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Mona wrote:
“Hello teacher joe!!!
my name is mona. I’m from Brasil. I don’t speak english… I’m lost… Could you help me?thank’s…”
I made some web pages all about learning English well. Just go to How to Learn English Well. Try some the ideas for improving your speaking and let me know what you think.
www.teacherjoe.us/Learn.html
Late last night, I returned to Beijing from my hometown. One month back home felt great although I ate a bit too much pizza and ice cream! I also spent a lot of my time at home preparing my new website, Laugh and Learn English which I plan to open officially in September. For now, I have two or three pages in each of the six sections. You have already seen one of the English riddles, but now you can see English jokes, Strange News Stories, funny mistakes in English, interesting “Phunny Photos“, and funny videos.
Starting in September, I will have one new page in each section every week. For now, though, I am waiting for your feedback so I can make these pages even better. Please let me know of any problems you have or if you think the pages are either too easy or too difficult. Enjoy! (^_^)
Hi Everybody,
I’ve been very busy recently looking for a new job while also dealing with other, personal, issues. Although I haven’t had time to post here, I have put up some simple web pages that provide a variety of daily lessons. I’ve mentioned the games before, but there are other interesting lessons too, including new jokes and new quotes. Check them out here:
As always, I welcome your comments!
Okay, the Hangman game wasn’t very popular - too easy, as Rosa pointed out (and for most students, she is right!) and can become boring. Here is a better game for you to try:
http://www.teacherjoe.us/Learn_English88.html
You can try to guess the word from the definition first, then listen to the word by clicking on the “speaker”. Be sure to use the “easy” mode. Many of the “easy” words are even difficult for me! Good luck and please don’t give up. I think you can really learn a lot from this game. Be sure to let me know what you think!
Hi Readers!
What do crazy people and some good language learners have in common? No, this is not the Riddle of the Week! So, let me give you the answer. Some good language learners practice by talking to themselves. They try using vocabulary and sentence structures that they’ve been studying to think about what they are doing in their daily life. You can read more about this Talk to Yourself approach by clicking here.
What do you think? Do you ever do this? If so, how often, and what were the results. If not, do you think it might be helpful to you? Who do you think this can help the most, beginners, intermediate students or advanced students?
When a younger sibling (a brother or sister) copies their older sibling, the older one might call the younger one a “copycat”. Older children often say “Don’t be a copycat!”. Well, here’s a riddle about some copycats:
Ten copycats were sitting in a boat, and one jumped out. How many were left?
Yes, this was pretty easy. Of course if one jumps out, nine should be left. However, as Nafis pointed out in the Comments section, since they are copycats, all of them will follow the first. So, there would be zero left!
Today I was noticing how my students are reluctant to change old habits, even if those habits are holding them back from achieving their goals. So, in my classes, I try to get students to try many different ways to practice, helping them to break bad learning habits. How about you? Do you always practice the same way? Do you feel your learning is boring and maybe too slow? Here is one idea to try to help you liven up your speaking practice:
http://www.teacherjoe.us/LearnEnglish15.html
I think this can help you. Let me know what you think!
Many children’s riddles are based on letters of the alphabet. Here’s an example:
Why is the letter A like a flower?
Okay, nobody even attempted to guess this time. You might think about things that go with flowers - a beautiful scent, sunshine, green grass, bees… Bees! And what comes after the letter A? The letter B! So, why is the letter A like a flower? Because it is always followed by a B!
Here is one of my favorite childhood riddles:
Do you know why birds fly to south in the winter?
Okay, nobody guessed the answer this week, but I will give a bonus point to Hanane for trying. And in fact, she did get half the answer right: birds fly south for the same reason I flew south to Sanya this week - because it’s much too far to walk! (My legs would be really tired if I came on foot, though flapping my arms all the way is pretty exhausting too!)
To understand a riddle like this, you have to think literally. Normally, we just assume that birds (or tourists) will fly to their destination, so we focus on the end of the sentence and think of why they go south. But this answer surprises us by focusing on the how - flying instead of walking. I guess another answer could be, “Because taking a taxi would be too expensive”!
Here is the riddle of the week:
What are two things people never eat before breakfast?
The answer is “lunch and dinner” (or “lunch and supper”). The correct answer was given by reader Tony first, then by reader Sourabh. Congratulations to both!
I plan to have a new riddle every week. How many will you guess right?
