Cats and Dogs - a blog for English learners

Send your kids to the jungle! To learn English?

2010-06-04T08:43:00.001+02:00

Yes, that's the interesting idea behind this innovative approach to learning English - have fun while you learn and enjoy an adventure holiday in the "jungle".

Here's the information (in German):

English & Adventure - Englisch lernen im Dschungelcamp

In den Ferien Englisch pauken und seine Zeit beim Nachhilfeunterricht statt am Badesee verbringen? Nicht gerade die Traumvorstellung eines jeden Schülers. Deshalb bietet Dschungelcamp Neuhaus e.V. (http://dschungelcamp-neuhaus.de/) in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Sprachstudio jetzt Englischunterricht der etwas anderen Art.

"English & Adventure" nennt sich das Programm, bei dem Schüler von zehn bis 14 Jahren ihr Englisch verbessern können. Nach den Grundsätzen der Erlebnispädagogik lernen die Schüler bei aufregenden Outdoor-Aktionen die Sprache praktisch "nebenbei", spielerisch und mit viel Spaß. Los geht es mit einer Kanu- oder Schlauchbootfahrt auf der Rott, gefolgt von einer Stärkung bei einem American Barbecue und spannenden Spielen - auf Englisch versteht sich. Dabei wird stets das Hörverstehen und Sprechen trainiert und neues Vokabular erlernt.

Geleitet werden die English & Adventure Days von der pädagogisch ausgebildeten Englischtrainerin und Übersetzerin Stefanie Eder, Inhaberin der Fremdsprachenagentur Sprachstudio. Mitmachen können alle, die bereits ein Jahr Englisch gelernt haben. Um das Lernerlebnis besonders intensiv zu gestalten, ist die Teilnehmerzahl auf 12 Kinder beschränkt. Weitere Informationen erhalten Sie beim Sprachstudio Stefanie Eder unter www.sprachstudio-online.com bzw. sprachstudio@email.de oder unter 08503/924072 bzw. 08503/8010.

How to use semi-colons

2010-06-01T18:41:00.001+02:00

This must be one of the most interesting grammar texts I've read; it is funny and it contains very good advice how to use semi-colons.

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/semicolon

Speak English? Eat English!

2010-04-30T14:19:00.001+02:00

Do you want to speak English? Or do you want to eat English?!! Here's a tip so you can finally you can learn how to make the most typical English food, without having to go to England. You can still do that later, of course - there's nothing better than fish'n'chips from the chippy! (= from the fish and chips shop)

British:
How To Make English Fish And Chips With Beer Batter

A.A.A.D.D. [tenses and time]

2010-04-11T18:28:00.001+02:00

Here is one of those e-mails that friends circulate around to each other. It's quite funny and as I get older I notice that I seem to be suffering from this, too!

But for learning English, once you stop laughing, here is your task. There are lots of actions and lots of verbs. The verbs are used in different tenses because some actions are done before others or after others. Find the special tenses (e.g. I will be looking) used to make the order clear. [I put some in red to start you off.]

AAADD- KNOW THE SYMPTOMS.....

Thank goodness there's a name for this disorder. Somehow I feel better, even though I have it!!

Recently, I was diagnosed with A.A.A.D.D. - Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

This is how it manifests itself:

I decide to water my garden.

As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.

As I head towards the garage, I notice mail on the porch table that I picked up from the post man earlier.

I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car. [no future tense after conjunctions such as 'before']

I lay my car keys on the table, put the junk mail in the recycling box under the table, and notice that the recycling box is full.

So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the recycling first.

But then I think, since I'm going to be near the postbox when I take out the recycling paper anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my cheque book off the table, And notice that there is only one cheque left.

My extra cheques are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the cup of coffee I'd been drinking.

I'm going to look for my cheques, but first I need to push the coffee aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over.

The coffee is getting cold, and I decide to make another cup.

As I head toward the kitchen with the cold coffee, a vase of flowers on the worktop catches my eye - the flowers need water.

I put the coffee on the worktop and discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning.

I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers.

I put the glasses back down on the worktop, fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote control. Someone left it on the kitchen table.

I realise that tonight when we go to watch TV, I'll be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor.

So, I put the remote back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day:

The car isn't washed.

The bills aren't paid.

There is a cold cup of coffee sitting on the counter.

The flowers don't have enough water.

There is still only 1 cheque in my cheque book.

I can't find the remote.

I can't find my glasses.

And I don't remember what I did with the car keys.

Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all damn day, and I'm really tired.

I realise this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail....

Do me a favour. Forward this message to everyone you know, Because I don't remember who the hell I've sent it to.

Don't laugh - if this isn't you yet, your day is coming!!

A variety of world maps

2010-04-06T22:53:00.001+02:00

In the English teachers' office where I worked in India we had a world map on the wall, but it looked different. Why? Because India was in the centre of the map.

It's funny how just looking at a differently-drawn map can give you a different view of the world. My link for you to practice your English today is Worldmapper. There you can find a lot of maps which change the size and shape of the countries to show things like population, number of children, disease and hunger. Very interesting.

Worldmapper is a collection of world maps, where territories are re-sized on each map according to the subject of interest. There are now nearly 700 maps. Maps 1-366 are also available as PDF posters.

Multilingual Kindergartens

2010-03-22T15:57:00.001+01:00

This opporunity is too late for readers of this blog (I assume there are no 3-year-olds reading?), but your children might benefit. There is a charity which helps any parents who want to send their children to schools where more than one language is spoken. They do this for different reasons. Sometimes the parents speak different languages. Or sometimes the parents are German speakers, but they want to give their children a 'headstart'.

http://www.fmks-online.de/adressen.html

Human Resources Lexicon

2010-03-02T16:13:00.001+01:00

Here is a very useful dictionary for some of my Business English students. Seven languages, one topic: Human Resources.

http://www.lexicon.adp.com/

Teach children about food

2010-03-01T14:51:00.002+01:00

I'm re-starting this blog with a message - but I think it is great to improve your English with things that are useful in other ways, too!

This talk by the famous TV-chef Jamie Oliver is a great chance for you to hear real British English! He speaks fairly slowly and fairly simple English, so even pre-intermediate students should be able to understand. (And at the TED site you can switch on English subtitles to help.)

The part I found very shocking comes at about 11 minutes when he goes to an infant school and they don't recognise common vegetables.

Watch this space!

2010-02-20T10:29:00.002+01:00

I'll be reactivating this blog in March, so "watch this space", and get your feed readers ready :-)

Blog No Longer Active

2009-01-12T10:59:00.002+01:00

As you have already noticed, this blog is no longer active. I have been granted a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend a year in a Tibetan Buddhist institute and will therefore be leaving Germany soon and stopping my work here as an English teacher.

I hope you enjoyed the posts for the few months I was active here, and when I come back and resume my work here I am sure I will restart this blog.

In the meantime, you can follow my experiences in the Himalayas at my new blog: Dzongsar Diary.

Words of the Year

2008-12-01T08:43:00.002+01:00

They call the summer the "silly season", but I think there is a second silly season for anyone who likes languages: the annual series of "Word of the Year" competitions.

To "hypermile" is the winner for Oxford University Press in America. The meaning: to drive in a way that uses the minimum fuel.

Now that's a good idea, so why not have a new word for it? Here's a British factsheet to help you - they don't use the new word! If you are interested in cars and driving, there are a lot of useful factsheets at the Institute of Advanced Motorists - a good way to read something interesting and useful in English.

Another word of the year finalist was "topless meetings". No, that is not something you do on a beach, nor is it something you will find on Page 3 of The Sun or in the BILD newspaper (a German tabloid which is now available in English).

No, 'top'-less meetings are meetings where laptops are banned. So that the people actually listen to and look at each other !

Europe's Easy Reading Corner

2008-11-22T09:43:00.002+01:00

Here you will find booklets that explain, as simply as possible, what the European Union is and what it does.

You can also find maps, posters and postcards and booklets about the EU for young people.

(And if you are feeling lazy or if the English is sometimes too difficult for you, there are other publications in 22 official languages of the European Union which can be read in full at this site.)

A couple of things that particularly caught my eye:

A Panorama of the EU - What do we do?

A Panorama of the EU (as a colour leaflet to download)

Europe in 12 Lessons

Travelling in Europe - practical advice and tips

(A big thank you to Dr. Andreas Büsing for this tip.)

Find that word on the 'tip of your tongue'

2008-11-20T11:08:00.003+01:00

This site is a new idea that is very useful.

If I say a word is 'on the tip of my tongue', it means I am thinking of a word but can't remember it exactly. Perhaps I know the first letters, or the meaning, but can't remember the whole word.

For example, what's that word that I can use if something has irritated me, but I'm not angry. I think it begins with 'a' like angry .....

Go to "Tip of My Tongue".
Type 'a' in "Partial Word - Starts with"
Type 'irritate' in 'Word Meaning - Word 1'

There are 22 results, and the word that was on the tip of my tongue is there halfway down the list "annoy" - "I'm annoyed!"

Success!

(Thanks again to Gabi for this tip.)

Learning new words - with Pons or LEO

2008-11-17T09:49:00.003+01:00

The dictionary websites dict.cc and LEO are very popular, so now one of the large publishing houses, PONS, has reacted and it has created its own online dictionary:
http://www.pons.eu/dict/search

It also has 'Lexitrainer', which is an integrated program to help you learn the new words that you look up in the dictionary.

But, watch out! You have a lot of choice now, because LEO has also updated its vocabulary trainer and made it much better. Check it out - the Sprachtrainer.

How to ... - very useful English

2008-11-11T16:39:00.002+01:00

From the BBC, this site looks very useful.

It has exercises for beginners and other levels which all show you how to do something useful in English.

For example:
# Expressing likes (Elementary level)
# Expressing dislikes (Elementary level)
# Expressing no strong emotions (Elementary level)
# Responding to compliments
# Telling someone about a funny incident
# Gossiping
# Getting back on topic
# Talking about serious incidents
# Chatting someone up

That will keep you busy for a while. Learn it. And then go out and practice, practice, practice - that means find some international people and try out what you learnt! Have fun!

Listen to English

2008-11-02T21:24:00.001+01:00

Here's another blog that will be very useful for you.

Listen to English, the podcast website for people learning English.

The podcasts on this site will help you to improve your English vocabulary and pronunciation and your listening skills. There are two short (3 to 5 minutes) podcasts every week, in clearly spoken English. Many of them are linked to grammar and vocabulary notes, or to exercises or quizes. You can download the podcasts to your computer, or subscribe using a programme such as iTunes or Yahoo, or simply listen to them by clicking the Flash player on the web page beneath each episode. You can put the podcasts onto your iPod or MP3 player, and listen to them on your way to school or work. The full text of each podcast is on this site (and will also appear on your iPod screen), so you can look up the meanings of words that you do not understand in a dictionary. Then close your eyes and listen! Have fun!

The Credit Crunch Song

2008-10-26T09:00:00.003+01:00

Here's some humour to help you deal with the current financial crisis and to revise some finance vocabulary - it has English subtitles to help you understand the verses!

The Credit Crunch Song, from Antan Debt and the Overdrafts

Vocabulary - Word Families

2008-10-25T11:41:00.001+02:00

When you learn vocabulary, you often hear about 'word families'. If you find words that 'belong together', you can learn these words together.

For example, 'names of fruits'. If you learn 'apple', then learn 'orange, banana, pineapple' at the same time.

In lessons your teacher often uses flashcards. You can learn new words more easily if you learn the words with the pictures.

Today I want to tell you about a website where you can see pictures with 'word families': Tag Galaxy. This website asks you for a 'tag' (a word describing a picture) and looks for all the photos with that tag at 'FlickR', a website for people to share photos. Then it looks for the other tags on those photos and makes a 'tag family' and shows you a 'tag galaxy' with planets that are the tag family members. So you see 'word families' on screen. When you click on the 'planets' you see lots of photos with that tag. Fun!

And if you click on the interesting photos and go to the FlickR websites, you can read about the photos and practise your English some more!

http://www.taggalaxy.de/

When you want to learn English you have to USE your English. If you want to use your English you have to find interesting things and then read them. This is just one idea to find interesting things to read! Have fun!

Learning new words - a third flashcard tool !!

2008-10-24T16:55:00.006+02:00

Today one of my students told me about another choice for learning vocabulary - Teachmaster.

I haven't installed it yet, but it looks very similar to Phase 6, the program I told you about a few posts ago. It does have one advantage - it is free!

Why not try it out? Remember, the most important thing is not which software you use, but that you regularly do something to help remember new words.

Flirt English

2008-10-22T22:18:00.003+02:00

This online, multimedia website has just won the German GIGA-Maus award for the best online educational software to learn English.

It's called Flirt English and is aimed at German teenagers, so it is also good for adult beginners, but you need to understand some German, too!!

If you look at the whole list of awards you will see quite a few good ideas for learning English.

Learning new words - another flashcard tool

2008-10-18T15:00:00.001+02:00

A couple of days ago I wrote about 'Phase 6'. This is a software program that help you to learn new words. I like Phase6 a lot and I think it is good value for the price. The programmer is a young businessman (not a big faceless company) and I think we need to support small businesses which produce good products.

However, the 'open source' and 'shareware' software movement is also a good idea and yesterday I discovered an open source program that is very similar to Phase 6. You can install it and try it for free and if you like it you can make a donation to support the developers.

It is called 'jMemorize':
http://jmemorize.org
>>
jMemorize is a free open-source Java application that manages your learning processes by using flashcards and the famous Leitner system. jMemorize makes memorizing facts not only more efficient but also more fun. It boosts your whole learning experience and features categories, statistics and a visually appealing and intuitive interface.
<<

Try it out - I am sure it will help you learn your vocabulary much more quickly!

Keep shtum

2008-10-17T15:00:00.001+02:00

I was just listening to the latest episode of 'The Archers' – a radio soap opera from England – and it finished with a character saying "So let's keep shtum about it."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/archers/

What did he mean? Well, this is a German word being spoken in English – 'stumm' means silent or mute.

And the phrase therefore means: "Let's keep quiet about it." or "Don't tell anyone about it."

Here's the dict.cc entry:
http://www.dict.cc/englisch-deutsch/to+keep+schtum++shtoom++schtoom+about+sth.html
and an interesting internet debate about the phrase
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1019746

The phrase probably didn't come into the English language directly from German. Instead, it is an example of 'Yiddish' – a dialect spoken by Jews, which is still used by Jewish people in many countries:
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yiddish

As well as 'kindergarten' and 'abseil' there are lots of German words that we use in English:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_German_expressions_in_English

Learning new words

2008-10-14T19:37:00.001+02:00

One of my all-time top tips has to be the wonderful software program "Phase 6", which can help you learn your new vocabulary.

I met the programmer at a trade fair in Berlin several years ago and started to use his software myself to improve my German vocabulary. Then it was very simple. Now he has made a lot of improvements:
- better graphic design
- vocabulary sets from leading publishing houses, such as Cornelsen
- you can link in pictures and sounds

How does the software work? Well, it is like the old system with little cards and a tray to hold all the little cards. You write a new English word, with the German word on the other side. Then you put it in the tray. After a couple of days you look at the word again and try to remember what it means. In total, you need to do this 5 times. If you remember the word 5 times then the word is in your memory and you won't forget it again.

But the computer can organize these cards in a special way. So after the first time, it waits a few days then shows you the card again. After this it waits a whole week. Then two weeks. And so on. The time until each 'phase' gets longer, which helps your brain to remember the words for a long time.

You can read about it in German at:
http://www.phase6.de/

or in English at:
http://www.phase-6.com/

And here is a story about a bus ride in Poland – this is the reason why the programmer wrote his program!!
http://theroyaltreatment.wordpress.com/2008/01/21/phase-6-for-long-term-vocabulary-memory/

Fantastic photos of London at night

2008-10-14T17:01:00.001+02:00

A lot of people who learn English are also interested in England, and many visit London. Some do this to improve their English, others do it because London is such a famous city and has a lot of sights to see.

If you haven't been there yet, these pictures may provide you with motivation.

If you have been there, you may recognise some of the sights.

Either way, the photos are simply amazing!

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/08/london_from_above_at_night.html

(Thanks to Lorcan Flynn for this link)

Repeat after me: I'd like to buy a hamburger

2008-10-11T21:18:00.001+02:00

If any of you want to know why I don't do many pronounciation exercises in my classes, this is the reason why :-))

Common mistakes made by German learners

2008-09-30T13:36:00.001+02:00

I don't know if it is good to think too much about mistakes. But on the other hand, if you know about common mistakes, you can try to avoid them. So take a look at Mike Seymour's website for an exhaustive list of mistakes that German learners make when they use English.

http://www.mikeseymour.com/deutsch/tips.asp

(Thanks to James Chamberlain for this tip)

Facts about Germany, in English

2008-09-29T15:13:00.001+02:00

If you read a past blog entry, you will remember these words:

::
One good way to learn English is to read English articles about subjects you know well. For example, you could read an English book which you had already read in German. So you know the plot (the story) already. This means that even if you don't understand ALL the words, you can still understand what you are reading.

One subject you probably know very well (if you are one of my German readers)
is ... Germany!! So reading about Germany in English should be quite easy for you.
::

Well, here is another, even better, link to a site about Germany with lots of interesting facts. Read about them in English, and if you don't understand something, you can try and find the same information on the German version of the site.

Facts about Germany
http://www.tatsachen-ueber-deutschland.de/en/home1.html

For example, here is the link to the English glossary, and below it you will find the link to the German glossary. Of course, the words are in a different order, but you can easily find the matching translations:

http://www.tatsachen-ueber-deutschland.de/en/content-home/glossary.html?type=1
http://www.tatsachen-ueber-deutschland.de/de/inhaltsseiten-home/glossar.html

(Thanks again to Gabi for this link, who received it from Aniello)

Readers - New Website

2008-09-26T16:45:00.001+02:00

I have just found this new website which covers "graded readers". These are books that are written especially for people who are learning English.

http://www.english-readers.de/

My favourite for adult learners are Penguin Readers, which are also sometimes available with a CD to listen to the story.

http://www.penguinreaders.com/

Word Families - Wikipedia

2008-09-26T15:42:00.001+02:00

We all know this: if you want to learn a language, you have to learn vocabulary. And many teachers also say this: a good way to learn new words is to put the words together in 'word families'. These are groups of words which have something in common (DE:etwas gemein haben).

One good way to choose word families is to choose a subject which interests you.

And a good way to find words on this subject might be the following link to all the glossaries in Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Contents/List_of_glossaries

Have fun with all those words!

A wonderful talk about dictionaries

2008-09-21T10:01:00.002+02:00

As language learners, you need your dictionaries. With today's blog post I want to inspire you to use your dictionary in a much better way. So here is a question:

Is your dictionary like a police officer? Do you just want it to tell you if words are 'right or wrong'?

In fact, a language is a very human thing and humans are not 'black and white'. There are no absolutely 'wrong' words - there are words that you use in the wrong place, perhaps. But these words might be 'right' in another situation or if you are talking to another person - CONTEXT is the key. A good dictionary should help you find more words that are similar to the one you look up. So you can use the best word for your context.

This morning I watched a talk from the TED series - this is a great series of talks from experts in many fields.

The talk was from a woman who is one of the editors of a top American dictionary. She says she is not a 'traffic cop' - directing the bad words out of the dictionary. She is more like a 'fisherwoman' - fishing in the huge ocean of words to find the ones she hasn't seen yet.

I have linked the talk below. If she talks too fast for you and you can't understand everything, then go to this page and you will find the transcript of the talk. Print it out and then you can read it while you are listening.

Penguin Readers - books and audio books for all levels

2008-09-13T09:21:00.003+02:00

The "Penguin Readers" collection from the Penguin publishing house are a VERY useful and enjoyable series of books for people learning English.

There are 6 different levels, so you can pick books that are just right for you: You can read the story without a dictionary, because the words and the grammar are at the right level for you to understand. New and difficult words are explained in simple English in the book.

Many of the books are famous novels - they have been re-written to make them easier. Many are the books from famous films. And there is some non-fition, too.

And many of the books have an audio CD. So when you have read the book once and know the story, you can listen to it on CD. This is also good when you are driving, cooking or ironing, for example, because the English is in the background. You know the story already and don't have to listen with your full attention.

Direct Link (English site)

Longman Germany

My tip: Look in the online catalogues above and find the books you want. Note the ISBN number and then take this to your local independent bookshop, who will order it for you. (Support local specialist shops!!)

Present Perfect - practical example

2008-09-13T08:57:00.002+02:00

So here is a perfectly formed question in the 'present perfect':

Has the Large Hadron Collider Destroyed the World Yet?

What is that? Well, it is the biggest physics experiment in the world. Look up 'CERN' in Wikipedia (link to 'Simple English') or your favourite search machine (mine is 'Clusty') and you will find lots of information about the centre in Switzerland.

There are a lot of people who are worried about this new experiment - they believe that it will create little 'black holes'. These black holes could then grow and ... swallow the world!

Here's the link to the question (and the answer).

http://www.hasthelargehadroncolliderdestroyedtheworldyet.com/

Your homework :-)
Q) How many possible answers are there to the question above? Please write them in full using the 'present perfect'!!

Fight the Fog - Tips for Advanced Students

2008-09-08T21:15:00.001+02:00

Although this document is written for translators at the European Union, it is written in an informal style and is quite easy to understand. So it's very very useful for any advanced students who want to improve their English and make sure that people reading their documents don't fall asleep!!

http://ec.europa.eu/translation/writing/clear_writing/fight_the_fog_en.pdf

Are You Smart Enough to Be German?

2008-08-20T21:34:00.001+02:00

- take the citizenship test

One good way to learn English is to read English articles about subjects you know well. For example, you could read an English book which you had already read in German. So you know the plot (the story) already. This means that even if you don't understand ALL the words, you can still understand what you are reading.

One subject you probably know very well (if you are one of my German readers)
is ... Germany!! So reading about Germany in English should be quite easy for you.

Try this and see. How well DO you know your country?!!

http://www1.spiegel.de/active/quiztool/fcgi/quiztool.fcgi?id=33093

Gardening Leave and other articles

2008-08-18T09:59:00.001+02:00

The 'Business English' articles in the Financial Times Deutschland (FTD) are a very valuable resource for students at intermediate level and above. The topics are all very relevant and interesting, and new items of vocabulary are highlighted - just use your mouse to hold the cursor over the word and the German translation will appear.

The latest article has an interesting title - you've heard of maternity leave, and today it is very popular for men to take paternity leave, if you are ill you can take sick leave, but I'm sure you've never heard of 'gardening leave'!!

http://www.ftd.de/karriere_management/business_english/index.html

Die verflixten kleinen Wörter dazwischen

2008-08-08T16:09:00.003+02:00

'With thanks' to Gabi for this link to a surprisingly useful article about one of those 'damned little words'.

(Haben Sie das '-ly' oben gesehen? - not just a useful article, but a surprisingly useful article.)

Here's the link:

Aus dem Sekada-Newsletter:
http://www.sekada-daily.de/aktuelles/tipp/wie-sie-with-richtig-verwenden.html

How-To Videos in Plain English

2008-07-25T18:52:00.001+02:00

Auch auf Deutsch heisst es "Learning by Doing", but have you thought about "Learning while Doing" ?

Or even, sogar, "Learning while Learning" ?

The following link is a prime opportunity (eine prima Gelegenheit ;-) ) to try it out: Learn English while you are Learning another useful skill. The Common Craft Show has a few very useful free videos available in its "Plain English" series.

So learn how to use wikis, online photo sharing, and 'social networking', and at the same time, the very clearly spoken English will undoubtedly (ohne Zweifel) help you improve your listening skills.

http://www.commoncraft.com/show

Donate Rice and Improve your Vocab

2008-06-20T15:53:00.001+02:00

Here's a way to learn some new words, and as you do so, you will be donating rice to the hungry.

http://www.freerice.com/index.php

Welcome

2008-04-01T14:09:00.001+02:00

This blog is intended to offer tips and advice for students learning English as a foreign language. I work in Germany, so there will be some tips targetted specifically at German-speakers, but many will be useful for all learners.

The name of the blog comes from the clichéed idiom "it's raining cats and dogs". This is a very good example of something that every foreign learner has learnt in their lessons, although native speakers almost never say it!!

Viel Spaß beim Lesen - have fun while reading

Craig Meulen