viernes, 30 de noviembre de 2012

Homophones ....

.....  are words which sound exactly the same but have different meaning and spelling. Getting to know them could help you with your pronuntiation and your listening skills.
I am going to give you two sentences, an easy one -to build up your confidence- and a difficult one -to challenge you- so that you tell me the homophones, which I give you just with the phonetic transcription:

Your /sΛn/  was playing in the /sΛn/.
The /stɔ:k/ ate the /stɔ:k/ of the cherry.

...and now ... could you think of more examples using homophones in the same sentence??? Please share your examples in the comment box.




jueves, 22 de noviembre de 2012

Happy Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving Day Parade

    Today, I would like you to learn more about this tradition. I hope this image  makes you  want to find out something else.



For those of you who don't read the comments, here you can read what  my friend wanted to share with you about this festivity. Let me tell you that although she comes from Europe, she's been living in the US for 20 years.


Hello, argh the joy of Thanksgiving. As a foreigner, who has been living in the US for over 21 years, i must say this holiday has been growing on me. It is not about the Turkey or the gravy (i despise both, as i do not eat meat) or the green beens, but about enjoying the day in itself. We have been visiting my hostfamily every year for this holiday enjoying a not so traditional feast, because my hostfather's background is Lebanese. So in addition to the turkey (which hardly anyone eats anymore) a middle eastern feast is presented. And to describe it in one word it would be: scrumptious. What i enjoy about this holiday is the part of slowing down for the day, sleeping in, taking a walk (not this year however), watching the parade (yes it is a big thing..i heard people prepare for it a year at a time) and visiting with friends. Simple as that. Sometimes it is a good day to see a movie at night and sometimes it is just good coming home after consuming 1 million and 5 calories and putting the belly up in the air. Many individuals of course enjoy preparing after a day of eating for Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year. This year, it was a bit controversial, as many big stores opened on T-day evening or at midnight. Many workers were planning on demonstrating etc. I certainly do not understand the frenzy of shopping in the middle of the night for the newest tech gadget or worse camp out in the front of the store a week prior to the opening of Black Friday. But then again, this is America.

On that happy note, i will rest my belly (as i continued overeating today) and enjoy a quiet Black Friday in the comfort of our home, listening to the wind outside blowing over Lake Erie while snow flakes are coming down...(yesterday we had 13 degrees and sunshine)...
Greetings
Tanja