Joe’s Cafe

“You must come again when you have less time.”

(Walter Sickert to Denton Welch)

“When words lose their meaning, people lose their freedom”

(Confucius)

Press Release: English Learners Speak for Themselves in World’s 1st Documentary Series on Learning English

“The Learning English Video Project” is a first of its kind 7-part series of documentary films about people learning English on 5 continents. Each film features people in 7 countries who have their own methods and reasons for learning English. The series provides a glimpse into the global ESL (English as a Second Language) community. Filmed in Morocco, Romania, USA, Spain, China, Brazil and the UK, the series will be released free online (with and without English subtitles), together with free suplementary resource materials for learners and teachers, so that it can be viewed as pure documentary or learning tool as well.

Full press release with web and high-res images and video

In these times of apparent worldwide economic gloom and despair emanating from the collapse of the USA’s financial system, you may have heard reference on TV or elsewhere to the R word. What on earth is the R word?

Sometimes it is difficult for people to accept facts.  At such times, there may be certain words that people don’t like to say. If they need to express that word, they may use the first letter only, and hope that everyone else understands. It also suggests, and this is done partly in humour, that the word is a bad, “dirty” or otherwise offensive word.

So just what is the R word? Read on »

Is there a difference between optimum and optimal?

As adjectives, they have the same meaning: best; most favourable; most conducive to a good result

They both come from the Latin optimus, meaning “best”.

Look at these examples:

• What is the optimum/optimal childbearing age?
• We need to find the optimal/optimum solution.
• In our case, the optimum/optimal investment would produce a modest return at no risk.

Optimum can also be a noun, while optimal has two derivatives:

• optimally (adverb)
• optimality (noun)

A short story

“You don’t have to be French to enjoy a decent red wine,” Charles Jousselin de Gruse used to tell his foreign guests whenever he entertained them in Paris. “But you do have to be French to recognize one,” he would add with a laugh.

After a lifetime in the French diplomatic corps, the Count de Gruse lived with his wife in an elegant townhouse on Quai Voltaire. He was a likeable man, cultivated of course, with a well deserved reputation as a Read on »

Let’s try to understand the difference between these two words.

practical (adjective): useful and suitable for a particular purpose

• I love your kitchen. It’s really practical. Everything is in the right place, and at the right height.

practicable (adjective):  able to be done; can be put into practice

• Your idea about making a new car park is not practicable. There is not enough space.

Note that there are a few other meanings for “practical”.

People are often unsure about the difference between these two words. Indeed, they are very close in meaning.

to presume something (verb):  to believe something to be true, but without being 100% sure

• I presume you’ll come to my party. (I’ll be surprised if you don’t come, but I’ll accept your decision.)

to assume something (verb):  to take something for granted, to believe it without question

• I assume you’ll come to my party. (I expect to see you at my party. I will want to know why if you don’t come.)

Today I’d like to invite you personally to make your own page on EnglishClub.com. You can have:

• photos
• video
• music/audio
• blog
• friends
• and much more, all in English

Just click here to join myEnglishClub and start your page today! It’s easy!

You could win a prize for the best page!

Wishing you all a happy and prosperous coming year in 2009, whatever you do and wherever you are I hope you will enjoy a very successful year. Remember, your future is in your hands. Make of it what you will

And thanks for your support of EnglishClub.com in 2008. It would not be possible without you!!!

Every success,
–Josef Essberger