Updates from the Corner!

March 31 2024

The ‘western’ Christian world — Catholics and Protestants — celebrate the Easter holiday today March 31st. I love to learn about how countries and cultures mark this occasion in their own ways. My personal favorite is las procesiones that take place across Spain. What happens where you live? I’d love to know: send me an email, a message on Instagram, Telegram, or WhatsApp.

Please check your calendars! Daylight Savings Time began in Europe today, causing class times to change and conflict with others. I will contact you all directly about rescheduling classes because there are a lot of these conflicts. Please be patient with me if I have to rearrange your class.

Ask Donald Anything - This is your opportunity to ask me about American culture or the English language! You can ask your question however you’d like: via text, WhatsApp, Telegram, email, etc! I will then answer your question on Instagram and YouTube. Take a look at this video about how are you and this one about as long as. :) You don’t need to record yourself asking the question. You can definitely ask a question anonymously!

Let me know if you have any concerns or questions! I’m always here to help.

Donald (in Chicago)

March 10 2024

Please check your calendars! Daylight Savings Time began in the United States, causing class times to change. I looked at my calendar for this week and saw many schedule conflicts. Please be patient with me if I ask to rearrange your class.

Thanks very much for the emails and text messages asking about my vacation. James and I promised each other to not do any work while in México, so I couldn’t respond until this weekend. I look forward to sharing stories about my time away and hearing your stories from the last week.

November 25 2023

Thanksgiving has come and gone. We drove about 300km from Chicago to visit my in-laws. It’s a long drive, but, it makes sense for us to journey down there. A lot of my husband’s family live in the same small town. Us traveling to them instead of many of them coming up to Chicago saves a lot of time (and money).

Want to watch a video about the language in this email? Check it out on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/TK74do7dax0

an upset - noun - an unexpected defeat, disappointment, or loss. The US Olympic Basketball team experienced a shocking upset, losing the gold medal to Spain.

to cleave - verb - to split something into two parts. The car was going so fast that it was cleaved in two after hitting a tree.

to dodge a bullet - verb - to narrowly avoid a terrible situation. Jessica felt disappointed after not getting the job she wanted, but it turned out that she had dodged a bullet. The company she had applied with went bankrupt after six months.

To be set - phrasal verb - to be ready, prepared. Honey, are you ready? We have to leave in 10 minutes! Yes — I am all set! Let’s go.

Groceries - noun - the food products purchased at a market. How much do you usually spend on groceries? I used to spend a lot, but using coupons has lowered our bill by 15%.

To bother - verb - to make an effort, to try. Now that the Christmas season has arrived, are you going to see any concerts or shows? No. I don’t bother with those anymore. There are too many people and the prices are expensive.

raw materials - noun - basic items that when combined make something else. We have all of the raw materials to bake a cake: flour, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.

to be expecting - verb - to be pregnant. My sister is expecting, so she has cut back on her exercise.

To stand out - phrasal verb - to be noticed, obvious. Maria’s interview really stood out from all of the others. Her professionalism and answers to questions impressed the hiring manager.

a role - noun - a job, position. What is your role at the company? I just started a few weeks ago as a program manager.

Let me know if you have any concerns or questions! I’m always here to help.

October 29 2023

There are two big changes coming to the class calendar. Please read this post carefully!

Daylight Savings Time ends on Sunday, November 5th. That means the clocks will “fall back” by one hour in many parts of the world. Please check your calendar on Sunday evening if you have classes scheduled for next week. The time change causes problems for the class schedule every time. I don’t want anyone to miss their class!

I will be taking Thursday afternoon and all day Friday off starting on December 1st. I have again been working seven days a week. A lot of people wanted to catch up with their classes because of my vacation in Mexico City. I was happy to help; but, working every day wasn’t sustainable. Nobody wants me to burn out, right? :P Friday will be a day to rest, learn some new skills, and spend more time with the family. Thursday afternoon is something different. I’ll be volunteering at a local charity to help migrants learn English and prepare for their US citizenship test.

Those of us in the Northern Hemisphere are preparing for winter — but I am always here to help, no matter where you live.

The Story Club begins again! The November Story Club will tackle a new topic: ADVICE. If you have ever wanted to practice asking for advice or giving advice in English, then this month's Story Club is perfect for you. Registration for the Story Club is open right now. You can sign up on my website here: donaldinchicago.com/story-club and the Club begins on November 1st.

October 1 2023

Tomorrow is the big day. My first vacation in a year! We fly to Mexico City and will return to Chicago on October 14th.

The logistics of travel always make me nervous. I become afraid of doing something stupid like going to the airport on the wrong day, or forgetting important documents.

What I most look forward to is taking a break from English. Not the teaching of it... rather, the living in it. I am as excited to be surrounded by Spanish as much as I am excited to not be surrounded by English. The irony is not lost on me. :)

Many of you have asked about help with editing documents and getting practice for job interviews. The answer is YES! I will be happy to help with those because 1) I can edit documents from a café and 2) job interviews are time sensitive. Don’t hesitate to contact me if you need help with either of those two things.

Reach out via email / text / Telegram / WhatsApp with whatever is on your mind.

This is a shameless plug: you can also check out fun and useful language videos from Mexico City on my Instagram and YouTube channels.

August 20 2023

This “in review” is also a video which you can watch on Instagram or YouTube.

Insomnia. This word strikes terror into everyone. A single night of insomnia can ruin the average person’s day. Anything beyond a handful of sleepless nights off can defeat even the bravest, strongest person. Sleep is fundamental to our health and survival. Intentionally causing insomnia on another person is called sleep deprivation and is widely-considered a form of torture. It seems like exactly that — torture — when insomnia strikes. This bout of insomnia came out of the blue. I had been feeling really well up until then. I was exercising regularly, eating better, and catching up on my reading. 

Then, boom. Everything good seemed to evaporate on one Friday night. After three nights of sleeping for perhaps 2-3 hours each, I bought marijuana gummies from a local dispensary. I felt desperate. The dispensary employee assured me that eating just one gummy an hour before bedtime would put me to sleep for the night. It didn’t work. The next night, I ate two gummies. They didn’t work. The night after that, they didn’t work. $40 goddamned dollars down the drain. Desperation turned into panic, so I called my doctor on the 5th day of insomnia. She would be able to see me that Friday: exactly one week after the insomnia began. That Friday morning, I explained the past week to her. She’s a wonderful doctor. She listens. She handed me a few tissues during my monologue because I had cried for at least five minutes. Insomnia will break anyone. She wrote a prescription for Ambien, so that I would go to sleep that night. In the mean time, a nurse drew blood for testing. Maybe I was suffering a vitamin deficiency? The results haven’t yet arrived.

The ambient worked. I took a pill an hour before bed and…. woke up 8 hours later without any memory of having dreamed or anything else. It had worked. I took the ambien every night for a week. I slept every night. During that time, my husband and I went away for a few days — August 15-17 — for a much needed mental health break. Both of us had been feeling burnt out. Burnout is a real threat. It happens to everyone, including to those of us who work from home and love the experience. 

I promised to giving my students the highest quality experience and resources… but, I had been struggling to fulfill that promise. I’m not sure whether there was any connection between the insomnia and the burning out feelings. To be honest, sitting here on August 20th, I still feel like a bit of a failure. A voice in my head tells me that there are much better teachers out there, that my ideas are shit, or that even if my ideas are decent then I’ll screw them up. That voice is both persistent and powerful. It is also distorted, and one-sided. It is propaganda. There are lots of teachers better than me, that’s true. But it is also true that I have been improving my teaching skills for almost 15 years. My ideas for new classes and learning material may turn out badly; but, they might also be exactly what someone needs to help them reach the next level. 

I share these experiences with the world because; even though I really felt like hell, I did eventually feel better. Again — not 100%, but better. Feeling better feels good. Everyone one of us needs help. And that’s OK. Many of our cultures teach us that asking for help is bad, to be avoided, or perhaps even shameful. What is shameful, to be avoided, and bad is to suffer needlessly. Humans are social animals. Helping each other is how we help ourselves. I became a teacher because helping people was all I could see when imagining the future. Today, I am honored to help people all over the world. The future is now. 

We are back home in Chicago now. The combination of three days in the country and seven days of sound sleep seemed to have done the trick. I feel a lot better. Not at 100%, but a lot better than I did at the beginning of the month. 

Thanks for checking in with me. Let’s keep getting better. Together. 

June 25 2023

The weather was perfect this week. On Friday, I tried to exercise outside in our back yard for the first time. The dogs did not know what to make of this behavior. They finally returned to their usual play activities after I pushed them away 20+ times. This weekend, we visited my in-laws to celebrate Father’s Day (belatedly). They live in a rural, tiny town about 370km south of Chicago. They’re wonderful people whom we enjoy being around, so that takes away from the tediousness of driving down there and back.  

Let’s look at some of this week’s language. As always, you’ll find a link to the quiz at the bottom of this message.

cunning - This word means that someone / something finds solutions to problems using both creativity and intelligence. We can use this word as both an adjective or a noun. It can also apply to both animals and people.

The cat used its cunning to escape the dog.

Francis has become a successful and cunning young politician.

fan - This device is used to circulate air. They are found on the ceiling, on the ground, and in windows. Thanks to a student in Minsk, I can clarify to all Russian speakers that the machine used on wet hair is absolutely not a fan — but a hair dryer. :)

The kids accidentally dropped their books in water, so put them books in front of a fan to dry off quickly.

The hotel front desk will usually deliver a hair dryer to your room if you need one.

duct - This device is used to move gasses or liquids. They can be  tubes carrying liquid (tear ducts, allowing us to cry) or metal pipes carrying gases (heat ducts, moving hot air into our houses). Think of ducts as any kind of closed path through which something is moved from one place to another.

The air conditioner stopped working on the right side of our car. The mechanic looked and found it had cracked.

There are lots of saliva ducts in the mouth. They allow us to easily eat and swallow food.

to borrow vs to lend - These two verbs are often confused because they describe the same action but from different perspectives. Both describe the process of an object going from its owner (to lend) to a temporary holder (to borrow).

Let’s say that two friends — Jerry and and Alex — are studying together before a big exam. Jerry sadly lost his textbook. He cannot afford to buy another one, so he asks to borrow Alex’s book. Alex agrees to lend his book to Jerry but only for a few days. Jerry has to return the book to Alex.

Jerry ——> lends ——> the book ——> to Alex

Alex ——> borrows ——> the book ——> from Jerry

Nora borrows borrows books from the library.

Not many people would lend $1,000 to a friend.

Do you think Jade’s parents will let her borrow their car?

The recession of 2007-9 took place because American banks lent far too much money

Take the Week in Review Quiz!

June 11 2023

Someone sent a postcard to me from Spain! Thanks so much (you know who you are)! It brightened my entire week.

Yesterday, we went to the popular Midsommarfest (yes, someone made a horror movie about the original holiday) in the Swedish neighborhood of Andersonville. The weather was horrendous: 12C, windy, and raining. We survived for an hour before returning home. I spent the rest of the day sitting on the couch under a blanket.  

Put your knowledge of this week’s language into practice! The quiz is a great opportunity to practice the language included in these weekly reviews. I’ll add the link to the quiz at the bottom of each email, so check it out after reading up on the cool new words of the week.  

on my own - This expression means that someone is doing an action without any outside help. It’s not necessary negative! We could say, for example, “Dana earned the top grade on her own. Nobody helped her with preparing or studying for the exams.” This expression is slightly different from the next one…

by myself - This expression is similar to the adjective alone. If a person is by themselves, then nobody else is present wherever they are. We sometimes want to share sensitive information with one other person. To find out if they are alone, we would ask “hey Cecilia, are you by yourself right now?”

To miss vs To miss out - Ah, phrasal verbs! The verb to miss means, generally, to fail at some goal: we missed the train (we arrived too late), or the striker kicked the ball perfectly but it still missed the net. To miss also describes our emotions for someone or something that is gone: Jerry missed his grandmother after she passed away. The phrasal verb to miss out means that you didn’t get an opportunity. For example, “There was a big sale on flights to Paris but we missed out” — meaning that you (for whatever reason) were not able to take advantage of the discount.

to take place - This phrasal verb describes when or where an important event happens. We use this phrasal verb commonly with exams or tests — for example, “The high school final exams take place during the week of June 2nd.” We can also use it when describing major historical events such as “The sinking of the Titanic took place on April 15 1923.”

Take this week's quiz! Click here.

May 29 2023

This week’s review has arrived a day late. Today is Memorial Day here in the United States, a holiday dedicated to the memory of military members who have passed away. Parades and festivals happen all across the country, even in the smallest towns. In addition to the day’s solemnity, Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer here in America. Lots of people spend the day outside with BBQ, baseball, and beaches. Our plans for today include working on our gardens, walking the dogs, and avoiding sunburns.  :)

This week’s vocabulary has a theme! The theme is “kissing cousins” — a fantastic expression that describes words which are technically different things but are close enough to seem the same. I hope that everyone has fun with these. Oh! Remember to put your knowledge of this week’s language into practice. The quiz is a great opportunity to practice the language included in these weekly reviews. I’ll add the link to the quiz at the bottom of each email, so check it out after reading up on the cool new words of the week.  

compote - I have to thank Anton for the really fun conversation that lead to this word appearing in the Review. Anton was describing a cold, refreshing fruit juice commonly made in Belarus. He used the Russian word компот to describe this inexpensive drink, which caused me to look at him in doubt. The pronunciation of both the English and Russian words are nearly identical; but, what the words described were different enough to cause mutual confusion. After a few minutes of hilarious debate, we both turned to Google for help. The word compote is similar to компот in that both relate to fruit; however, the English version describes a solid fruit mixture that is eaten while the Russian version describes a liquid fruit mixture that is drunk.

ceiling vs roof - A ceiling is the top wall of an interior room — usually where a fan or lights have been affixed — while a roof is the top, exterior surface of an entire building. Think of shingles, tar, or tiles that cover the uppermost area of a house.

to cut the grass vs to mow the lawn - To cut the grass means… well, it means exactly what you think: to cut grass. :) This can mean any grass, anywhere: at a house, a golf course, a park, etc. To mow the lawn is more specific to place. To mow the lawn means to cut down the grass at our houses or properties. While we can use both expressions to describe what happens where we live, it would sound odd to use “to mow the lawn” when referring to other places. So, “it’s a beautiful day to mow the lawn” sounds perfect for where you live but not, say, a recreation area.

cabinets vs dresser - What these two nouns share in common is their responsibility for storing objects. Where they differ is in their location: a cabinet is usually found in bathrooms and kitchens, while a dresser is almost always found in a bedroom. An easy way to remember the difference between them is to ask yourself whether you ever store clothes in the bathroom or kitchen. :)

Take this week's quiz! Click here.

May 14 2023

Today is Mother’s Day in the United States. This day, no matter your family dynamic or structure, offers a perfect opportunity to express our appreciation for those who have helped us through difficult times or celebrated our successes.

Speaking of successes, I’m happy to share a new feature of the Week in Review: a review quiz! The quiz is a great opportunity to practice the language included in these weekly reviews. I’ll add the link to the quiz at the bottom of each email, so check it out after reading up on the cool new words of the week.  On the subject of interesting language, let’s dive in….

homework vs housework vs yard work - These three words have a lot in common; but, they describe very different activities. Let’s look at each one: Homework is the assignments that professors and teachers give to students for completing outside of class time. Kids all over the world would love to get rid of homework. Housework is the activities we do to clean up the place where we live. A synonym for housework is chores. Before starting classes this morning, I did some housework such as washing clothes and cleaning the bathroom. Yard work is similar to housework but specifically describes chores done in the yard (or garden). Some examples are cutting the grass, pulling out weeds, planting flowers, or raking the leaves. On Friday, I wasn’t able to get any yard work done because it rained all day. :(

“to win back” - We use this phrasal verb to mean having convinced a person to return to a relationship after they left it. Let’s say that Rafael and Julia had been dating for a year when Julia decided to end their relationship. Rafael tries to convince Julia to go back to him. In this case, Rafael wants to win back Julia.

the outskirts vs the suburbs - These two words describe geographical relationships. Each relates to a where something is in relation to the center of a place. For example, we say that a house is in the outskirts if it is far from the city center yet still inside the city limits. In contrast, the suburbs are the smaller towns outside of a much larger city. Large cities like Chicago and Milan are surrounded by suburbs.  

people vs person - These two are often confused! A good way to remember the difference between these words is numbers. People describes more than one person, so is plural. For example, millions of people watched the Eurovision competition. Person, on the other hand, describes a single individual: she is a person with a lot of talent.

Take this week's quiz! Click here.

April 30 2023

The end of April is upon us! That means there are more birds, more flowers, and more chances of me making a mistake on invoices. This month, I introduced new class types and times. Thanks to everyone who gave their feedback and who have taken advantage of the options! Having said that, please pay attention to your invoice for this month as I am a sad human who sometimes makes mistakes — especially with numbers. Don’t hesitate to contact me right away if you think that I made a mistake with your invoice.  

Here are some great language examples that came out of the lessons from the last few weeks.

brazen - This adjective means boldness, daring, fearlessness, or presumptuous. We usually apply this word to someone’s attitude or behavior. This can be both a positive or a negative description. Check out this story from Charlotte for an example of a negative brazen behavior.

to give way - This phrasal verb means that something breaks or fails due to stress. Most of us (I think) would be afraid to stand at the edge of a cliff because the ground could give way.  Here’s an example from Texas where a house built above a cliff was left dangling after the ground gave way.

sabre-rattling - This expression means to intimidate or to threaten. Back in the day when militaries still were armed with swords instead of drones, the soldiers would shake (rattle) their swords (sabres) against another object so to make loud noises. The more men in the army, the louder the noise. It was intended to both intimidate their opponents as well as to threaten them with imminent violence. One member of the animal kingdom has made sabre-rattling its signature feature: the rattlesnake.

arrested development - This expression — from which one of the best TV shows ever made took its name — means that the normal development of something or someone has stopped. We might describe an adult who lacks emotional maturity as arrested development. This can happen due to trauma such as abuse, malnutrition, or violence.  

As always, reach out to me with any concerns or questions that you may have.

April 17 2023

Temperatures in Chicago during the last week rose to 28C (!!!). Nobody I talked to could remember such heat so early in the year, so I went looking for actual data. According to the National Weather Service, the last time temperatures reached 28C in April was 21 years ago — in the year 2002. Going further back in time, one has to flip the calendar all the way to 1985 to find temperatures that high in Chicago.

I am frankly a bit offended that the year 2002 was 21 years ago. Age really creeps up on a person. :(

Also offensive? Today it is 0C and snowing.

Let’s get away from the weather. Here are some great language examples that came out of the lessons from the last few weeks.

ACTUALLY vs CURRENTLY - These words are often confused, especially by native Spanish speakers. In English, we use the word “actually” to clarify a point or correct a mistake. If someone told you that the capital of the United States was New York City, you would — for example — say “actually, the capital is Washington DC.” On the other hand, “currently” in English means right now. For example, the dogs are playing inside the house because it’s currently too cold outside.

AND (more than once per sentence) - It’s tempting to write long sentences. I know. Many of our teachers encouraged us to create longer, more complex sentences. The simplest way to grow a sentence is to add a few “ands” at the end. It’s also the least effective way to build a balanced, coherent sentence. The sentence structure weakens with each additional “and.”

Let’s look at an example: I owe everything I am to my friends, and I am grateful for their love and support.

Here’s the revised version: I owe everything I am to my family, so am grateful for their unconditional love and support.

THE NOSEBLEED SECTION - This metaphor describes the area of an auditorium / theatre which is farthest from the stage. The price of seats in the nosebleed section is usually low because their distance and height away from the stage will result in both poor visibility and sound quality. “Nosebleed” comes from mountaineering: the higher your altitude, the more likely your nose is to bleed.

As always, reach out to me with any concerns or questions that you may have.

Donald

February 19 2023

The English Corner has been a resource for people all over the world to get the highest quality language classes at the lowest possible price. For nearly four years, I have had the pleasure of working with students from nearly every age, culture, and nationality. Thanks to the support of you all, the English Corner transitioned from a part-time hobby to a full-time project back in 2021. I have not regretted it for a moment. You have inspired me to experiment, innovate, learn, and stretch in new directions. All of that has allowed me to grow both as a teacher and as a businessman.

In that spirit, I am happy to announce some major changes coming to the English Corner. My hope is, of course, that you will be just as (if not more!) satisfied with these changes.

1) I will be on vacation from February 27 to March 5. We had hoped to spend that week in Mexico City; but, alas, the logistics of caring for two dogs led us to opt for a road trip. This is a happy alternative because we love road trips. We’ll try again to visit the beautiful Ciudad de México in October as a birthday gift to ourselves.

The second and third announcements are related.

2) I will not be teaching on Thursday or Friday for the month of March. I’ll be devoting these two days of the month to making the English Corner even better. The time away from classes will give me the energy to create additional resources and services to help everyone take their English language to the next level.

3) New prices and class opportunities are coming in April This point deserves your attention, so please follow me. I have noticed a decline in my energy and memory during the last few months. I would sometimes arrive to classes feeling very tired or other times forget to send information to students. This was embarrassing. At first, I thought that I was getting old. I realized while talking to friends, my husband, and a mental health professional that the problem was not age. It was exhaustion. I am burning out. I have been working seven days per week since Summer of 2022. I could not refuse the requests for help during my day off (Friday) or during other days that stretched for 12 hours. It isn’t sustainable now and certainly wasn’t sustainable back then. Additionally, the pandemic forced hundreds of millions of people to learn and work from home. The demand for English classes skyrocketed in 2020 and 2021. I saw teachers online who had raised their prices by 50% or more. Inflation went up in 2022, causing prices to increase across every industry. Prices of English classes also went up everywhere I looked. But I never once raised the price for my students. When Russia began its war against Ukraine — I lowered my price for Ukrainians. I am committed to that decision for as long as Ukrainians anywhere have to defend themselves, their families, and their homes from invaders.

Having said all of that, I’m excited to share that the new personal growth class price will only increase by $2 USD. Additionally, I’m offering a new class time: 45 minutes. The 45 minutes option will offer the same high quality English classes to people who don’t need the full hour or are unable to manage the price increase.

The new prices starting April 1st will be:

Personal Growth (30 minutes): $17

Personal Growth (45 minutes): $22

Personal Growth (60 minutes): $24

Many students offered their feelings and wisdom to me on this topic. I absolutely hated the thought of taking time away from people or raising prices. The feedback that many of you gave me was as compassionate as it was thoughtful. I marvel every day at my good luck to be doing this work with such wonderful people.

As always, reach out to me with any concerns or questions that you may have.

January 29 2023

One of the many joys of being a teacher comes from hearing a question to which I have no idea of the answer. Really! Students are as different in assumptions, culture, and experience as you are motivated to improve your English. Those differences sometimes give rise to questions that I don't expect. Such moments are exciting -- like finding $20 in my pants pocket. Here's the moment that took place this week:

A student asked me how Americans thought about their income and their bills. My response was that we usually thought of our income (salary / wage) in terms of weeks and years, but!, we thought about our expenses ( bills / debts) in terms of months. But... why? The student wanted to know why we wouldn't think about both things within the same terms of time. Her question stumped me for a few minutes. Nobody had ever asked me that question and so I had never thought about it! After our class, I asked a few of my friends if they knew their monthly income... and nobody did! Well, not immediately. Everyone had to do the math to arrive at the answer-- either multiplying their weekly income by 4 or their bi-monthly income by 2. Conversely, everyone knew right away their monthly expenses.  :)

Here are the best language examples that came out from this week's classes:

Cool Head vs Hothead - A cool head is what a person has when they are calm, collected, and patient. A hot head is someone who reacts impulsively, inappropriately, or dangerously. 

Body Shaming - This is mocking, harassing, or insulting a person for their physical appearance. Body shaming has been a common method of bullying in schools. 

The means - this word means "resources," -- usually money. Jennifer's parents do not have the means to buy a car for her. 

If you're interested in getting high quality books to assist your language development, I've provided links to three. They're available in traditional paperback and as an ebook. Whichever ones you choose to get -- OR NONE -- let me know so that I can prepare our lessons based on that material. 

English for Everyone: Level 3 Intermediate Course Book

English for Everyone: Level 3 Intermediate Practice Book

English for Everyone: Practice Grammar Guide

As always, thanks for trusting me with your English-language journey. 

 January 15 2023

The weather continues to be unusual here in Chicago. The sun has come out while temperatures rose to 8°C. I couldn't complain but did feel pretty sad for people wanting to do anything related to winter: ice hockey, ice skating, sledding, snowball fights, etc... February is usually the coldest, least pleasant month for our area. I fully expect to be complaining about it as is custom. 

My first recommendation! My goal with Donald's English Corner is to offer the highest quality English lessons at the lowest possible price. One can almost hear sound of my husband's eyes rolling when I say the price part. To that end, I have avoided making any recommendation to students that involved spending money. Until now -- and for very good reasons. I began using these books back in December at the recommendation of a student. Not only have we been using them to great success, but I have found myself impressed by the book's ability to explain difficult concepts. In addition to the text, the books also provide lots of listening comprehension practice. Each book links to free audio on the publisher's website. The conversations include accents from throughout the English-speaking world, so listeners get experience on hearing many different sounds. 

I've provided links to three of the books. They're available in traditional paperback and as an ebook. Whichever ones you choose to get -- OR NONE -- let me know so that I can prepare our lessons based on that material. 

English for Everyone: Level 3 Intermediate Course Book

English for Everyone: Level 3 Intermediate Practice Book

English for Everyone: Practice Grammar Guide

Here are some of the best language examples to come out from this week's classes! 

Rollercoaster -- this thrill ride has become an essential part of theme parks all over the world. I'm including it in our weekly review because many European languages call this experience "Russian Mountain." As a Spanish speaker, I knew this (montaña rusa) but was completely surprised to learn that other languages called it the same! After reading up on this interesting linguistic quirk, I'm still not exactly sure why the rollercoaster is Russian. 

"Black Sheep / White Crow" -- this metaphor describes a person who is different from the larger group. The expression can refer to both positive and negative differences. The wool of sheep is typically white, so a black-wooled sheep stands out from the herd. This week, I learned that Russian and Persian speakers use instead "white crow" to describe a strange or unusual person. This makes complete sense given that the feathers of crows are normally black.  Jessica has been the black sheep of the family. Everyone went to university and found regular work while she travelled around Asia and became a monk. 

To become - this verb best describes a major change, development, or transition. You can use it to describe professional changes, biological developments, and emotional/mental transitions.  Martha wants to become a doctor. // We can become US citizens after living in the country for five years. // Teachers at George's school worried that the boy was becoming violent with other children. 

As always, thanks for trusting me with your English-language journey. 

February 19 2023

We are watching the Super Bowl -- the largest and most important sport event in the United States. Many years, the most memorable things that come out of this game are advertisements -- not the score. For those of you without any interest in American Football then let me point out that Team Fluff won this year's Puppy Bowl for the second year in a row. 

Tomorrow is St Valentine's Day. This holiday is best known worldwide for love, roses, and chocolate. In Chicago, the holiday is popular for the reason exactly the opposite of romance: The Valentine's Day Massacre. Here in Chicago, back in 1929, the Italian mafia lead by Al Capone killed seven members of a rival gang run by the Polish and Irish. This was the time of prohibition, so organized crime organization waged bloody battles in the streets while corrupting city officials at every level. Thank goodness we have moved on from that! :) 

Here are the best language examples that came out from this week's classes:

A coward - This is someone who shows runs away from a challenge, who does not defend themselves or others. The young man was a coward, not helping his friend who was being bullied at school. 

A body shop - A place that repairs the frames of cars after an accident. We took our truck to a body shop after someone smashed into it in the parking lot. 

To be soaked - This adjective means that something / someone is immersed or covered in water. I was soaked after being caught outside in the rain. 

If you're interested in getting high quality books to assist your language development, I've provided links to three. They're available in traditional paperback and as an ebook. Whichever ones you choose to get -- OR NONE -- let me know so that I can prepare our lessons based on that material. 

English for Everyone: Level 3 Intermediate Course Book

English for Everyone: Level 3 Intermediate Practice Book

English for Everyone: Practice Grammar Guide

As always, thanks for trusting me with your English-language journey.