Jeudi 28 janvier 2010 4 28 /01 /Jan /2010 18:35


Sometimes students ask me where to go for a holiday in England.
Well, my favourite region is the Cotswolds.
You will find beautiful villages, loads of castles and lovely landscapes...


Bibury


Bibury




Some interesting websites/pages:

A map of the Cotswolds

Your guide to visiting the Cotswolds

Broadway


  
Broadway    Cotswolds
Broadway                Cotswolds village


Castle-Combe2.jpg
     Castle Combe


One last picture: this is the manor house where my husband and I held our wedding reception. Isn't it beautiful?!

cleeveway-house.jpg
Cleeve Way House
Par EFL Teacher - Publié dans : Culture
Ecrire un commentaire - Voir les 1 commentaires
Jeudi 28 janvier 2010 4 28 /01 /Jan /2010 17:33


The French verb "faire" can be translated by "to make" or "to do"!

And it is not easy to know which one to choose!


1) to do (when you talk about an activity)

faire le ménage      = do the housework

faire les devoirs      = do the homework

faire la vaisselle      = do the washing-up

faire du jardinage    = do the gardening

faire des exercices  = do exercises

faire les courses     = do the shopping


2) to make ( a product / a result)

faire un gateau         =  make a cake

faire un film              =  make a film

faire un testament     =  make a will

faire une erreur        =  make a mistake

faire une réservation = make a reservation

faire un rapport        = make a report

faire un voeu            = make a wish

Par EFL Teacher - Publié dans : Vocabulary
Ecrire un commentaire - Voir les 0 commentaires
Jeudi 28 janvier 2010 4 28 /01 /Jan /2010 12:54



The French adjective "personnel" can be translated by "personal" and "personnel".

personal: (Fr: personnel /individuel /particulier...)

the personal touch = une note personnelle
personal effects     = effets personels

his personal life      = sa vie privée


personnel  (Fr: personnel)

personnel manager     = manager du personnel
personnel department = service du personnel
Par EFL Teacher - Publié dans : Vocabulary
Ecrire un commentaire - Voir les 0 commentaires
Mercredi 20 janvier 2010 3 20 /01 /Jan /2010 19:28



The word "stage" is often used in France, and there is no exact translation for this word in English.


You can identify two meanings:

1) un stage en entreprise

2) un stage de formation




1) "stage en entreprise"

AE: internship  (AE = American English)

An internship is a pre-professional work experience that provides students and recent graduates with the opportunity to gain experience in a particular career field.

un rapport de stage = an internship report
un stagiaire             = an intern


BE: work placement  (BE = British English)

un rapport de stage  = a work experience report
un stagiaire             = a trainee


2) "stage de formation"

A (training) course
 

suivre un stage = to do a training course



Watch out: the word "stage" exists in English, but it means
1) scène: "The actor went on stage."
2) étape: "This is the final stage of the project."

Par EFL Teacher - Publié dans : Vocabulary
Ecrire un commentaire - Voir les 0 commentaires
Samedi 16 janvier 2010 6 16 /01 /Jan /2010 08:46


It's not easy to find a rule that will help English language learners to know how to pronounce the letter "i".

We will talk here about the letter "i" alone, not about the letter "i" in combination with other vowels, like "ai", "ei", "ie", etc.


There are basically three ways to pronounce the "i". (I still haven't found out how to write phonetically... )


1) /e/ : first, third, bird, girl, Sir, circle, circus


2) /i/  : syllable "ing": finger, ring, hinge

           syllable "ill"   : ill, hill, mill, fill

           syllable "in"  : chin, bin, spin, input

           syllable "ick"  :lick, thick

           syllable "ing"  :string, walking, thing

           syllable "iss" :  miss, hiss,

           syllable "ish" : fish

           syllable "it"   :  fit, knit     

           syllable "ink" : wink, link   
                


3) /ai/   syllabe "ike"   like, bike
 
           syllable "ine"  line, wine, shine

           syllable "ife"    life, wife, stripe

           syllable  "ide"  wide, stride, hide

           syllable "ight"  fight, light
 
           syllable "ile"    while, mile

           syllable "ite"    to write, kite
  
           syllable "ire"    to fire, hire, tired

            

            
4)  /ai/  or  /i/              

a. syllable "ice"
 /ai/ ice, price             
 /i/   notice, novice

If the word stress is on the syllable, it is pronounced /ai/, otherwise it is /i/.


b. syllable "ise"
/ai/  to rise
/i/    to promise

If the word stress is on the syllable, it is pronounced /ai/, otherwise it is /i/.

c. syllable "i"
/ai/   ivy, ivory,item
/i/     imagination


d.  syllable  "ive"
/ai/   five, jive
/i/     to live


e. syllable "ind"
/ai/ to find, blind, kind
/i/   the wind


f.  syllable "is"
/ai/  island
/i/    Islam


g. syllable consonant + i

/ai/  microscope, fibre, migrants, 
/i/    liver, pigeons, litre, liberation, miracle













           
      
Par EFL Teacher - Publié dans : Pronunciation
Ecrire un commentaire - Voir les 0 commentaires

Présentation

Profil

Catégories

Thanks

to those who have sent their comments by email or via Facebook,

All reactions, criticisms, questions are more than welcome; you can leave them as well directly on this blog (in English, Dutch or French.)

Derniers Commentaires

Rechercher

 
Créer un blog gratuit sur over-blog.com - Contact - C.G.U. - Rémunération en droits d'auteur - Signaler un abus - Articles les plus commentés