Posted on by

 

 

Translate

Quizlet – Vocabulary with English <> Your Native Language

Posted on by

Quizlet Flashcards are a great way to learn new English words.  There are many flashcard sets that let you study English words – translated from your native language.  Here’s a large set of flashcards (more than 1000!) with English and Portuguese:

If viewing on your phone, it may be better to use the free Quizlet App (Apple, Android).

Here is a vocabulary Quizlet set for Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Russian

You can find more of these – for any language – on Quizlet.com, or in the App, by searching for “Vocabulary English Chinese”  (or whatever your native language is).

Vacation Week Ideas

Posted on by

If you have kids out of school this week, or just have extra time for yourself, here are some places to go – to see more of Boston and MetroWest, have some family fun, and practice your English:

Presidents’ Day

Posted on by

   Until the middle of the 1970s, February 22, the birthday of George Washington who was the first president of the United States, was a national holiday.  Also, February 12,  the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, the president during the Civil War, was a holiday in most states.  In the 1970s, Congress declared a single holiday, to be called Presidents’ Day, would be observed on the third Monday in February (Monday February 17th this year) to honor all past presidents.

Here’s a video rap to help you remember their names.

Here’s information about what places are open or closed on this national holiday…

Town/City Hall and other government offices and courts: Closed

Public Schools: Closed (Part of February vacation week)

Senior Center: Closed

Public Library: Closed

Supermarkets: Open

Retail stores: Most are open

No Mail Delivery

What Does This Mean?

Posted on by

Don’t say: 
– What it means?
– What this means?
– What means this?
– What means [xx]? (such as What means hyperbole? or What means doodle?)

Say this:
– What does it mean?
– What does this mean?
– What does [xx] mean?  such as…
– What does hyperbole mean?
– What does doodle mean?

Remember:

  • When you don’t understand what something means and you want to ask someone about it, start your question with What does...
  • What does this emoji mean?  
  • What does sibling mean?

Groundhog Day

Posted on by

February 2nd is a small, fun/silly holiday called Groundhog Day.  You may see it mentioned on the news – especially during the weather report.  According to legend:

  • If the groundhog sees his shadow on Feb 2nd, there will be 6 more weeks of winter
  • If he doesn’t see his shadow, there will be an early spring

Did he see his shadow this year?   No, he didn’t see his shadow.  Here’s the ceremony  – in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania…

There’s also a popular romantic comedy movie called Groundhog Day that you might enjoy watching.

Martin Luther King

Posted on by

  Monday January 20th, is the Martin Luther King Day holiday.  Martin Luther King spent his life working for equal rights for African Americans, and all Americans. He was an important civil rights leader and minister whose work helped lead to new laws against racial discrimination.

King’s most famous speech was at a protest rally for equal rights – in front of 250,000 people in Washington DC in 1963, which became known as the “I Have a Dream” speech.

Here’s a link to the entire 17 minute speech on YouTube.