Who watched the Grammy Awards? If you listened to podcast episode #33, then you learned about the Golden Globes, the awards ceremony for the TV and movie industry. The Grammy Awards is the awards ceremony that recognizes performers, musicians, songwriters and others in the music industry. Here is a news article from the Hollywood Reporter about the […] Read more »
TPRS: Teaching Proficiency Through Reading and Storytelling
Teaching Proficiency Through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS) is the method that I use in the Success with Stories program. TPRS was developed by an American Spanish language teacher named Blaine Ray. There are a few key components of the method that I think are very important and I want you to know about them. 1. […] Read more »
American Hustle
The movie “American Hustle” won several Golden Globe awards and has received 10 Oscar nominations. Have you seen it? If so, did you like it? Here is a short clip showing the first time that the two main characters, Irving and Sydney, meet. Listen to the dialogue and answer the questions below to check your […] Read more »
Sample Question and Answer Lesson – Juan Goes to New York
One of the most effective methods for becoming a better speaker of English (or any language) is the use of Question and Answer lessons (or circling – as it is known by teachers who use the TPRS method of language acquisition). This technique is effective because it gives you lots of repetitions, so you can […] Read more »
Podcast Episode 34 – In-App Purchases
Have you ever played Clash of Clans? Have you ever crushed candies in Candy Crush Saga? Have you ever spent money on in-app purchases? In episode #34 of the English Fluency Now podcast, I talk about in-app purchases and how this new revenue model is making some gaming companies super rich. To learn more about […] Read more »
Are You Afraid to Speak?
Are you afraid to speak English? Are you worried about making mistakes? Are you embarrassed if someone asks you to repeat something? Well, join the crowd! Just about everybody I know who has tried learning another language has been afraid to speak. The most common reason to learn a language is to be able […] Read more »
How To Be a Successful Self-Directed Learner
One of the amazing things about the internet these days is that you can learn practically anything online. Whether you are interested in perfecting your coding skills, learning how to knit a hat, baking the perfect apple pie, or becoming an excellent English speaker, you can likely find a website, a video, a program or […] Read more »
Podcast Episode 33 – Golden Globe Awards
Tomorrow evening, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association will present the 71st Golden Globe Awards to viewers throughout the world. Actors, directors, screen writers and others working in the film and TV industry will be recognized for excellence in 25 different categories. Each category has five nominees, but only one will go home with the Golden […] Read more »
Become an Excellent English Speaker with Success with Stories
Last Sunday, I released the first volume of a new series of programs that I have created to help English learners become excellent speakers of English. The program is called Success with Stories and it uses the Teaching Proficiency Through Stories (TPRS) method developed by Blaine Ray. The program gives you MASSIVE amounts of comprehensible input […] Read more »
Learn Phrasal Verbs with Songs
One of the things that can be difficult for English learners is understanding the grammatical structures known as phrasal verbs. Phrasal verbs combine verbs and prepositions to make idiomatic expressions whose meaning is usually not obvious by understanding the individual words. They are used a lot in both written and spoken English. To improve your listening and […] Read more »