Learning English in the US
Incredibly Useful Business Vocabulary for ESL Students
What is a collocation? Why are they such a nuisance? Ok, so first things first. A collocation is a pair or group of words often used together. They pose a true challenge to non-native speakers of English since it requires a big effort on their behalf to learn them. For native speakers they simply sound right or not. The native English speaker intuitively makes the correct collocation, based on a lifetime’s experience of hearing and reading the words in set combinations. Unfortunately, it is not that simple for those learning English because there are no collocation rules that can be learned. The non-native speaker has a more limited experience and may frequently collocate words in a way that sounds unnatural to the native speaker. Collocations are often present in ESL lessons, in other words people learn to give them a more natural way of speaking.
We use collocations everywhere, and the business world is not an exception. So, if you want to do business, you might want to learn some of these favorites.
* annual turnover: for a company, the amount of business it conducts during a year, usually measured through income or sales. Our annual turnover exceeded the board’s expectations.
* break off negotiations: to stop negotiations abruptly. They decided to break off negotiations once they realized the products were not what they expected.
* cease trading: to stop trading. Due to severe production problems, the company had to cease trading
* chair a meeting: to preside over as chairperson. John was called to chair the meeting that would change the company’s destiny
* close a deal: to formally conclude bargaining; to bring negotiating to an end by reaching an agreement. We negotiated the terms of the agreement, and this afternoon we will close the deal.
* close a/the sale: to complete the sale of something; to seal a bargain in the sale of something. The salesman closed the sale and the customer drove off in a brand new car.
* dismiss an offer: to not accept an offer. After much consideration, the offer was dismissed.
* launch a new product: to start or promote. They launched a new breakfast cereal.
* lay off staff: to put an end to someone’s employment at something. The automobile factory laid five hundred people off from work. The opposite is take on staff
* go bankrupt: having been legally declared financially insolvent. After months of struggling, the company finally went bankrupt.
* make a profit: to make a return on a business undertaking after all operating expenses have been met. The new marketing strategies were effective in helping the company make a profit. The opposite is make a loss.
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An Infallible Plan to Maximize your ESL Learning
You´ve made your decision. You´ve signed up for classes at an ESL school. This is it! A wonderful chance to work on your English skills and enjoy all the things American culture has to offer. However, you must think about this: no matter how fantastic your course is, no matter how skilled your instructors are, you could miss out on wonderful chances to take your English fluency to the next level.
Put your speaking abilities to the test by meeting and hanging out with local residents!
So, you really want to SPEAK English? Feel all speechless and bashful when trying to make friends? Face your fears! Staying with a host family could be awkward, difficult sometimes, but it is a tremendously enriching experience, a unique opportunity to get to know the American way of life and also a fantastic way to improve communication skills.
In class, you learned how to ask, how to respond, what to say, when to say it, how to say it. You name it! You learned it in your ESL program! But with your instructor it is one thing; experiences out in the street are a little different. The recommended way to learn how words and phrases are used in real social scenarios is to go out and mingle! Ask about what people your age generally do for fun, where they go, and plan outings with your fellow classmates. You could talk to really cool people, and even make long-lasting friendships.
If just the thought of initiating a conversation with a total stranger makes you tremble, find activities that will give you the perfect chance to talk to people. Think of the interesting people you could meet while learning to ski, or during a hike. Any sport or outdoor activity offers a great chance to engage in lively conversation, plus the added benefit of keeping you in shape.
Or take another course. Music lessons, arts and crafts, art courses, business courses - you´ll have a variety to choose from- and yet again ANOTHER incredible opportunity to communicate and share. If you happen to be interested in, for example animal rights, go on down to the local animal shelter, or wildlife preserve, and talk with the volunteers.
So, when the bell rings and school´s out for the day, resist the inclination to go home, stay in, and call it a day. Put what you´ve learned at school to good use. Don´t be self-conscious. And don´t fret about what they´ll think of your fuency. Chances are they´ll just be happy to have met you.
6 Things TO DO to Make Yours a Better English Class
We know that there are not only students at EnglishLCI.com. Plenty of teachers come here and take a glimpse at our advice, tips, and suggestions for their students. Here, we’ll indicate some golden rules to improve your experience teaching ESL lessons.
Here’s the most important. It’s better when you are entertaining. Bored students stop paying attention to whatever you are teaching, they stop assimilating the information they get. What’s almost certainly going to be the result? He or she won’t learn a thing, and what the student does learn, is learned by requirement and with displeasure.
Here are some ideas to achieve this; Though these are meant for private classes or business students, some of these ideas may work for large groups or college situation.
Keep it fun and relaxed
It is a reality that it is not always easy to amuse your students, mainly due to the fact that there are very basic and simple subjects. How to entertain when teaching conditional or irregular verbs? How to be fun when teaching passive forms?
Run that extra mile
You have to really put your soul into what you’re doing. You have to communicate your commitment and passion to your students, so they can be motivated and proactive. How is this passion passed on to them? It is a task that only a person who is enjoying his or her time teaching can complete.
Support your teaching
Use didactic materials to carry out activities completely in the English language: games, projects, performances, dialogues, listening, songs, etc. You’ll need a complete “arsenal” of activities to test your students.
Good vibrations all the time
A good sense of humor is always welcome. Having a laugh everyday, as a teacher or as a student, is not only helpful but also healthy. What should the class laugh about? Anything, your possibilities are endless. A good time laughing is always a very useful therapy; because right after a joke, people start working at a little more relaxed pace and feel stimulated to keep on doing good work.
A “chameleonic” class
When dealing with small groups, you must try to adapt each students’ needs to your class. If you detect that there are pronunciation issues for some of your students, you should try to emphasize its improvement with a series of specific activities; such as: audio listening, repetition of phrases, conversation with other students. On the other hand, if you detect a lack of understanding of the irregular verbs, you must practice them with your students as much as needed.
Share the remote control
If the case is different, and you are in charge of a large class, it is recommendable to make a list of 10 subjects for the next 3 months. Then, allow your students to choose those subjects they are more interested in and write them on a piece of paper. Finally, you take those suggestions and see what subjects are more interesting for your students, then focus your class on the first 5 most voted subjects. This will make yours a more fluid and proactive class.
Get Organized for College
When in College, the word organization takes a whole new meaning if you wish to be on time, meet deadlines, study for tests, impress professors, and yet, have fun in your free time. You definitely need a good plan, because professors will not remind you of upcoming assignments or give you extra time to present them; and, if still you’re taking, for example, ESL lessons or working part time, you will have to know exactly where your time is going, or else, you will collapse.
Follow these steps and you can be certain you will go through it smoothly.
1. Print or collect syllabi for each class
2. Get your books, a pile of unlined 3×5 cards and a heavy duty, bright colored, plastic folder
3. Place the syllabi in the folder. Tag it “syllabi folder”. Keep it close when you study; at home, the library, or during class
4. For each syllabus, highlight what is due the first week in one color and what’s due the second week in another color. This way, you can follow your tasks weekly
5. Assign a card for every book. Place it vertically and write the dates for which you have assignments for that specific book, and next to it, write the pages you must read. Use it as a bookmark, to know where you are and how far you need to go
6. Get a good size calendar or academic planner and write down the assignments and tests due on specific dates
7. Make a Project Syllabus. Chronologically, write down every assignment that needs more than one day to complete. This way, you can space out your work so that you do not spend all night working on a last minute paper
8. Write your schedule down or have it in your computer so that you know exactly when you have class. Plan at least one hour of study for every hour of class, two if you are at grad school; treat this time as sacred, and do not miss it
9. In your computer, make a folder called “School” and inside of it, create a folder for each class you are taking. Use these to store downloads required by your professors and other important information. Make sure you lock your folders with a password for safety
10. Now it’s time to get to work. At this point, you do not have to figure out how to organize all the work, take advantage of your time and resources and get the best out of your learning experience!
Great Study Tips
Everyone is unique, thus, each one of us needs to find the best way to study effectively in order to stand out from the crowd. It is imperative to develop good study habits that will surely help us get the most out of our time and brains, while setting a solid foundation for future learning efforts and to enhance our lives.
Here are some good study tips that will fit your normal college plan or any other learning activity you undertake, like ESL programs, for example:
1. Establish a place to study. It has to be a place you enjoy; quiet, comfortable, practical, and nice. Make sure it has everything you need, from a space for your books and pens, to your favorite cushion to recline on. Make sure you do not have to waste time and concentration to looking for things outside this area.
2. Get a good night’s sleep. Sleeping well will enhance your memory, making it easy to understand concepts and think creatively.
3. Set a schedule. Plan your study time and honor it. Make it into a routine as much as going to the gym or going to class. Make it work along with your other activities so that you do not have to sacrifice anything at some point.
4. Take regular breaks. While studying, get up every 30 to 40 minutes for around 5 minutes and stretch, get something to eat or drink, or just look out the window. This way you rest but do not lose your focus.
5. Get a partner. When another person is studying with you, it is easier to concentrate on the topic, and you can also enrich each other with new tips and ideas. Make sure this person is someone you consider superior to you in some aspects and a great student; someone you can look up to and learn from.
6. Establish clear goals. Define what you will study on a given day and how far you will get. If you can’t make it all the way, rethink the time you need for each subject and adjust your goals.
7. Exercise regularly. A regular exercise routine will oxygenate your brain, improving your memory and helping you concentrate easily.
8. Eat and drink healthy. This is a must if you want to keep your organism active and energized. You will not get too far if you’re weak, lacking vitamins and minerals your body requires to work.
Enjoy Denver, Colorado for Free
It is a fact! When in Denver Colorado, forget about needing money to have fun. Some of the best, most fun activities and gorgeous destinations are completely free.
Get ready to free your mind from troubles, breathe clean air, and feed your soul with the natural beauty that Denver Colorado possesses.
1. Take a free ride on the 16th Street Trolley. The 16th Street Pedestrian Mall in downtown Denver, Colorado is one of the principal attractions. It is composed of 15 blocks filled with restaurants and shops, and, in the months of good weather, you can see lots of street entertainment happening there, from jugglers to musicians. The trolley goes up and down the mall, so take it and get a great view of the whole place; identify activities or places you would like to visit later or just sit down and relax watching the people walk, or meditate, or think, if you need some time for yourself.
2. Take a free tour of the U.S. Mint. Inspect how money is made in this building. Tours are available every hour from 8 in the morning until 2 in the afternoon, and it’s recommended that you make a reservation here: Mint Website, however, you can risk it and just arrive unannounced, there could be a free space on a walk-up tour.
3. Visit the Denver Art Museum. It is newly expanded and offers free admission to the DAM for Colorado residents every first Saturday of the month. There are free digital gallery games that are played on Game Boys, and you can borrow them for free. Families can ask for the Family Backpacks, which are filled with activities, games, and puzzles to do in the different galleries.
4. Go to the park. Denver Colorado has over 200 parks. Go jogging or ride a bike while enjoying the scenery. Play Frisbee, read, or even go fishing. And, do not forget about the best activity to do at any park: lie down on your back and watch the sky.
5. Go trail hunting. There are over 850 miles of bike paths in Denver, Colorado. There is no excuse here to not be fit! As the saying goes: “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”, follow the locals and walk, run, roller blade, or bike along the beautiful and peaceful paths that frame Cherry Creek and the Platte River.
6. Visit free festivals. The Mile-High City is full of outdoor festivals running throughout the year, like Cinco de Mayo Celebrate Culture Festival, the Cherry Creek Arts Festival, and the Free Parade of Lights in December. Look for free events at the Denver’s Year-Round Events Guide.
As you can see, there is no excuse to no have fun in Denver Colorado. Enjoy the rich opportunities offered to practice what you’ve been learning in your ESL classes and make it an experience of a lifetime!
How To Choose The Best ESL School For You
If your friends think that you are a walking version of Wikipedia and keep asking you for definitions, tips, and counseling on all kinds of stuff, here’s a good way to surprise them with some very useful information.
Or, on the contrary, if you are the one planning to study English abroad and are looking for the right information so you don’t feel so lost, you will find below a set of tips that will make your day.
Here’s a list of tips on how to choose the best ESL school for you. There are hundreds of such programs being offered everwhere and for everyone. How can you know if the program suits your needs, or if they will fulfill the contract and not leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere? Just a few steps to follow and no big worries afterwards:
-Define your goals: This is the key issue here. You must be very clear about your objectives, what level of English you want to acquire, how long you are planning to take for that, where you want to go and why. Choosing the right ESL program has nothing to do with the nice colors of the website or the great name the Institute or University has. You are staying in a foreign country where they speak a language you don’t master, and with obvious cultural differences, so you’d better choose a place where you think you’ll feel comfortable.
-Search for local agencies (using your mother tongue): This may sound a bit too logical, but believe me, there are many people who make the mistake of contacting agencies in the “target” language and they can’t understand all the implications of the trip, stay, or contract. A source of bad times is when you don’t understand all the rules of the game.
-Ask all the important questions: Wherever you go they will give you lots of information, flyers, pamphlets, catalogs, and testimonies telling you how wonderful job they do. Just concentrate on the vital things for your trip and life in the foreign country:
• Costs: How much the total program is, how much you need to carry with you; find out if there are extra costs.
• Housing: Is it included in the program? If so, where, and under what conditions?
• Meals: How many meals does the program include a day? (if any) For the whole period?
• Cost of living in general: General information about the cost of things there, just in case you have to stay on your own means for some time.
• Activities and support provided: Will you be alone or become part of a group? Can you do other things apart from studying? Do you have to pay extra for that?
• Extent of health insurance and others: What if you have an accident or need to be admitted into hospital? What if you need an urgent visit to the dentist?
-Establish direct contact here with the person who’s receiving you there at the agency (get all details): Don’t accept a “we’ll contact you there” for an answer. You need to know who to resort to in case of trouble. He/she is going to be the only contact with your mother country at the beginning, so you’d better feel confident about him/her.
-Contact people who have been there: Look for real, live testimonies, not the typical “I went there and my life changed forever” sentence. Find two or three people who have undergone this experience. They are the ones who can give you the best advice on what to do, what to avoid, and what to expect.
There. A few tips to get a nice ESL school and not die in the process. They will be of much use to you as they have been for many people. Now, you can show off among your friends about how clever and well-informed you are, and your popularity will increase for sure.
Now, if you’re preparing that trip to an English-speaking country to learn, you probably feel less insecure about all the aspects to consider. So, follow the tips and good luck there! By the way, remember to check your passport before leaving!
5 Ways To Practice English Without Noticing
Probably the most common sentence in relation to English is: “I simply don’t have time to study”. Said by 9 out of 10 students, it is an excuse they believe firmly and which keeps them content for not making much progress. Mothers complain about lack of time, so do students, executives, secretaries, lawyers, taxi drivers, and every person trying to learn English.
You may not have time to memorize 500 verbs in one day, or have a complete ESL class on the web, or search in the dictionary the meaning of all words beginning with “E”…but there are bits of time here and there that pass unattended, and that can really make the difference, if you know how to use them for your benefit.
Spare time to study? Where???- You may say.
Easy: on your way to (or from) work or school. During some recreational activities, and almost every activity that you perform everyday. Here are a few tricks :
1. Listening to music: On the subway, on the street or wherever you go, you see hundreds of people, earphones on, listening to music. Join them! Pick up your Mp3 player or Ipod, choose a group or singer you like (singing in English, of course) and, there you go. 30 minutes a day will do marvels to your pronunciation and vocabulary. Even better if you get the lyrics of the songs you like (available on the web). Repeat them until you know them by heart. Extra time invested: none.
2. Watching movies: TV, cinema, DVD, everything is valid here. The trick? The movie has to be in English. Start with subtitles in your language, then, as you feel more confident, switch to English. You may be lost at the beginning, but your ear adapts quickly, so be patient. Vocabulary, new expressions and sentence-recognition increasing like by magic. Extra time invested: none.
3. Browsing the web (in English): Ideally, use your browser in English. Do the same with your Facebook, My Space, and MSN accounts. Search for information in English first, then your language. Read the comments in Youtube!. Your vocabulary, common expressions, and sentence structure will stay in your mind without your noticing. Extra time invested: Just the time to switch everything to English.
4. Using TV as background noise: Do your housework, take a relaxing bath, play a game online, or do your paperwork with the TV on…in English (a TV series, a movie, a talk-show, anything will do). The purpose? Familiarizing with an English-spoken environment. Do this exercise daily, and in a week you’ll be recognizing not only words, but complete sentences, which you can easily insert into your already-learnt lexicon. Extra time invested: none.
5. Using the words around you: Switch to English in all the gadgets you use: cell phone, Ipod, laptop, alarm clock, remote control, EVERYTHING. You know how they operate already. Adapting to the new language will be extremely easy. Other options: Read the English version of operation manuals, food content lists, and anything with a readable wrapping on. Important vocabulary is hidden everywhere in these everyday necessities.
So, there you go. All you need is to make good use of the time you’re wasting everyday. Your brain will be working faster, your language will be improving by the minute and your mood will be better, as you will have fun and learn at the same time. No excuse now to stop making progress with your English, don’t you think?
English Corner: The Chinese Social Occasion Made for English Students
There are English students eager to practice their skills all over the world. China is not the exception. This wonderful country has amazed the world with its meteoric economic double-digit growth during the past couple of decades, along with a fantastic display of organization and skill during their 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Its accelerating opening to the economies of the rest of the world has made it a necessity for the diligent and ambitious Chinese (this description suits practically the whole population) to acquire at least an acceptable level of command of the English language.
University students in Beijing and other cities are the most interested and motivated to learn and practice. If you happen to be around Beijing, and have some free time, don’t miss the opportunity to cooperate with this interesting group of English students. You will enjoy their company, get an inside look at their culture, and they will be very happy to get practice time with a fellow English student or an English speaker. Almost every university organizes an “English corner” which refers to the practice of getting together every day in a designated “corner” of their campus and basically engaging in a mingling session where they will practice English with anyone they find.
The English corners sessions at Beijing Normal University and Beijing Foreign Studies University, for instance, are quite famous for their crowds and nice international environment. You don’t have to be a university student to attend, so, while the crowds are composed mostly of Chinese students and Chinese people looking to practice English, there are many foreign attendees who are after a nice conversation and ambiance. The mix is cosmopolitan and very interesting; it also makes for a perfect setting to use English in a real-life situation, even though everyone there knows most of the speakers aren’t native or even fluent, which makes it very relaxing.
These kinds of sessions can be found elsewhere in the world, at any ESL school, and are extremely useful and enriching to an ESL or EFL student. English schools in the USA encourage these sorts of gatherings as an integral part of the learning experience.
Best Practices in ESL Teaching
The industry of English as a foreign language (EFL) and English as a second language (ESL) teaching has grown immensely. There are many curricula, academies, schools, and methods available. Learning English is a need that can be met with relative ease in almost every country in the world. However, it is also true that there are qualities within the spectrum of options, and there are certain identified characteristics, methodologies, and philosophies that have been found to be the most effective in bringing about the attainment of the goal: to be fluent in English.
The best practices in ESL teaching are many and are documented in several manuals and catalogues of organizations dedicated to the study of teaching English, such as the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS); the International Association of Teachers of EFL (IATEFL); International Association of Language Teaching Technology (IALTT); Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), and many others. The following are a few of the more important practices and philosophies to look for when selecting an ESL program:
- Integration of four language skills: listening, reading, writing, and speaking
- Holistic approach to reading and writing skills. This means you should not only be taught reading and writing mechanics, but comprehension, peer evaluation, lectures, and other tools should be used in order to make you apply the skills and gain better comprehension.
- Integration of language and content. This means you should not just be taught vocabulary and grammar, but they should be presented within a context that makes them more comprehensible.
- Emphasis on language use rather than form
- Emphasis on authentic meaning and function. This refers to not being stuck on formal definitions, but on the meaning and use of words and phrases
- Skills taught in context through topics of interest to students
The above practices would be considered essential in a modern ESL or EFL teaching environment. The last ingredient is the use of technology, such as collaborative online groups, streaming video, and other teaching aids that are widely available in our technology-driven society.
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