The Winnipeg Jets are out of the playoffs...

Hello all you language seekers,

This week is a little bit sad. My hometown hockey team was eliminated from the finals. This means they are no longer able to play. They will not win the championship. They are out.

However, my hometown team did do better than they have done in a very, very, very long time. So, that is good!

In honour of the Winnipeg Jets, we will look at some hockey terminology. I got this vocabulary from a good called So, you want to be a Canadian. Can you guess the meanings? Try to match the term to the proper meaning. Get your game face on! 

1) To fan the puck.                                              a) Hockey: To shoot the puck through the
                                                                                goalie's legs. Not hockey: To trick
                                                                                someone.

2) To go the 5-hole.                                             b) He's crazy.

3) The wingman.                                                 c) A fight is going to begin.

4) He's gone down to block one too many          d) His physical movements were 
    shots without his helmet.                                     unbelievably awesome.

5) He undressed the guy.                                    e) Hockey: To miss the puck when you 
                                                                                swing for it. Not hockey: To miss an 
                                                                                attempt at something.

6) He's dropping his gloves, eh?                         f) Hockey: The player who works hard to 
                                                                               help another player score. Not hockey: 
                                                                              The friend who works help to help you 
                                                                               meet a girl at the bar.

7) He stood on this head on that one.                  g) One player or person plays much better 
                                                                                 or tricks another player or person during 
                                                                                 one specific action.


The answers will be below. Don't cheat. Try to match them first. Think like a polite Canadian.

If you are in need of Canadian slang, we can fix that (I was born here)!

Matthew

englishispersonal@gmail.com

The answers are...

Okay...

1 - e

2 - a

3 - f

4 - b

5 - g

6 - c

7 - d

Learn with the ducks!

Howdy Folks!

Here is part two of the animal idiom/vocabulary adventure. This time, we have ducks!

The idioms/phrases you will see are:

1) To delay the inevitable
2) To get a kick out of (something/someone)
3) To fall on your face
4) To cut your loses

When you watch the video, try to guess the meaning of these idioms/phrases. Good luck! I will put the meanings at the end of this post.

I hope you enjoyed the video and the challenge of learning new phrases. Don't give up and keep trying hard!

If you have trouble discovering fun ways to learn English, we can fix that!

Matthew
englishispersonal@gmail.com


The answers are down here...








Not yet...





1) This is similar to the verb procrastinate but it has a more negative meaning. This means to not do something (usually something unpleasant or not fun) that you will have to do. In this video, the duck in not giving up, even though he/she probably should.
2) To really enjoy something.
3) To fail in a spectacular way. To really, really fail.
4) To give up before you use too much time, money, or energy.

Idioms: The Squirrel and the Popcorn

Hello Wonderful Language Learners!

We have reached three followers! Thank you to all three of you! To celebrate, I have created a new video. It's simple, but hopefully fun.

Today, I want to show you how you can discover and practise idioms just by going for a walk. Also, I wanted to use this cute video I filmed on the way home yesterday.

The idioms for today are:

1) To hit the jackpot

2) To stuff my face

3) To eat like a pig

4) To eat like there is no tomorrow

See if you can guess the meanings of these idioms by watching the video. I will give you the definitions at the very bottom of this post. Enjoy!

I have plans to post a couple more videos using animals and idioms or slang. If you like animals, keep checking back for more fun!

If you avoid practicing idioms, we can fix that with fun!

Matthew

englishispersonal@gmail.com

The answers are further down...

Answers:

1) To find or win something amazing!

2) To eat quickly rudely. You keep putting food in your mouth even though you are not finished chewing and swallowing yet.

3) To eat messily and quickly. Notice how the squirrel dropped a piece of popcorn because he/she is eating so quickly.

4) To eat (or do something else) like you will never get to do it again. You do the action in a very exited or desperate way.

The Forgotten Articles

Hello and happy cherry blossom season here in Toronto,

Yup. There are cherry blossom trees here in Toronto. It's true.

Now, let's discuss an important part of speaking that often is forgotten or ignored. I'm talking about articles. 

Even very skilled English speakers often continue to make mistakes with articles. Why? Because they are difficult, frustrating, and often your listener will understand your meaning even if the article is wrong or not there.

However, articles are sometimes are very important. I'll give you an example that happened this week.

Person A: She loves Queen.
Person B: The band? Isn't she kind of old for Queen?
Person A: No. The Queen Mother's daughter. 
Person B: Oh, The Queen.

In this conversation, person B is confused because Queen is a popular band from the 1970's and 1980's. 

The Queen is the leader of the Royal Family in England. As you can see, the use of the article 'the' is very important in this example.

If you want to be a strong English speaker, articles are important. My suggestion is that you practice articles a little and for a long time. Do not try to be perfect quickly. This might be impossible. Be very patient, but don't give up. 

Remember, article mistakes are usually funny. So when you make a mistake, people might laugh. That's a good thing!

If you keep accidentally making jokes, we can fix that!

Matthew
englishispersonal@gmail.com

My 'L' and 'R' story

Hello anybody who is out there and trying to learn English!

First, it has been a long time since I last posted. For that, I am sorry. My life got very, very busy and every time I tried to sit down to write, I had another thing that needed doing. 

I do hope all of you are still working hard and practicing your English! I'm still practicing my Japanese!

As a reward for your patience (if this is a reward), I will tell you a short story about me.

When I started speaking (as a child) I had a strong British accent. 

This is the Queen Elizabeth, the Queen of England. Pretty awesome, eh?

No one knows why. My parents were born in Canada and I was born in Canada. Our first language was English too. It was confusing. 

Also, I could not pronounce 'L' or 'R'. Crazy, eh?! An English speaker who could not pronounce the letters that many Korean and Japanese speakers also have trouble with.

So, when I was a child, I took about two years of pronunciation training. It was actually called speech therapy, but it is almost the same as pronunciation practice. In those two years, I learned how to properly shape my mouth and move my tongue so that I could speak those difficult 'L' and 'R' sounds. Hooray!

Now, I am super happy to help my students learn how to speak any English letter or combination of sounds in the English language. I love to use what I remember from my personal training to help my students.

Why not have a teacher who actually has experience with the same frustration and stress that you have? 

If you can't find a teacher that understands your frustration, we can fix that!

If you would like to contact me to arrange a trial lesson, please do! You can email me at englishispersonal@gmail.com or you can respond to this message.

Talk to you soon!
Matthew
englishispersonal@gmail.com

A question: How do I improve my pronunciation?

Howdy and happy spring!

Recently, I received a question asking how to improve and practice English pronunciation. I am very happy to help! I have posted some tips in the past on this topic and I invite you to look at them and try the strategies. Here they are!

1) "A request: How do I maintain my English when I'm not in an English Country?" on March 11/18. 

2) "Sample Video: Vowels" on February 25/18

3) "A vowel stress and a half!?" on February 15/18

4) "Improving your pronunciation on your own" on January 17/18

I hope the tips in these posts help! Don't give up. Pronunciation takes time to learn and even longer for it to become a habit that you do not have to think about. You can get confident and accurate! Good luck!

If you fear pronunciation, we can fix that!

If you have a question or idea, please leave a comment below or send me an email. I will respond to everyone.

Matthew
englishispersonal@gmail.com

Are you beating a dead horse? (This is an idiom)

Howdy and hello to all you readers out there!

Let's get right to the point.

Are you beating a dead horse when you study? This is an idiom that means you keep doing the same thing again and again even thought it does not help or change anything. Usually, this action can be very frustrating.

When you begin to read or watch something, then discover that it is very hard and that you don't really understand, what do you do? Do you keep reading or watching the same way you started? Do you just get frustrated? Do you continue to read or watch and not understand? Do you feel like your English skills are terrible? Do you give up?

Wait! Why are you doing this?! 

There are many strategies to help you understand difficult material.

Here is an example. Let's imagine you are learning to play the piano. Maybe a song is very difficult for you. If you ask your teacher for help to play better, what does your teacher do? Do they tell you to keep playing it the same way? Nope. They do not. Well, the good teachers do not.

They will give you strategies. For example, they might tell you to play slower or to play the song in small pieces and only play the whole thing when you are comfortable. Good advice, teacher!

So, what can you do when a text or video is difficult for you. Well, challenging yourself is a good idea, so here are some tips:

1) Stop beating a dead horse.

2) Read the title of the story or video. You can then guess what it will be about.

3) Read the summary (if there is one). This will help you prepare your brain with the context (main idea). YouTube videos almost always have a summary.

4) Use subtitles (if it is a video). YouTube and TED usually have many languages to choose from. Maybe you could try using English subtitles first. If this is too hard, then use your first language.

5) Just relax and read or watch the material. I know. You think that if you don't understand most words then you are failing. Don't think that! If you understand only about 50% of the material, you will still understand the main context and idea. This is a great start!

6) Read or watch the material in small pieces. Maybe only read for 5 minutes, then take a break. Your brain is working really hard, so let it rest. Just like exercise, you can't run a marathon the first time you exercise. You must strengthen your brain.

There you are. Now you can read or watch difficult material and stay calm and relaxed. 

If you are scared of higher level material, we can fix that!

Take care and stay motivated. If you need any help, just comment below or send me an email. Also, you could follow this blog. Followers keep me motivated too!

Matthew
englishispersonal@gmail.com