A Funny Message

Last month I traveled to Switzerland where I met up with several former students. At the hotel in Zurich, I received the following typed message from the clerk at the front desk:

"Mrs. Hofer call me and she leave a massage for you: Friday 19th
2009 around 7pm is the Meetingpoint Bahnhof ok. Mrs. Hofer reserved a restaurant."

Improving Your Speech Through Songs

Many students are too shy to sing a song for 'fun' in class. To overcome that initial reluctance to sing, I always explain that I do songs for pronunciation. I don't care at all whether a student sings in tune or out of tune. In fact, I demonstrate how students can simply say the words (as if reciting a poem) along with the singer, and don't have to carry a tune at all. I do expect their lips to move.

Song clozes challenge my students to actually hear the lyrics (= the words to a song) and to teach them the rhythm and stress patterns of individual words as well as how words are linked together in phrases and sentences.

One of the big 'hits' with Cambridge students this spring was an oldie by Kenny Rogers called 'The Gambler', a thirty-year-old country-western hit. If you want to try doing this song as practice, print out this cloze sheet and then listen to the following YouTube video link. It usually takes two or three 'listens' to get all the words. The complete song lyrics are here.

Some of my students drove to and from Las Vegas singing this song, and found a slot machine called 'The Gambler' with a photo of Kenny Rogers on it. Have fun! Think about the lyrics - maybe there's an ace that you can keep, too!

In with 'hopefully' and out with 'it is a hope'

Here is an amusing review by Roy Blount about a few books on the use of English. The main point of the review is that the English language is changing and apparently not to everyone's liking, including perhaps his. English, I suspect, is evolving faster than any other language in the world because it has invaded just about every language niche imaginable.

Blount focuses on the question of whether or not the 'fuddy duddies' like me who remember that there was a difference between 'who' and 'whom' should enforce proper English rules or openly embrace the current trends in English.

Interestingly, when I looked up 'hopefully' online, I discovered that back in the 18th century, it was used the way we use it now (see Webster's definition). Sounds like a fashion trend....

Yesterday, in the teachers' room, some of us were reflecting on the wording of the Declaration of Independence (a reading of it was aired on National Public Radio in honor of July 4th), and one of them wondered what we would say today to a student who used an expression like 'a more perfect union.' Can something be 'more' perfect than perfect?

Language is - bottom-line - for communication. As long as our listeners or readers get a general meaning from our spoken or written "utterances", I guess we can feel assured that the words and phrasings we've used 'work.' Is there some grand book of acceptable usage in the Temple of English? Thankfully, no. So, writers and speakers around the world can hopefully continue to play and create with this captivating language.

Spring 2009 Cambridge 'Graduates'

Online Word Formation Crossword #10

One last crossword puzzle for anyone test-prepping. The Cambridge exams are only a week away for my three classes. We are planning our end of session breakfasts or dinners, and this year, a school-sponsored Cambridge farewell party at the Cove. Let's hope there's lots of sunshine on Friday afternoon.

Here's the link for Word Formation Crossword #10. Enjoy! Watch the clock at the bottom of your crossword, and try to beat your last time!

Online Word Formation Crossword #9

Ready for the next online word formation puzzle? Here is Number 9. I hope my students and others preparing for the CAE find this a useful activity. So far, none of my students have been able to do the puzzle in less than two minutes. How about you?

Do you, like, use 'like' much?

'Like' can be used to mean that you enjoy something or to mean 'similar to.' Now 'like' is also often used informally, as the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary explains, to mean that the speaker is 'thinking of what to say next, explaining something, or giving an example of something.' For instance, 'he was, like, so upset.' Or, 'So I thought to myself, like, I'd better make a decision.' For a well-researched and fascinating look at the common usage of 'like' in speech, check out this 2007 piece from the New York Times Magazine.

As an ESL instructor, I have been torn about what to tell students when they use or try to use this expression during Cambridge practice speaking tests. When I'm in the mode of thinking 'like' is a lazy way of speaking and then notice that I use it, I silently reprimand myself for such sloppiness. Other times, I am tongue-tied in class trying to search for a word other than 'like', when I'm giving a definition or an example of how to use a word. I was, therefore, relieved to find that language experts consider 'like' to be an acceptable and even logical expression.

Online Word Formation Crossword #8

Drill, baby, drill! I'm still trying to get a large variety and number of word forms into my students' brains. For anyone else, trying to practice word formation for the Cambridge exam, as promised, here is the eighth online puzzle. With this 8th installment, we're up to 144 different words. If you see any errors, please let me know.