Keep in Mind

Please remember these three important sayings as you seek to improve your English.

1. English is Crazy.
You are not crazy, English is. There are many things that make English a challenge for language learners. The most obvious is the spelling and pronunciation which makes English very difficult to read.

2. No Pain. No Gain.
Like any discipline, improving your English takes time and energy and sometimes discomfort. So if you are shy and afraid to practice your English, just push through it. You will not improve if you don't try.

3. If you don't use it, you will lose it.
It is very important that you use the the English you are learning during your classes. It is not enough to write a new word or phrase down in your notebook. Try to make a sentence with it or use it in a conversation. It won't become a part of your working vocabulary if you don't use it.

I'm very glad you have decided to take English lessons with me. But please remember the time we spend together is just an hour or two a week. You need to interact with English on a daily basis to help your brain get accustomed to it. Have fun!

Why is the Superbowl such a big deal?

The Superbowl is the biggest sports event of the year in the United States. It is the championship game between the two top two teams in the National Football Conference (NFL).  Watching the Superbowl has become  a big part of American culture. Even people who are not fans of the two teams or don't like  football at all,  have been found attending a party or watching the big game. So what is the big deal?  I think there are three main reasons for this phenomena.

1. ONLY ONE GAME
All other major sports championships in the U.S. (MLB, NBA,NHL) are played over a series of games. The champions are the first team to win four games (out of a maximum of seven).  Unlike the other leagues, the NFL only plays one game a week due since the players need  time to recover from the physical demands of each game. Since so much rides on the game, the   What were last year's ratings? What are the ratings of past Superbowls?

2.  THE COMMERCIALS
Because so many people are watching the Superbowl, major corporations pays millions of dollars to advertise during the game. Many people tune into the Superbowl just to watch the ads. and there is much discussion leading up to the game and after concerning what was the most unique or effective commercial.
How much is a 30 second ad this year? 

3. THE TIME OF YEAR
The regular season of the NFL lasts from September to December and it is followed by at least three weeks of the playoffs. This means that the championship game is usually the last week of January or the first week of February, right smack in the middle of winter. Since winter can be very long and gray in many parts of the United States, people are excited to have any distraction from the colder temperatures.  Honestly, some people look for any reason to throw a party. Most Superbowls  have been held in warm weather climates.  What is different about the 2014 Superbowl? 

Here are some links to articles that also answer this question .
SHORTER
LONGER

On the lighter side of the news...

Many of the late nite shows have been spending time on making fun of the situation on the North Korean peninsula. Do you have any questions?

Jimmy Fallon: Pros and Cons

Jon Stewart: Comedy Central:

Even before Kim Jong Un became the leader in 2010, he was making the news...
David Letterman: Top Ten

The Champions....

The game.
The coach:  Rick Pitino.
The player of the game: Luke Hancock.
How does this Final Four compare to others in history?

A quick and enthusiastic summary by Dick Vitale !

Update on North Korea

The saber rattling continues:

US Delays Missile Test

Foreign Embassy Staff Asked to Leave  

Signs of Nuclear Test

March Madness (but isn't it April?) Updates

1. Good Night Cinderella: The FINAL FOUR teams finished their games tonight. Who won and what are the stories coming out of each game? . Wichita St vs. Louisville  and Michigan vs. Syracuse. 

2. Hopeful Recovery: It's a good sign that Louisville player Kevin Ware can make light of last week's horrific injury. Watch him give the nightly Top Ten List on the David Letterman Show. Read the list or watch the video, the list begins @ 3:50. (QUESTION: What does "it" refer to in Number 6)?

3. Preview of Monday's Championship Game: Comparisons of two teams in key areas at Bleacher Report. Who do YOU predict will win?

What questions do YOU have?  

Baseball's back

Ok, whether you like it or not...the good old American pastime is back. April has begun and baseball season is here. Whether you think baseball is boring or exciting to watch, many baseball idioms are a part of the American landscape. Here are some websites that will give you a good summary of the most common idioms.
1. ecenglish.com
2. Sports idioms
3. 17 baseball idioms
4. You can take a short quiz at English Zone
Question for discussion (or comments) Why do Americans like baseball????

Happy Birthday to the Cellular Phone!

According to the video report on this  CNN page**:

How have the mobile phones changed over the past 40 years?
What's bad about cellular phones? (1:30)
Do you think the concerns mentioned are valid?
**Be sure to click on the CLICK TO PLAY icon to LISTEN to the report!

Threat of War

Tensions are rising on and off the Korean peninsula thanks to increased threats from North Korea. You may be hearing people talking about dictator Kim Jong Un's rhetoric. The US. Secretary of Defense said Kim is being belligerent. Some are talking about war drums or "saber-rattling." Is Kim Jong Un crazy? Is he bluffing? Is it all bark and no bite? What do YOU think?

Whatever is going on, the U.S. and South Korea military forces are on the move. Keep watching and reading to see what happens next...

Here's some interesting background information about North Korea. 

And then there were four...

The men's NCAA Basketball Final Four is set. Did your favorites make it? Are there any Cinderella teams left? How many Big Ten teams made it?  What inspired Louisville on to victory? What adjectives would you use to describe what happened to Kevin Ware?

Can you match the names of the schools (A) with their mascots (B)? Do you understand  what each mascot represents?
A. Louisville        Michigan            Syracuse           Wichita State
B. Shockers        Orange              Cardinals           Wolverines

Tiger Wood's Comeback Controversy

It's been a slow journey back to #1 for Tiger Woods, but he finally made it with a win last weekend. But not everyone is impressed with his new Nike ad. What is Rick Reilly's opinion over at ESPN?  Here's another opinion of sportswriter Christine Brennen via video on CNN?  What does she say about Tiger AND Nike?This report has some more responses AND a statement Nike released in response to the backlash. What do YOU think? (Speaking of Tiger and Nike and controversy, here's the Tiger/Nike commercial from 2010 with analysis FYI).

March Madness Update

It started over a week ago with 68 teams, but after tonight's games all of the Sweet Sixteen matches will be over and, will be down to the Elite Eight. There have been quite a few UPsets including 3 of the top 4 teams being ousted from the tournament prematurely.

Here are a few questions

1. Who are the Cinderella teams?  How many of the teams made it to the Elite Eight?
    Why is the name of a fairytale princess being used here? 

2.How are the individual conferences doing? Here's a quick summary of the main conferences and how they were doing earlier on in the tournament.Which conference had the most teams?

3. What questions do YOU have? 

An Unconventional Pope

Pope Francis has gotten a reputation of breaking with tradition, over and over again.
Here are just a few examples.

Greeting crowds up close and personal
What will he wear?
Where will he live?
Footwashing on Maundy Thursday..

In summary, here's a column that mentions some of the above and more. Do you think the columnist or writer of the article has a favorable opinion of the pope?
...

Understanding Sports Commercials

Here's  a Coke Zero commercial and  Buffalo Wildwings commercial that both focus on March Madness. Do you understand the significance?

Watch this Sprint commercial. The man in the pajams is NBA star Kevin Durant. Do you understand the humor?

And what season is starting soon....baseball! This ad has a lot of idioms and special vocabulary used for sports!

Any questions?

March Madness 101

Here are a few links if you want to read up more on March Madness. Some of the articles have a lot details, but use your skills to find the information that you are interested in.

1. History of March Madness

2, How March Madness Works  NCAA basics to Final Four

3. March Madness confined to basketball crazy Americans

Are you wearing green today?

According to the United States Census statistics, there are approximately 36.9 million people in the United States who claim to be of  Irish decent (people who have relatives who were born in Ireland). However, there are only 122,000 Irish born currently residing in the country. These numbers may seem pretty small considering that the population of the United States is over 315,500,000.

So then why is this serious religious holiday in Ireland, called St. Patrick's Day, being celebrated  in the United States this weekend? Here is some BASIC information on the day and then some MORE if you are really interested.

Meanwhile, I have some questions for you...

1. How is GOOGLE honoring it on their search page (only viewable on March 17)
2. What do people in Chicago do to their river? And WHY do they do that?
3. What is a shamrock and what does it have to do with the day?AND Where and when was the first St. Patrick's Day Parade?

Awaiting your questions, please post them in the comments below or email AskESLilly@gmail.com

The Madness of March Begins

If you work with Americans or have American friends, I am fairly confident that you will hear much discussion about this next topic. So whether you follow American college basketball or not, here is an opportunity for you to "to get on the train" and start understanding and joining the discussions around you.

Yes, the next exciting sports event that is starting in the U.S is called March Madness, and it's actually the championship tournament for the top college basketball teams in the country. Don't be confused if you are seeing a lot of college basketball games on tv this weekend, those are the individual "conference' or league championships that will help determine some of the teams in the national tournament.

Things get rolling today on Selection Sunday. This is when  the teams are announced. However, actual games won't begin until later in the week.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. For now, let me just share a few links so you can get some background information. First the wikipedia article.  And here is an article predicting where the teams in the Big Ten  will place (i.e. what "seed" they will be). This article was written before the Big Ten tournament began, but it's an introduction, none the less. (Since  the University of Illinois is my alma mater, and they are in the Big Ten, so I must confess my

And here are a few questions to guide your listening and reading over the next few days.
How many teams will be announced on Sunday?
Any surprises? Anyone snubbed?
Who is expected to/ will be the four NUMBER ONE SEEDS?
(and we are not talking about names of plants see definition number 3)
How long does the tournament last?

I will be explaining things as we go but meanwhile...What questions do YOU have?

Followup Question

One of my friends has sent a question about my last post about the new pope and asked me what the white smoke means.Check out the third section in this link about traditions in electing a new pope.  And here is one more question....what is done to make the smoke black or white? Keep those questions coming!

White Smoke Rises

It seems no matter where you look on tv or internet, you can't help but hear about the new Pope. Here are some interesting reports:
ONE  TWO THREE FOUR

Please let me know if you have any specific questions. For now, I have a few...

1.What are all the FIRSTs involved in this selection?
2.What are the key words that are being used to define him, (what is being repeated)?
3. What is unique about his lifestyle?

Gambling and the New Pope?!

Ok, this is interesting and a challenge as the report speaks very fast.
What does 76% refer to, and what is the irony about this, i.e. why is it mentioned in this report?