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August 31, 2015 Students who completed the Blue Level may take two tests to see how well they did in the first month of lessons: Blue Level Test #1 / Blue Level Test #2 The answers to the tests are here. If you are new to this website, it’s a good idea to see how well you do on the first two tests. I’m hoping that a large new group of students will begin on the Blue Level starting tomorrow, September 1. New students should print out the Blue Level checklist and use it to monitor progress on the website. The word of the day is "create." August 29, 2015 This is a new exercise for the Orange Level. It matches a video that I made last week. I added a new audio track to this pronunciation exercise. The word of the day is "cool." As we move towards the season of fall, the weather here in the midwest goes from hot and warm to cool. August 28, 2015 You can never spend too much time learning about irregular verbs. This is today’s Yellow Level lesson. The most confusing among these verbs are be, do, and have. The word of the day is "you." August 27, 2015 In Blue Level Lesson Twenty-seven, students learn how to use "would like" when making polite requests. This sounds so much better than using the verb "want."
The word of the day is "strange." August 26, 2015 Do you know the eight parts of speech in English? This Yellow Level lesson will help you develop new vocabulary skills. Let’s take the word of the day, "taste," as an example. The word "taste" can be a verb:
It can be used as a noun:
It can also be used as an adjective with the addition of a suffix:
August 25, 2015 Are you following the schedule on the home page? For students who are new to the website, the lessons for today are as follows: Blue Level Lesson Twenty-five: the verb "want," present tense Red Level Lesson Twenty-fve: opposite adjectives Yellow Level Lesson Twenty-five: the future perfect tense The word of the day is "wrong." This is an interesting news story about a possible future transportation system. It’s produced by VOA Learning English. I like the rolling captions and the slow pace at which the story is read.
If you like the approach that they take in creating this video, let me know. I could very easily whip up a weekly news program similar to this for the website. August 24, 2015 The word of the day is "vanish." August 23, 2015 Click here for the newest Word of the Day quiz. The word of the day is "trend." August 22, 2015 There’s a new Green Level quiz for causative verbs. A student requested this. August 21, 2015 The word of the day is "salary." A salary is different from an hourly wage. If you are working right now, you should learn how to talk about your salary. August 20, 2015 Here’s a new video that explains a few things about how to use the word "eat."
After viewing this video and the one that was released on Monday, try to complete this exercise: Directions: Choose the correct forms of the words "eat" or "drink." 1. Tony was hungry, so he got something ____ ______. 2. _________ coffee in the morning is very popular in the U.S. 3. Last night I ______ too much pizza. 4. _______ you _________ any of this cherry pie yet? 5. The kids were so thirsty they _______ all of the water. 6. If you _________ too much wine you might get sick. 7. The students _____ _________ lunch in the cafeteria right now. 8. ________ too much junk food is not healthy for you. 9. John has a headache. I think he had too much _____ ______ last night. 10. Mary has a stomachache. She _______ too much cake and ice cream. How did you do? The answers are below Answers: August 19, 2015 The word of the day is "run." August 18, 2015 Do you like to wear clothing that has pockets? Pockets are very useful for carrying things. I keep my keys, my cell phone, my wallet, and extra change (coins) in my pockets. This is the word of the day. August 17, 2015 The word of the day is "drink." This is an extremely common word in English, but be careful when using the past participle form of the verb! Click here to take a look and have a listen. Here’s a new video for the word "drink."
August 16, 2015 This week I have some time to make new videos. If you have any suggestions, please send them to me: [email protected] In the subject field enter "idea for a video." Because I get between two to three hundred emails per day now, it’s important to flag the subject. Thanks! The word of the day is "pain." I sent one of my kids off to college today, so I’m really feeling it. August 15, 2015 The word of the day is "comfortable." This is a very hard word for to pronounce. You can’t say it too slowly or else it will sound strange.
August 14, 2015 I sent out an email today which included an exercises for the "going to" future tense. Did you get it? August 13, 2015 The word of the day is "legal." August 12, 2015 I’m on the road today. What does it mean to be "on the road"? A person who is on the road is traveling, usually long distance and usually in a car. August 11, 2015 Did you receive today’s email from your teacher? If not, make sure you signed up to receive free emailed lessons, exercises, quizzes, and other good stuff. You can sign up on the home page. August 10, 2015 Here’s a new YouTube video for students who feel they need help with conversations that take place when first meeting someone:
The word of the day is "involve." August 9, 2015 Blue Level students study the verb "have" today in Blue Level Lesson Nine. Red Level students learn the differences between "a few" and "a little." Yellow Level students compare the past tense with the past continuous tense. Are you following the daily schedule for your level this month? The word of the day is "heavy." August 8, 2015 I’ve updated my privacy policy to let everyone know that my website uses cookies as a means for learning more about who my students are and where they are from. Cookies are important because they help advertisers serve ads on this website. Advertising is what helps keep this website free. If you prefer not to see ads here, I have no problems with that, but then you really should make some sort of financial contribution to help keep the website online. Thanks! The word of the day is "grind." August 7, 2015 There’s a new Think in English exercise: a woman The word of the day is "grill."
August 6, 2015 There’s a new reading exercise for the Yellow Level: Living in the city can be interesting and fun. The word of the day is "fall." Today is the sixth of August, so you should be working in Lesson Six of whatever level you are focusing on this month. August 5, 2015 I just added audio to Popular Expressions Used in the U.S. — H. I don’t know how much these lists of expressions are helping people, but they seem to be popular among visitors to the website, so eventually I’ll add audio to all of them. August 4, 2015 The word of the day is "dark." This is a good word to use when describing light, color, and moods. Blue Level students learn what nouns and pronouns are today. Red Level students about commands. Yellow Level students learn how to make verbs negative in the present perfect tense. This new video might help you with today’s Yellow Level lesson:
August 3, 2015 Students in all levels are studying in Lesson Three today. In Yellow Level Lesson Three, students learn how to form the present perfect tense. This is a very important verb tense because it’s used to describe the passage of time. To form the present perfect tense you need two verbs: has or have + a past participle Choosing between "has" or "have" depends on the subject of a sentence or a question. If you know how the verb "have" changes in the present tense, you know what I’m talking about. The past participle, however, is not always an easy choice. If the verb is regular, just add on an "ed" ending. But if the verb is irregular, you might have to remember how the word changes. Here’s a list of common irregular verbs showing their past tense forms and past participles. If you are a new student on this website, today’s lesson for you is in the Blue Level. Lesson Three shows you how to form questions with the verb "be." If you finished the Blue Level and are working in the Red Level, Lesson Three shows you some differences between the helping verbs "do" and "did." The word of the day is "chip." August 2, 2015 I notice a lot of my students are viewing this website with mobile devices. That’s great, but remember the best way to use this website is with a desktop computer. It’s so much easier to see the lessons that way, and it’s easier to write down answers from a larger screen size. One of the the keys to learning English online is writing down what you see and hear. If you aren’t writing, what are you doing? You can find your lessons for this week on the home page. The word of the day is "beige." Beige is a color that looks like this: August 1, 2015 Each course level on this website has a checklist. Keep the checklist next to your computer, tablet, or phone and use it to track your progress as you move through each level: PRINT: The word of the day is "anxiety." Click here to go to July 2015 Click here to go to the LAEO Blog Archive. o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o |