Learn the meanings of useful English slang, common idioms and phrases, and other tricky words that can help you improve your English!
Devon Balwit
January 16, 2017
Learn English SLANG, IDIOMS, & PHRASES! It’s Friday night and you have exciting plans. How do you express how you feel? One of the most basic ways is to say that you are looking forward to your evening. This phrasal verb means you are enthusiastic, eager, and excited about the future. We look forward to vacation. We look forward to the...Continue Reading...
Devon BalwitJanuary 2, 2017
Learn English SLANG, IDIOMS, & PHRASES! Here’s an example of the types of concepts we teach in our English classes: From the time we’re little, parents, teachers, and religion leaders try to tell us what is right and wrong, what is good behavior and what is bad behavior. As we grow up, these voices remain in our heads and influence our...Continue Reading...
Devon BalwitDecember 7, 2016
Learn English SLANG, IDIOMS, & PHRASES! December is a month of many holidays, both religious and secular (non-religious). Christmas and Hanukkah started as religious holidays. If you know that someone celebrates Christmas, you can wish her “Merry Christmas!” If you know that someone celebrates Hanukkah, you can wish him “Happy Hanukkah!” If you aren’t sure what someone celebrates, you can...Continue Reading...
Devon BalwitNovember 30, 2016
Learn English SLANG, IDIOMS, & PHRASES! Humans spend a lot of time reading each other. What do I mean by that? They want to know if they can trust one another. Trust is important for building relationships: friendships, romantic relationships, and business relationships. As a result, English has a lot of words and expressions that deal with trust. If someone trusts...Continue Reading...
Devon BalwitNovember 21, 2016
Learn English SLANG, IDIOMS, & PHRASES! Useful English VOCABULARY! What is the difference between “than” and “then”? We use “than” when we compare two things. An elephant is bigger than a mouse. A mouse is smaller than an elephant. In contrast, we use “then” to talk about time. A: Let’s get some ice cream later. B: Sure. When? A: How about 3:00? B: Okay....Continue Reading...
Devon BalwitNovember 2, 2016
How can I improve my English? Learn English SLANG, IDIOMS, & PHRASES! What are some idioms using ‘up’? English has a lot of expressions that use the word up. (be up to) What are you up to right now? This means “What are you doing?” To answer, you can say “Nothing much,” or you can describe what you are doing. For example, you could say, “I’m hanging...Continue Reading...
Devon BalwitOctober 31, 2016
How can I improve my English? Learn English SLANG, IDIOMS, & PHRASES! Do you know any idioms using ‘down’? Sometimes my students get really grumpy (in a bad mood) when they learn that the same word can function as different parts of speech (noun, verb, adjective, adverb) and that it can have many different meanings. In fact, many will try to argue with me. “Teacher,” they’ll say...Continue Reading...
Devon BalwitOctober 19, 2016
Important English GRAMMAR you should learn! Learn English SLANG, IDIOMS, & PHRASES! There is a big difference between “there are” and “they are”! Here’s an example of the type of topics covered in our English classes: What is the difference between “There are” and “They are”? There are means that something exists. The something must be plural (more than one). There does NOT mean “place” when used...Continue Reading...
Devon BalwitOctober 12, 2016
Learn English SLANG, IDIOMS, & PHRASES! In class today, my students and I were discussing Ben Franklin. Franklin is known for many things, but among them was a yearly almanac he published which, in his day, made him as famous as JK Rowling (Harry Potter author) is in our time. In his almanacs, Franklin published many sayings and suggestions about how...Continue Reading...
Devon BalwitSeptember 21, 2016
Learn English SLANG, IDIOMS, & PHRASES! When we get to know someone or they get to know us, or when we learn about someone new, we do so by speaking about habits. Look at the following example. Maria Carey is in the news again. What? Again?! She’s always in the news. Yup. It’s typical for her to seek attention. You can...Continue Reading...
