American Television Series

Hello everyone! I have been watching This Is Us (an American tv series in its second season) and love every episode....but I read some feedback about the show and found other people think it can be a bit depressing or too heavy.

So tell me, everyone, what shows are you into? What's your favorite show and why? Do you like using television to help you learn English? 

Self-Study Plans

Hello hello! I hope everyone is having a happy Friday! I have a bit of free time this weekend and would love to offer to help others learn English. 

I am offering a new class to help others be able to study English by themselves. This is great for students that are motivated and dedicated but lack the resources and knowledge about how to learn best. I will do all the hard work for you. You just have to show up and stay committed to the process (https://www.italki.com/teacher/3755595/course/48863).

In order to get the ball rolling, I would like to offer a language evaluation in one skill area....interested? I hope so. If you want to take part this is what you should do: Send me an email to [email protected] with your current learning goals, history/background with learning English and the skill you want me to analyze (grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, etc...) and I will send you everything you need to complete this. 

I will only be able to offer this to a few people so much sure you email quickly to be included. Thanks so much guys. I look forward to helping! :) Please comment here if you have any questions.

Chat with Me (English Teacher on Italki)

Hi Guys (and gals),

I am holding a chat session starting at 8 pm UTC (in one hour and 2 minutes). I plan to host this chat for 30 minutes....free! This is the first chat so it will just be general and I will ask some interesting getting to know you questions. I will offer corrections and grammar/vocabulary expressions where I can. :) See you soon.

Great chat! Thanks to those that showed up. Will be doing more things soon. I would love to see this discussions page come to life! Let me know if you want to see more of something! 

Edited to remove the link as chat is now over. Thanks!

What is your favorite way to study and improve your language skills?

As for me, I am a major fan of competition. It keeps me motivated and I am always up for a good challenge. I don't even have to win, just the feeling of rivalry really encourages me to keep coming back for more. I have participated in learning challenges with others and this is always when I most successful...maybe it's also the community though.

I also love watching movies and tv shows to help me learn. That way I am learning and enjoying something entertaining or learning a new skill. For me, it's important to practice my second language in a more interesting way.

So what about you? What helps you learn best? What motivates you? Maybe we can share and pick up some new ideas to help each other learn. Can't wait to hear your ideas! :)

Challenge of the Day- Picture Caption

Today's challenge involves a little less writing so maybe we will have some participation (fingers crossed). I am including a link to some really funny animal pictures....animals clowning around (or goofing off- playing and being silly). Give us the number of the picture you chose and your best caption (explanation) to go with it.

https://hey2day.com/silly-animals-clowning-around/

For example- picture 1- "What!?!? You mean I'm not a human! It can't be true!"

Just for fun...Good luck! :)

Writing Challenge for Fun (and increasing your skills)

This is a fun challenge to let you practice and advance your skills without the normal, boring textbook approach to writing. Calling all creative people....even the slightly creative to put your writing into action....just not as you.

The challenge is this: Check out (look at and read) the article below from theonion.com and then create your own story in similar form. You can choose to be any living or non-living thing and follow the style of making a silly/interesting/funny/etc... story. Any story where you take the role of someone other than a person. 

https://local.theonion.com/spider-sitting-on-shower-wall-can-t-wait-to-see-look-on-1819579557

I also wanted to explain some language from the article:

gonna freak- going to freak out= a wild or crazy reaction to something

clueless dope= someone not very smart that has no idea about something (ya know, like a spider in his shower)

pull back- to draw (pull) open (please pull the curtains back. It is such a beautiful day outside)

totally worth it- VERY common expression to show excitement about something after doing it, usually implying that it was difficult, scary, not a smooth start but changed over time (Studying English was so difficult but it was totally worth it. Now I have the best job!)

flinch- make a quick, nervous movement (The man flinched when his friend pretended to punch him)

a startled yelp- a cry of sudden shock (picture yourself seeing something that you are scared of...it might lead to a startle yelp. :)

at press time- time a magazine is going to be printed (referring to more present time)

oblivious- totally unaware

So how did it end for the spider? I think not so well....but I'll let you be the judge of that. :)

Post any comments or questions below.

Can't wait to read what you guys come up with. I'll look for any grammar suggestions I can make to help improve writing or grammar skills as well. :) Have fun and good luck!

What do you look for in a website for learning English? Hello everyone! I am a teacher here on Italki and I'm thinking of starting a new website to help others learn English. I would love to hear any ideas about what you look for when learning English online. What do you find most useful? What is something you wish you could find to help you but never do? Are there any problems that you find while studying English online? What are some areas of English or skills that you wish you could improve while studying online? Those are a few brainstorming ideas. I would love to hear any comments or feedback. Thanks so much! :)

What English Learners Look for in a Website Hello everyone! I am a teacher here on Italki and I'm thinking of starting a new website to help others learn English. I would love to hear any ideas about what you look for when learning English online. What do you find most useful? What is something you wish you could find to help you but never do? Are there any problems that you find while studying English online? What are some areas of English or skills that you wish you could improve while studying online? Those are a few brainstorming ideas. I would love to hear any comments or feedback. Thanks so much! :) 

Using 3rd Conditional

Is hindsight really 20/20? Many people think so and I believe even if the saying isn't quite perfect, it still really hits the nail on the head. We can never go back and change the past, but what would you do if you could? This is what the 3rd conditional is all about.

If I had known she was interested, I would have asked for her number.

Notice that we are thinking about an impossible past condition. You did not know she was interested. So the condition was not true, and that particular condition can never be true because it is finished. We use the Past Perfect tense to talk about the impossible past condition.

So that's: If + Subject + had + past participle + the rest,

We use <em>would have + past participle</em> + the rest to talk about the impossible past result. The important thing about the third conditional is that both the condition and result are impossible now.

So of course, if the guy had known she was interested, he would have asked for her number. She was hot and he really liked her charming personality. There is only one problem...he didn't know and now it is impossible to change the fact that he did not ask for the number. He may never see her again. :(

What would you change if you could? Give me an example in the comments using the 3rd conditional. I'll check and review. For me.... If I had known living abroad was so amazing, I would have moved years ago! That is what I would change.

Let me know if you have any other questions. :)