Vocabulary Unit 21
Going to extremes
2A 2f Language in context - Sounds
Eerie
strange and mysterious and a bit frightening
Deafening
so loud you can't hear anything
Hammering
to make a sound by repeatedly hitting something hard
Whining
to complain in a high, unpleasant voice
Gurgle
the sound an empty stomach makes
Roar
a long, loud, deep noise
Thump
the sound of a heartbeat
Whisper
the sound made by using only a soft breath to speak
Decibels
units to measure sound loudness
2A 5a Vocabulary - Multi-word verbs: Social interaction
Fitting in
"Talking is a way of fitting in, y'know, a way of showing that we belong to a social group"
Come across
"How would I come across to other people?"
Cut off
"... people go into some kind of retreat to cut themselves off from the world"
Slip out
"... when someone held a door open for me and a little 'thank you' slipped out"
Relate to
"The most interesting thing was the way other people related to me"
Bombard with
"She bombarded me with questions"
Go on about
"He always goes on about something when I go and see him"
Run down
"He usually likes to run down some politician or other"
Bring out
"... my silence brought out the best in people"
Hold back
"I wanted to, but I had to hold myself back"
2B 3a Vocabulary - Verbs of movement
Soaring
"you'll go soaring inside a vertical wind tunnel"
Whizzing
"whizzing over ski slopes"
Rolling
"rolling downhill at great speed"
Zooming
"prepare to zoom down a steep slope"
Plunging
"plunging 18000 feet through the air"
Hurtling
"hurtling down a volcanic slope"
Whooshing
"whooshing down whitewater rapids"
... tbc
20191112
Vocabulary Unit 1
Language
1A 3a Vocabulary - Language learning
pick up
learn something quite easily by being exposed to it
"she picked up the language dish by dish"
brush up
improve your knowledge of something you've partly forgotten
"Her career forced her to brush up her schoolgirl French"
grasp
understand something, especially something difficult
"grasp some of what they were saying"
rusty
less able because you are out of practice
"If I am away for a bit I'll get rusty"
1A 3b Vocabulary Focus a - Language learning
... able to acquire language without much formal training.
I really struggle with English idioms ...
... not sure if I'll ever attain a native speaker level of competence ...
... he quickly got accustomed to the sound of the language.
I have brushed up my Arabic ...
Penny is lucky, she has an ear for languages.
... he found he could hold a conversation in Italian ...
Unless I put a new piece of language into practice immediately, I forget it.
You need to keep at it if you want to succeed.
... and really immersed herself in the language and culture.
It's easy to pick up phrases like 'hello' ...
... I found it difficult to get to grips with the pronunciation.
I am sure I am rusty.
1A 3b Vocabulary Focus b - Language learning
hold a conversation
grasp new ideas
get accustomed to
put into practice
acquire a new language
attain a level of competence
1A 5a Vocabulary - Noun forms
reluctant: reluctance
necessary: necessity
motivate: motivation
expose: exposure
1A 5b Vocabulary Focus d - Noun forms
adjective/verb/noun
1. interactive / to interact / interaction
2. distracted distracting / to distract / distraction
3. dedicated / to dedicate / dedication
4. limited / to limit / limitation
5. motivated motivating / to motivate / motivation
6. necessary / to necessitate / necessity
7. capable / - / capability
8. mental / - / mentality
9. reluctant / - / reluctance
10. interfering / to interfere / interference
11. competent / - / competency
12. literate / - / literature
13. exposed / to expose / exposure
14. - / to acquire / acquisition
15. insightful / - / insight
16. prestigious / - / prestige
17. disciplined / to discipline / discipline
1B 3a Vocabulary - Describing changes
a. the speed of a change: a steady shift, a rapid rise, gradually giving way to
b. that a change is in progress: ongoing
c. how easy a change is to see: barely perceptible, entirely unnoticed, noticeable, subtle
d. about something that is decreasing: gradually giving way to, on the way out
e. how big or important a change is: hugely significant, grown substantially, subtle
f. that a change is long-term or permanent: lasting
g. about something that is increasing: on the increase, taking hold, grown substantially, a rapid rise
1D 3b Writing skills - Expressing opinions
Disagreement
- That simply isn't true
- That's easy to say, but ...
- How can you possibly say that?
- That's a load of rubbish
- That's nonsense
- You are missing the point
- There is no way
- That doesn't make sense
Agreement
- That makes a lot of sense
- You've hit the nail on the head
- I would go along with that
- You're spot on
Uncertainty
- I've got mixed feelings about that
- I'm in two minds about this
Partial agreement/disagreement
- You've got a point, but ...
- It's true that ... but ...
- On the other hand, I do feel ...
- I agree up to a point
read-through recording
Language
1A 3a Vocabulary - Language learning
pick up
learn something quite easily by being exposed to it
"she picked up the language dish by dish"
brush up
improve your knowledge of something you've partly forgotten
"Her career forced her to brush up her schoolgirl French"
grasp
understand something, especially something difficult
"grasp some of what they were saying"
rusty
less able because you are out of practice
"If I am away for a bit I'll get rusty"
1A 3b Vocabulary Focus a - Language learning
... able to acquire language without much formal training.
I really struggle with English idioms ...
... not sure if I'll ever attain a native speaker level of competence ...
... he quickly got accustomed to the sound of the language.
I have brushed up my Arabic ...
Penny is lucky, she has an ear for languages.
... he found he could hold a conversation in Italian ...
Unless I put a new piece of language into practice immediately, I forget it.
You need to keep at it if you want to succeed.
... and really immersed herself in the language and culture.
It's easy to pick up phrases like 'hello' ...
... I found it difficult to get to grips with the pronunciation.
I am sure I am rusty.
1A 3b Vocabulary Focus b - Language learning
hold a conversation
grasp new ideas
get accustomed to
put into practice
acquire a new language
attain a level of competence
1A 5a Vocabulary - Noun forms
reluctant: reluctance
necessary: necessity
motivate: motivation
expose: exposure
1A 5b Vocabulary Focus d - Noun forms
adjective/verb/noun
1. interactive / to interact / interaction
2. distracted distracting / to distract / distraction
3. dedicated / to dedicate / dedication
4. limited / to limit / limitation
5. motivated motivating / to motivate / motivation
6. necessary / to necessitate / necessity
7. capable / - / capability
8. mental / - / mentality
9. reluctant / - / reluctance
10. interfering / to interfere / interference
11. competent / - / competency
12. literate / - / literature
13. exposed / to expose / exposure
14. - / to acquire / acquisition
15. insightful / - / insight
16. prestigious / - / prestige
17. disciplined / to discipline / discipline
1B 3a Vocabulary - Describing changes
a. the speed of a change: a steady shift, a rapid rise, gradually giving way to
b. that a change is in progress: ongoing
c. how easy a change is to see: barely perceptible, entirely unnoticed, noticeable, subtle
d. about something that is decreasing: gradually giving way to, on the way out
e. how big or important a change is: hugely significant, grown substantially, subtle
f. that a change is long-term or permanent: lasting
g. about something that is increasing: on the increase, taking hold, grown substantially, a rapid rise
1D 3b Writing skills - Expressing opinions
Disagreement
- That simply isn't true
- That's easy to say, but ...
- How can you possibly say that?
- That's a load of rubbish
- That's nonsense
- You are missing the point
- There is no way
- That doesn't make sense
Agreement
- That makes a lot of sense
- You've hit the nail on the head
- I would go along with that
- You're spot on
Uncertainty
- I've got mixed feelings about that
- I'm in two minds about this
Partial agreement/disagreement
- You've got a point, but ...
- It's true that ... but ...
- On the other hand, I do feel ...
- I agree up to a point
read-through recording
20191110
I personally find today a sad day.
The Spanish election results fill me with an uneasy feeling.
I am sad and scared at the same time. I dread the public conversation over the next months.
20191104
Back from class now ...
Not sure how I feel ... somewhere between very annoyed and depressed ... I guess I am both at the same time.
Not sure how I feel ... somewhere between very annoyed and depressed ... I guess I am both at the same time.
20191101
Today is a bank holiday ... it's, oh, so quiet, shhhhh
LOL
The UK was meant to leave the EU yesterday at 23:00 ... but nothing happened.
A few days ago the EU granted a three months flexi-extension at the request of the British government, and promptly the UK decides to call a general election for December the 12th.
So another extension basically wasted.
The last extension was for six months and the Conservative Party thought it useful to have a leadership election, and in doing so elect a new Prime Minister. Six months down the drain from the EU's perspective. And now another three months busy with an election.
The EU better be preparing themselves for another so called flexi-extension at the end of January.
Meanwhile, in the USofA, the House of Representatives has formalised the impeachment inquiry against their President. Not a single vote from the Republican side. So polarised.
Today at some point, to take my mind of the news and the boredom of a bank holiday, I will be looking at page 141 from the book and doing some studying.
Still no comments at all on my blog post from the 29th ... and to my knowledge no other posts for me to comment on.
20191030
Back from class now.
Before the class we had a little Halloween do, with sweets and drinks, decorations and some face masks to choose from. It was fun.
The winners of the Horror Short Stories writing competition were announced. And I was 'lucky' to be chosen as the winner of the English Level C category .... but, I have a sneaking suspicion that my entry was the only entry. Easy to win when there is no competition. But hey, I made the effort. Sometimes success is just showing up, to paraphrase Mr Allen.
By the way, Manuel did not even give the chance to pretend that I am shy or something, and pretty much 'forced' me to read my story to the attending audience.
'Forced' meaning 'encouraged'.
Here is a link to the story I wrote ... I hope it does scare you a little bit.
The Little Laugh
:)
I got talking to a couple of people afterwards, particularly remember a fellow student named Edu (A2) and one teacher named Marilo (I think!) ... she mentioned to me that there is a meetup.com English conversation group in Boiro. I will be eternally grateful to her for that tip. Whether the group turns out to be active or not remains to be seen, but it is a great lead on my quest to practice my English more regularly.
Thank you so very much to all the EOI Noia team for a lovely evening!
Before the class we had a little Halloween do, with sweets and drinks, decorations and some face masks to choose from. It was fun.
The winners of the Horror Short Stories writing competition were announced. And I was 'lucky' to be chosen as the winner of the English Level C category .... but, I have a sneaking suspicion that my entry was the only entry. Easy to win when there is no competition. But hey, I made the effort. Sometimes success is just showing up, to paraphrase Mr Allen.
By the way, Manuel did not even give the chance to pretend that I am shy or something, and pretty much 'forced' me to read my story to the attending audience.
'Forced' meaning 'encouraged'.
Here is a link to the story I wrote ... I hope it does scare you a little bit.
The Little Laugh
:)
I got talking to a couple of people afterwards, particularly remember a fellow student named Edu (A2) and one teacher named Marilo (I think!) ... she mentioned to me that there is a meetup.com English conversation group in Boiro. I will be eternally grateful to her for that tip. Whether the group turns out to be active or not remains to be seen, but it is a great lead on my quest to practice my English more regularly.
Thank you so very much to all the EOI Noia team for a lovely evening!
20191029
What do you call a language that is designed to hide and twist the facts? What do you call a language that manipulates the facts into something it later claims to be the truth?
The Language of Politics.
We are all politically biased, that is inevitable. Taxes become ‘redistribution of wealth’ or ‘confiscation of earnings’ depending on your political leanings. And all issues are political issues.
But the language in politics is used to deliberately mislead to hide unpleasant facts or to highlight and claim pleasant ones; often both at the same time, always trying to appease both sides of the argument, at least not to alienate any of the sides. ‘We successfully managed to reduce the cost base and restructure the company’.
At its most dangerous the language in politics is used to fan the flames of hate and appeal to basic instincts of war and survival. Them against us. Immigration rethoric examples abound.
The most successful politicians were the ones that navigate the fine line of political language for the longest before they are found out. Over the past few years it has become acceptable to polarize the bases with blunter and bolder language, getting closer and closer to the danger zone of politics.
It is imperative that we all educate ourselves in understanding the use politicians make of language. It is not a very difficult task, but it takes a bit of effort.
I suggest starting by breaking our own echo chambers and try to read two newspapers from opposite sides of the political spectrum. Only when you read both sides of the same story, you can start to see the facts in the middle and make up your own mind.
(286 words)
(This is my post relating to the task "Journal post and comment" proposed by Manuel on edmodo)
20191027
Sunday.
Haven't blogged since the 21st, six days ago. That is just terrible of me!
Over the classes this week we finished Unit 1 from the book.
The overarching theme of the lesson was imprecision ... although I am sure there is a better way of putting it.
Agreement and disagreement degrees, vagueness, understatement, nuances, even the use of the perfect tense of verbs, were all studied in this unit and it made for a very interesting learning experience. Yes, we can all speak English now, so it is high time we start being flexible with it. Less talking in absolutes and more expressing relative thoughts. Relative to whomever else might be in the conversation.
On Thursday I went again to Ribeira and met with some English assistant teachers. It is so nice to have a proper conversation in English; I really wish it was a daily occurrence.
I met Esther from Houston, Texas; she teaches at two schools in Boiro. I also met Clarissa, from the UK; she teaches in Ribeira. Clarissa brought along her little daughter Athena. Such a lovely name in my opinion.
Also there were Madeleine and DeVaughn, from Minnesota and Texas respectively, if my memory serves me well. Both I had met the previous Thursday.
And, of course, Pepe was there too!
And that is that about Thursday.
Today ... Binomial pairs ... one of those things one does not know one already knows, if that makes sense.
I have learnt that they are short expressions that are incredibly common in English. I have used them before countless times, and never even knew they were a thing or had a name.
Examples:
first and foremost
time and time again
loud and clear
part and parcel
sooner or later
little by little
step by step
good and proper
give or take
short and sweet
hustle and bustle
now or never
take it or leave it
rise and shine
flesh and blood
sink or swim
sick and tired
and hundreds, possibly thousands more! Live and learn!
Haven't blogged since the 21st, six days ago. That is just terrible of me!
Over the classes this week we finished Unit 1 from the book.
The overarching theme of the lesson was imprecision ... although I am sure there is a better way of putting it.
Agreement and disagreement degrees, vagueness, understatement, nuances, even the use of the perfect tense of verbs, were all studied in this unit and it made for a very interesting learning experience. Yes, we can all speak English now, so it is high time we start being flexible with it. Less talking in absolutes and more expressing relative thoughts. Relative to whomever else might be in the conversation.
On Thursday I went again to Ribeira and met with some English assistant teachers. It is so nice to have a proper conversation in English; I really wish it was a daily occurrence.
I met Esther from Houston, Texas; she teaches at two schools in Boiro. I also met Clarissa, from the UK; she teaches in Ribeira. Clarissa brought along her little daughter Athena. Such a lovely name in my opinion.
Also there were Madeleine and DeVaughn, from Minnesota and Texas respectively, if my memory serves me well. Both I had met the previous Thursday.
And, of course, Pepe was there too!
And that is that about Thursday.
Today ... Binomial pairs ... one of those things one does not know one already knows, if that makes sense.
I have learnt that they are short expressions that are incredibly common in English. I have used them before countless times, and never even knew they were a thing or had a name.
Examples:
first and foremost
time and time again
loud and clear
part and parcel
sooner or later
little by little
step by step
good and proper
give or take
short and sweet
hustle and bustle
now or never
take it or leave it
rise and shine
flesh and blood
sink or swim
sick and tired
and hundreds, possibly thousands more! Live and learn!
20191021
Yes, I missed a few days of blogging.
So let's try to recall the last few days ... I left it last Thursday when I had finished writing a short horror story.
After that, on Thursday evening I met a chap from Boiro who was going to Ribeira to meet an English speaking group and invited me to join them.
This comes from a whatsapp group of people that meet on Monday evenings in Boiro, but this guy does sometimes go to Ribeira on Thursdays to meet there too.
It turns our that the groups are centered around the native assistant teachers from the schools around Boiro and Ribeira. And the groups are named 'Intercambio' because are there to help those teachers to get familiar with the culture and language of Spain, well, Galicia in this case.
There were nine of us, seven native assistant teachers and two locals. Of the seven teachers, six were from the US and one from the UK. I did not get to talk to a few of them because of the table arrangement, but I managed to have a lovely conversation with the three that I had around me.
I felt a bit guilty for not speaking any Spanish to them, but I think they enjoyed the hour and half we were there. I certainly did!
I need to find out more about the group that meets in Boiro; like how many assistant teachers are there and if they are available any other day of the week.
What else?
Friday and Saturday were very quiet to be honest. Don't recall much. I guess I just watched the Brexit news unfold.
On Sunday I joined the "III Andaina Solidaria contra el cáncer de mama" ... my mum and dad were going, so I did too. It was very nice. Around three thousands people walked eleven or so kilometers around Boiro and paid ten euros for the privilege. I heard that well over twenty thousand euros will be sent to cancer charities.
Today we have class. I will be bringing the horror story to Manuel.
:)
So let's try to recall the last few days ... I left it last Thursday when I had finished writing a short horror story.
After that, on Thursday evening I met a chap from Boiro who was going to Ribeira to meet an English speaking group and invited me to join them.
This comes from a whatsapp group of people that meet on Monday evenings in Boiro, but this guy does sometimes go to Ribeira on Thursdays to meet there too.
It turns our that the groups are centered around the native assistant teachers from the schools around Boiro and Ribeira. And the groups are named 'Intercambio' because are there to help those teachers to get familiar with the culture and language of Spain, well, Galicia in this case.
There were nine of us, seven native assistant teachers and two locals. Of the seven teachers, six were from the US and one from the UK. I did not get to talk to a few of them because of the table arrangement, but I managed to have a lovely conversation with the three that I had around me.
I felt a bit guilty for not speaking any Spanish to them, but I think they enjoyed the hour and half we were there. I certainly did!
I need to find out more about the group that meets in Boiro; like how many assistant teachers are there and if they are available any other day of the week.
What else?
Friday and Saturday were very quiet to be honest. Don't recall much. I guess I just watched the Brexit news unfold.
On Sunday I joined the "III Andaina Solidaria contra el cáncer de mama" ... my mum and dad were going, so I did too. It was very nice. Around three thousands people walked eleven or so kilometers around Boiro and paid ten euros for the privilege. I heard that well over twenty thousand euros will be sent to cancer charities.
Today we have class. I will be bringing the horror story to Manuel.
:)
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