EFFORTLESS LANGUAGE LEARNING

I am not convinced that hard work and deliberate learning is more effective than taking the easy way.

PRESENT PROGRESSIVE

Topic: Forms and uses of the present progressive
Level: Intermediate and advanced
This series is designed for upper level students. We will review how each verb tense is formed and used. We will be comparing and contrasting verb tenses as well.
De : "ENGLISH WITH JENNIFER" A site for language learners.

PREJUDICE

Sometimes you have a biased opinion about something without knowing its facts. The word prejudice basically means A judgment or an opinion formed beforehand or without knowledge or examination of the facts. Prejudice is a bias, favoring or opposing something based on personal opinions or feelings. It means to pre-judge or to make an assumption before hand about something, without any understanding any actual facts.

You usually judge people because of race, social class, gender, age, political beliefs, religion and many personal characteristics. For example, a manager who is of the opinion that women do not like to travel in their jobs, would not select a woman for a job that requires her to travel. This is because he has a fixed idea without any facts that women do not like to travel. The word prejudice can be a verb or a noun, depending on how it's used in a sentence The verb 'prejudice' has three forms, the present is prejudice, the past is prejudiced and the past participle it is prejudiced.
Example 01 : The salesman at the mall always gets annoyed when he sees children around, he has a prejudice against kids as he feels they are just trouble makers.
Ex 02 : Mary told Peter, " The university that I studied in, has no prejudice and admits students purely on merit basis."
Ex 03 : Samantha has a prejudice against fast food as she feels that they are not only high in calorie but also unhealthy.
Ex 04 : All the bad stories she had heard about the new COO of the company from her colleague, prejudiced Sheila against him even before their first meeting.
Ex 05 : Maria was prejudiced against buying unbranded and lower priced cosmetics even though they were clinically approved. 
Ex 06 : In many countries, women feel troubled as they face prejudice at their work place and are not treated at par with men. 
Ex 07 : Lisa is prejudiced against people women who smoke and drink, as she believes they are bad influencers.
Ex 08 : Samantha told her friend, " Working with an organization that fights racial prejudice is quite challenging." 
Ex 09 : All the employees are prejudice towards Frieda as she is very good looking they always favor her even though she isn't good at her work.

DEPRESSION, THE SECRET WE SHARE

"The opposite of depression is not happiness, but vitality, and it was vitality that seemed to seep away from me in that moment." In a talk equal parts eloquent and devastating, writer Andrew Solomon takes you to the darkest corners of his mind during the years he battled depression. That led him to an eye-opening journey across the world to interview others with depression -- only to discover that, to his surprise, the more he talked, the more people wanted to tell their own stories.
Andrew Solomon is a writer on politics, culture and psychology. Full bio »

SIMPLE PRESENT

Forms and uses of the simple present
Level: Intermediate and advanced
This series is designed for upper level students. We will review how each verb tense is formed and used. We will be comparing and contrasting verb tenses as well.
De : "ENGLISH WITH JENNIFER" A site for language learners.

CATASTROPHE

Sometimes you are faced with a tragedy or a misfortune.The word catastrophe basically means an event resulting in a great loss or a disaster. A bad event that causes a lot of suffering to many people is a catastrophe. It could be a natural calamity such as a storm or an earthquake. So when you describe something as catastrophic, it means that it is very bad or unsuccessful. It is a huge problem you have to deal with.

A sudden violent change in the earth's surface is also known s catastrophe. It also means the final event or a climax in a romance or a drama.As the word catastrophe means an unpleasant event, it is a noun. The word catastrophe is an adjective as it describes something of being disastrous. For example, the Japan earthquake of 2011 was a catastrophe as it claimed lives of many people and left many homeless.

Example 01 : William was the only earning member in his family, his death in a road accident was a catastrophe for his family.
Ex 02 : Peter told his wife, " Lack of funds has resulted in a catastrophe for our children's education."
Ex 03 : The coach told his team players, " This is our last chance, it would be a catastrophe if we didn't qualify for the world cup."
Ex 04 : The quarreling ladies made the whole dinner party a catastrophe.
Ex 05 : The Black Sea is facing an ecological catastrophe as a result of pollution.
Ex 06 : The company's catastrophic losses left the shareholders displeased as they were not entitled to any dividend this year.
Ex 07 : The sinking of the cargo ship was a major catastrophe for the shipping company.
Ex 08 : The heavy rains caused a catastrophic flood in the city leading to massive destruction.
Ex 09 : The catastrophic hurricane left the people helpless and devastated.
Ex 10 : The catastrophic effects of global warming has resulted in changes in the climatic conditions globally.

MAKING PROGRESS

How do we know that we are making progress in our language studies? It so often seems that we are at a standstill. My own benchmark is the number of words that I know. If I see the number increase, I know that I am improving, even if it does not show all the time.

VERB TENSES OVERVIEW

This first lesson is an overview of the verb tenses in English designed for upper level students. This series will review how each verb tense is formed and used. We will be comparing and contrasting verb tenses as well.
De : "ENGLISH WITH JENNIFER" A site for language learners.

WARY

Sometimes you are cautious about something as you feel it can lead to a problem or danger. The word wary, basically means to be cautious or careful of something. If you are wary of something or someone, you are actually cautious or alert because you do not know much about them and you believe they may be dangerous or cause problems.

So, it means you are very careful and guarded and you are unwilling to trust someone. So when you give someone a wary glance, your face conveys the suspicion and caution that you feel. For example, you are wary of rocks while walking bare foot in the water or you may be wary of driving alone at night on an empty road as you feel it's not safe. As the word wary describes being cautious or careful about something, it is an adjective.
Example 01 : Being her first interview, the new actress was wary of talking to the press media ass he didn't want to disclose about her personal life.
Ex 02 : Due to the recent kidnapping in the neighborhood, mother told little Ben to be wary of strangers on his way back from the high school.
Ex 03 : During the grand sale, the store owner kept a wary eye on all the customers.
Ex 04 : After the unexpected fall in the share market, investors are increasingly wary about investing their money into the stock market.
Ex 05 : Lisa was wary of the stray dog at first, but he seemed friendly, so she walked over to pet him.
Ex 06 : At the railway station, there is a warning board put up that reads, 'Be wary of pick pockets.'
Ex 07 : Maria told her friend, " be wary of emails claiming that you've won a lottery as they are often malicious and contain viruses."
Ex 08 : Being new in the city, Sheila was wary of everything around her and didn't socialize with anyone.
Ex 09 : At the beach, the lifeguard was very wary when he saw the little kids go in the water.
Ex 10 : Father warned his son, " be wary of lending money to Peter, don't trust him too much, he has a bad past record."
Ex 11 : The teacher warily watched the student who was trying to cheat during his exams.
Ex 12 : All his colleagues are wary of speaking with William due to his arrogant attitude and temper.

España es el tercer pais de Europa

en el que menos adultos saben hablar inglés

La estadística sonroja. Es como un profundo aguijón en el orgullo patrio. Solo la mitad de los españoles, un 51 %, en edad de trabajar (de 25 a 64 años) sabe hablar inglés. Aunque también habría que hacer una apreciación, ya que de este porcentaje solo un 19 % es verdaderamente competente en la lengua de Shakespeare, por un 42 % que tiene un nivel bueno y un 40 % que se maneja con alguna que otra dificultad. De entre todos los europeos, solo los húngaros (37 %) y búlgaros (39 %) tienen menos conocimientos de inglés que los españoles. La fotografía que saca a relucir las vergüenzas la ha hecho Eurostat, que ha analizado la situación en los 28 países miembros de la UE, además de en Noruega, Suiza y Serbia.

España está muy lejos de la media, que indica que dos terceras partes de los europeos sabe hablar una lengua extranjera, fundamentalmente el inglés, lo que también supone una puerta fundamental para acceder al mercado laboral. Los españoles están muy lejos del conocimiento que tienen los noruegos (el 96 % habla inglés), daneses (94 %) o eslovenos (92 %), pero tampoco están demasiado cerca de los vecinos portugueses (58 %) y franceses (59 %). (LEER TODO)

PRONUNCIATION OF VOWEL SOUNDS

This video presents three speech samples: American English, British English, and New Zealand English. Listen and compare how three native speakers of three different dialects pronounce the same set of words
De : "ENGLISH WITH JENNIFER" A site for language learners.

INHIBIT

Sometimes you can't do something that you are willing to due to many reasons, it could be because you are shy or embarrassed to do it or it could be something that stops or restricts you from doing it. The word inhibit basically means something that prevents oneself from doing something due to their shyness or the fear of facing embarrassment due to some restrictions applied. When you restrain or suppress yourself from behaving in a particular manner or from speaking something, you are holding yourself back, it means you are inhibiting yourself. This could because you are extremely shy or embarrassed.

The action of prohibiting or inhibiting is known as inhibition.
It is a feeling that makes one self conscious and unable to behave in a relaxed and a natural manner. As the word inhibits shows the action of restricting or forbidding, it is a verb. For example, when you are performing on the stage for the first time, you feel very shy, you are inhibited from doing your best. It means, you find it difficult to lose your inhibitions and give it your best shot.

Example 01 : Maria had no inhibitions and spoke boldly about her divorce to her friends.
Ex 02 : The high rate of interest on home loans has inhibited James and Lisa from taking a bank loan to buy a new apartment. 
Ex 03 : After a couple of drinks, William and Peter lost all their inhibitions and started talking and laughing loudly at their friend's party.
Ex 04 : Catherine is on a weight loss program and finds it very difficult to inhibit herself from eating burgers.
Ex 05 : Lack of hospitals and health care centers in the village, inhibited the poor from getting medical facilities whenever they required it.
Ex 06 : Mother told little John, " You shouldn't allow the fear of failure to inhibit you from reattempting your exams."
Ex 07 : To inhibit any further argument, Andrea threatened her son of being locked in a dark room.
Ex 08 : The stern voice of the teacher, inhibits all the students from approaching her when they have any queries.
Ex 09 : Drinking coffee in excess inhibits the absorption of iron from your diet.

THE BIGGEST MISTAKE PEOPLE MAKE

IN LANGUAGE LEARNING
People stay with the beginner book or course too long. They think they have to stay with it until they understand it or can remember everything. Forget it. Believe me you will. You will need to keep on going back to the beginner book. In the meantime, get into interesting authentic content. Do it as soon as possible, even if you don't understand it very well. Don't even use graded readers.