Aug

18

REPORTED SPEECH

August 18, 2008 |  Tagged , , , , , | Leave a Comment

If we report what another person has said, we usually do not use the speaker’s exact words (direct speech), but reported (indirect) speech. Therefore, you need to learn how to transform direct speech into reported speech. The structure is a little different depending on whether you want to transform a statement, question or request.

 

Extract from The Canterville Ghost 

(find direct and reported speech from the text below)

Chapter VI

About ten minutes later, the bell rang for dinner, and, as Virginia did not come down, Mrs Otis sent up one of the servants. After a little time he returned and said that he could not find Miss Virginia anywhere. So, the whole family started looking for her.

The hours passed, but they could find no trace of Virginia. So, after dinner, Mr Otis ordered them all to bed, saying that nothing more could be done that night, and that he would contact Scotland Yard in the morning. Just when everybody was about to leave the dining-room, the clock struck midnight, and when the last stroke sounded, a secret door opened in the wall and in that door stood Virginia with a little box in her hand. Everybody ran up to her.

“Good heavens! child, where have you been?” said Mr Otis, rather angrily, as he thought she had been playing a trick on them.

“Papa,” said Virginia quietly, “I have been with the ghost. He is dead, and you must come and see him. He had been very nasty, but he was really sorry for all that he had done, and he gave me this box of beautiful jewels before he died.”

Then she led the others down a narrow secret corridor to a little low room. There the family found the skeleton of Sir Simon, who had been starved to death by his wife’s brothers. Virginia knelt down beside the skeleton, and, folding her little hands together, began to pray silently.

Meanwhile, one of the twins was looking out of the window in the little room and suddenly said, “Look! The old almond-tree has blossoms.”

“Then God has forgiven him,” said Virginia and stood up.

Aug

15

THE MAGIC GOPHER

August 15, 2008 |  Tagged , , | 2 Comments

As I’m on holiday I needed to print out some lessons, (yes I teach on holiday too!) It was a flying visit to a friend of mines house, but as I was about to leave I was shown this British Council magic gopher it’s kind of fun. How is this done I hear you ask yourself. Anyone know?

Thanks to Diane Hollis, Deal

Aug

15

www.theenglishteacheronline.com

August 15, 2008 |  Tagged | 2 Comments

The English Teacher has a domain name change as you can see from the above this is the new one www.theenglishteacheronline.com the old address is still working so there are no hiccups and will continue to do so automatically directing you to the new one. But please make note of the new one…

 

Aug

14

PERSONAL ESL TRAINER

August 14, 2008 |  Tagged , , | Leave a Comment

The Latest Trend: Personal ESL Trainers

A lot of people have asked me what’s a Personal ESL Trainer, emphasizing the ESL, well ESL stands for English as a second language. 

The field of ESL for adults is booming.  Even so, it is barely able to keep pace with the ever-growing needs of today’s world. Registration for English courses at international language institutes  (Wall Street, British Institutes, Berlitz etc.) is at an all-time high. Locally owned language schools and chains are mushrooming all all over the globe. Alongside all of this, ESL for adults is witnessing an exciting trend: The rise of the personal trainer. Why do people prefer to hire a personal trainer rather than join a class? For the same reason that the idea of personal trainers caught on in the world of physical fitness!  Needs and abilities vary and one program cannot possibly encompass them all. Both individuals and companies have realized that study time is far better utilized in 1:1 sessions.  This is especially true in ‘conversational English’ courses where actual speaking time has to be shared with others. For this reason, many language institutes offer individual instruction programs. Why do English speakers prefer to work as personal ESL trainers rather than as classroom teachers? Firstly, it affords them a more flexible work schedule. It is usually possible to arrange lessons on days/at hours that are convenient for the teacher.  Also, commitment is only to the duration of courses for individual students and this can facilitate their travel plans. Secondly, the work is very stimulating because it brings them into close personal contact with interesting people. Interaction on this level does not normally occur in a classroom situation. Thirdly, it’s the highest paid sector in the field.  This doesn’t apply to private institutes, where owners take their profit margin, but it most certainly applies to freelancers.

Aug

11

LINGRO

August 11, 2008 |  Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

 

I wanted to share this great programme with you all today. lingro is an on-line environment for people learning languages. lingro’s dictionaries remember all your translations and help you learn the vocabulary most important to you easier and faster. Isn’t this great?

Recently visited site Recently looked-up words
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympics
prestige (English → Spanish) 
prestigio
importance (English → Spanish) 
importancia
symbol (English → Spanish) 
símbolo
participants (English → Spanish) 
participantes, concurrrentes
Recently looked-up sentences
• Even though the bearing of a torch formed an integral aspect of Greek ceremonies, the ancient Olympic Games did not include it, nor was there asymbol formed by interconnecting rings.
• Upon winning the games, the victor would have not only the prestige of being in first place but would also be presented with a crown of olive leaves.
• From the 241 participants from 14 nations in 1896, the Games grew to nearly 11,100 competitors from 202 countries at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. www.lingro.com