A Halloween Tale ... R.I.P.

A Halloween Tale ...

Two young men were walking home after a Halloween party and decided to take a shortcut through the cemetery just for laughs (Just for fun!)

Right in the middle of the cemetery they were startled by a tap-tap-tapping noise coming from the misty shadows. Trembling with fear, they found an old man with a hammer and chisel, chipping away at one of the headstones.

"Holy cow, Mister," one of them said after catching his breath, "You scared us half to death -- we thought you were a ghost! What are you doing working here so late at night?"

"Those fools!" the old man grumbled. 

"They misspelled my name!"

WORD SEARCH practice your vocabulary

Practice your Halloween vocabulary.
See how fast you can go!
See how you think in English while working the 'puzzle'

FOR MORE: CLICK on title.
Have fun!
Suzanne

FAMILIAR FACES and speaking English! Surprised???

Here in Québec, Les Têtes à claques are really well known.

Now they have been 'exported' to English speaking countries

 by the magic of the internet and YouTube of course.

In my opinion, not as funny though.

But, you see, that's what you get when you translate,

even when you are professionals. 
As a result, there is always something missing, 

always something not quite right!

 The idiosyncracy * of the original work 
which includes cultural references.

Nevertheless, other people get to enjoy 
this French Canadian humour!

So here it is for you,  the famous and most popular of the group:

The Halloween 'sketch'.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN to YOU all! Suzanne  * IDIOSYNCRACY:  langue ou un comportement                                       particulier à un individu ou un groupe ** NOTE: If you feel like doing some crossword             puzzles you can find two at this link:       http://bogglesworldesl.com/halloween_worksheets.htm

ENGLISH SOUNDS and a new TOOL

TODAY I added a new link in the list of tools 

(see right-hand column) >>> English 101 TOOLS

This BBC site offers an excellent learning tool, 

especially for those hard to recognize symbols 

that you can see next to the words in the dictionary. 

You know those symbols between //  

such as /tiθ/  

   

Here is a tool you can use to practice NOW 

or even when you are away from your English classes.
I especially recommend it for
 vowel sounds and diphthongs.
TRY IT!!!

Good luck! and Keep on learning.  

Your 'loving' teacher!

                SUZANNE  

CLICK on this link for a presentation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdRmGvmeY1U

                   

The TORTOISE and THE HARE

This week I sent some of you this email. I sent it after having a great class and wanting to share with you a very positive outlook!

Here is the content for those you didn't get this message:

« I really enjoyed hearing your spontaneous comments

near the end of our last class, especially hearing:

« Oh! Now, I understand! »

« Ah! Je viens de comprendre! »

or « OK! Je vois.»

In my experience as a teacher,

it is the best sentence in the world!

I feel good that I can help you learn

and hopeful for your success!

It also confirms my belief in students

and their capacity in learning English.

So ... if ever you feel discouraged,

think of what I just wrote

and KEEP UP your good work. Keep going!  

I believe in you even when you find

it difficult to believe in yourself.

Don't forget that

learning a language is a huge challenge

and that every little bit counts.

Every minute that you invest counts.

In the end (which there won't be), well ... 

all that counts are your personal goals

and how you achieved them.

Sometimes you are too hard on yourselves!

So my advice would be to set goals

that are realistic and attainable!

                       Personalize your learning.

Chose and use

whatever tools suggested best suit YOU

and do not forget to go at your own pace or rhythm.»

REMEMBER the story of

The Tortoise and the Hare

This Aesop fable has been interpreted 

in a variety of ways over the centuries.

My interpretation … you  ask?

Well, the way I see it, it’s all about never stopping, even if you are advancing slowly (that’s when you compare yourself to others… not too good a thing) and at your own pace. You will eventually get there, that is, where YOU want to be.

It’s all about determination

not necessarily about winning the race!

It’s about perseverance!

OR, you could say that if you do something too fast, you don’t necessarily do it well! Again, speed is not always the winner!

There is also what is called THE LAW of THE HANDICAP.

Personally and from what I have see over these years of teaching, you have a better chance at starting anew and not carrying with you mistakes that were never corrected. 

Yay! For all you beginners.

Click on the title above for a SURPRISE !!!
For the complete story:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5TtWX4yz6I

"Never think about giving up on a goal because even when walking slowly,

you can go so far."

THE END!

SUZANNE, your cheerleader 

TODAY ... Just for fun ... a RIDDLE

WHAT IS A RIDDLE?

DEFINITION:  It is a 'difficult' question;

especially one using a play on words.

It is ALSO a puzzle or a brain-teaser.

Here is a riddle for today!

READY? ...

When is one WORD a very long SENTENCE? 

CLUE :  ...... ( six letters)

NOW, HERE IS a brain-teaser:

Play with your friends or family.

Ask them to help you solve this enigma!

Romeo and Juliet are found dead on the floor in a bedroom. When they were discovered, there were pieces of glass and some water on the floor. The only furniture in the room is a    shelf and a bed. The house in is a remote location,  away from everything, except for the nearby railway track.  What caused Romeo and Juliet's death?

GOOD LUCK!

Have a great weekend.

SUZANNE

A MESSAGE from Dave Sconda

TODAY ...

A word of encouragement 

from Dave Sconda.

"Straight from the horse's mouth" (idiom)

that is from his Twitter account:

«Be courageous with language learning-

don't let any fear/bad feeling get in your way

you're learning, mistakes are good, keep moving forward!»

I couldn't have said it better myself!

My feelings as well.

Suzanne

*** NOTE:

Click on TITLE for a direct link 

to Dave Sconda's Twitter account.

HUGE and HUG put to good use!

Hi!

Marie-Denise, a student, just sent me this video.

It's was made by a Swiss publicity agency 

to promote awareness for the handicapped.

I am passing it along to you 

just because it makes a point, a social one at that,

but also to show you how the words: HUGE and HUG,

can be used in the same sentence 

or as a same action as to embrace!

Have a great day and

give someone a hug!!

Suzanne

TODAY, the IDIOM: Give me a break!

Suzanne,

I would like to know what does "give me a break" mean?

Could you give me an example? Thank you !

That's an interesting question. I think there's an element of both meanings in the expression "Give me a break" since a re-wording might be something like this:

"Do me a huge favour and stop talking about it!”

I’ve also heard people say "Give it a break". This might be said also to someone if you're tired of hearing them talk about something repeatedly and want them to stop 

Another version of this expression is "Give it a rest". It's like somebody's telling you something you don't agree/believe/think is true or bragging usually in an humorous manner... and you say;

"Pahhh ...leeeze!!! Give me a break!”

When you really want to say: « Oh! Shut up! »

Remember to be polite and add a SMILE it always helps!!


To resume: The idea of 'break' has often the suggestion of pause or gap creating some kind of relief. The expressions: Give it a break/Give me a break/Give it a rest all point the same way towards the idea of: "Stop! I've had enough!"

Have a nice day!

Suzanne

MAXINE, my favourite FUNNY lady!

HEALTH MESSAGE             Please ... Give me a break

 

«As I was lying in bed pondering

the problems of the world,

I rapidly realized that

I don't really give a rat's ass*
It's the tortoise life for me!

This is my reasoning:

1.  If walking and cycling are good for your health,

     the postman would be immortal.

2.  A whale swims all day, only eats fish, 
drinks a lot  of water, and is fat.

3.  A rabbit runs and hops and only lives 15 years.

4.  A tortoise doesn't run and does nothing,

     yet it lives for 450 years.

And you tell me ... to exercise??

I don't think so!

I'm retired so, walk around me !»

For those who know me and my preferences in humour, 
you will recognize my all-time favourite,

the  lady, herself: the great MAXINE! 
Enjoy!

* I don’t really care!

NOTE TO NEW READERS:

If you CLICK on title above, there is a link to Maxine, for you to discover.

For all you new students! WHY ... words for fun?

WHY is this blog called  WORDS for FUN?

I chose this name because it represents an opportunity for me to communicate with students of ESL. WORDS also used to build up, increase, expand and develop your vocabulary, so as to give you the tools for a richer choice of words when expressing yourself in English. As a result, you will have a more interesting conversation and gain a clearer understanding of English speakers.

Now for FUN, why use the word ‘fun’? Because I love writing and writing for me is a pleasurable and creative activity. I really enjoy writing and expressing opinions and ideas. It also gives me the possibility to be spontaneous with ‘on the spur of the moment’ reactions or emotions. I also love humour and the English language is a great source of fun expressions. There are so many possibilities on word-play and puns as well.

So to sum up, there is a little bit in it for me and a little bit in it for you. Those were my intentions and reasons for using WORDS and FUN to title my blog.

I hope that you also have a pleasurable experience reading and learning as I do in writing and searching my thesaurus to expand my own use of the English language. ENJOY!!!

On that note, here’s the joke that I told in class which relates to learning, in our case, English as a second (or third) language!

·        NOTE  

There is a word-play (a play on words) right at the beginning of the joke. Are you up for a challenge? Then find it!

A family of mice, the “Mices”, were happily taking a walk on a wonderful sunny Sunday afternoon  in the neighbourhood park. When all of a sudden, a huge cat, a very very big Maine-Coon, jumped out of the bushes and surprised the little group.

Father-mouse, Jerry, jumped right in front of the cat and said very loudly:

  « Bow-Wow! … Ruff! Ruff!

    Grrr … ! Bow-Wow!! …

    Grrrr! Ruff!! »

Tom, the cat, scared and frightened by these words ran away.

"What just happened, Dad?" asked Junior Mouse.

"Well, son, this is exactly what I mean when I say

 how important it is to learn a second language.”

 It really comes in handy and just when you need it!

J I guess you know why I chose this particular one.

   Thanks to Louise Picard for sharing it with us.

 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine_Coon for INFO on Maine-Coon
 * For a look, click on Google IMAGES and enter Maine-Coon