June 2013

One Point English Lesson: Look vs Look Like

happy-english-look-vs-look-like

Do you ever notice the shapes of clouds. When I was younger, I used to lie on the grass in the park and look up at the clouds. Sometimes they look like familiar things, like animals or flowers. When bad weather is coming, clouds can look ominous and scary.

Today, I want to show you the difference between using look and look like. I know this can be a confusing point for a lot of English Language students, but the rule is very easy to remember.  Look is followed by an adjective and look like is followed by a noun, or a noun phrase. Check out the lessongraphic above for some examples.



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May 2013

Confusing words in English: Try vs Challenge

happy-english-challenge-vs-try
Listen:



Have you ever tried taking an English exam like the TOEIC or TOEFL? If so, then you know how tough these exams can be. I think it is a great idea for all students to try one of these standard exams once a year. Doing so will help keep your English studies on focus and give you some objective feedback about your progress. I challenge you to try them!

Did you notice how I used try and challenge above? A lot of English learners confuse these two words.

Challenge

We only use challenge to talk about challenging another person. For example, I challenge you to a game of golf. You can’t challenge a thing, so “Next week I will challenge the TOEIC exam” doesn’t work.

Try

We use try to talk about trying something, like an exam, a sport, etc. For example, I tried playing golf for the first time last week.

So keep this basic idea in mind: Challenge a person, try a thing!



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You’re Never Too Old to Learn English: Ask this 80 Year-Old!

You’re Never Too Old to Learn English- Ask this 80 Year-Old!

With the help of Kaplan’s English school in Oxford, I am delighted to share the inspirational story of an 80-year-old student who traveled across the world to learn English.

According to Mr. Samuel Malheiros, it seems like it’s never too late to start studying English. The 80 year-old lawyer from Vitoria, Brazil, who is also the president of Vitoria’s Alliance Francaise, decided to pack his bags and fly all the way across the Atlantic to study at Kaplan International Colleges’ English language school in Oxford.

Mr. Malheiros, who already speaks a number of languages including French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, realized that it was about time for him to speak the world’s most widely understood language – English. Samuel said that he had studied English in the past but never got the chance to “do it for real” and practice speaking continuously. He said that he has always been interested in “analytical philosophy, which is very appreciated in Anglo-Saxon countries and I wanted to have the ability to be part of that as well.”

Of course, the news that he was going back to school at 80 years of age surprised his family, but they admired and supported his initiative to travel abroad and learn a new language.

When asked about his experience in Oxford he said, “During my studying and while participating in the school’s social activities, I’ve made friends at Kaplan from all over the world. Being in the same school with students of different nationalities means we have to speak English with each other all the time. It’s challenging and I enjoy it.” According to the school principal there, Samuel became very popular around young students and was able to make lots of friends by sharing his life experience through the common language of English for the first time. In fact, Mr. Malheiros is so determined to succeed in his new life goal so he has extended his stay at Kaplan’s Oxford school for a few more weeks.

So what’s next for this octogenarian?  He said that his journey isn’t finished yet. After his Kaplan course, he plans to continue traveling around the world and keep on speaking and learning English. What a heartwarming story. Are you studying English now? Never think you are too old. You can do it!

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English Preposition Lesson: Made by, Made with, & Made of

Do you like noodles? In many cultures around the world, noodles are a basic ingredient in many dishes. And no matter what kind of noodle dish you like, noodles always taste better when they are made by hand. Most noodles are made with wheat or some other kind of grain flour, and I think it is better to eat noodles from a dish that was made of ceramics.

Today, let’s look at the various prepositions used with the word made. This lessongraphic has all of the details and some examples:

happy-english-made-with-made-by-made-of



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