English: what you need to know about the language
english, english language, english lingusitics, english as a second language, english as a foreign language, english as the world What are the world's most widely spoken languages?In which countries is English the language spoken by the majority as a first language?
45 ways to avoid using the word 'very'
Writers Write is your one-stop resource for writers. Use these 45 ways to avoid using the word ‘very’ to improve your writing. Good writers avoid peppering their writing with qualifiers like ‘very’ and ‘really’. They are known as padding or filler words and generally add little to your writing. According to Collins Dictionary: ‘Padding is unnecessary words or information used to make a piece of writing or a speech longer.
How to Write with Style: Kurt Vonnegut’s 8 Keys to the Power of the Written Word
Find a Subject You Care About Find a subject you care about and which you in your heart feel others should care about. It is this genuine caring, and not your games with language, which will be the most compelling and seductive element in your style. I am not urging you to write a novel, by the way — although I would not be sorry if you wrote one, provided you genuinely cared about something. A petition to the mayor about a pothole in front of your house or a love letter to the girl next door will do. Do Not Ramble, Though
12 Horrible Gobbledygook Words We Reluctantly Accepted
Just as there is nothing certain in this world but death and taxes, there is nothing certain in language but that it will change, and that people will react badly. One of the changes people find most offensive is the spread of professional jargon that has been coined to replace simpler, clearer words we already have. Anyone up for some collaborative incentivizing going forward? No? Well, maybe one day your great-grandchildren will be. Here are 12 words that people once thought were horrible gobbledygook that nobody flinches at anymore.
TeachingEnglish
In this lesson students practise word building in preparation for part 3 of the Use of English test in the FCE exam. Through a series of activities students will become more aware of word ‘families’, enabling them to do the Use of English (part 3) more successfully. Topic: Weird museums - word building for FCE Use of English part 3 Level: B2 Aims: To remind students how to form new words from a ‘stem’ word.To familiarise students with part 3 of the Use of English test of the FCE exam.To extend students’ vocabulary by practising forming new words from stem words.
Data Mining Novels Reveals the Six Basic Emotional Arcs of Storytelling
Back in 1995, Kurt Vonnegut gave a lecture in which he described his theory about the shapes of stories. In the process, he plotted several examples on a blackboard. “There is no reason why the simple shapes of stories can’t be fed into computers,” he said. “They are beautiful shapes.” The video is available on YouTube.
British Accents and Dialects
Wikimedia The United Kingdom is perhaps the most dialect-obsessed country in the world. With near-countless regional Englishes shaped by millennia of history, few nations boast as many varieties of language in such a compact geography. (NOTE: This page uses the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).
25 BEST WEBSITES FOR LEARNING ENGLISH
I want the new e-book! How do you learn English in your free time? Do you meet internationals in cafés, do you self-study using books, do you get on the internet? When it comes to learning many people have realized they are not going to acquire the language just by sitting in classrooms. But not everyone has the opportunity to walk out to the street and start practising with the passers-by. Most of us, who are learning English, don’t live in an English-speaking country.
Kids explain how banned and challenged books helped them and even saved their lives / Boing Boing
By Joan Bertin and Millie Davis Banned Books Week has come and gone but we can be sure of one thing: the coming year will be marked by challenges to the same kinds of books that were controversial this year, and in years past. report this ad Controversies over what books are taught in class or shelved in the school library typically start when an adult—usually a parent or community member—feels that a book selected by teachers and librarians is inappropriate, offensive or objectionable. Most often, the objections relate to sexual scenes, offensive language, or depictions of drug and alcohol use. Concerned adults worry that the book promotes ideas that conflict with their personal values and beliefs, or that children will imitate fictional characters and engage in undesirable behavior.
OneLook Reverse Dictionary
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British Slang
If you’re planning on visiting London in the future, you might just want to familiarise yourself with some British Slang expressions that are very commonly used by the British. They will be very useful particularly if you’re likely to be socialising with Londoners. 1. “Mind The Gap” This famous expression is always used on trains and the London Underground (Tube).
Suffixes Word Formation Game
Suffixes Word Formation: Practice suffixes word formation by playing this interactive ESL board game. Prefixes, suffixes and root words are great skills to learn. Students with good skills will most often be able to guess the meanings of unfamiliar words by breaking down the words using these skills. Choose whether to practice suffixes word formation by navigating a treacherous galaxy filled with green monsters, a sea filled with pirates or a river filled with crocodiles. Either way this will keep your heart pounding.