Someone or something upset the microbus drivers at Taxquena today. And in very Mexican style, they made their displeasure known by blocking off the main road outside the station at a very busy junction. Everyone else seemed to be videoing it with their cell phones, and as I haven’t much used my iPod Nano for video, I thought I’d give it a go! And so here it is, a glimpse into everyday life in Mexico City….protesters blocking off roads are not rare, by any stretch of the imagination!
English DF- Famous NounsMany a musician has used the English language to create great lyrics. Too few have ever created a great song for or about the English language, however. The language evolves in many different ways. Proper nouns to ordinary nouns is just one of the them.
- The Question
- Assignment DownfallKeep away from religion and politics. That’s the first and only rule of teaching English as a foreign language. Or so it’s said. Of course, if you get to know your students, you’ll learn what they are ok with and what territory is perhaps better left untrodden. It’s all about understanding where their sensitivities lie. You wouldn’t probably [...] […]
- The OPIt’s often said, tongue in cheek perhaps, that written English is a different language to spoken English. It’s easy to see why. Students will tend to struggle with quite a few bizarrely spelled words. Then there is the slight difference in pronunciation between British English and American English. And then there is Glaswegian English. Can [...]
- A LevelsMy teaching career has mostly been in the Business English sector. Going to my students places of work and embarking on tailor made courses. I’d introduce the industry specific vocabulary and phrases in relevant contexts and work through the grammar. Sometimes I’d sit in on a meeting. Other times, they’d bring samples of work into [...]
- The Polite EnglishThe differences between British and American English are, for the most part, fairly trite.And extra letter ‘u’ here and there. A slang word thrown in. But this sort of comparison isn’t, perhaps, the whole story. Even with virtually identical vocabulary, how we use the language can differ a great deal. Us Brits are renowned for [...]
- English In Ten MinutesDid the infographic I posted yesterday whet your appetite for learning about the origins of the English language? Today, a short video. Well, a ten minute video. Enjoy…
- The Birth of a LanguageHere’s an infographic to exercise your scrollbars. It’s a snapshot of the birth and subsequent evolution of the English language. If ever there was a language of the world, it is English. Not simply because it is now a globally used language. But because it’s a language that has been formed by huge numbers of [...]
- ResurrectionJust over two years ago, I put this site/blog to one side. My career as an English teacher in Mexico had ended. What more did I have to say on the subject? I had new projects to explore and develop. But life often works in circles and very soon I will be returning to Mexico, [...]
- FarewellAlas, it is time to say goodbye. It’s been a fabulous six years, living and working in Mexico City, but all good things must come to an end. Home is calling, and I shall be returning across the Atlantic from whence I came. This does, sadly, mean that I will no longer be able to [...]
- Famous Nouns
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