Do You Remember Your Air Travel Vocabulary?

Hello, students!

I hope you are having a nice summer. Mexico was VERY HOT. I have written about my trip on my personal blog. You can look at pictures from my trip if you want to. Mostly I wrote about the food and the birds. It's HERE: http://bordercitiesblooming.blogspot.ca/2014/07/mexico.html
And it continues on the next nine posts.

Everything we prepared for in class happened to me!

When we arrived in Mexico, we didn't get our bag. It was lost. After two days, they delivered it to us.

Because our flight from Phoenix, Arizona was late getting to Charlotte, North Carolina, we almost missed our connecting flight. But we didn't. We ran fast from one gate to another. The airline representative was very happy to see us coming. She said, "Great! That's everybody." They were waiting for us before closing the door!

And then our bag was again delayed. When it arrived, they drove it all the way from Toronto to Windsor and delivered it at 3:47 in the morning!!!

Can you remember the names of the things in the pictures? Please leave a comment and describe these pictures.

What do you see in this picture? Where am I? What am I doing?

Picture A

How about picture B? Where am I? What am I holding?

Picture B

And picture C? What am I opening? I hear the flight attendant coming. She has pop and peanuts.

Picture C

And how about picture D? You are right. I am finally in sunny Mexico. I am birding. I am wearing very strong sunblock.

Picture D

Many funny things happened on our trip. For example, we forgot to book a hotel room in Chicago for our nine hour layover. So we had to sleep on army cots in the airport. That was not much fun, but it makes a good story now. Now we can laugh.

Also, my boyfriend was stung by jellyfish while swimming in the sea. He is okay now. In addition to this, I forgot to load Mexican maps onto my GPS before we left. We had to buy a map at a convenience store.

When we come back to school in September, I am going to ask you about any trips you took this summer. Don't forget all the words we learned for travel! You will have to tell your classmates about your trip, especially any mishaps. Do you know the word "mishap?" It's a great word.

Please leave a comment today.  Thank you.

Kelly

Summer English Lesson #6 - Gone Fishing

Hello, students!

Today's lesson is especially good for those of you who fish or who stroll along the riverside. When you see someone else fishing, you can start a conversation by asking about their luck fishing.

Here are some ways to start the conversation:

"Hi! Caught anything?"

Or...

"Having much luck?"

These two are yes/no questions, so don't forget the rising intonation.

"What kinds of fish have you caught today?"

That's a wh- question, so your voice goes up on the word FISH, then down again.

If you are also fishing, you can tell the other person about your fish. You can say,

"I really like catching perch. They are delicious."

The most stressed words are PERCH and DELICIOUS.

You can also ask people how they cook their fish. You can say:

"Do you fry your fish? I steam mine." 

Those sentences are contrasting two ways of cooking, so you need to stress the words FRY and STEAM.

Give this a try the next time you are down by the water.

Summer English Lesson #5 - Small Talk

How's it going? Have you struck up a conversation with a stranger in pubic yet?  I hope so!  Please leave a comment here when you achieve this goal.

Here are some lessons and ways to practice to get ready.

Randall's Listening Lab has a lesson on small talk HERE.

Here's a good video about small talk.

Please practice small talk this week when you are in public.

You can compliment someone on a pretty blouse or nice watch.

You can admire a beautiful baby.

You can ask a dog owner about his/her dog.

You can comment upon the weather.

You can ask, "Are you following the World Cup?"  "Which team are you rooting for?"

Please leave a comment after you do the lesson.

Cheers!

Summer English Lesson #4 - A Beautiful Dog

Hello, students!

Today's assignment is for you to go down to the riverside area and strike up a conversation with a stranger. Here are three ways you can get the conversation started.

Conversation #1 - A Beautiful Dog
People love to talk about their pets. Here are some questions to get the conversation started, and more questions to keep the ball rolling.

1. That's a beautiful dog. Is it a HE or a SHE?
2. How old is he/she?
3. Have you had him/her since he/she was a puppy?
4. What breed is he/she?
5. I'll bet he/she really loves coming to the park!

Conversation #2 - A Beautiful Baby

People love to talk about their children! Here are some questions to get you started.

1. That's a beautiful baby. How old is she/he?
2. What's his/her name?
3. Does he/she like to come to the park?

From there you can give your new friend information about your grandchildren, nieces or nephews. For example: "I have a grand baby, but he/she is XX years old."

Conversation #3 - The Weather
Canadians love to talk about the weather. It's a safe topic. Let's try...

1. It sure is [hot / pretty out / windy / humid / nice] today, isn't it?

From there you can tell your new friend what the weather is like back in your hometown.

Good luck! Please LEAVE A COMMENT when you fulfil this assignment.

Kelly

How to Comment

Hello!

WeiYing wrote to me to tell me that YES, many of you ARE doing the lessons.  Please click the COMMENT link under each post. This is good practice writing. If you comment, I will answer.

For example, you can say:

Kelly, I went to a yard sale. I used my English. I bought a vase.

It's not difficult. Will you try?

I will post a new lesson tomorrow.

Bye for now!

Kelly