33 Perfectly Odd Oxymorons An oxymoron is "a phrase that combines two words that seem to be the opposite of each other, for example a 'deafening silence'." (Oxford Dictionaries) An oxymoron is a compressed paradox. It is a figure of speech where a writer combines seemingly contradictory terms. You may have noticed that I used one in this blog post title. Here are 10 frequently-used oxymorons: Awfully prettyClearly misunderstoodFoolish wisdomLarger halfMinor miracleOnly choicePoor healthSeriously funnySmall crowdUnbiased opinion The common oxymoron phrase is a combination of an adjective followed by a noun with contrasting meanings. They add flavour to speech and can also be cynical, sarcastic, or witty and used for comic effect or relief. The word oxymoron comes from the Greek for pointedly foolish: 'oxys' means sharp or keen and 'moros' means foolish. Richard Watson Todd shows us how easily we accept oxymorons as part of everyday speech in this paragraph from Much Ado About English.
Read, Write, and Practice to Strengthen Your Vocabulary Page 1 of 2 I recently received this email: Hello Lisa, I have been going through your blogs, and I need some help regarding building vocabulary. Many people suggested that I read books, and some suggested I read a dictionary and newspaper. I find it hard to remember those words and sentences, as I am not able to reproduce them. Thanks, Nithin. Hi Nithin, Thanks for your question. Read to Build Vocabulary The advice you received to read more was good advice. You may now be asking, "Well, then, how do I know if a book is good for me or not?" Get in the habit of looking up the words you don't know. The reason you need to read, read, read is because research shows that the best way to learn vocabulary is to learn the word from context—the way a young native language reader does. But, as you mention, even if you do read and look up words, it's very easy to forget new words. Pages
How to use Viralelt All Viralelt posts consist of three parts: an embedded viral video, 10 conversation questions (Question time) and a listening activity (Sitting comfortably?). Show your students the video a few times and ask them for their reactions. Although most videos are less than 2 minutes long, and are often without dialogue, they should be sufficiently engaging to provoke quite lengthy open-class discussions. 1. Put your students into pairs or small groups and ask them to discuss the 10 conversation questions. Sitting comfortably? As regards language input, emphasis has been given to lexis rather than grammar. 4 ideas for revisiting vocabulary a) Gapfilling (with or without the first letter) b) Students complete sentences using their own ideas c) Conversation questions incorporating key vocabulary d) Matching beginnings and ends of sentences Like this: Like Loading...
Humanising Language Teaching Magazine for teachers and teacher trainers Daniela Tomatis, Italy Daniela Tomatis is a teacher at Scuola Media Villanova Mondovì, Cuneo, in the north of Italy. She is interested in vocabulary teaching and memory techniques. She enjoys trying new activities. E-mail: dan.ro@tiscalinet.it Menu IntroductionStarting point – Emo cardsSuggested activitiesWorking aloneWorking in groupsWorking in pairsWorking with the whole classReferences Introduction Teaching a word does not cause its automatic learning by the students. Starting point – Emo cards Whenever we find a new verb during the lessons, Ss are asked to make small cards of the verbs in order not to forget them and to help them pass from the recognition stage to the production one. Students can choose how to draw their verbs, kinds of picture, stickmen, - also images which work as reminders for the keywords, when they memorize the verbs using this technique. Suggested activities Students learn best by making sense of their own vocabulary and internalising it. Working alone References
to use something or to be used - synonyms and related words Synonyms repurpose verb to reuse something for a different purpose from the one that was originally intended go towards to be used to help to pay for something fall back on to use or do something else after other things have failed draw on to use something that you have gradually gained or saved pour into to give a lot of effort, money, or help to someone or something adopt to start using a particular way of speaking, thinking, or behaving that is not the one you usually use use to get a benefit for yourself from something that is available to you Show me more Show me less More synonyms apply to use a particular name or word for someone or something formal to use physical force in order to make something happen or work avail Indian English to obtain or use something avail yourself of something if you avail yourself of something, you use it borrow to receive and use something that belongs to someone else, and promise to give it back to them later call on to decide to use something that someone can offer you christen
25 Reading Strategies That Work In Every Content Area 25 Reading Strategies That Work In Every Content Area Reading is reading. By understanding that letters make sounds, we can blend those sounds together to make whole sounds that symbolize meaning we can all exchange with one another. Without getting too Platonic about it all, reading doesn’t change simply because you’re reading a text from another content area. Science content can often by full of jargon, research citations, and odd text features. Social Studies content can be an interesting mix of itemized information, and traditional paragraphs/imagery. Literature? This all makes reading strategies somewhat content area specific. But if you’d like to start with a basic set of strategies, you could do worse than the elegant graphic above from wiki-teacher.com. Looking for related curricula ideas? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. To the above list, we’d add: 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. See Also: 25 Self-Guided Reading Responses For Fiction And Non-Fiction
Doing It Differently: Tips for Teaching Vocabulary Every Monday my seventh grade English teacher would have us copy a list of 25 words she'd written on the board. We'd then look up the dictionary definitions and copy those down. For homework, we'd re-write each word seven times. Good, now you know it. Copying definitions from the dictionary we would probably all agree is not an effective way to learn vocabulary. The truth is, and the research shows, students need multiple and various exposures to a word before they fully understand that word and can apply it. Selecting Words Ah, so many words, so little time. My first year teaching, before my tenth graders began reading Lord of the Flies, I went through every chapter and made lists of all the vocabulary words I thought they'd have trouble with, so that I could pre-teach them. When I looked at those long lists, I began to freak out. Then, here's what to do after the students pick their own words: Read through them all and use the results as a formative assessment. Ranking Words The Rationale
uncertainty and being uncertain - synonyms and related words Synonyms uncertainty noun the fact that something is not known or has not been decided doubt a feeling of not being certain about something reservation a feeling of doubt about whether something is good or right question a feeling of doubt about something reserve scepticism doubts that someone has about something that other people think is true or right a question mark over something a doubt about whether something is good or correct, or whether it will be successful if/when in doubt if you are not certain: used when giving advice or instructions grey area a situation in which the rules are not clear, or in which you are not sure what is right or wrong Show me more Show me less More synonyms crisis of confidence a situation in which people have stopped believing that someone or something is good distrust a feeling that you cannot trust someone or something hesitancy a way of behaving in which you do something slowly or pause before you do it, because you are nervous, embarrassed, or worried hesitation incredulity