Welcome to our open, self-paced ESL study group. We can and hope to add networks to the group. This blog is the hub where you can find lessons, links to ESL learning resources, leave links to add to the network, post comment and questions. The study group project is experimental. Participate by sharing ideas and suggestions.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Why2Fly: Environmentally Friendly Airplanes are Better than Cars!
Saturday, December 10, 2011
On ad-speak and poetry
Ian Daly — a “planning director and cultural strategist” at a marketing firm in New York called Anomaly — recently compiled a list of words and phrases that he titled “Shit I Never Said Before Working in Advertising.” A sampling:
Blow it out
Ladder it up
Tease it out
Bullet it out
Build it out
Build affinity
Soft launch
Hard stop
Fair push
Push back
Reach out
Touch base
Connect around
Loop in
Circle back
Topline
Top-of-mind
Share of mind
Are you tracking? I’m tracking.
And it goes on, reading a little like a weirdly intricate instruction manual, a little like half-baked inspirational literature, and maybe a little like… poetry?
We’re reminded of Robert Archambeau’s recent essay on the various ways that advertising has co-opted (unwittingly?) the language and approach of Symbolist poetry. Writing about Lexicon — the company behind such evocative product names as “Blackberry,” “Swiffer,” and “Pentium Chip” — Archambeau says:
The greatest of Symbolists Stéphane Mallarmé, in his Crise de vers describes the poetry he admires as… “verse that from its constituents makes up a total word, new, strange to the language and like an incantation”. For him, the poem itself was a single word. And like the words coined by the people at Lexicon, Mallarmé’s total word gives us “an array of specific, resonant meanings and associations” rather than something more defined and limited.
Read Ian Daly’s full list and Robert Archambeau’s full article.
Using Educational Techology for Adult ELT | Scoop.it
'via Blog this'
Sunday, December 04, 2011
Short simple sentences will get you through!
One of the main factors in the UK housing market is the acute shortage of housing, especially in popular areas. This means that even a very small increase in demand has a proportionally bigger increase in price.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
The Art of Building Virtual Communities
'via Blog this'
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Welcome to Blogging English
PS ~ Before you go, don't forget to leave a message introducing yourself or just saying hello!
Where do you want to go with English? What are you working on? What are your goals? Please leave a message telling us more about your learning interests and plans. How can we help? Do you have a personal learning plan? We can help you develop a plan and customize your own Personal Learning Network.
Do have suggestions, ideas about features to improve the study group? Should we add a separate discussion group, chat, bulletin board to leave messages, voice messages? Let us know.
If you have questions about grammar and usage, please post them at StudyCom's Question and Help Board. You will also find many learning resources, mini-lessons and study guides there.
In the meantime, check out these Great Sites for Students to Practice English
I look forward to reading your messages and welcoming you to our group,
Vanessa
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
About ESL Newsletter: Speaking
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Schools and Creativity [videos]
Monday, October 10, 2011
More Larry Ferlazzo “Links I Should Have Posted"
- Drug war: Cartels unrelenting in bloody conflict is an interactive from the Associated Press about the Mexican drug war. I'm adding it to The Best Sites To Learn About Mexico's Drug War.
- Can This Poet Save Mexico? is an article from The New York Times. I'm also adding it to the same list.
- Global Protests is a nice photo gallery from The Boston Globe. I'm adding it to The Best Sites For Learning About Protests In History.
- PicFull is a new photo-editing site. I'm adding it to The Best Sites For Online Photo-Editing & Photo Effects. I'm adding Clip Your Photos to the same list.
- TweepsMap will show all your Twitter followers on a map. I'm adding it to The Best Ways To Make A Map Showing Your Facebook Friends (& Twitter Followers).
- Top 10 Real Life Monsters is a TIME Magazine slideshow. I'm adding it to The Best Sites For Learning About Animals.
- The Ultimate G+ Collection: A Treasure Trove of Google Plus Tips, Guides, & Resources is just what the title says it is. I'm adding it to The Best Resources For Learning What Google+ Is All About.
- ELT Pics is a project initiated on Twitter to collect photos helpful to English Language teachers. I'm adding it to The Best Online Sources For Images.
- Kleiner-Backed Vlix Is An Instagram For Video; Adds Filters, Effects And More To Mobile Video is a TechCrunch post about a new iPhone application. I'm adding it to The Best Sites For Beginning iPhone Users Like Me.
Thursday, October 06, 2011
Beginner Level - The Best ESL Videos
Real English is different. Students who have not lived in an English-speaking country should begin with Lesson 1! The people in the videos are spontaneous. Spontaneity is difficult, just like real situations with strangers are difficult. The people seem to speak fast, but in reality, they are speaking at normal speed.
Wednesday, October 05, 2011
100 Most Often Misspelled Words in English
Tuesday, October 04, 2011
Beginners - Resources, Lesson Plans, Activities
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Are You an Absolute Beginner?
Do you understand the question? If yes - you are not an absolute beginner. If no - then you might be an absolute beginner. A simple definition of absolute beginners... Read more
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Thursday, September 29, 2011
Online ESL Newsletters
- The #ESL Daily
- Pearson Longman USA ESL/EFL Daily
- English Test Newsletter
- Subscribe to About ESL Newsletter
Thursday, September 01, 2011
DIY U: Getting Started With Self-Learning
Are you ready to get started with self-learning? Read this important message from P2PU
P2PU is excited to announce an overdue collaboration with Anya Kamenetz, author of The Edupunk’s Guide to a DIY Credential, to create a new course centered around motivated learners who are ready to experiment with an innovative approach to learning.
Together we started DIY U: Getting Started With Self-Learning on P2PU.org. This course is a chance to explore the process of self-directed learning. We’ll help each other with two goals: creating an individualized learning plan, where you define your own goals and the path to get there, and reaching out to others to build a network of peers and mentors who can help you on your path.
DIY U is a pilot attempt of developing learning plans together. It will runs through September and is intended for those new to P2PU and even to online learning in general. If you’ve been a fan of P2PU but haven’t found a course or study group to suit you, this is a great place to start. If you have friends or students or others in your network who are newer to this self learning thing, please encourage them to sign up! And even if your interest in personal learning plans is more academic or theoretical, we encourage you to bring a focused learning goal to the table!
An exciting and diverse crowd has already signed up – with plenty room for more! One of the participants (and a P2PU staffer) has even created a tutorial on how to hack the P2PU course module to layout your individual learning plan. Sign up and start working through the tasks to take charge of your learning goals!
Tuesday, August 02, 2011
About ESL: Visual Learning
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Visual Tense Charts Visual clues can really help learners understand tense usage. This resource provides a visual tense chart for each of the major uses of the 14 tenses in English... Read more For more advanced learners, this tense timeline chart shows all the tenses on one page moving from past to future and can be a good way to review tenses by contrasting and comparing usage. | |
Visual Dictionaries |
Friday, July 29, 2011
Broadsided: Responses: Japan Earthquake and Tsunami 2011
RESPONSES
Japan Earthquake and Tsunami 2011
At Broadsided, we believe that art and literature belong in our daily lives. We believe they are not just decoration, but essential communication. They inspire and they demonstrate the vitality and depth of our connection with the world.
Moved by the plight of post-tsunami Japan, Broadsided artist Yuko Adachi sent us the image "Love Heals Japan" (see right) and asked if we would help her find writing to accompany it. We were inspired by her idea, and decided to ask other Broadsided artists if they had been similarly moved and, if so, if they'd be willing to share their work.
We posted that art, and asked writers to respond. Below are the collaborations that resulted, as well as a short note from the writers and artists about this process. We hope that you will download, print, and share these with your community.
Yuko has created a high-quality giclee print of her collaboration with Hugh Martin. You can purchase it on Etsy. All proceeds will go to the relief effort in Japan.
Click each image below for the pdf; scroll down for more information about each collaboration.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
add your 2¢ worth
How would you assess your English level?
- Listening comprehension?
- Speaking?
- Reading?
- Writing?
- Text to Voice
- Chat
- Private group
- Other
Monday, July 11, 2011
A Language Learning MOOC for English
Since being introduced to the MOOC earlier this year, I have often thought about how a Language MOOC might play out. This post is an explanation of why I think Language Learning suits the MOOC structure"
Friday, July 08, 2011
Digital Delights for Learners
Friday, June 24, 2011
Learn Natural English Daily at PhraseMix
Learn how to study using PhraseMix
Read the most recent lessons
Explore the lesson categories
Ask PhraseMix a question
Find out more about PhraseMix
Read the blog
Subscribe to the email newsletter for a weekly summary of phrases, news and bonus material
Monday, June 13, 2011
Tell Your Stories Through Writing
- Writeboard is web based document that you can work on alone or with others.
- OurStory tool uses a timeline to help you write your stories and adds pictures, videos and text. Send it others via mail or share it on different social networking sites.
- At StoryBird, create your own stories using existing drawings.
- TheStoryStarter has more than 1 million story starters and prompts for all ages. This tool is great to start a narrative story. Choose a starter that interests you and write your own.
- WhatifQuestions asks you “What if?” questions to generate your own story.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Saturday, May 07, 2011
Using Spell-checkers
You have to be a halfway decent speller anyway to be able to use a spell-checker. Your attempt has to be close enough to be recognised by the software and where there is an option, you have to be able to choose the right one. You also have to cope with homophones and other real-word errors on your own. See Spell checkers, how useful are they? for more on spell-checkers and an activity to train learners to use them well.
Wednesday, May 04, 2011
Mobile ESL
Friday, March 18, 2011
Poetry Pairing
Japanese Defense Ministry, via Associated Press
In our weekly “Poetry Pairing” series, we collaborate with the Poetry Foundation to feature a work from its American Life in Poetry project alongside content from The Times that somehow echoes, extends or challenges the poem’s themes. Each poem is introduced briefly by Ted Kooser, a former United States poet laureate.
This week we put three pieces together: the poem “The Word That Is a Prayer,” a photograph, above, from a Times slide show of over 100 images of the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and a March 11 blog post by the Op-Ed columnist Nicholas D. Kristof, “Sympathy for Japan, and Admiration.”
Annotating Text
At our school, we really push students to get comfortable and familiar with the idea of annotating academic text that they’re reading. That’s just one of several reasons why we don’t use standard textbooks much in our English classes, and instead use copied units from Pebble Creek Labs, the Write Institute, or ones developed by local universities. And we always have a lot of post-it notes on hand for when we aren’t using consumables. We encourage students to read text with a pen or highlighter in their hands.
This is why I’m really big on web apps that let you annotate webpages (see Best Applications For Annotating Websites).
This kind of annotation habit is a reminder and strategy for students to interact more meaningfully with the text, and makes follow-up work so much easier (unit projects, studying for tests, etc.). It’s a habit that they’ll find useful for years to come.
Annotation “prompts” include using the typical reading strategies (ask a question, make a connection, visualize by drawing a picture and writing what it is, summarizing, predicting, and agreeing/disagreeing) and highlighting a specifically limited number of words (to help students develop the discipline of not highlighting tons of them)
Not just for research, note-taking and studying but also helps reading in general by focusing attention on the text.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Are you safe? Please check in!
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
ESL on YouTube
- Tips for learning English with YouTube
- A guide to YouTube channels for learning English (too many ads, just ignore them)
- A short article from Mashable about KanTalk that describes the language-learning network's features and (briefly) explains How to use YouTube to learn English
Sunday, March 06, 2011
Internet pick of the day: ESL blogs
Most if not all have resources you can use. You can also subscribe to blogs you like. My first pick is Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day at Edublogs. In addition to English, you will learn a lot about the world, current events, important issues and many other topics.
More to look at: About.com's list of Best ESL EFL Teacher blogs. Do you have a favorite ESL blog? Please share it with us?