Coronavirus lingo!

Hi there everybody! 🙋

I hope you're all doing well and keeping yourselves safe... COVID-19 is still around us so please take precautions and be careful out there! 😷😷😷🙏

I thought I'd share some of the 'COVID-19 lingo' that is being used... some I knew, some I didn't... and here are the phrases / words that I will definitely be using in these Coronavirus times. 😝 Thank you www.dictionary.com for sharing these and more (please go to https://www.dictionary.com/e/s/new-words-we-created-because-of-coronavirus/#1 for more)!

Short for 'Coronavirus'... For example: I used to be out every night, but now with the rona I've been stuck inside! 😜

This one is quite literal... All most people do nowadays is scroll on their phones or tablets reading rona news, which is pretty much doom related. We've got to stop doom-scrolling!!

                                                      covidiot    

We saw a lot of videos of people making 'quarantinis'!!
This is a combination of the words quarantine and martini, meaning the various martini-like cocktails people have been making and drinking during quarantine!!

And finally, coronacation... because most of us didn't go on vacation this summer, we went on a coronacation which was basically us staying indoors or staying in our town/city. 

Where did you go on your coronacation? I went to my aunt's house! 😆😆

Stay safe my wonderful English learners! 👍💗😷😊

Vocabulary and Methods of Learning Words!

Hello eager English learners! :)

I hope you are all well today! I'd like to talk about VOCABULARY today!

How many of you find it difficult to remember new words? Are there any ways that can help you understand them better and perhaps help you recall them more easily?

Well, here are some ways to help you learn vocabulary in a more organised way. I've worked with all these methods and depending on your learning style I'm confident that you'll recognize at least one that will work for you.

Don't forget that PRACTICE is key!!

Here we go:

1. Learning words as spelling. Many times when we write things down, we record them in our mind better. Also, thinking of a sentence that includes the new word and writing it down works well.
For example: the word "breeze", which means: a light current of air; a gentle wind.
We could write a sentence like this one:

It was a very hot day, but thankfully there was a pleasant breeze which made it bearable.

2. Learning words in themes or lists. This is a popular method, especially when first learning a language. We begin by learning expressions and ways of introduction, then numbers, then colors, then days and months, then words of description, then words concerning the home, then food, then words of the workplace etc.

How many words can you think of that have to do with learning?
For example:

study, books, desk, office, school, college, university, teacher, professor, homework, projects, assignments, presentation, practice, learning, writing, listening, reading, speaking, etc.

3. Learning verbs, nouns, adjectives. If you like learning word lists, you could also group your words by verbs, nouns and adjectives! You could make lists alphabetically or group words into themes.

4. Learning words in dialogue. This is one of my favorite methods of learning new words. Write a dialogue! You could gather a couple of new words and incorporate them into a meaningful dialogue OR you could use derivatives of one new word (create, creation, creative, creativity, etc.) and use them all in one dialogue!!

5. Learning words in writing. Another way of putting new words into practice is writing. You could write a paragraph about something or write a topic essay. Make sure to include your new words in your text.

For example, if you learn new words about sports or the environment, ask yourself a question and write a paragraph as a reply OR debate an opinion on a specific topic and write an essay discussing the two opposing sides using the new words you have learnt.

I hope you find these tips and methods useful! Look back and review vocabulary often and before you know it you'll be remembering new words in no time!

:) :) Anastasia :) :)

Some lesser known irregular verbs

Hi everyone! 🙋

winding the clock

I know it's been a while, but I'm back!! 😊

Grammar today... so... when you starting learning English and get to the past tense, you get introduced to irregular verbs. The most common irregular verbs are 'be' and 'do'. The past tense of be is was/were and the past tense of do is did. And so the lists and tables of irregular verbs begin! (begin → began! Irregular!!) But there are many verbs that we don't use as often and so we are not given their irregular past tense to learn along with the rest. Why? Because it's not easy learning never-ending lists of verbs, so students are usually given a certain amount at a time.

This post is to introduce ten lesser known irregular verbs in the hope that you will add them to your already memorized list!! (in alphabetical order, of course!) 😀👍

Here they are:

1. bear – bore – borne

2. bind – bound – bound

3. cling – clung – clung

4. flee – fled – fled

5. grind – ground – ground

6. rid – rid – rid

7. slay – slew – slain

8. stink – stank – stunk

9. wind – wound – wound

10. wring – wrung – wrung

But what do these words mean? 😳 

Here are some sentences including these verbs… Let's see if you understand what they mean!! 😎

1. He bore his soul to his girlfriend when he asked her to marry him. She said 'yes'!

2. My grandfather always bought leather-bound books. He hated paper-backs!

3. It's normal for children to cling to their parents on their first day of school.

4. They fled the country when the first signs of war broke out.

5. I grind my own coffee beans. There's nothing like the smell of freshly ground coffee!

6. She rid herself of her dirty clothes when she finished planting in the garden.

7. The brave knight slew the dragon to save the captured princess.

8. The kids stank after playing in the muddy football field all day.

9. Don't forget to wind the clock! We don't want it to stop in the middle of the night!

10. The most difficult part of hand-washing sensitive garments is wringing them out.

I hope I've helped you learn something new today!

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

😁😁💜💜