Thursday Music Mini-Lesson

Good morning, dear students!  Welcome to a new weekly feature-- Thursday Music Mini-Lessons!  Listening to music is a great way to get more comfortable with a language.  Once a week, I will post a song with it's lyrics.  We will look at music from different genres to give everybody a chance to find a song that they like!  This will be a great, quick exercise that you can practice in ten minutes or less, and find new vocabulary words and phrases.  Additionally, listening to English songs can help your brain adjust to the natural rhythm of the language.  So here's our first entry:

God's Gonna Cut You Down-- Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash  (February 26, 1932--September 12, 2003) is remembered as a country music icon, though he is also known for his success in the genres of rock and roll, rockabilly, gospel, blues, and folk.

This song, ''God's Gonna Cut You Down'', reflects a common theme in Cash's music: Christianity.  Listen to the song and read the lyrics on the screen.

Important notes:
-''God'll'' is a strange-looking word.  It's an invented contraction that means ''God will''.
- Remember that ''Gonna'' is relaxed pronunciation for ''Going to''.
Tell me what you think!  Do you like this song? Why or why not?  Had you heard it before now?  What is your favorite line?  List your answers below in the comments, and bring your vocabulary questions with you to our next class!

Happy listening and happy studying!

Idiom Series: Mythology and History- Fiddling While Rome Burns

Welcome to the Idiom Series: Mythology and History!

Today, the idiom is ''Fiddling while Rome burns''.  Let's look at the full meaning of this idiom:

Fiddling refers to the act of playing a fiddle.  This idiom refers to the infamous burning of Rome in which a fire destroyed the city over a period of 6 days.  There is a story (many believe is untrue, but it's popular nonetheless) that the Roman emperor Nero played the lyre during the burning of Rome, completely neglecting his leadership duties.

We use the term today to convey the idea of making yourself busy with unimportant matters and neglecting priorities during a crisis.

The lobbyists aren't doing anything to stop this tax bill.  They're fiddling while Rome burns.

In this sentence, it is understood that the lobbyists are supposed to be trying to stop a tax bill from passing in Congress, but instead they are doing other unimportant or frivolous thing and neglecting their real responsibilities.

Can you think of a clever way to use this new idiom?  Leave it in the comments below, and tell me in our next class!

Monday Motivation

Happy Monday, dear students!  I hope you've had a great weekend and are refreshed to continue the pursuit of your goals!  I spent the weekend working on some great new material for our classes this week.  I'm excited for our classes!  Stay motivated and work hard this week!

Happy studying!

Idiom Series: Mythology and History- Trojan Horse

Welcome to the Idiom Series: Mythology and History!

Today, the idiom is ''Trojan Horse''.  Let's look at the full meaning of this idiom:

The Trojan horse comes from classical Greek mythology, and is referred to in several works, such as The Aeneid, by Virgil, and Homer's Odyssey.  It describes a battle strategy used by the Greek army against Troy.  The Greek army built a wooden horse and filled it with their best soldiers.  The rest of the army sailed away, and the Trojans brought the horse into their city as a war trophy.  That night, the Greeks came out of the horse while the Trojans were sleeping and opened the gates for the rest of the Greek army, which had sailed back to the beach in the dark.  The Greeks destroyed the city of Troy this way.

We use the term today to describe any trick or strategy that is intended to cause a target to allow an enemy into a protected space.

The term is often used to describe a certain type of computer virus that is often downloaded by the user under the belief that it is a legitimate program.

Ray Robinson turned out to be a trojan horse-- he won the election as a Republican, only to change his alliance to the Democrats after winning.

In this sentence, it is understood that Ray Robinson deceived the Republicans, and used them in order to ultimately benefit the Democratic party.

Can you think of a clever way to use this new idiom?  Leave it in the comments below, and tell me in our next class!

Idiom Series: Mythology and History- The Midas Touch

Welcome to the Idiom Series: Mythology and History!

Today, the idiom is ''The Midas Touch''.  Let's look at the full meaning of this idiom:

King Midas, a figure from Greek mythology, had the power to turn anything he touched into gold.  

We use the term today to describe a talent someone has to do everything well.  If you have ''the midas touch'', everything you do or are involved in is successful.  

Warren Buffett has the Midas touch-- all of his investments turn out to be productive.

In this sentence, it is understood that Warren Buffett always has success in his investments.  He makes good decisions with how to invest his money.

Can you think of a clever way to use this new idiom?  Leave it in the comments below, and tell me in our next class!

Idiom Series: Mythology and History- Pandora's Box

Welcome to the Idiom Series: Mythology and History!

Today, the idiom is '' Pandora's box''.  Let's look at the full meaning of this idiom:

Pandora was a mythological woman (from Greek mythology) that was given a box by the gods.  She was instructed to never open this box, no matter how curious she was.  However, her curiousity won and she opened the box, releasing evil into the world for the first time.  This myth is used to explain how badness and evil came into the world.

We use the term today to describe something that will cause various potential problems.  Calling your ex-girlfriend after too many pisco sours is like opening a Pandora's box- it could cause a lot of problems for you in the future.

I opened a Pandora's box when I taught my young nephew to ask ''why?''.

In this sentence, it is understood that the person regrets teaching a young child to ask ''why?'' because it has caused a lot of problems.

Can you think of a clever way to use this new idiom?  Leave it in the comments below, and tell me in our next class!

Reading: The Good Listener: How Much Should I Tip a Street Musician?

Good morning, dear students!

Today I have an interesting article for you to read (intermediate-advanced).
The link to read the article is here.  I've also included a few vocabulary words below, with links to definitions and translations.

This article talks about something that many people can't agree on.  How much should you tip a street performer?  In Santiago, like many big cities, there are street performers everywhere.  They play on the metros, the buses, and street corners.  Sometimes the music is great, sometimes it's not so great.  It can be difficult to decide how much to tip, or if you should even tip at all.

A few vocabulary words that you might need to look up are:

Bagpiper:  definition; translation
To Wheeze:  definition; translation
To key a car: translation
Breach:  defintion; translation
Thrill: definition; translation



What do you think about this article?  Was it difficult to comprehend?  What is your opinion on how much to tip a performer?  Tell me in the comments!  Leave your questions there, too, or bring them with you to our next class!

Happy studying!

TOEFL Test Dates

Hello dear students!

I left a link to this in a post I made on Saturday, but in case you didn't see it, I want you to know that there are several upcoming TOEFL test dates in the Santiago area.  You can view of list of the dates here.

I generally recommend my students to plan enough time to take the TOEFL twice.  It's a huge test and there are not only English skills that must be improved, but also test-taking strategies that need to be learned.

The ideal amount of preparation time for most of my students is one year.  That sounds like a lot of time, but like I said, the TOEFL is a huge exam.  Within the one year that I generally recommend, I suggest that my students aim to take the TOEFL at least twice.  It's time consuming and expensive, so it may not be a possibility for you, but if you're able to, I think it's a good idea.  This is because you will have one test to do your absolute best on, and then you'll receive your feedback.  You'll know, 3-6 months before the next test, which areas were the most difficult for your.  Additionally, you'll already know exactly what to expect when you go in to take the test-- something which may help you relax more the second time around.

I do not guarantee test results on the TOEFL.  Many factors affect students' test results, and the teacher is really the least of those factors.  However, I can assure all of my students that if they dedicate their time every day, have regular class attendance, and plan their time accordingly, they will improve their TOEFL score.  It's a matter of discipline and hard work, and it's definitely not fun, but it is a huge stepping stone to University acceptance abroad, scholarships, and job opportunities.  If you're interested in beginning TOEFL preparation, let me know.  We will sit down and talk about your goals, research the minimum scores you'll need to reach those goals, and create a study timeline to prepare you.

Happy planning and happy studying!

Monday Motivation

Happy Monday, dear students! 

Mondays can be very stressful but once you get going, they're not so bad!  I hope you all have a great day, and I hope you're all excited for classes this week!  Happy studying! 

Idiom Series: Mythology and History- Achille's Heel

Welcome to the Idiom Series: Mythology and History!

Today, the idiom is ''Achilles heel''.  Let's look at the full meaning of this idiom:

Achilles was a famous warrior in Greece who many believed could not be defeated.  Achilles' heel was the only weak point on Achilles' whole body.  Eventually, he was killed by an arrow through his achilles heel (also the name of the body part today) by Paris, a prince of Troy (this whole story is the focus of the movie ''Troy'', with Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom).  

We use the term today to describe the only weakness in a plan, group, or idea.  Your achilles heel is the only place or point at which you are vulnerable. 

The achilles heel in my diet is my love of chocolate.  

In this sentence, it is understood that the person's diet is very successful, with the exception of one weakness:  their love of chocolate. 

Can you think of a clever way to use this new idiom?  Leave it in the comments below, and tell me in our next class!

What a crazy week!

Hello, dear students!

Firstly (and most importantly), happy weekend! I hope you are all enjoying your free time and making the most of the nice weather!

Down to business:  This week was a crazy week for me, but I have some exciting news!
While I have been lacking in posts for you all this week, I'll be making up for that in some interesting ways.

I'm beginning a series of idiom posts on the blog, set to launch next Monday!  Idioms are great (and usually interesting) to learn, because they don't always translate perfectly, but they illustrate interesting ideas.  Using idioms makes your English sound more fluent, and understanding idioms correctly is essential to understanding English conversations, movies, and songs.  I'll be doing a few series based in different topics to give you all a variety of different idioms to practice using.

Additionally, I want to announce that I've gotten my hands on some really great resource books.  For those of us that do conversation class, this isn't particularly relevant, but if you are looking for more homework activities, let me know because I've got a new set of resources that we can use!

I'd like to add that if you are thinking about taking the TOEFL, speak to me ASAP.  Here is a link of the test dates for May-July.  There are quite a few to choose from, so if you're thinking of taking the TOEFL (especially for your first of two or more attempts), let me know and we can get to work!

Finally, I want to announce that I've taken on a few hours at a language institute.  These hours are in the evening and don't affect any of your schedules (unless we have already rearranged our schedules together, and if that's your case, thank you for your flexibility).  I'm excited for this opportunity for several reasons-- it definitely makes my visa situation easier, but on top of that, I'll be a part of a community of other teachers again.  This is important, because teachers that work together share ideas, techniques, and resources.  If anything, I expect to develop into a better teacher by working a few hours per week in an institute.

If you have any good/interesting news, or questions about my good/interesting news, I'd love to hear from you!

Have a great weekend and happy studying!

Monday Motivation

Good morning, dear students, and happy Monday!  Learning a second language takes a lot of courage (and learning a language as large as English takes even more courage!), but it's exciting to see your own progress.  The courage and discipline you invest in your English studies will come back as rewards as you improve your English level.  I have some great lessons planned for everyone this week, so make sure you make it to class!

Happy studying!!

Happy Friday!

Good afternoon, dear students!

I hope you are all ending your week on a positive note!  It's been a very busy week for most of us--it definitely has been for me!

I had a week full of great classes!  All of my students worked hard and I see that many of you are studying a lot on your own time.  That's why I've seen so many improvements as well!

Have a great weekend and relax, and I'll see you all in class next week!  I'll also be back on schedule to give you a few interesting posts here.

Enjoy!

Cognates: ITY-DAD

Good morning, dear students!

Today I wanted to share with you a quick infographic that explains a common set of cognates in English and Spanish.  Remember that not all cognate rules apply 100% of the time. Because of this, I recommend using your knowledge of cognates to decipher what a word means, but not necessarily to make a word up on your own (because it's easy to ''invent'' new words by accident this way).

Many words in English and Spanish share a common base, or root.  The beginnings and endings (prefixes and suffixes) can give us more information about what the word means, and the prefixes and suffixes in English and Spanish can be very different sometimes.  So for my first post of a series of cognate-related posts, let's look at words that end in ITY(English) and how they relate to words that end in DAD (Spanish)!

Monday Motivation

Good morning, dear students, and happy Monday!  I hope you all enjoyed the long weekend!  Are you ready to get to work this week?  Learning a language is scary, because as adults, we don't like to sound stupid.  Every time you open your mouth to speak your second language, you're taking a risk that others aren't brave enough to take!  Don't doubt yourself! I have faith in all my students because I see how hard you all work and how important your goals are to you!

Happy studying!

Cognates: LY-MENTE

Good morning, dear students!

Today I wanted to share with you a quick infographic that explains a common set of cognates in English and Spanish.  Remember that not all cognate rules apply 100% of the time. Because of this, I recommend using your knowledge of cognates to decipher what a word means, but not necessarily to make a word up on your own (because it's easy to ''invent'' new words by accident this way).

Many words in English and Spanish share a common base, or root.  The beginnings and endings (prefixes and suffixes) can give us more information about what the word means, and the prefixes and suffixes in English and Spanish can be very different sometimes.  So today let's look at words that end in LY (English) and how they relate to words that end in MENTE (Spanish)!