Sol was the Roman God of the Sun. All stars are suns
All the planets are names after Roman Gods, except Uranus who was a Greek God, and Earth which is an English-German word.
The first four planets from the sun are small, and have a rock centre (core).
The outer four are mostly made of gas.
The rings of Saturn, which look amazing and so beautiful, are just made of dust and ice, with bits of rock.
FUN FACTS:
The speed of sound is 343 metres per second (usually given as 330 m p s)
The speed of light is 299 792 458 metres per second or approximately 300 000 000 m p s or 300 000 km per second.
Sound cannot travel through a vacuum
To demonstrate the last point, show NOT tell. Here’s a good example (start around the 0:24 second mark): An iPhone not making sound in a vacuum.
Space Cadets Quiz
Who was the first man on the moon ?
Buzz Aldrin / Michael Collins / Neil Armstrong
What is the biggest planet ?
Jupiter / Saturn / Mars
The sun is a… ?
planet / star / moon
What is faster ?
light / sound / Ms Bao Tran speaking (just give the name of any talkative students, and then elicit the adjective talkative).
In space, people are … ?
heavier / lighter / weigh the same
The first animal in space was a … ?
monkey / elephant / dog
The crew of Apollo 11
Answers: Neil Armstrong / Jupiter / star / light / lighter / dog
The Last one could seem to be a trick question. The answer is Laika, the Russian dog. Fruit flies and then monkeys were first put into rockets but they didn’t go high enough to officially enter space.
Laika, the Russian space dog
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If you meet a new friend or business acquaintance, you may say
Hello, how are you ?
Very well, thank you, and yourself ? / I’m great, thanks for asking
How do you do ?
This question is formal, and the correct response is
How do you do ?
How’s it going ? How’s it hanging ? (these are both very informal)
All good, going well. / Yeah, I’m fantastic !
Asking about people’s jobs
What do you do ? I’m a designer at ABC company (then explain more about your work).
What line are you in ? Engineering.
What’s your profession ? I’m a nurse.
Asking about their family life
Remember, English-speakers can be quite private so don’t ask why a person isn’t married, or why a married person doesn’t have children
Are you a family man ?
Yes, I have a wife and two kids
You married ?
No, my job leaves me no time for romance !
Do you have kids ?
Ha, I’m married to my job
Asking about free time
How do you relax ?
I enjoy sports and meeting up with friends
How do you unwind ?
I just crash on the sofa and watch movies
What do you do in your spare time ?
I love to travel and drink beer.
Listening and vocabulary
Here is a very good video for extra practice
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Some people try blind dating which is arranging a date with someone that you don’t know. Maybe a friend suggests someone for you, or you go on television:
Please Note: All photos are taken from Google Images or free photo sites, and are used for educational purposes only. No copyright infringement or offense is intended. If I have used your photo or image, and you wish me to remove it, just ask. This site is not monetized, I run it on my own dollar. Thank you.
A compilation of animal videos for comprehension, information or just end-of-lesson entertainment.
First, a chance to practise superlatives.
What is the largest mammal ? // What is the smallest one ?
How much does a blue whale weight ?
What is the largest bird ? // What is the smallest one ?
What is the largest reptile ? // What is the smallest one ?
How long is the crocodile ? // How long is the dwarf gecko ?
What is the largest fish ? // What is the smallest one ?
How long is the whale shark ?
A whale shark can be up to 10 meters long
The text book, which I follow, uses the USA spelling (meters not metres).
Activity: Make two crosses at the front of the class. Have two students stand on them; one will ask the question, the other answer. Repeat until all the class has participated.
Encourage full answers:
How long is the whale shark ?
“It’s up to 10 meters long.”
OR
“The whale shark can be up to 10 meters long.”
Answers:
The blue whale // the bumblebee bat // [up to] 200 tonnes // ostrich // hummingbird // saltwater crocodile // dwarf gecko // whale shark // stout infant fish
Bonus points for additional facts such as a hummingbird can fly backwards, an ostrich can’t fly.
Secondly, amazing facts about the animal kingdom
When do ants sleep ? How do dolphins sleep ?
What can’t elephants do ? Is a giraffe noisy ?
How many hearts does an octopus have ?
How do butterflies taste ?
Why do camels have three eyelids ?
What is different about a hummingbird ?
How does a man penguin ask a woman penguin to marry him ?
And now, just for fun. Does an orangutan appreciate magic ?
Can a gorilla play drums ?
What can make a panda jump ?
Everybody, thank you for visiting this blog.
Happy year of the Tiger
Please Note: All photos are taken from Google Images or free photo sites, and are used for educational purposes only. No copyright infringement or offense is intended. If I have used your photo or image, and you wish me to remove it, just ask. This site is not monetized, I run it on my own dollar. Thank you.
My IELTS students have some speaking tests coming up, so I’d like to boost their confidence by giving them a speaking exercise. I shall choose topics they feel confident with, namely pets, and shopping.
Firstly, a reminder of what you need to do in order to pass with flying colours.
An introduction to the question
Use complex sentences and relative clauses
Use an idiom or two
Use L-FWs (replace basic words with ‘better’ ones e.g. use ‘ubiquitous‘ instead of ‘everywhere’ ‘tedious‘ instead of ‘boring’)
Check your pronunciation and intonation.
Now, without further ado, the questions:
Do you have any pets ?
Do you like shopping ?
What is your favourite possession and why ?
Image from unsplash.com
Let’s start with pets (I know one of my students has three cats).
Introduction
Do you like all animals, some or only one type ?
Are you allowed to keep pets where you live ?
Talking points
What are the names of the animals ?
How old are they ?
What do they look like ?
What are their personalities ? (You now have an opportunity to use great adjectives)
Where did you get them ?
Who looks after them ?
Do you have any funny stories about they did ? How do they make you feel ?
Idioms: burning the candle at both ends (Playing with my pets helps me unwind after I’ve been burning the candle at both ends with work and study.)
Moving on to shopping, so much to talk about …
freepik
Introduction
What do you feel about shopping ?
Is shopping something you dread doing, or is it fun, or even an obsession ? Are you a shopaholic ?
What stops you from shopping ? (Lack of money, or safety concerns now during the pandemic ?)
Talking points
Tell me about the types of shops and shopping areas (street markets, small independent stores, chain shops, malls).
What do you like buying most ?
With whom do you go ?
What else do you do at a mall ?
Do you have a funny story about buying something, or having to return an item ?
What do you think of online shopping ? What is good and bad about it ?
Is internet shopping becoming more popular in Vietnam (your country) ? Why do you think so ?
Idioms: costs an arm and a leg (I really enjoy going to Diamond Plaza and just looking at the beautiful designer dresses. However, as a student, I can’t afford one because they cost an arm and a leg.)
Sample answer
A Kindle Fire ebook and tablet
My Kindle
One of my favourite electronic devices is my Kindle, an ebook reader, which is small and light. I always take it with me when I travel; I’d be lost without it.
The Kindle is primarily a way to buy, store and read books in electronic format. At first, I wasn’t convinced, I liked reading real books. However, books take up a lot of space and, at least in the UK, are rather expensive. When I saw what a Kindle can do, and that so many books are free, I was hooked ! I had to get one. I bought my device in 2014 and I’m still using it today.
As mentioned, I use my Kindle for reading. Literature and poetry is one of my passions. Instead of going to a shop, I just browse the online store, click and wait for it to download. With reasonable wifi, this can just take a minute or so … then I can start reading. It is no surprise that ebooks are ubiquitous in the UK.
Although I read a lot, the Kindle is more than just an ebook. It has wifi so I can access the internet, play music, write notes and play games.
The wifi is vital, especially when I travel. I can maintain contact with friends and family, watch YouTube if the hotel TV is less than enthralling, or read travel guides such as Trip Advisor. Naturally, I can also book tickets or make reservations and therefore pay significantly less.
I recently travelled to Thailand to meet some friends. I didn’t want to buy a new SIM card, and my friend only had an old phone, so there was a dilemma; how to stay in touch ? Thanks to my Kindle, I had email access, so we could plan when and where to meet.
I can’t watch Vietnamese TV, due to the language barrier. Consequently, the Kindle plays an even bigger part of my life, as I need some way to relax after burning the candle at both ends.
The choice of books is amazing. In the stores, a single book can cost around £10, but recently I downloaded the entire output of the Russian writer Tolstoy for less than £1.50 … incredible !
Kindles come in many shapes and sizes, so before you buy, you need to ascertain how you’ll be using it. For example, do you want a basic ebook reader, just for books, or the latest model with wifi ? This will, naturally, affect the cost. Then you have to decide upon the extras, for example how much storage space do you require, or a super-fast charger or protective case ? All of these bump the price up considerably.
If you’re interested in purchasing one, I have some information for you. I did a quick Google search and saw prices started at under 2 million VND, averaged around 5 million, but some were over 15 million. That, for me, is too extravagant.
In conclusion, my Kindle is very much a part of my life. It accompanies me everywhere. I simply don’t know what I would do without it.
A UK expression meaning good luck
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I recently had some friends ask what I meant by Math Rock, and I must admit it is a type of guitar music about which I am still learning.
A very brief summary is that Math Rock is a sub-genre that emerged from the Hardcore scene of the mid 1980s. Some bands moved away from the distorted loud guitars and steady 4/4 beat of Rock ‘n’ Roll, to incorporate different time signatures and tempos, stopping and starting songs mid-way through, or changing the rhythm entirely. I also notice that a lot of bands use similar chords as Jazz musicians.
The term Math Rock was coined due to the musicians having to count the beat, for example,
“1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 1, 2, 3, 4 …” etc
Instead of the conventional,
“1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4 …”
However, as the adage states, ‘show, don’t tell,’ so here are but a few examples.
To kick off, a band I did know, Slint, formed in Kentucky, USA in the late 1980s. This track, ‘Breadcrumb Trail’ is from their seminal second album, ‘Spiderland’ (1991).
In the same year, Don Caballero were formed, in Pittsburg, USA, and are purely instrumental. Their third album, ‘What Burns Never Returns’ (1998) is highly regarded, and I’ve chosen one track from that LP.
At the end of the 1990s, a band from Illinois called American Football formed, released a self-titled debut album, then split up. This song, ‘Never meant’ is much praised among fans.
Now let’s move over to my neck of the woods, Asia, because Math Rock is global.
Tricot is a band that I mentioned in an IELTS blog. They were formed in Kyoto back in 2010, and have so far released six LPs including ‘Jodeki’ from December 2021. This video is for the song ‘Setsuyakuka’.They play music with stronger lead lines, pop-music hooks, and make a perfect introduction to Math Rock.
Also from Japan are Paranoid Void. The following video is a track from their LP ‘Literary Math’ (2017). This album may require a few plays to be fully appreciated. A lot of reviewers feel it lacks a certain punch, but try it for that laid-back feel, or if you need to study.
The video also show the guitarist’s pedal board, a collection of effects to create different guitar sounds.
Finally, let’s go to Taiwan and listen to ‘Elephant Gym’, a band blending bass lead lines and irregular, angular guitars. This is a live video and you can see how the bassist uses a technique called tapping, sometimes playing the strings on the neck of her bass with her right hand.
Be sure to let me know what you think. Are you in a Math Rock band, or are you interested in starting one ? Or is it simply not your cup of tea ? Thank you for taking the time to read this blog.
Happy Year of the Tiger
Please Note: All photos are taken from Google Images or free photo sites, and are used for educational purposes only. No copyright infringement or offense is intended. If I have used your photo or image, and you wish me to remove it, just ask. This site is not monetized, I run it on my own dollar. Thank you.
For a break from conjugating verbs (yes, I make my class recite verbs, the old-fashioned way and guess what – it works, go figure), here are some clips to chase away the grammar Blues.
Firstly, who doesn’t love a funny animal ?
How about some not so friendly animals ? One of my Top Cat students loves pandas and was adamant that they were always cute and cuddly and safe. I hated to break it to her, but the truth will out …
Occasionally a student will deliberately disobey a teacher. Recently, I reiterated some information about preventing COVID, namely not touching eyes, nose and mouth. No sooner said than a young man began ostentatiously inserting his fingers into his nostrils. What could I say ? I thought of a famous political phrase from former President Barack Obama:
You need only watch the first seven or eight seconds. You probably will watch it again, seven or eight times (unless you are the person to whom former President Obama referred).
To end on a happier note, look what you can do if you practice:
Yoyoka from Japan
A 6-year old Chinese girl – I wish i could play half as well.
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Richard III // Romeo and Juliet // Julius Caesar // A Midsummers’ Night Dream // Hamlet
Watch an excerpt from a performance at Shakespeare’s Globe in London
This is the funeral scene from ‘Romeo and Juliet’
How much can you understand ?
Please Note: All photos are taken from Google Images or free photo sites, and are used for educational purposes only. No copyright infringement or offense is intended. If I have used your photo or image, and you wish me to remove it, just ask. This site is not monetized, I run it on my own dollar. Thank you.
The photo shows Tricot who are a Japanese rock band. The band, who sing in Japanese, are very talented. I would love to see them. Furthermore, I really wish to visit Japan although hotels in Tokyo cost an arm and a leg.
Let’s review the idioms and vocabulary covered in our first lessons. Let’s kick off with:
Basic idioms:
it’s raining cats and dogs
it costs an arm and a leg
piece of cake
I’m burning the candle at both ends
once in a blue moon
pass with flying colours
turn over a new leaf
put your nose to the grindstone
Let’s put it to the test – what idioms would you use ?
It’s no problem at all, it’s a __________
She needs to get a high score, I want her to ______
I must be more serious about learning piano. I have to _______
The iPhone X is very expensive, it _______
You need to stop going out every night and missing school. You need to _____________
She dances all day, then sings all night; she’s _________________
Bring an umbrella if you go to the UK, it’s always ____________
Ms Anna simply adores Chanel perfume however, because it _____________ , she only wears it __________________________________.
Relative Pronouns
This lady, who wants to work in London, is studying hard for her IELTS.
who for people:
This is the man who helped me to learn German.
which for things:
We tried fish and chips which is delicious.
where for places:
Let’s go to the shop where we saw the great bargains.
Whose possessive:
That’s Tricot, the band whose record we heard last night.
Endgame
Can you remember, what word means ‘everywhere’ ?
Can you give me an example ?
Instead of saying, “I think,” you could say … ?
Again, please give me an example.
Answers
Ubiquitous:
In Sai Gon, which is the largest city in Viet Nam, coffee shops are ubiquitous.
Motorbikes are ubiquitous in Viet Nam.
Fast food shops are ubiquitous in the USA.
In my opinion
In my opinion, learning English is incredibly important.
Sai Gon, in my opinion, is the best city in Viet Nam.
In my opinion Tricot are absolutely amazing.
Goodbye, see you next class
Please Note: All photos are taken from Google Images or free photo sites, and are used for educational purposes only. No copyright infringement or offense is intended. If I have used your photo or image, and you wish me to remove it, just ask. This site is not monetized, I run it on my own dollar. Thank you.
Basic grammar is a continual problem with my online classes, that and the stubborn reluctance [contumacy for those who like to learn new words] to write down new words, or to learn from their mistakes.
Basic grammar is basically lacking.
Many older student will, I am sure, have traumatic memories of conjugating verbs endlessly, without ever applying them in real-life situations. Hence, I propose a synthesis; drilling of verb ending, and then applying them in simple sentences.
Enough preamble, let’s go to work !
The verb ‘to be’
Only teach constructions in upper level classes
I am // I’m
you are // you’re
he is // he’s
she is // she’s
it is // it’s
Mr John is // Mr John’s
we are // we’re
they are // they’re
Have students repeat until their grammar is perfect. Make games, see who can conjugate the verbs clearest and quickest.
Now … practice:
First let’s use an adjective:
happy / sad / lucky / hard-working / lazy
Let’s start with the adjective ‘happy’
I am happy // I’m happy
you are happy // you’re _______
he _____ \
she ______ \
it _______\
Mr John ______ \
we ____ \
they ______
Secondly, let’s use a continuous verb (verb + ing)
reading / playing / swimming / watching TV / eating
I am reading
you ___ _______
he __ _________
she __ _______
It __ _______
Mr John __ _____
we __ ______
they __ ________
The verb ‘to have’
I have
you have
he has
she has
it has
Ms Jane has
we have
they have
Now … practice:
Let’s use some common nouns
sister (or twin sister) / piano / dog / iPad / new book
I have a ____
you ____ ______
he ___ _________
she ___ _______
Ms Jane ____ _______
we ____ ______
they ____ _______
OK, Snoopy, enough is enough … but we have just started. More blogs to follow.
Happy 2022, the Year of the Grammar
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Thay Paul's Notes 