A New Year Resolution

Z przyjściem Nowego Roku wielu z nas robi postanowienia. Some people want to cut down on junk food, others are going to take up sport, etc. Jako, że ten blog dotyczy nauki języka angielskiego, w tym poście chciałabym podsunąć postanowienie systematycznej nauki tego (czy też innego) języka. I'm sure you realise that studying English regularly is hugely important to acquire the language effectively. Powinniśmy też pamiętać, że nauka w szkole dwa lub trzy razy w tygodniu to za mało. Besides, when you do a self-study at home, you take responsibility for your own learning. Zdając sobie sprawę z wielu korzyści, możemy zacząć akcję PÓŁ GODZINY ANGIELSKIEGO CO DZIEŃ! Interested? The question is what to do to keep the promise throughout the whole year and feel more confident at English. Przeczytaj poszczególne punkty, które, moim zdaniem, powinny znacznie pomóc:

1. Ustanów sobie realny czas, który poświęcisz na naukę tygodniowo. Powiedzmy, pięć dni w tygodniu po pół godziny (oczywiście wyłączając naukę w szkole, na kursach itp.)
2. Uczciwie spędzaj ten czas na nauce; pomyśl, że każda minuta spędzona na czytaniu lub mówieniu po angielsku pozwoli Ci być lepszym np. w porozumiewaniu się z obcokrajowcami. Pół godziny to nie dużo; skup się wyłącznie na nauce. Wyłącz telefon lub to, co może rozproszyć Twoją uwagę.
3. By mieć wymierne wyniki swojej pracy, a także większą motywację, prowadź dziennik swoich działań, czyli co zrobiłeś/aś danego dnia. Możesz założyć kalendarz poświęcony takim sprawozdaniom lub pisać w dokumencie na komputerze, wcześniej zapisując po kolei daty i zostawiając trochę miejsca.
4. Zanim przystąpisz do nauki zbierz wszystkie materiały, książki oraz inne pomoce. Ułóż je na jednej półce lub zapisz w jednym folderze tak, abyś miał(a) łatwy dostęp do każdej.
5.  Zdaj sobie sprawę z czterech umiejętności, które powinieneś/ powinnaś rozwijać:

• reading - czytanie (strony internetowe, magazyny, książki, mogą być skrócone, ważne by nie były zbyt trudne)
• listening - słuchanie (podcasty w internecie, audiobooki, radio a nawet płyty ze szkolnych podręczników do nauki angielskiego)
• writing - pisanie (ogromna różnorodność tematów w internecie, a także z podręczników lub własnego życia)
• speaking - mówienie (spróbuj znaleźć osobę, z którą możesz "pokonwersować" po angielsku lub mów do siebie, np. o tym, co robisz w danym momencie, co właśnie zrobiłeś/aś lub co zaraz zrobisz)

Reszta zależy od Ciebie, bo sam(a) znasz najlepiej siebie i wiesz, co Cie motywuje. Dla niektórych to mogą być na przykład drobne nagrody po każdym wypełnionym miesiącu. 

UWAGA. Nie polegaj na samodzielnym uczeniu w domu wyłącznie; nic nie zastąpi bezpośredniego kontaktu z nauczycielem. Taka nauka powinna być dodatkiem przyśpieszającym naukę. 

Pomocne będą poniższe strony:

•  Słownik
• BBC nauka angielskiego
• Radio BBC
• Podcasty do słuchania
• Tematy do pisania
•  Podobne rady z tego bloga

I think that should be all for now. Let me know if my advice helped you somehow. I wish you a Happy New Year and lots of determination! 

W.P.

May Find Useful

How to make sure that English words that you're using are accurate and suit the context? What I recommend is linguistic corpora. These are data taken from literature, books and conversations of real people. You can use it to look up an English word, its place in a sentence and usage. What you need to do is check out the website HERE and write a word that you're interested in. You don't have to go any further than the main site (look for 'quick look-up' button). The following is a sample of a word 'about.'

You can get into an argument ABOUT fallout shelters at the drop of a beer stein in clubs and pubs t
007.  he share of the new housing market enjoyed by apartments, which began ABOUT six years ago, has more than tripled within that span of time. I
008.   and disappointments, Shea moved forward. When he was unable to bring ABOUT immediate expansion, he sought to convince another National Leag
009.  s in this class. _2._ Sufficient lay-offs of union employees to bring ABOUT a 10 per cent cut in the union payroll expense. Since the railro
010.   long home run deep into the corner of the bleachers in right center, ABOUT 400 feet away, with two men on. Momentarily the Reds were back i
011.  efense education bill clears the House Education and Labor Committee. ABOUT half of all Peace Corps projects assigned to voluntary agencies
012.  ITES DISCREPANCIES# Mrs. Williams had a list which she said contained ABOUT nine or ten discrepancies between her memory of Dr. Jenkins's co
013.  is a sellout. ... Johnny Ray, at the same L. R., has something to cry ABOUT. He's been warbling in severe pain; a medico's injection in

Just have a try yourselves. Hope you'll find it helpful. Cheers!

Do You Speak English? - Big Train - BBC comedy

Teens Read Books

How are you? Hope you're fine even when it's freezing, slippery and... "winterish." But looking on the bright side, it's a perfect time to reach out for a book (yes, in English and mind you, teen books and magazines are easier to understand). 

The books that I've spent my money on recently are the following:

1. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" by Jeff Kinney (simple language and drawings, light and funny)
2. "Do You Know the Most Slimy Scaly Deadly Reptiles and Amphibians ... In the World?" by Tom Jackson (educational and inspiring)
3. "United Kingdom at a Glance" by Roman Ociepla (get some knowledge about British people, politics, history, geography and culture and then test it)
4. "Coraline" by Neil Gaiman (a comics story adapted and illustrated by P. Craig Russell, interesting and a bit scary)
5. "TIME for Kids Almanac 2011" annual (loads of useful knowledge on all subjects with pictures and plenty of fresh news!)
6. "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery (you should know this short novel by now, and I think it's high time you had a try with one in English)

Let me know if I encouraged you to reading any way.Thanks and all the best to you.

STONEHENGE -Wiltshire, England

Stonehenge - Britain's most famous prehistoric monument, on Salisbury Plain in southern England. It consists of two circles of large standing stones, one inside the other. (...) Some of them have fallen, but some are still in position. Stonehenge was built between 3000 and 1500 BC. Nobody knows why it was built, but many people think it was to study the stars and planets or to worship the sun, because a line through its centre would point directly to the position of the rising sun on Midsummer's Day or of the setting sun in midwinter. (...) Stonehenge was made a World Heritage Site in 1986.

(the above  text was taken from Oxford Guide to British and American Culture, Oxford University Press 2005)

Fred (episode 1)

Hey, it's me, Frederick! I'm back! It's been a long and difficult time I must say. Just read what happened to me.

First, I caught a cold because my mum was right as usual. I thought I was too old to wear a polar cap and young enough to run down the hills like a crazy and shout out 'Fred rulezz!'

Next, my Geography teacher had a go at me. She made me re-take almost all the tests from this term. Horrible! How on earth did she know that I spent but a half an hour on revision for the last test?

Then, I was so stupid and naive to speak to Adrian about my acne problems. I really believed in his sincerity and his advice helped me somehow. But now everyone can listen to my pitiful confessions (that jerk recorded me!) and is making fun of me, thank you very much!

This leads us, dudes, to some very useful conclusions.

C nr 1: I should have listened to my mum. I shouldn't have been ashamed of wearing proper clothing.

C nr 2: I should have revised for the Geography test. But also... my Geography teacher shouldn't have been so revengeful.

C nr 3: I shouldn't have spoken to Adrian at all (or at least not share any intimate details of my red friends).


That should teach me a lesson! Hope you don't make such mistakes.


                                                                ***

W tej części omawiana zostanie konstrukcja SHOULD/ SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE.
Fred wspomina sytuacje z przeszłości, w których zachował się lub zrobił coś w pewien sposób, a teraz tego żałuje, bo na przykład przyniosło mu to przykre konsekwencje. Dlatego też, w drugiej części mówi POWINIENEM BYŁ SŁUCHAĆ MAMY (C nr 1), POWINIENEM BYŁ POWTÓRZYĆ DO TESTU Z GEOGRAFII (C nr 2) lub NIE POWINIENEM BYŁ ROZMAWIAĆ W OGÓLE Z ADRIANEM (C nr 3). Mądry Polak po szkodzie? Widać nie tylko Polak. Mogłem/am zrobić coś inaczej, ale teraz już "pozamiatane." Zostaje nam tylko wracać do przeszłości i żałować.

Tak więc:

• 'should have done' lub 'shouldn't (w przeczeniu) have done' używamy, gdy wracamy do sytuacji z przeszłości i sygnalizujemy, że można było zrobić coś inaczej, ale tak nie zrobiliśmy i już nie zrobimy

• formułujemy zdania za pomocą osoby + should/ shouldn't + have + past participle (czyli 3-cia forma czasownika/ czasownik z końcówką 'ed' jeśli regularny)

np. She shouldn't have written that letter. I should have listened to her (then).

Teraz Wasza kolej.

1) Przetłumaczcie zdanie: Jej brat powinien był zamówić stolik wcześniej. (Teraz jest z dziewczyną i nie mają gdzie usiąść.)
2) Pomyślcie o dwóch, trzech sytuacjach, w których trzeba było zrobić inaczej, ale oczywiście wybraliście inną drogę.

Good luck! See ya.

New series - Fred (Intro)

- Mum, I want to ask you something.

- What is the question?

- I want to get a tatoo.

- You can do what you want.

- OK.

- OK what?

- I'm going to get a tatoo.

- On one condition - that it says 'I love mum.'

- Are you crazy?

Hi, my name's Frederick. Friends call me Fred. I'm 15 and I almost have a girlfriend. I don't write about myself very often. This time I was asked to and I couldn't say no. I'm going to tell you about my everyday life, some stories and stuff. Hope you'll like it.

OK, there's not much to say today. It's been a hard day at school. I got a bad mark. I was standing hopelessly, looking blankly at the blackboard. Paralyzed, I was wondering what SHE was thinking about me at that moment. Was she looking at me? Of course she was. Everybody was. You moron. You should have learnt at least some capitals. Yesterday I felt like playing The Sims 3. So I did. I didn't bother to look for some Geography notes. Now I tried to focus. The capital of Ukraine. Sniffing rapidly, almost suffocating. I guessed wrong.

But one day I'll have my tattoo done. You won't guess what it'll say!

***

Fred jest nastolatkiem, który opowiada o sobie i swoich "przejściach." Ma 15 lat, do czego używa czasownika "be" a nie "have." Za to używa czasownika "have" - "mieć" kiedy mówi, że ma dziewczynę. Tak samo mógłby użyć tego czasownika, by powiedzieć, że ma psa (I have a dog) lub ma brązowe oczy (I have brown eyes). Nie często pisze o sobie (o czynnościach powtarzających się w teraźniejszości będzie powiedziane w oddzielnym poście). He was asked, czyli został zapytany to już strona bierna. To, że nie mógł powiedzieć "nie" to czas przeszły. Do tego potrzebna jest druga forma czasownika. Za to wiemy, że ma zamiar opowiedzieć nam o swoim życiu ("going to") jakoś w przyszłości, pewnie niedługo. Dalej mówi o dniu, który się jeszcze nie skończył, a więc mówi "It's been a hard day" zamiast "It was a hard day." Później jednak opowiada szczegóły pewnego zdarzenia i mówi "I tried" lub "I didn't bother" kiedy przeczy. Poza tym bije się w pierś mówiąc "I should have learnt," czyli powinienem był się uczyć. Za późno. Ale za to pewnego dnia będzie miał swój tatuaż. Ciekawe jak pewne to jest?

To był tylko mix gramatyczny. Postaram się w najbliższych postach przybliżyć poszczególne konstrukcje. Przy okazji warto zwrócić uwagę na słownictwo (blankly, paralyzed, to sniff, to suffocate, a nawet moron!).

Po co uczyć się gramatyki?

Niezależnie w jakim jesteś wieku proszę o komentarz w sprawie nauki języka obcego, a dokładnie gramatyki.

Wystarczy krótki komentarz. Może być anonimowy, choć Twój wiek może być dla mnie istotny.

Czy tradycyjny sposób nauki gramatyki jest konieczny jeśli chcemy dobrze opanować język obcy?

Tradycyjny? Myślę o tej najstarszej metodzie z regułkami, przykładami i tłumaczeniem zdań. W ten sposób kilka wieków temu uczono się łaciny, głównie po to, by czytać literaturę piękną oraz bezbłędnie pisać.

Nietradycyjny? Tu chodzi o metodę komunikatywną, nastawienie na mówienie w pierwszej kolejności. W końcu tak nauczyliśmy się języka ojczystego. To jest jak nauka jazdy na rowerze; siadamy od razu na rower, a nie uczymy się poszczególnych elementów roweru. Oczywiście nic się nie dzieje bez wkładu nauczyciela.

Z drugiej strony nie jesteśmy w stanie zrobić dużego postępu jeśli nie mamy tej podstawy. Znajomość reguł pozwala nam widzieć schematy, które pomagają nam w dalszej nauce i osiągnięciu wyższego poziomu.


Jeden z językoznawców o nazwisku Krashen skomentował raz, że nauka gramatyki to jest strata cennego czasu.

Jakie jest Twoje doświadczenie z nauką gramatyki języka obcego? Czy coś byś zmienił w sposobie jakim byłeś lub jesteś nauczany?

For and About Children!

 Playing tricks, that's what children do. How about revenge?


Little Johnny wasn't getting good marks in school. One day he surprised the teacher with an announcement. He tapped her on the shoulder and said, "I don't want to scare you, but my daddy says if I don't start getting better grades, somebody is going to get a spanking!"

 
The child comes home from his first day at school. Mother asks, "What did you learn today?"
The kid replies, "Not enough. I have to go back tomorrow."

Something different (it doesn't mean nicer) for a change?

To see the illusion, you need to stare intently at the small black dot in the centre of the image and move your head slowly toward then away from the screen...

Is it a moving image, or are your eyes playing tricks on you?

http://www.comedy-zone.net/jokes/laugh/kids/index.htm

Teachers Students they all need to put their feet up

I'm planning to start a series about a bloke who has a lot to say to you. I hope you'll see more of that than just plans or intentions and it'll be quite soon. Recently I've had loads of things to do and still my bedroom is in chaos. It seems it is not just you who need some rest... How about starting the countdown to holiday? Sounds good?

36 days...

No matter what, listen to your teacher!

E71 - God Bless America?

I AM An American (I AM Poem) by Amanda Jones

I am an American who loves America
I wonder why peolpe hate America
I hear the eagle call for freedom
I see the flag waving in the wind
I want the soldiers to come home safe
I am an American who loves America

I pretend to fly like an eagle
I feel the eagles feather run through my fingers
I touch the white star on the flag
I worry that America will fall
I cry when a soldier dies
I am an American who love America

I understand why we fight for America
I say God bless America
I dream that America stays strong
I try to be all I can be
I am an American who loves America

 What does America mean to you? Is it only fast food restaurants and jeans? I hope not. So why do you think people love America? Why were there so many immigrants in the 19th century and why are people still arriving?

Browse some info on Life in the USA or American culture and share with us what you've learnt.


For example, how much did you know about The American Dream and "from rags to riches" idea?

E51 - Pros and cons of technology

I believe that computers or mobile phones are one of the greatest inventions ever. Certainly, they make our life easier. For some people, particularly the young ones, they've been present in their life since they were born. It's obvious that they can't imagine having no possibility to surf on the Internet or send a text message to a friend. However, nowadays we're in a hurry and sometimes forget about simple pleasures. Are you really happy to be surrounded by those technology gadgets?

So are you enthusiastic about technology (computers and mobile phones)? Or are you against such inventions?
For or against? That's my question to you. Why? Please answer this one too and give some arguments.

You can also say how often you use the inventions.

E42 - Will we get fatter?

Have a look at the picture below. What can you see? What is happening in the picture? What title would you give it?

Now imagine that it is about our future. Having the picture predict what will happen to us and what our life will look like.

E32 - Our school

It's difficult to imagine life of a teenager without school. Young people spend most of their time there. They learn there, take tests, get stressed and also meet their peers. Students have a number of subjects a day, some of them they like, some of them they don't. They have to obey rules, but they have fun too. This is very general. We realize that a typical school day of a British teenager is different from the one of a Polish teenager.

Look through the information about British school on CLICK HERE and read about a day of a 13-year old British boy NOW SEE THIS ONE and write about school in Poland, something a British teenager would find interesting.

Subjects? Breaks? Eating at school? School clothes? You choose!

E22 - My favourite month

I love spring and I think my favourite month is May. In this month we can see a lot of changes, for example in weather, it is usually warm and sunny. The days are longer and I can go cycling or jogging or go for a walk with my friend! I can wear a skirt and sandals. People fall in love in spring too. Trees are green and birds sing beautifully. It's fantastic!

What about you?
What is your favourite month? Why?

What can you do or what do you do in this month?

Egzamin gimnazjalny 2010

All Lower-secondary (Gimnazjum) Students,

Check out this site Język angielski 
See how many points you would get on Egzamin gimnazjalny
Good luck!

Karaoke

Although I'm not good at singing, I completely fell in love with Karaoke site in which you can choose from a number of songs and sing them (or just listen to them if you're not a Karaoke fan).

All you need to do is enter KaraokeParty 
Next, click on a song you'd like to sing
Then, select background music (you don't need a microphone)
And finally, start singing!

If I may be of any advice, try a song "Hurt" by Christina Aguilera first since it's not that fast or difficult and you might recognize many grammatical issues from your English lessons.

What will you do if I go away?

Read, sing and listen to a very beautiful song by Tom Jones and Dusty Springfield. Why this one? As I said, it is beautiful. However, it also turns out to be very useful when learning English, particularly the First Conditional (If you stay, we'll sail the sun = If + Present Simple, will/won't + verb).

Watch the video!

"If You Go Away"

If you go away on this summer day,
Then you might as well take the sun away;
All the birds that flew in the summer sky,
When our love was new and our hearts were high;
When the day was young and the night was long,
And the moon stood still for the night bird's song.
If you go away, if you go away, if you go away.
But if you stay, I'll make you a day
Like no day has been, or will be again;
We'll sail the sun, we'll ride on the rain,
We'll talk to the trees and worship the wind.
Then if you go, I'll understand,
Leave me just enough love to fill up my hand,
If you go away, if you go away, if you go away.
If you go, as I know you will, you must tell the world to stop turning
Till you return again, if you ever do, for what good is love without loving you,
Can I tell you now, as you turn to go, I'll be dying slowly till the next hello,
If you go away, if you go away, if you go away.
But if you stay, I'll make you a night
Like no night has been, or will be again.
I'll sail on your smile, I'll ride on your touch,
I'll talk to your eyes that I love so much.
But if you go, go, I won't cry,
Though the good is gone from the word goodbye,
If you go away, if you go away, if you go away.
If you go away, as I know you must,
There'll be nothing left in the world to trust,
Just an empty room, full of empty space,
Like the empty look I see on your face.
I'd have been the shadow of your shadow
If I thought it might have kept me by your side.
If you go away, if you go away, if you go away

Happy Easter

 1) Please enjoy the picture and the poem

Easter Isn't, © by Easy Grandpa Tucker

I heard a funny bunny say,
"I just go nuts on Easter day.
I hide about a zillion eggs
And baskets tangle up my legs.

"I'm tired, my eyes are full of tears
And overflowing to my ears.
If I'm to work more Easter Days
At my age I should change my ways

"I know I must do something rash
So I'll start saving all my cash
Then next year, with a little luck
I'll deliver in my pick up truck."

2) Read about Easter holiday and click on Easter Traditions
 

3)Help the Easter Bunny find his way through the maze to find a new basket for delivering the Easter eggs

(source: http://www.printactivities.com/Mazes/Shape_Mazes/Easter_Egg_Maze.html)

 I wish you Happy Easter!

Creative writing (level pre-intermediate - advanced)

Hello,
just a quick message encouraging you to start writing for the sole pleasure of writing :-)
in order to start I recommend a web page that I found really exciting, a site that gives you hints on what to write about;
on this site you'll find numbers under which there are topics and ideas you should find inspiring;

if I can help you, start with this one:
ELECTRICITY IS A RECENT DISCOVERY. THINK OF 12 THINGS TO DO WHEN THERE'S NO POWER.

off you go!

good luck :-)

Czy kiedykolwiek spaliście w namiocie?

Hi there,
some time ago I gave one of my groups a sample of present perfect/ past simple rhymes I'd written to make learning grammar more enjoyable and easier. Somehow I believe that such poems, when learnt by heart, can be helpful when you happen to forget the construction. I also hope that they are fun. And you can always try and write your own!
However, before that, think about things that you have already done or have never done in your life (first in your mother tongue). Then, read the short poems and try to find the bare form (infinitive=bezokolicznik) of verbs in bold. Finally, play with them and have fun!

Have you ever seen a ghost with huge scary eyes?

Oh yes, I have seen it twice,

Once in a horror movie and then in my dream,

It was so terrifying** I turned off the screen. *

Have you ever sat in the saddle*** and ridden a horse like cowboys?

Sure, we have. But my friend fell down and tore his corduroys****.

And what did his mother say when she saw him?*

She shouted, SUCH A BIG HOLE I HAVE NEVER SEEN!

Have you ever hummed ***** in a train or sung loudly with happiness?

No, I haven’t. But my brother has.

But one day a woman who was a bodybuilder heard his voice,*

And with her fist # she killed the noise.*

Have you ever met a man with three eyes?

Yes, I have! He was of a very unusual size!

And he asked me to give him a lift ^ yesterday.*

So did you? - Are you crazy? I ran away!*

* examples of past simple tense

** terrifying - przerażający

*** saddle - siodło

**** corduroys - sztruksy

***** to hum - nucić

# fist - pięść

^ to give somebody a lift - podwieźć kogoś