Travel and Sightseeing: Going alone or with a friend?

If you had the opportunity to travel overseas for a month, would you rather go alone or travel with someone else (a family member or a friend)? Share your reasons. Also, talk about the place you would want to visit.

Randall

English Proverbs: How do they relate to you?

Many language has certain sayings or proverbs that teach some moral lesson about like, and English is no exception. Choose one of the following proverbs, share your ideas on what it means, and then tell us how it relates to your own life:

• Charity begins at home.
• Don't bite off more than you can chew.
• The best things in life are free.
• The more you know, the more you know you don't know.
• Walk the walk and talk the talk.

Randall

Teacher Features at Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab

Over the years, many visitors (teachers and students) have used my main Website, www.esl-lab.com, to either teacher or learn English as a second or foreign language. Now, I'd like to feature teachers and how they have used the listening materials to help students improve their language skills. Please visit this page for more information:

http://www.esl-lab.com/teacherfeature.htm

It is also interesting that many visitors ARE native speakers, but they might have hearing impairments and benefit from the listening content in interpreting meaning from the sounds they hear. I never thought about this use when I first started my site back in 1998.

Randall

Good Manners: Understanding the Cultural Puzzle

When you visit a new area or country, you really need to learn the rules of good etiquette or manners so you don't offend other people. However, what are some basic manners that you feel people should know and how are these manners changing? For example, when I was growing up over 30 years ago in the US, men would always give up their seats to a woman on a bus. It was just considered polite. However, this is changing. In fact, at this very moment, I am writing this message on a city bus as I travel to work today, and the bus in packed with people. Yet, there are some women standing while other men are sitting. In other words, men don't give up their seats as often these days. Perhaps this is due in part to fact that the movement of feminist equality makes men wonder if women really want to be treated differently.

So, what about your area, culture, or country? What are some general rules of etiquette I should know and have these rules changed over time?

Randall

Basic ESL Listening Activities

Many learners have used my main Website, http://www.esl-lab.com/, but other students are looking for easier listening activities for low-level students. Well, the good news is that I am adding such activities to my site now, and you can see these in the middle of my main page and are called Basic Listening Quizzes. Give these a try. The can help you improve your basic listening skills. Here are direct links to some of them:

Introductions and Small Talk - http://esl-lab.com/eslbasic/introductions-smalltalk-1.htm

Shopping and Prices - http://esl-lab.com/eslbasic/shopping-prices-1.htm

Family - http://esl-lab.com/eslbasic/family-1.htm

Directions Around Town - http://esl-lab.com/eslbasic/travel-sightseeing-1.htm

Bus Travel - http://esl-lab.com/eslbasic/travel-busschedules-1.htm

Let me know what you think.

Randall

World Food Crisis: How are rising prices affecting you?

Food prices around the world are slowing increasing, and this has been hard of people in different countries, particularly where governments don't produce enough food and have to import food to feed their people. So, how have prices affected you or people in your own country? What do you think are the causes and solutions?

Take a look at at some articles about the topic HERE.

Randall

Memorial Day: Do you have a similar holiday?

Today is Memorial Day in the United States, which is held on the last Monday of May. It is the day when people remember those who have died in military service, but we also remember family members who have died. Many people take flowers to the cemeteries, and cities often hold parades or other memorial ceremonies. In addition, it is often considered the beginning of summer because many schools end around this time of year, and people have barbecues, go camping, or do other outdoor activities.

So, do you have a similar holiday in your country? If so, what do you do on this day? What is the meaning of this day to you? Share your ideas.

Randall