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English Gateway vocabulary lessons is a high quality resource for the intermediate and advanced ESL learners. Experience English as it’s really spoken in North America through authentic stories, professional audio, cultural information and a multitude of exercises on colloquial English expressions.

English Gateway membership includes: New ESL vocabulary lessons, ESL vocabulary worksheets and ESL vocabulary lessons plans are added each month. Your membership will include access to the new materials as they become available.

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English Gateway is hosting a workshop titled "From Intermediate to Advanced - Taking Vocabulary Skills to the Next Level" at 2009 SPEAQ Convention in Montreal, Quebec, November 12-14, 2009. If you're there, we hope you come and participate!

Join our workshop at the TESL Ontario Conference in Toronto, Ontario, December 10-12, 2009. We'll share ideas and materials on how to teach language chunks (idioms, phrasal verbs and collocations) in advanced ESL classrooms. See you in December!

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 Testimonials
ESL Worksheet: Describing Nature Collocations
armaan altaf khan said:
marvellous

ESL Worksheet: First Aid Kit - Are You Prepared?
Nasrin said:
It was great... helped me a lot!

ESL Worksheet: Sleep Idioms
Nerio said:
this is an interesting site to practice English, so we can improve our english.. thanks a lot for the people who create this web site.. my best wishes for you

ESL Exercise: Real Estate Collocations
Panmun Nehemiah said:
I love the lesson it is very educative

ESL Lesson Plan: Super-Duper - Talking About Fashion (based on the song “Putting on the Ritz”)
Youssef Emara said:
that is awesome work !! thank you SO much for sharing it ...a lots of effort has been done !! thanks again =)

ESL Lesson Plan: Super-Duper - Talking About Fashion (based on the song “Putting on the Ritz”)
Antonella said:
Thank you for sharing this great worksheet. It is extremely useful and it allows the practice and use of a lot of fashion vocabuary.

ESL Worksheet: Spring Cleaning - Get Your Place Spick and Span
Rasha Sakr said:
FANTASTIC

ESL Worksheet: Sleep Idioms
Alberto Juarez said:
What a great support you give to us who teach english so I just wanted to thank you for having such a site like this. Congratulations!

ESL Worksheet: First Aid Kit - Are You Prepared?
Alice said:
Bless you, I found this simply lesson plan good for a brief time. Thanks!

'Onto' vs. 'On To'
Maria G. said:
This is wonderful information. I was having trouble with: that would have been hard to hold on to / or onto. Thanks!

ESL Worksheet: Personality and Gift Giving
Rafael Moraes said:
I really loved this lesson! It's gripping, provides opportunities for guessing the meaning in a more discovering approach and also provides opportunities for recycling and using words in new context. Thanks a lot!

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

ESL Teacher Blog: What Are Language Chunks?

Language chunks are definitely one of the main ingredients of successful transition to the advanced levels of English. They’re what sets apart one language from the other, what makes each language distinct and unique. Noticing language chunks is a skill that needs to be well-developed by the intermediate level of English. If a student is unable to recognize common phrases and word combinations, s/he’ll stay at his/her current level and will never make it to the advanced stages.
 
The following are commonly referred to as language chunks:
 
Collocations are phrases that consist of words that recurrently co-occur together (derived from Latin locare ‘to locate’ and cum ‘together; introduced in 30s by John R. Frith).
 
dual citizenship but double occupancy
above zero but over 10 years (experience)
shipwreck but car accident
cut
hair but trim hedge
 
other terminology:
 
‘prefabricated chunks’, ‘phraseological units’, ‘multi-word combinations’
 
Idioms are expressions which meaning cannot be understood from the meanings of its component parts (derived from Latin ‘idioma’ - special property).

other terminology:

‘figurative language’, ‘not literal expressions’, ‘fixed expressions’, ‘invariant word expressions’
 
wet behind the ears
give the green light
 
Phrasal verbs are combinations of a verb and a particle (or particles).
 
other terminology: ‘multi-word verb’, ‘compound verb’, ‘verb-particle construction’
 
put off (verb + preposition)
get along with (verb + 2 prepositions)
take apart (verb + adverb)
 
Note: phrasal verbs are different from ‘prepositional verbs’.
 
Clichés are expressions that has lost some of its original meaning due to overuse:
 
other terminology: ‘catchphrase’
 
to be honest
born yesterday
at the end of the day
when all is said and done
 
Proverbs are sayings that expresses an observation or principle that’s generally accepted as wise or true:
 
Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
All that glitters is not gold.
Look before you leap.
 
Language chunks are pervasive and therefore should be extensively taught during class time. Sufficient practice of language chunks will help students avoid wordy ways of expression and make their speech more natural, fluent and spontaneous.
POSTED BY Olga Galperin AT 10:47 PM   0 Comments  Add Comment

Friday, November 06, 2009

ESL Student Blog: “Lest We Forget” - Remembrance Day Words and Phrases

On November 11 we take time to remember those who fought and died in wars.
 
The line ‘Lest we forget’ is associated with the Rememberance Day observations as a plea not to foget the sacrifices of the past (and present) wars and peace missions.
 
Lest means ‘so that not’. People observe Rememberance Day so that the memory and legacy of the fallen soldiers is kept alive forever. Often used as a part of ‘lest we forget’, lest is also used in other word combinations meaning ‘so as to prevent any possibility that something unpleasant might happen’:
 
They pressed the stop button and made their way to the rear door of the bus, lest they miss their stop.
 
Find more Remembrance Day words and phrases here.
POSTED BY Olga Galperin AT 12:36 PM   0 Comments  Add Comment

Vocabulary Learning Tips for ESL students 


Words are the first priority in learning a second language. Make a grammar mistake – people may still understand you, choose a wrong word...
read more...
Sound Natural top

Words, quite literally say it all.
They are the core elements of any language – the basic units of conversation, communication and connection with others.
read more...


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