English Words from French
by Scott Miles
The English language has taken in a large amount of words from other languages.
As a matter of fact, only about 26% of the current English vocabulary is purely from the earlier forms of English.
As the chart shows, French accounts for 29% of all words in the English vocabulary. The origin of some of this borrowed vocabulary is no secret, as the words retain a strong French flavor in spelling and/or pronunciation. Genre, croissant, déjà vu, and buffet are among many such examples.
However, there are many borrowed words that the average native-speaker of English might be surprised to find out were originally of French origin. Here is a short list of food vocabulary borrowed from French.
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beef pork poultry |
caramel cream pastry pudding |
mayonnaise mustard Sauce salad |
casserole sausage soup stew |
Bon appétit!
Writing Tip # 3: Mystery Stories
by Linda Galloway
After students can write at least simple sentences in the past tense, this is a good activity to practice past tense, questions, and purpose.
It also helps students interact, whether it is in person or on-line.
Students are instructed to write between 4 and10 sentences about an experience they have had that might surprise others in the class. It could be a simple, funny, scary, surprising, educational, or emotional story. Childhood stories are especially effective here. Students should know that the stories will be shared with the class. You can also put one in as long as your writing sample is not so much better than the students that they will simply guess from the high vocabulary level, for instance.
Once they turn in the stories, you edit them to adjust too-obvious clues and to fix any grammar problems. Sometimes this involves several changes, so I usually show it to the specific writer to ensure that it is accurate or to help them expand with more details (See Writing Tips # 1 and
# 2).
When all stories are in and edited (or even before if some students are confused about what to write), one story is read each class. Make sure the story you have selected is from a student who is present that day. Students ask questions to narrow the possibilities. The writer should answer along with all of the other students but should not reveal too much. You can either answer them or have all students respond if this could be true for them (for example, ‘How many of you have dogs?’ ‘How many of you have been in a hospital?’) The responses should be available to all students. Eventually, the possibilities will be only a few, and students can then guess, even if they do not know the other students very well. I have always started out by reading the stories aloud and then sharing them on the white board so that students can read them, but that depends on the listening skills of students. After the student is correctly guessed, comments about good writing traits can be pointed out (like nice use of adjectives or adverbs – even if you added them).
This activity helps students understand the importance of details for more interesting writing and how thinking of the audience can be essential.
Words to Describe People
by Scott Miles
The vocabulary in this supplement is commonly used to describe people.
They are words that appear in the 2000 most commonly used vocabulary in the English language, so they are essential for students at the basic to intermediate levels.
- First, review the words and circle the words that you do not know. You can underline the words that you think you might know, but aren’t sure.
- Next, with a partner (or partners), ask about the words you do not know.
What does _______ mean?
To explain the words in English, the following sentences might be helpful:
- It’s the opposite of __________.
- It’s almost the same as ___________.
- This is the kind of person who always ________
- This is the kind of person who never __________.
After listening to the explanation, guess the translation of the word in your first language. Later, you can look up the words in a dictionary to see if your guess is correct.
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Positive |
Neutral |
Negative |
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Bright Friendly Funny Gentle Helpful Honest Kind Loving Lucky Warm |
Busy Careful Childlike Cold Fearless Interesting Perfectionist Quiet Realistic Serious |
Boring Childish Controlling Forgetful Judgmental Lazy Loud Mean Selfish Silly |
Talk about the vocabulary. Which words describe you? Which words do not? Use the following sentence patterns.
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Now We’re Talking Textbook Activity Supplement
Book 1-Unit 1-Vocabulary: Describing People
This is a lesson plan that can complement the vocabulary activities on page 7 of Now We’re Talking Book 1, Unit 1.
Lesson Plan
- Distribute the handout (see above). Have the students look at the list of words and circle the ones they do not know. They can underline words they are not sure about, but have an idea of what they might mean. Tell the students to refrain from looking up words they do not know yet.
- In pairs or small groups, students then ask their partners about the words they circled and underlined. If another student knows the word, the student should try to explain the meaning. This is not an easy task for basic and even intermediate level students, but the given structures in the handout can be helpful. Do a few of the examples as a class before having the students try on their own.
If students have trouble finding a meaning (for example, they get stuck on a word that none of them know), they should call over the instructor to help with an explanation.
Once the word is explained, the student can write down their best guess of the translation of the word. Finally, after this part of the activity is over (or for homework), students can look up the words in a bilingual dictionary to see if their understanding was correct.
- In pairs or small groups, the students can discuss the vocabulary as it relates to themselves. If needed, review the sentence structures for this part of the exercise.
Texting Expressions and Acronyms in English: What did you say?
by Carol Cutler
Just when you are starting to feel confident about your English-speaking skills, you come across a new challenge:
texting acronyms from native-speaker friends. Even when you have deciphered the usual letters (like LOL), some texting expressions can still be confusing. You asked, “Can I bring a friend to the party?”, and your roommate replied “Bet”. What does he mean? Was that a yes or no? As it turns out, “bet” means “yes”, or “you bet” (For sure! It’s so certain that you can “bet” on it). These expressions and acronyms are mostly found in text messages, but sometimes they find their way into emails, too. Please be aware that they are INFORMAL and should only be used with close friends and people you know very well. They are most commonly used by teenagers or young adults and also may vary by geographic location in the US. Here is a list of 25 common texting expressions and acronyms with short explanations:
- WDYM – What do you mean? (Please explain yourself)
- OMW – On my way (I’m coming)
- WTM – What’s the matter? (What’s wrong? What is the problem?)
- Ight (or aight) – Alright (Ok or I agree)
- Bet – You bet (It sounds good to me, or for sure)
- ALR – Alright (Okay, or it sounds good to me)
- CU – See you (I will see you later)
- LMK – Let me know (Please give me an answer soon)
- IDK – I don’t know
- IG – I guess (I’m not sure, but I think so)
- RN – Right now
- OMG – Oh my God (Or oh my “gosh”. Some native speakers are sensitive to using the word “God”)
- IMO – In my opinion
- IMHO – In my humble opinion (Or in my honest opinion)
- BTW – By the way (Incidentally)
- TBH – To be honest
- LOL – Laughing “out” loud (That was very funny)
- ROFL – Rolling on the floor laughing (That was very funny)
- BRB – (I will) Be right back
- BBL – (I will) Be back later
- TTYL – (I will) Talk to you later
- GR8 – Great (Wonderful)
- NVM – Never mind (Forget it, ignore it)
Writing Tip # 2:
by Linda Galloway
Too few details can make a writing uninteresting or even ineffective.
Last month, we looked at asking reporters’ or detectives’ questions (Who? What? Where? Why? and How?) This time we will use sensory questions. Ask students to imagine a special room from memories of childhood. Very often it will be a room where their family gathered. They should write this place at the top of the page where they will do pre-writing. Ask them to close their eyes except when they are writing notes.
Now they should add three or more items they can ‘ see’ in this memory. That is the usual place where students might end the description.
Next, ask them to add two details about what they remember hearing. This might include the voices of special people, laughter, an argument, a chair rocking, the wind or traffic outside, or the sounds of pans clattering in the kitchen.
Third, ask them to think about what they might have felt. It could be an emotion or a physical sensation, like the soft hug of their grandmother, the bristly face of their father, or the hardness of the folding chair children were given to sit on. One touch memory is probably enough, but one physical and one emotional detail would make the writing especially vivid.
The fourth sense is that of smell. This is actually our first sense when we are born, and it remains an important sense, but we do not often use it in description. Again, for this it helps if students close their eyes, or you can ask them what helps them think of this place. It is often the smell of a familiar perfume or food, but it might be an unpleasant smell, too, of a dog just in from a bad adventure or an overcooked dinner, for example.
The hardest one might be the last one: taste. Family gatherings often involve food, making this easier. However, even without food, we can have a taste of fear, dryness or illness in our mouths. If students push themselves, they can often produce a detail about taste. This should be a bonus detail.
Describing this room or an event in a creative paragraph should be easier with these details, even if not all of them are used. It may lead to developing second language vocabulary, as well. This paragraph would make a welcome gift for those who were also there.
Writing Tip # 1:
by Linda Galloway
Many writing papers are too simple and maybe can be a little boring. One easy way to help avoid this is to ask the same questions as a detective: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?
Here is an example of how this can help:
First sentence: I went to the store.
Who? I went with my little sister to the store.
What? I went with my little sister to the store for a present.
Where? I went with my little sister to the Dollar store for a present.
When? On December 23rd, I went with my little sister to the Dollar store for a present.
Why? On December 23rd, I went with my little sister to the Dollar store for a
Christmas present for our mother.
How? On December 23rd, with three dollars in my pocket, I walked with my little sister to the
Dollar store for a Christmas present for our mother.
Usually, you will not want all of the questions’ answers for your sentences, but if you can add the answers to two or three of the questions some of the time, your sentences will be more interesting and complete.
For Example, Such As, and Like
by Scott Miles
There are several options for introducing an example. These include for example, such as, and like.
Generally, here are the main points of using these phrases correctly:
- Use for example at the beginning of the sentence.
- Use such as and like in the middle of a sentence.
As you might guess, the above is an over-simplification that isn’t always true. However, it is a good guideline to help writers stay out of trouble most of the time.
Here are the details.
For example
This works as a transition (a conjunctive adverbial) to introduce an example to support a previous sentence. It is most common to use for example at the beginning of a sentence, and it should be followed by a comma.
There are many interesting things to do in my hometown. For example, you can go to one of our many parks.
Like other transitions, it can also go within a sentence, but it will always be marked by commas.
There are many interesting things to do in my hometown. You can go to one of our many parks, for example.
There are many interesting things to do in my hometown. You can, for example, go to one of our many parks.
Such as
Such as is a prepositional phrase, so it can’t be used the same way grammatically as for example. It is always followed by a noun phrase (or phrases). It is best used when introducing an example mid-sentence.
There are many interesting things to do in my hometown, such as going to one of our many parks.
We need to get several things from the store, such as hamburger, buns, and ketchup.
Use a comma before such as for sentences that can be complete without the examples.
Utah has many national parks, such as Zion Canyon and Bryce Canyon.
In this case, the sentence would be okay without the examples (a non-restrictive clause).
However, in the following sentence, the examples are crucial for the meaning of the sentence, so a comma is not used.
When going to parks such as Zion Canyon and Bryce Canyon, be prepared to pay an entrance fee.
Like
Using like for examples is common in spoken and informal English.
She enjoys outdoor activities like bicycling and hiking.
For academic and formal writing, use such as for this kind of sentence.
She enjoys outdoor activities, such as bicycling and hiking.
Greetings from America
Informal in-person greetings
Many ESL students learn the popular greeting, “Hi, how are you?” only to be confused when they arrive in the United States. Instead of this familiar question, they often hear “How’s it going?” or “What’s up?” from friends or roommates.
Here is how to decipher (and re-use) the informal greetings you hear:
If you are meeting a college friend or someone close to you (especially a young person), you will most likely hear “How’s it going?” or “How are you doing?” (Translation: How is everything going in your life? How is life?). A good answer would be “Doing well, and you?”
You may also hear “What’s going on?” or “What’s up?” or “What’s happening?” (Translation: What is new in your life?). If you want to answer that nothing exciting is happening, you may reply “Not much, what’s new with you?”
These informal questions may come by themselves or follow an even more informal “Hi!”, or “Hey!”, “Howdy!”, or even a “Yo!” They all mean “Hello.”
Formal in-person greetings
When greeting people in a more formal setting (such as a professor in college, or a potential employer for an interview), your greeting must be more formal and conventional. These situations call for the well-known, “Hi, how are you?” or “Hello, it’s nice to meet you.” Other polite greetings include “Good morning” or “Good afternoon.” If you are meeting someone after 5 pm, most people greet each other with “Good evening” in formal situations. You should only say “Good night” when you are going home.
Some students wonder about the greeting, “How do you do?” In America, you rarely hear someone using it. It is more common in Great Britain.
Regardless of all these options you have, when in doubt, always use the old reliable “Hi, how are you?” It is a safe greeting for both formal and less-formal situations.
Learning Grammar after the Grammar Class Ends
“Grammar instruction, no matter how well designed, is unlikely to achieve immediate success.”
–Rod Ellis
There are two challenges for grammar learning and teaching. The first is remembering what was learned in class. Even though a student might learn the rule well enough to ace a grammar test, the memory of the rule is highly likely to fade from memory several weeks or months after the language course is completed. Teachers who have students continue from one semester to the next experience this often.
Another issue with grammar learning is being able to use what was learned in the classroom outside the classroom. When speaking with someone in ‘real life’ outside the classroom, the learner has a lot of things to keep in mind as she communicates. She needs to check her comprehension of what was said to her, think of the content of her response, the needed vocabulary (and how to pronounce it) and all the necessary grammar points as well. When attempting to communicate successfully, grammar tends to receive the lowest priority among the above. Grammar needs to be deeply internalized if the speaker hopes to use it correctly in spontaneous speech. The classroom can rarely give enough time for this process to happen.
With these challenges in mind, learners need strategies to continue to improve their grammar skills after their English classes are finished. Here are three suggestions for language learners.
- Extensive reading
- Continued explicit study
- Becoming “Grammatical”
Extensive Reading
I’ll have another post on extensive reading in the future (until then, this video can give a good overview), but in brief, here are the three components:
- Reading at least 20 minutes a day
- Reading books that are easy enough to understand without using a dictionary more than a few times per page
- Reading books that are enjoyable
How can this kind of reading help your grammar? Over time, extensive reading gives learners massive exposure to correct forms of grammar. In this way, learners develop a ‘sense’ of the language that is difficult, if not impossible, to get solely through explicit instruction. This exposure to the language also reinforces what the students have learned in the grammar classroom. Indeed, there are a number of second language scholars that claim this kind of practice is crucial for language mastery (Licthman & VanPatten, 2021).
Continued explicit study
Though students can learn a lot of grammar through extensive reading, there will be some grammar forms that are missed. This means students will need to find a way to directly study grammar on their own. One way to do this is for learners to keep their grammar books from their most recent ESL class and periodically review a chapter or two from time to time. There are also a number of quality YouTube videos that teach grammar.
Writing can also be a good way to help learners continue on their path to language mastery. Grammar check software that comes with all popular word-processing programs (Grammarly is particularly helpful) can give learners immediate feedback on grammar issues they may have. It is true that sometimes grammar checking software is incorrect, but most of the time, the suggestions are helpful.
Becoming ‘grammatical’
The last suggestion is becoming ‘grammatical.’ Rod Ellis, long considered one of the leaders of the field in learning and teaching grammar, coined the expression ‘grammatical.’ As Ellis writes, “grammar teaching needs to emphasize awareness of how grammatical features work rather than mastery. Learners who are aware of a grammatical structure are more likely to notice it when they subsequently encounter it. Thus, awareness can facilitate and trigger learning; it is a crutch that helps learners walk until they can do so by themselves.”
For the learner, this means occasionally taking the time to analyze the language encountered outside the language classroom. Learners can compare the language they read or hear with what they understand about English grammar. When noticing the text or native speaker saying something a little differently than they expect, the learner should investigate further. Native speakers rarely correct a learner’s mistakes, but when asked, most are happy to let the learner know how to say something correctly.
Grammar mastery is a long process. The number of hours spent in a classroom cannot come close to the total amount of time needed to become native-like. None of the above suggestions is a quick fix for learning, but following these practices for a few years will make a significant difference.
Sources
Black Cat Channel. (2019). What is Extensive Reading? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IVVjwq5rBg
Ellis, R. (2003). Becoming grammatical. Language Teaching & Learning, 7, 124-232. https://www.impactseries.com/grammar/becoming.html
Licthman, K. & VanPatten, B. (2021). Was Krashen right? Forty years later. Foreign Language Annals, 54(2) 283-305. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12552
Study Skills and Concentration
We can have the best content in the world to teach our students but sometimes it is still not enough for them to learn everything in a limited amount of time.
We need to work with them on study skills and concentration to go along with our content. A set of questions like this used on a daily or weekly basis may help.
- Do you have a place to do your work away from distractions?
- Are you taking notes in class and reviewing them a few minutes a day?
- Can you make a check mark on paper every time your mind wanders?
- Do you try making a concept map or word cloud to study?
- Are you using a free tutor at the tutoring center?
- Are you taking short breaks to keep your energy up?
- Do you set a goal of how long it will take to complete an assignment?
- Do you use a calendar that shows when tests and assignments are due?