, Chapter 3, p. 256: Phrasal Verbs (4:17 of 34:19) text
Audio Chapter 4, p.336: The Key to Answering Your Students’ Hot Seat Questions (9:01 of 33:14)
URL phrasal verbs https://www.press.umich.edu/pdf/9780472032433-excerpt.pdf
Sneaking suspicion that irregular verbs tend to be one syllable
My take is that the older words of English fall into the pattern similar to the er/est comparative/superlative pattern. The dichotomy of English adjectives into er/est and more/most is an observation I first learned from Dr. Robin Barr at AU and which has also been noted here , in a posting from Patricia T. O’Conner and Stewart Kellerman.
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| blast from the past |
That piece treats the irregularizification of sneak into snuck as inexplicable, rather than a going-against-the-tide trend. In truth, the next generation is the one most willing to bond over sharing new words, or--in this case--a new take on an old word. Such is the state of things that my fav sites list both forms together.
Reverso's conjugator for "sneak" Infinitive to sneak | Preterite snuck/sneaked | Past participle snuck/sneaked
Webster's entry for "sneak" sneaked\ ˈsnēkt \ or snuck\ ˈsnək
Dear reader, you, too, can be part of the process because Google's dictionary flagged my use of snuck . With enough clicks to "Add to dictionary" we may one day see reverso and Webster's list the entry under "snuck" just long enough for the youth to innovate a regularization of it back into "sneaked." Here are the results in a nutshell. Snuck (in print, let alone in speech) is the product of periods of youthful rebellion! https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=sneaked%2Csnuck&year_start=1929&year_end=2019&corpus=28&smoothing=3
This references Arika Okrent's channel produced by Mental Floss and provides a fascinating and comprehensive account of irregular verbs: They were regular when the conjugation system was based on vowel change rather than the +ed ending. (Transcript)
Lists of irregular English verbs
Rhyming words and phonemic awareness
Phonological rules capture the regularities that occur when we look at predictable pronunciation patterns. For example, Americans like to pronounce the intervocalic /t/ as a /D/ , as in "water."
Phonemic awareness occurs when we realize which sounds belong in our language or dialect. For example, although "texts" is an English word, we recognize that "xstset" is not a possible word.
Recognizing rhymes when the spelling suggests otherwise
https://quizlet.com/579838561/match from https://quizlet.com/579838561/rhymes-with-date-flash-cards/
Spot the differences - two-way communication exercises
KEY- https://www.insider.com/spot-the-differences-brain-teaser-2018-8
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| ice cream party by Gergely Dudás |
Practice these terms before you interview
Captioned video for
interview skills with Vietnamese sub-titles, accompanying the Oxford
Picture Dictionary, page 174 (2nd ed) or page 185 (1st ed)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIsatjvZMlo (Jun 9, 2017. Length 04:28)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcrkjHbe3u4 (Jun 7, 2017. Length 3:48)
in Chinese, 1st edition:
research on using Oxford preparation material
in French: AqhaCgAAQBAJ
in Korean:
in Spanish:
https://books.google.com/books?id=dKlaCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA86&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=4#v=onepage&q&f=false
health fair: https://books.google.com/books?id=dKlaCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA122&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=3#v=onepage&q&f=false
arts https://books.google.com/books?id=dKlaCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA123&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=3#v=snippet&q=arts&f=false
https://books.google.com/books?id=dKlaCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA86&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=4#v=onepage&q&f=false
Name that tune! Name that baby!
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| Harry Warnecke, Louis Armstrong,1947 |
2021: opens Friday, May 14th, with timed-entry passes!
What are names of your classmates, co-workers, or customers most likely to be? The Social Security Administration tracks first names by year and state, so you can easily find the answer to this question.
Practice saying and spelling names:
Select any year and state, then click on the blue Go button.
Mia is #7 for 2012 and for 2019
Click on image to enlarge.
This page uses these URLs
I love the OUP - Oxford Picture Dictionary!
1st edition https://www.google.com/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Norma+Shapiro%22
preview of English-Arabic https://books.google.com/books?id=uKdaCgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:%22Norma+Shapiro%22&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwir8MTcvIvwAhWPaM0KHU6TAtgQuwUwAXoECAIQCA#v=onepage&q&f=false
preview of Portuguese https://books.google.com/books?id=bqdaCgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:%22Norma+Shapiro%22&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwir8MTcvIvwAhWPaM0KHU6TAtgQuwUwAnoECAUQCA#v=onepage&q&f=false
English Spanish preview: https://books.google.com/books?id=dKlaCgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=oxford+picture+dictionary+french&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjcrpCDvIvwAhVIGVkFHVV4D3AQuwUwBHoECAQQCA#v=onepage&q=oxford%20picture%20dictionary%20french&f=false
The 106 steps to earning US Citizenship
Be able to answer 6 of 100 civics questions correctly
AND
AND
- Write 3 sentences that the official dictates to you
- Read 3 sentences aloud
- Follow directions
- Speak about your visit to the interview
- Responds to requests for clarification of information on your application
- Show up on time with the necessary documents!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
mock and practice (with translations)
"This permit permits you to drive."
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Sample NY drivers permit |
record,
protest,
permit,
graduate,
and elect .
The noun can also function as an adjective or form part of a compound noun.
Phrasal verbs pop up on pull down menus
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| from https://eslforums.com/verbs-and-prepositions-combinations |
In addition to their locative function, some prepositions (called particles) can also bind to a verb. The "up" in "pop up" and the "down" in "pull down" alter the meaning of each of the base verbs ("pop" and "pull") in a largely unpredictable way.
They are mainly used in spoken English and informal texts: “to postpone” vs. “to put off”. (more)
Be careful how you use these lexicalized verb + preposition constructions because you may find yourself inadvertently delving into a conversation about sex!
Citation styles and generators
(Last updated 2024/06)
This has methods for Google Docs and Mac, as well as the PC. https://softwarekeep.com/help-center/create-a-hanging-indent-in-microsoft-word (Archived)
APA -- minute 7:32 is where hanging indent gets addressed
Conditionals: woulda, coulda, shoulda = would have, could have, should have
https://www.grammarbook.com/blog/definitions/clarifying-the-conditional-tense/
C. The Type 2 Conditional expresses a situation that was not real or not happening (a theoretical condition) and its probable result. The “if” clause includes the simple past tense, and the main clause is in the present conditional or present continuous conditional.
Examples:
If you got [simple past] more sleep, you would feel [present conditional] more alert in the morning.
If I had [simple past] better brakes, I would not be hearing [present continuous conditional] a grinding sound every time I slow or stop the car.
Listen to the words from the song, If I were a Rich Man. Formal writing doesn't use contractions, so you'll have to change all of the uses of "I'd" to "I would."
https://genius.com/Topol-if-i-were-a-rich-man-lyrics
... I'd build a big tall house with rooms by the dozen,
right in the middle of the town.
[It would have] a fine tin roof with real wooden floors below.
There would be one long staircase just going up,
and one even longer coming down,
and one more leading nowhere, just for show.
... I'd build a big tall house with rooms by the dozen,
right in the middle of the town.
[It would have] a fine tin roof with real wooden floors below.
There would be one long staircase just going up,
and one even longer coming down,
and one more leading nowhere, just for show.
I've changed the capitalization and other punctuation from its original poetry format to something more like prose. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbJEpcteKg4 During a 1971 interview, Dick Cavett invited Zero Mostel to sing his keynote song (with subtitles) from "Fiddler on the Roof": https://youtu.be/m4L_McguEL8?t=1343
The phonology of "Canadian Raising" - list of relevant articles
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| Rogers (2000) |
Kodner, J., & Richter, C. (2020, January 15). Transparent /aı/-raising as a contact phenomenon . In ScholarlyCommons: University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics. Retrieved February 18, 2021, from https://repository.upenn.edu/pwpl/vol25/iss2/8/
Know your audience! Which of the Englishes does it speak?
Use American spelling for American audiences.
Use American terms when writing on technical subjects for American audiences.
"... mathematics is singular. Math is a clipping, like 'lab' instead of laboratory, while 'maths' is a contraction, like 'attn'. "
Differences in prepositions "on/at the weekend" (usage ngram)
Differences in spelling between Canadian and U.S. Englishes: TBD
Betterment and Committedness: When does a word's usage start to expire?
Stick with "improvement" and "commitment" over "betterment and "committedness" if you want your reader to feel comfortable with your word use and choice. Here's why.
According to Google's Ngram the use of the word "betterment" (as measured by its frequency in Google Books) peaked in 1916 and has been downhill ever since, perhaps making its use seem like a quaint Britishism to my ears.
"Improvement" has been yielding its place to the adjective "optimal" partnered up with nouns, which Google lists elsewhere:
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