Being a nonnative speaker of English, I'm very happy that recently people have been more open to the fact that nonnative English-speaking teachers can be good English teachers. In fact some people even state that nonnative speakers are better teachers, because they have had to learn English themselves.  

Here some extracts from the following article:

http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/0209maum.html

"Native English speakers without teaching qualifications are more likely to be hired as ESL teachers than qualified and experienced NNESTs, especially outside the United States. But many in the profession argue that teaching credentials should be required of all English teachers, regardless of their native language. This would shift the emphasis in hiring from who the job candidates are (i.e., native or nonnative speakers of English) to what they are (i.e., qualified English teachers) and allow for more democratic employment practices.

Phillipson (1996) considers NNESTs to be potentially the ideal ESL teachers because they have gone through the process of acquiring English as an additional language. They have first-hand experience in learning and using a second language, and their personal experience has sensitized them to the linguistic and cultural needs of their students. Many NNESTs, especially those who have the same first language as their students, have developed a keen awareness of the differences between English and their students’ mother tongue. This sensitivity gives them the ability to anticipate their students’ linguistic problems.

Issues of teacher credibility are encountered by many NNESTs in the classroom, where even students are influenced by the inevitable trickle-down effect of the native speaker fallacy. Some NNESTs have reported that many of their students resented being taught by a nonnative speaker until they were able to prove that they could be as effective as a native-English-speaking teacher. In reality, speakers of more than one language have both a sophisticated awareness of language and the ability to relate to students’ needs. "

This a subject I have managed to avoid teaching until last week, when I was 'forced' to have a closer look at it. I really don't think that it is a very important subject, but as I have all the information I might as well share it with you. OK. So you have 2 kinds of adjectives: gradable and non-gradable.

Gradable adjectives

These are adjectives that describe qualities that can be measured in degrees, such as size, beauty, age, etc.

They can be used

1) in comparative and superlative forms

2) with grading adverbs (such as 'very' or 'extremely')

3) to show that a person or thing has more or less of a particular quality.

Examples: angry, busy, happy, important, big, cold, hot, frightened, kind, nice, expensive, risky, complex, profitable, high, helpful, interesting, difficult.

Non-gradable adjectives

1) classifying adjectives: these describe qualities that are completely absent or completely present. They do not occur in comparative or superlative forms

Examples: chemical, indoor, married, wooden, pregnant, English, useless, green, nuclear, domestic, digital.

2) extreme adjectives: these are adjectives that mean "very" + adjective

Examples:

ancient        (very old )

amazing      ( very surprising )

boiling        ( very hot )

brilliant       ( very intelligent )

deafening    (very loud)

delighted     (very happy /pleased)

disgusting   (very bad /unpleasant)

excellent     (very good)

exhausted  ( very tired )

fascinating   (very interesting)

filthy            (very dirty)
freezing       ( very cold )

furious        ( very angry )

gorgeous    (very beautiful)

starving      ( very hungry)

terrifying     (very scary)

tiny           ( very small)

3) absolute adjectives:

dead, impossible, unique, perfect, supreme, final

__________________________________

Now why would one want to classify the adjectives?? The reason is that it will tell you what adverbs can be used with these adjectives.

Adverbs of degree:

The following adverbs of degree can be used with gradable adjectives: hugely, incredibly, fairly, rather, less, reasonably, a bit, very, really, extremely, slightly.

Examples:  very hot, extremely angry,  a bit cold, fairly important

And those adverbs of degree can only be used with non-gradable adjectives: absolutely, completely, really, utterly, totally.

Examples: utterly terrifying, really amazing.

Voila!  

First of all "Happy New Year" to all of you!

I will start the year with a vocabulary list. I know, I know, not very exciting. But in fact lots of students don't know this kind of vocabulary. So here is a list of furniture:

living room:

sofa   = canapé

armchair  = fauteuil

coffee table  = table basse

footstool  = répose-pieds

sideboard  = buffet / desserte

shelving unit  = étagères

TV bench  = meuble télé

buffet  = buffet / bahut

cabinet  = armoire / vaisselier / meuble

bedroom

bed = lit

wardrobe  = armoire /penderie

closet (AE)  = placard /penderie

bunk bed = lit superposé

bedside table  = table de nuit

chest of drawers  = commode

pillow = oreiller

blanket  = couverture

roller blind  = store (enrouleur)

venetian blind  = jalousie / store venétien  

kitchen

fridge = réfrigérateur

freezer = congélateur

dishwasher  = lave-vaisselle

extractor hood = hotte

oven   = four

gas hob  = table de cuisson (gaz)

glass ceramic hob = table de cuisson (céramique)

spice rack = étagère à épices

kitchen trolley = desserte

cooker = cuisinière

bathroom

wash-basin = lavabo

tap  = robinet

toilet brush  = brosse pour wc

toilet seat = abattant wc

soap dish = porte-savon