Tag: ESL

The ‘s contraction

teacherjulieta1 Comment

Apostrophe + S

In English the apostrophe is used to make contractions. It is easy to use contractions when we are in the classroom studying grammar. The problem is when we come across with the same contractions while watching a movie or speaking with other people. In English there are different contractions and one of the most confusing one is the ‘s contraction.

The apostrophe + s or ‘s contraction can represent three of the following situations: is, has or possession.

Look at the following example:

My sister’s husband, who’s an English teacher in Vietnam, speaks three languages. He’s studied Vietnamese for five years and French for one year. Currently, He’s working in a high school in Hanoi.

Can you identify the full form of each of the contractions?  If you can, share your answer in the comments below.

If not, watch a mini lesson where I explain the different meanings of ‘s. After you watch it download a guide with more examples to practice on your own.

The ‘s contraction essential guide

Useful tips and examples to improve your grammar.

Download

The Tongue Twister Challenge (Intensity Level 1)

teacherjulieta5 Comments

Workout for your English muscles

A great way to improve your pronunciation and fluency is by saying tongue twisters as fast as you can. Tongue twisters are great to exercise your English muscles. Are you ready to complete this fun challenge?

Let’s warm up

Say each of the following tongue twisters five times as fast as you can. If you are not sure about the correct pronunciation you can play the audio first and repeat after me. Then you can say the tongue twister slowly and when you feel confident about your pronunciation you increase the speed.

1 You know New York, you need New York

2 So, this is the sushi chef

3 Stupid superstition

Let’s increase the intensity

Say each of the following tongue twisters five times as fast as you can

4. I saw a kitten eaten chicken in the kitchen

5.Eddie edited it

6. Willie’s really weary

7. The big fat cat sat on the rat

8. She sells seashells by the seashore

DOWNLOAD the worksheet with audio to practice anytime, anywhere.

Get it

Try out this tongue twisters and let me know how it went. Which was the most difficult one? Leave your answers in the comments below.

Happy practice!

How to choose a good movie to practice English

teacherjulieta1 Comment

Watching movies in English can be one of the best ways to improve your English. There is no doubt that it’s easier to learn something if you are having fun and enjoying what you are doing. However, for lower level students watching a movie in English sometimes can be a torture. It is not fun when everybody is laughing or crying and you don’t understand what’s going on.

My students always ask me about the best movies to practice their English. I honestly don’t know much about movies because I don’t like to watch commercial movies. I prefer to watch movies about real and meaningful stories. I have to admit that I’m not the kind of person that can suggest a movie to pass time. Each person has different preferences in regards of movies. However, I can give you some tips so you can choose a good movie yourself.

Tip # 1

Watch a movie that you would watch in your first language. Don’t watch a movie just because everybody is watching it. The same rule should apply to books. Just because Shakespeare was the most famous English writer of all times, it doesn’t mean that you must read “Romeo and Juliet”.

Tip # 2

Watch a movie that you have already watched in your first language. When you already know what the story is about it is easier to focus on the vocabulary and new expressions. It’s not easy to learn new phrases and expressions if you don’t understand the plot.

Tip # 3

Don’t try to understand everything the first time you watch a movie in English. It is okay not to understand everything. It is okay to watch the same movie many times. It is okay to watch a movie with subtitles in English several times.

Tip # 4

Try to memorize the dialogues or songs of your favorite scenes. If your favorite movie is a Hollywood movie or a Disney movie, watch it in English and try to memorize the dialogues. I’m sure that you have already memorized some dialogues in your first language. It will be super easy to memorize the dialogues in English.

Other teachers may have different opinions. Thus, you have to follow the advice that is good for your learning style and your learning capabilities. I’m sharing my advice as an ESL teacher who has worked with literacy and beginner students for a number of years. I have seen how torturing it is for someone who doesn’t understand what is going on to enjoy something that is supposed to be fun.

Remember that watching movies is a hobby and hobbies are meant to be pleasant, not torturing.

I would like to share with you three English movies that according to my students are easy to understand even for lower levels:

1. Little Boy


2. Bella


3. McFarland


If you watched any of these movies, I’d love to hear your comments. Did you like it? Why?
If you watched the three movies, tell me which one was your favorite. Why?

Keep up the good work.

Keep practicing your English.

Remember that practice is FUN!!

How to learn new words easily using word families

teacherjulieta6 Comments

If you want to improve your English it is critical that you have a rich vocabulary. Among other skills, the ability to identify word meanings is extremely important if you want to speak fluently.

Here I am going to share five tips that will help you remember new words and their meanings easily.

Tip # 1

Identify the part of speech of the words you learn. Along with the writing or pronunciation patterns, learning the part of speech can help you remember words and create sentences more easily. The part of speech indicates how the word functions in meaning as well as grammatically within the sentence. Nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs are examples of parts of speech.

Tip # 2

Organize your vocabulary by word families. A word family is a group of words that have a common pattern. Words that belong to the same family have the same combination of letters or a particular sound.  They are an excellent tool to learn and remember words.

Tip # 3

Look for other words that belong to the same family. Most online dictionaries display a list with nearby words or other entries for the word. Look for those entries to find out other words that belong to the same family.

(source: McMillan Essential Dictionaries Magazine, Issue 14, December 2003)

Tip # 4

Write down in your notebook all the words that belong to the same word family. Graphic word organizers are the best. You can draw a table in your notebook or download a super cool word organizer that I have created specially for my students.

Download word organizer

Example of word families + parts of speech

Part of the speech  families  
nounactionbeautydecisionsuccesstolerance
verbactbeautifydecidesucceedtolerate
adjectiveactivebeautifuldecisivesuccessfultolerant
adverbactivelybeautifullydecisivelysuccessfullytolerably

Tip # 5

Write your own examples using each of the words that you add to your notebook or word organizer. It is crucial that you understand the meaning and how to use each word that you learn.

It seems like a lot of work. However, in the long run it will pay off; specially if you are planning to take the IELTS, TOEFL, CELPIP or any Cambridge test.

Challenge

Let’s practice. Complete the sentences below using the correct word from the table above.

  1. “_____________ is in the eye of the beholder” ~Shakespeare (hint: noun)
  2. Although Maria has been looking for a new job _________, she hasn’t ___________ yet.  (hint: adverb, verb)
  3. John is a very ___________ person. He exercises every day. (hint: adjective)
  4. What’s you final _____________? Are you going to buy the detached house in the suburbs or the condo downtown? (hint: noun)
  5. I’m not going to _______________ such disrespectful behavior! (hint: verb)