Hemikune

Agreed with Takibari. I am a teacher and I feel very good reading through this thread. However, SpringBreeze, not every teacher teaches exactly the same, just as not every student learns the same. In my experience it is a delicate balance of personality, and teaching style, learner preference, subject matter, learner motivation and many other subtle things that make for a good teacher/student balance/pairing. As a teacher I can say that flexibility is the key. I do my best to tailor my lessons/sessions to my student needs and make the most of what I have to work with. It it much easier to teach something to someone that they are interested in learning, curious about, or desire to look at in a new light.

I have personally made a living doing work of this sort for various agencies on the internet for a while, about three years. Mostly all the companies I have worked with all have the same 3 drawbacks, getting you students, getting you students, and getting you more students. Technically, I still work for three, maybe four organizations online, but for the lack of students I would be too busy to even write this post. I rarely ever had problems getting paid, getting paid on time or anything of that sort. I just have never figured out how to get more students and keep them coming in when working with agencies. Doesn't mean I will stop looking or trying though.

I would imagine this is an overall comprehension exercise. As has been mentioned, the purpose is for you to determine the logical flow of thought, if an essay, or monologue, or conversation, if a dialogue. As an ESL teacher, I have had many students to help through this type of exercise. Don't feel bad if it takes two or three tries to almost get it right. Practice makes perfect.

Welcome! Great intro title. That was the thing that made me respond here. I hope that you find all that you seek here. There is lots and a plenty to see, so take your time, make some new friends, and learn some new languages! Again, welcome! And have fun. Life is better that way, I always say.

Very subjective. Very much so, indeed. Personally, easiest for me to learn was Spanish. I absolutely hated learning it, but oddly enough, it is the language that has stuck with me most potently. I have learned bits and bobs of Korean, Chinese, Japanese, and Thai. Can't say that I have retained much beyond being able to ask 'how much is this?', and 'where is your toilet?', for each. However, Portuguese, which I am determined to learn in the advent of landing on one of the Brazilian shores within one of the random months of the upcoming year, eludes me. Go figure.

When I taught in South Korea, I used to make up tongue twisters of my own to help the kids work on their pronunciation. I should have kept a better record of them, this one is from memory. "Fred and Frank always fought fiercely over Francine, for each thought that Francine should have been with him." Not spectacular, but always a fun exercise to get the kids speaking, and laughing mostly.

I began learning Spanish when I was in Junior High. I did poorly, but I kept up with it, forgot most of it, went on with my life. A few years after college, the chance to visit Cancun, Mexico presented itself, I took it. I was incredibly surprised by how much I had really learned over the years. I even got compliments on how properly I spoke. I also think that if I had started learning earlier, I would be much further along then than I was.

Just because these crossed my mind while reading this over... "I almost died of fright when she walked in." "Getting this tattoo is killing me." "You'll catch your death of cold if you don't wear a hat." "After such an exhausting day, I'm sure to sleep like the dead tonight." And, for my finale... "She is just drop dead gorgeous."

I would imagine that these are more along the lines of riddles, but I can't think of anything else right now. What belongs to you, but everyone else uses more than you do? Your name. When is a door not a door? When it's ajar. What can run around an entire city and never move? A wall. Drum roll, cymbal crash, close curtains.

Wow! What an awesome response! I didn't think to get such a wide range of possibility from just a curious notion rumbling around in my head. Thank you everyone for giving me the means to sate my curiosity!

To 'see through someone' means that they are trying to fool you, or lie to you and that you know the truth about them or about the situation. I'm going to throw 'wait and see' in here too. It is pretty obvious, and I am a bit unsure as to whether or not it actually is an idiom, but the overall meaning to to be patient anf wait for the outcome of something.

These two are a combination of color and money idioms. One can be 'in the red', but as it means to be in debt, or to owe money for a business expense, I believe you would rather be 'in the black', meaning in profit. My thinking is that those are the colors that businesses back in the day used as universal representations of how well, or not, business was going at the time.

Someone could be considered as being 'glued to the TV'. Meaning they are so drawn into, and completely focused on, whatever they might be watching that nothing else matters. I used to tease my mom with this one all the time when she was watching her soap operas. I used to sneak up on her and shout "Crazy Glue!" at the top of my lungs. She hated that. Now that I mention that, I recall that the TV is often referred to as the 'idiot box', because of all the stupid things that pass for entertainment on the one hand, as well as the issue of potentially lowering one's own intelligence by being 'glued to the TV' too often. Hah, it's kinda nice how I tied that together quite neatly, eh?

Most embarrassing moment for me was during the first few months of my living in Thailand when I was scheduled to meet someone to go sightseeing. We were going to meet at a local restaurant where we had eaten previously. I was running late, I had to use the toilet, but I figured I could save time by using the one at the restaurant. I just didn't know how to ask for the toilet in Thai quite yet. By the time I had resigned myself to pantomime, I really had to go; but I still wasn't understood. Luckily, there was a Thai-English dictionary laying around. Everything worked out for me, I just became a bit of a celebrity at that restaurant.

That sounds like an amazing way to get all your students engaged, participatin, and most importantly, learning. I have had some classes that would have absolutely loved this. It would be a Friday afternoon activity for my class and then with the vocabulary we cover, I could assign homework, or have a review quiz. Oh how the ideas start to flow once the creative spirit is awakened!

I am a Native speaking, New York Born and Raised fellow. I was born in Brooklyn, but I have never had an accent. I just sound like me. My favorite accent is that Michael Caine type sounding English accent. I have quite a few friends from England, but none of them with the aforementioned accent.

I don't know if this has been covered here, or for that matter if anyone really knows for sure, but I wonder just exactly how many languages there are in the world. Is there even a way to find this out for sure? Does anyone know something about this? :nerd:

As far as learning a language goes, I cannot accurately say that it will or won't work for you. From personal experience, I can say that I have had great results with working out some personal emotional and self confidence issues using recordings made on my smartphone in my own voice. It takes time and persistence, and really comfortable headphones, but it worked for me in that regard. Your mind never sleeps, your brain goes into dormant states. There is a vast difference between the brain and the mind. I would suggest making recordings of what you want to learn and listen to those to help you retain the information while you sleep. Don't give up.

Being a Native English speaker, it is natural for me to do all my writing in English. I have been living in Thailand for some time now, and while fluid writing in Thai is beyond me at this point, I am proud to say that I can read Thai...a bit. I just need way more vocabulary to actually be able to understand what it is that I am reading. :wacky:

I have been an English teacher for the past 12 years. After earning my CELTA certificate in New York at Embassy C.E.S., I went off to teach in South Korea for three years. It was wonderful there except for the bitterly cold winters. Next, it was; and still is for now; Thailand. Who knows where my next port of call may be. I love the sense of purpose, and giving of myself to the global community, that I get from teaching. It is good to know that I'm helping people improve their experience of life by expanding their communication channels. Teaching English is a very rewarding profession, as well as a great way to travel and see more of the world.

This sounds similar to a program I volunteer for called, 'English Works'. Once a week I speak with several beginning English learners helping them review their weekly lesson. I believe the students are from Santa Cruz, and have never had the opportunity to talk with a Native speaker before. It's great fun because each student is so eager to talk with me every week. I only get about five minutes with each student, but it's really engaging time together.

Does anyone have any ideas, or opinions, regarding the best time of day for one to either teach,or learn, a foreign languge? The question comes to me because, thinking back to my in-classroom teaching experience, it always seemed that the classes I had scheduled for morning lessons usually had better performance than those with afternoon, or early evening lessons. Has anyone else come to similar conclusions? :nerd:

Thank you for the reply Colebra! I can tell that your English skills are well developed. I have a good feeling here, as there are some screenwriting aspirations within me that have so far gone unrealized. I believe we can inspire each other. As I am writing this post, I have just realized I could have simply sent you a message. :shy:

Heavy handed - Very harsh, or strict. "That judge is known for his heavy-handed rulings." Ham fisted - Having very large hands. I first came across this one while reading Piers Anthony novels in High School. A show of hands - Raising the hand in agreement. "Can we see, by a show of hands, who the winner is?" And those are my offerings. :wacky:

I've always loved, '"Yeah, he's crazy. Crazy like a fox." It might be because I heard it in the movies, but it also kind of just resonates with me and the way I think about, and go about, life. It means, to be unconventionally clever. To do things that seem quite mad, or nonsensical, which prove to be very wise in the final analysis.