Google calls in the 'language police'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3006486.stm

Language Learner And Anxiety

It is not difficult to think of language learners who eventually stop attending their classes only because they have butterflies in their stomachs or think their hearts beat faster than usual. Even in some cases negative stress-producing sentences come to their heads from middle of the nowhere. Sentences like:" I will not survive". "What will happen if my classmates humiliate me?" "I cannot talk and communicate without mistakes". "I am making fool of myself by my bad pronunciation."

Clearly, anxiety will affect learners both physically and psychologically. However, there are ways to reduce stress and anxiety to some levels. If learners prevent anxiety to rear its ugly head, they will meet successful moments on their ways to speak with total fluency and accuracy.

Mentally punishing or molesting oneself just because of mistakes is indeed harmful. Native speakers make mistake too. Language students should never be too sensitive about errors and mistakes. When they are stumped for a phrase or a word, they must relax and do not focus on it at that moment. Instead, it is a perfect strategy to recall the problem later and prevent it from happening for the second time.

It is best to be on the safe side. Uneasiness will freeze learners out when they are not studying in a friendly atmosphere. Some teachers forget to treat their students without fear or favor, as well. Therefore, students must excuse themselves from these nerve-raking situations and teachers. The most helpful recommended help is spending time on picking and choosing the best class and teacher.

Giving a lecture and having a conversation in the target language is easy. Good preparation will hinder stress. Reading and practicing the notes in advance are resourceful in this case. Some might find picturing very advantageous by closing their eyes and thinking there are performing with confidence and accuracy. This method will have great irreplaceable effect on the motor part of the brain even when learners are asleep.

Those who keep self-esteem afloat are not fast learners. Thinking of oneself as a jabbering idiot, low level of self-confidence and underestimating abilities are good friends of anxiety. Trying to avoid them is the simplest prescription.

Relax. Stress and anxiety are not things one can completely get rid of. The strategies already mentioned are foolproof but they do need hard work. Perfect language learners do their very best to include the ugly unwanted face of anxiety out.

Doctor slang is a dying art

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3159813.stm

A new cool link

http://www.letslearnenglish.co.uk

spelling mnemonics

Hello. I know that all of us as the English language learners sometimes face a bit difficulty remembering the correct spelling of the words we already know. This happens because, as I said before, the written forms of some English words are different from their pronunciations. On the top of it, there are some words in the English language which have the same pronunciation but different spelling.
I have a good advice for you. You should follow it in order to root out your confusion.
My advice is pure and simple; try to create mnemonics. Mnemonics are poems or sentences that people use to help them remember a rule, a name and lots of other things. Let's read these easy examples:

1.Is it "son" or"sun"?
A son is a boy and they both have an "o".

2.Is it "here" or "hear"?
You HEAR with your EAR.

Now, try to invent your own special mnemonics to help you spell correctly. Do not forget to share them with me and the other learners, too. Break a leg.

slang

Definotly: Defin-ot-ly. Definitely not, with a passion.
Example: Q. Wanna go to the jazz club tonight?A. Definotly.

face-time: Washington DC expression used to indicate the amount of time a person merits in face-to-face conversation with a person in a position of authority.
Example: As an Assistant-Deputy Undersecretary she's not going to merit more than two minutes face-time a month with the Sec-Def.

linkful: Having or manifesting links. Inspiring the use of links. A web page is linkful if it contains many useful links.

typsual: Typical and usual.
Example: Most reactions to anything are typsual.

dyslex: Verb, back-formation of noun dyslexia. To switch the order of items accidentally.
Example: Sorry I'm late. I dyslexed your address and wrote down 12 West 14th Street instead of 14 West 12th Street.

djou: Did you. Occasionally do you?
Example: Djou already wash the car?

d'you: The cool way of saying do you.
Example: D'you think I'm cool?

death-: Prefix used before food item to imply that the item is spicy to the degree that you are unable to eat it.
Example: My roommate cooked me up a death-omelet and I thought it was a real waste of food.

dinfast: The meal eaten late at night that is a combination of a late dinner and an early breakfast.
Example: That was a delicious dinfast.

thank-yo: A form of thanks when recieving a completely innapropriate present from a younger relative.
Example: Thank-yo for my skateboard, I wonder if it will take the weight of my Zimmer frame?

TTYL: Talk To You Later
Example: Hey, I gotta go.... TTYL. yeah, ttyl

Pronunciation Tip (2)

Do not confuse pronunciation of words with their spelling! For example, "threw" and "through", although spelled differently, are pronounced the same. Also, identical letters or letter clusters in words do not always produce the same sound. For example, the "ough" in "though" and "through" represents a different sound in each word. Learn to practise what you hear, not what you see.

one of my favourite jokes

Hi. The joke you are going to read is one of my favourite jokes. I love linguistics so I am interested in jokes related to it and the English language. After reading the joke try to beam, smile, smirk and simper even if you did not get it. O.K.?

An English professor complained to the pet shop proprietor, "The parrot I purchased uses improper language."
"I'm surprised," said the owner. "I've never taught that bird to swear."
"Oh, it isn't that," explained the professor. "But yesterday I heard him split an infinitive."

Now, I am ello ell(lol).

Idioms & Numbers

three R's
- the three basic skills from school - reading, (w)riting, (a)rithmetic
Many people believe that teaching the three R's is the most important role for schools.

all in one
- combined
I was able to use my car for traveling and sleeping all in one.

two wrongs don't make a right
- you can't justify a wrong action by saying that someone else did the same thing to you
Two wrongs don't make a right and if someone does something bad to you you should not try and hurt them as well.

seventh heaven
- in a situation of great happiness
She has been in seventh heaven since she moved to the new department.

put two and two together
- make a correct guess
We were able to put two and two together and discover who was sending the unwanted E-mail.

one's number is up
- something bad will happen to someone
I think that the manager's number is up and he will soon be fired from his job.

one of those days
- a bad day where nothing goes right
It was one of those days and right from early morning things went wrong.

one in a million
- a great or unique person
He is one of the finest coaches in the world and is definitely one in a million.

one of the boys
- an accepted member of a group
He always tries to act like one of the boys but in reality nobody really likes him.

on cloud nine
- very happy
My sister has been on cloud nine since she won the new car in the contest.

on all fours
- on one's hands and knees
The man was down on all fours in the store looking for the keys to his car.

nine times out of ten
- almost always
Nine times out of ten if you have a problem on the computer it is something small that can be easily fixed.

give three cheers for someone
- give praise or approval for someone who has done well
The crowd gave three cheers for the team after they won the final game.

forty winks
- a short sleep during the day
As soon as I arrived home I lay down and had forty winks.

at one with someone
- share the same view as someone
The other members of the committee are at one with me over my decision to fire the lazy worker.

there are no two ways about it
- there is no alternative
His boss told him that there are no two ways about it and he will have to change his habits or he will be fired.

For when life is hard

It would not be fun when life is so easy.

It is a good experience, it makes me stronger.

I take the challenge.

Life is not hard, it only needs some positive thinking.

Life is unfair.

Life is a series of disappointments, followed by death.

I used to think I had it bad because I had no shoes, then I met a man with no feet.

Most of the mountains we have in life are ones we build ourselves.

When God gives you lemons, make lemonade.

*~*ON GOD*~*

~*~When you love you should not say: 'God is in my heart, 'but rather,' I am in the heart of God.'

~*~The first thought of God was an angel. The first word of God was a man.

~*~Our God in His gracious thirst will drink us all, the dewdrop and the tear.

~*~Comfort you, my beloved weak ones, for there is a great Power behind and beyond this world of Matter, a Power that is all Justice, Mercy, Pity and Love.

~*~God does not work evil. He gives us Reason and Learning so that we may ever be on our guard against the pitfalls of Error and Destruction.

"Gibran Kahlil Gibran"

Miserable failure

Hi. A visitor of my blog recommended me to read about the topic given above, and as I found it interesting, I put the link here for you to read. By the way thanks visitor!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miserable_failure

TOEFL Structure

http://www.testmagic.com/Knowledge_Base/TOEFL/Structure/index.htm

http://esl.about.com/library/quiz/bltoefl8.htm

http://www.learn4good.com/languages/toefl/structure_underl_sntc1.htm

soccer/football quotes

Concerning football playing, I protest to you it may rather be called a friendly kind of fighting, rather than recreation. ~Author Unknown

In Latin America the border between soccer and politics is vague. There is a long list of governments that have fallen or been overthrown after the defeat of the national team. ~Luis Suarez

If you're attacking, you don't get as tired as when you're chasing. ~Kyle Rote, Jr.

Football is all very well as a game for rough girls, but is hardly suitable for delicate boys. ~Oscar Wilde

I think football would become an even better game if someone could invent a ball that kicks back. ~Eric Morecambe

Soccer is a game in which everyone does a lot of running around. Twenty-one guys stand around and one guy does a tap dance with the ball. ~Jim Murray, 1967

Some people say soccer's a matter of life or death, but it isn't. It's much more important than that. ~Variation of a famous saying

I loathed the game, and since I could see no pleasure or usefulness in it, it was very difficult for me to show courage at it. Football, it seemed to me, is not really played for the pleasure of kicking a ball about, but is a species of fighting. ~George Orwell, Such, Such Were the Joys

Why is there only one ball for 22 players? If you gave a ball to each of them, they'd stop fighting for it. ~Author Unknown

Football is the opera of the people. ~Stafford Heginbotham, 1985

Noam Chomsky's blog

http://blog.zmag.org/ttt

tips for language learners

*Never miss a class.
*Label everything in your room or apartment.
*After you get a basic vocabulary, you can build on what you know. One part of a word appears again in another. Make the connections.
*Speak half one language, half another, if you have to, until you get it.
*Carry a pocket dictionary—and don't be embarrassed to use it.
*Read something short—signs on the street, newspaper headlines, comic books.
*Everything you do is a language-learning experience. When you go shopping, it's a vocabulary lesson.
*Take risks. Go out and say something!
*Three useful expressions: Thank you, I'm sorry, I don't understand.
*Sometimes just listen, expecting nothing, not trying to comprehend.
*Find what works for you. It's different for different people. If you learn from studying a grammar book, do it. If conversation comes more easily, focus on that. Any studying you do will help with other parts of the language.
*Choose one activity and do it consistently. Write in a diary; watch a weekly sitcom; use flash cards. Whatever it is, just do it and keep doing it—and you will see results!
*Relax. Have fun with the language!
*Celebrate small victories—the first time you understand a conversation, for example.
*Aim high. But don't expect perfection of yourself. You will be disappointed.
*Keep a diary. At first it will be written mostly in your first language. But you will begin to add words and phrases in the new one. Gradually, the balance will shift, and more of it will be in the target language. (And what a souvenir you will have!)
*Tomorrow will be better.
*Repetition is useful and important. Use the same language over and over. Reread a book or story.
*Replay a video. Each time, you will learn.
*If you really want to communicate, use the words that you know. Simplify. Substitute, if you don't know the exact word.
*Learning vocabulary in sets is helpful—shopping words, similar-sounding words, opposites.
*Speak the target language with your classmates, even those from your own country.
AND
*Never give up.

Profound Wisdom

If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried.

A clean desk is a sign of a cluttered desk drawer.

Everyone has a photographic memory. Some don't have film.

The universe is a figment of its own imagination.

There's no future in time travel.

For Sale: Parachute. Only used once, never opened, small stain.

Friends may come and go, but enemies tend to accumulate.

Join the Army, meet interesting people, kill them.

Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.

Oh Lord, give me patience...and GIVE IT TO ME NOW!

Pronunciation Tip (1)

In a number of common words spelt the pronunciation is not /wO:/ (as you might expect) but /w3:/: work, world, word, worm, worse, worst, worth.

"As Dead As a Dodo"

Have you ever heard people saying that something is as dead as a dodo? What is the meaning of this phrase? Does it have any easy-to-trust origin? If yes, so what it can be?

Firstly, let's look "dodo" up in the dictionary. There it is written:
Dodo= A large bird that was unable to fly and no longer exists.

Now it became a bit clear that dodo was the name of an animal. This animal was probably large, and incapable of flying, which is also extinct today. In reality, our unknown dodo lived on the islands of Mauritius. Its meat was not tasty or yummy, but hunters killed a lot of them yonks ago. So, that is why this is nearly the first time you are hearing about dodo.

In short, when we say something is as dead as a dodo we do mean that thing is not active, alive, and in use any more. Although, dodo is not extant today this phrase effortlessly encourages you and me to remember that large quiet bird forever.