There are many words that are imitation of sounds we hear in the environment and nature.
Tires screech, horns beep or toot, buttons click and so on.
Each language hears the same things, but expresses them differently in writing and speech.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Onomatopoeia
Today I'm uploading a video that deals with onomatopoeias .
There are many words that are imitation of sounds we hear in the environment and nature.
Tires screech, horns beep or toot, buttons click and so on.
Each language hears the same things, but expresses them differently in writing and speech.
There are many words that are imitation of sounds we hear in the environment and nature.
Tires screech, horns beep or toot, buttons click and so on.
Each language hears the same things, but expresses them differently in writing and speech.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Today I'm uploading part 1 and 2 of "insects".
It's common to call insects - bugs. As you will see, many insects are also pests. Pests make life for humans difficult.
You'll also notice that the word "pests" almost trips me up... there is something unnatural about pronouncing words that end in "sts"...
Thank you for watching.
Joseph
It's common to call insects - bugs. As you will see, many insects are also pests. Pests make life for humans difficult.
You'll also notice that the word "pests" almost trips me up... there is something unnatural about pronouncing words that end in "sts"...
Thank you for watching.
Joseph
Monday, June 11, 2012
Today I'm uploading a new video... Prepositions.
A preposition is a word which precedes a noun (or a pronoun) to show the noun's (or the pronoun's) relationship to another word in the sentence. (The word preposition comes from the idea of being positioned before. It is not true to say that a preposition always precedes a noun or a pronoun, but it does most of the time.)
My wife, Grace, is the model and she demonstrates several different important prepositions. I also used an animated character of myself in this video... It's fun to experiment with different techniques while making these videos.
Thank you for watching
Joseph
A preposition is a word which precedes a noun (or a pronoun) to show the noun's (or the pronoun's) relationship to another word in the sentence. (The word preposition comes from the idea of being positioned before. It is not true to say that a preposition always precedes a noun or a pronoun, but it does most of the time.)
My wife, Grace, is the model and she demonstrates several different important prepositions. I also used an animated character of myself in this video... It's fun to experiment with different techniques while making these videos.
Thank you for watching
Joseph
Friday, May 25, 2012
Today I uploaded a new "Word of the Day" video.
Today's word is: Hat.
I include images of at least ten different hats. From a baseball hat to a hard hat, from a pirate hat to a baby bonnet. I meant to include "lifeguard hat" and "Mickey Mouse Ears", but alas, I forgot. Hope you enjoy the video... Thanks for watching.
Joseph
video link
Today's word is: Hat.
I include images of at least ten different hats. From a baseball hat to a hard hat, from a pirate hat to a baby bonnet. I meant to include "lifeguard hat" and "Mickey Mouse Ears", but alas, I forgot. Hope you enjoy the video... Thanks for watching.
Joseph
video link
Thursday, May 3, 2012
New video today!
It's another common idiomatic phrase: I'll scratch your back if you scratch my back. It can also be shortened to: I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine.
It basically means: I'll help you with a difficult task if you help me with a difficult task. The way it is said, it implies that you need to help me first, then I'll help you.
Thanks for watching.
Joseph
It's another common idiomatic phrase: I'll scratch your back if you scratch my back. It can also be shortened to: I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine.
It basically means: I'll help you with a difficult task if you help me with a difficult task. The way it is said, it implies that you need to help me first, then I'll help you.
Thanks for watching.
Joseph
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Six One, Half a Dozen the Other
This idiom is used when comparing two things that you feel have about the same value as each other.
My grandfather used to use this idiom all the time... when talking about the political parties in America, he'd roll his eyes, then say, "Six one, half a dozen the other". Meaning... he thought both major parties were the same...
My grandfather used to use this idiom all the time... when talking about the political parties in America, he'd roll his eyes, then say, "Six one, half a dozen the other". Meaning... he thought both major parties were the same...
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Silent 'B' Words
The topic is Silent 'B' Words.
This is one thing that I've noticed that trips non native English speakers up. We have many common words that have a silent "B" in them.
This topic is broken into three different videos.
This is one thing that I've noticed that trips non native English speakers up. We have many common words that have a silent "B" in them.
- Aplomb
- Bomb
- Climb
- Crumb
- Comb
- Debt
- Doubt
- Dumb
- Lamb
- Limb
- Numb
- Plumber
- Subtle
- Succumb
- Thumb
- Tomb
- Womb
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
April Fool's Day
April Fool's Day
I never really liked "practical jokes" as a kid, and April Fool's Day is all about practical jokes of one type or another. Still, April Fools is a big day in the USA, as it is in many other parts of the world, and it's good for you to know about it.
The jokes can be as simple as telling you that your shoes are untied, to having pizzas delivered to you... and you have to pay. Others can be mean spirited with their jokes and say horrible things. A serious prankster may suggest that your dog died, or that the police are looking for you.
To me, most of the "jokes" people play on April Fool's Day aren't funny, but they do. :)
I never really liked "practical jokes" as a kid, and April Fool's Day is all about practical jokes of one type or another. Still, April Fools is a big day in the USA, as it is in many other parts of the world, and it's good for you to know about it.
The jokes can be as simple as telling you that your shoes are untied, to having pizzas delivered to you... and you have to pay. Others can be mean spirited with their jokes and say horrible things. A serious prankster may suggest that your dog died, or that the police are looking for you.
To me, most of the "jokes" people play on April Fool's Day aren't funny, but they do. :)
Monday, March 19, 2012
New Videos To Restart April 2nd
I'm filming/shooting the next batch of videos for Joseph Teaches English (JTE) and plan on uploading several per week throughout the month of April. I have a whole laundry list (perhaps I should make a video from that idiom too) of ideas.
Thank you to all those that have been watching.
Have a good rest of March and I'll see you in April.
Thank you to all those that have been watching.
Have a good rest of March and I'll see you in April.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Joseph Teaches English
Hello, welcome to my blog. The topics will be in relation to my http://www.youtube.com/user/josephteachesenglish (JTE) channel at YouTube.
Back in 2009, my wife and I opened a YouTube channel called Italian Lessons 101. Our intent was to make at least 6 videos, but we really didn't know where to start. Our first video is really poor. The camera wasn't HD, the sound went in and out, and we really looked nervous. We made a few videos and then sort of forgot about it. A few months later we checked back in, and we had accumulated many views. So we decided to make more videos. The common thread in my video production is fun.
The difficult part for me, was that I am not a native Italian speaker, and our videos had to be kept very simple. At the beginning of 2012 I thought I should try to make ESL style videos. I love the English language and I've wanted to make videos with definitions of words. A few years back, I made several animated videos called "Animated Definitions". Perhaps I should upload some of those the JTE... they mostly dealt with slang.
In addition to my JTE (JosephTeachesEnglish) videos and the Italian language videos I'm an animator. My son and I are working on a project right now, and my time is really limited for other projects at the moment. However, I have a growing list of topics that I can't wait to get to for JTE.
Thanks to all that watch my videos.
Joseph
Back in 2009, my wife and I opened a YouTube channel called Italian Lessons 101. Our intent was to make at least 6 videos, but we really didn't know where to start. Our first video is really poor. The camera wasn't HD, the sound went in and out, and we really looked nervous. We made a few videos and then sort of forgot about it. A few months later we checked back in, and we had accumulated many views. So we decided to make more videos. The common thread in my video production is fun.
The difficult part for me, was that I am not a native Italian speaker, and our videos had to be kept very simple. At the beginning of 2012 I thought I should try to make ESL style videos. I love the English language and I've wanted to make videos with definitions of words. A few years back, I made several animated videos called "Animated Definitions". Perhaps I should upload some of those the JTE... they mostly dealt with slang.
In addition to my JTE (JosephTeachesEnglish) videos and the Italian language videos I'm an animator. My son and I are working on a project right now, and my time is really limited for other projects at the moment. However, I have a growing list of topics that I can't wait to get to for JTE.
Thanks to all that watch my videos.
Joseph
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