Learn English idioms (2)

Here are the answers to the idioms exercise from last week. I hope you got some correct.

Answers

1=i to be rushed off your feet means to work very hard or fast because you are busy.
2=e to brush something up means to refresh your memory or renew a skill.
3=j to be from all walks of life means to come from different occupations, professions or social
classes.
4=g to find yourself means to discover what you are good at or what your true ability is.
5=b to have the time of your life means to really enjoy yourself.
6=a the career ladder means the job positions someone works through in an organisation.
7=k to bend over backwards to do something means to make a large effort.
8=c to get out of a rut means to escape a routine course of life that is usually boring and
without opportunities.
9=d no end of something means what seems to be an unlimited supply of something.
10=l to go from strength to strength means to become better and more successful.
11=f to be up your street means to be completely suitable for you.
12=h to make all the difference to means to have a key effect.

Now look at the idioms in some more natural example sentences. When you read them try to think of the context. Who's speaking? Who are they speaking to? Where are they? Why are they speaking?

1) There's only one secretary working for the whole accounts department and the poor woman
is rushed off her feet.

2) I’m trying to brush up my Spanish as i'm going to Milan next month.

3) People from all walks of life come to London every year.

4) After working in a lot of different jobs he found himself and became a successful businessman.

5) I had the time of my life last Saturday, thanks for inviting me.

6) I don’t believe it I bent over backwards to help him and he didn’t say thank you.

7) It’s getting more and more difficult to climb the career ladder these days.

8) I just feel like I need to get out of this rut, I need to make a change.

9) There was no end of people I knew at the conference, it was actually quite fun.

10) My guitar playing’s going from strength to strength, I’ve been practising a lot.

11) That jacket is right up my street, how much is it?

12) The new leisure centre has made all the difference to this area.


Finally, here are some some questions for you to answer using the idioms. Please post you're answers in the comments. Try to use the idioms in your answers.

(As an alternative you could use them as conversation practice with a friend.)

Questions ?

1) How often are you rushed of your feet at work / with your studies?

2) What do you do to brush up your English?

3) Do you have people from all walks of life in your town / city?

4) Do you think you have found yourself?

5) When was the last time you had the time of your life?

6) Are you trying to climb the career ladder at the moment? Do you expect to soon?

7) When did you last bend over backwards to do something?

8) Are you in a rut? If so, what can you do to get out of it?

9) Do you ever feel that you have no end of time to do something and then find yourself rushed
off your feet trying to complete it?

10) What can you do to make your English go from strength to strength?

11) What music is right up your street?

12) What do you think could make all the difference to your happiness?

I hope you have managed to learn an idiom from these posts, come back soon for more English language learning.

Remember: idioms are a really fun way to learn a language and help you to understand a country's culture.

The London School of English Co-sponsors the Law Society's International Weekend

The London School of English is proud to announce its co-sponsorship of the Law Society's Junior Law Division International Weekend on 25 and 26 September 2009. Junior law associations from many countries are sending 56 delegates for a weekend activities including visits to barristers' chambers and the Houses of Parliament, and training sessions for many aspects of communication skills in a legal context. Our colleague Sam Thompson is organising a cross-cultural communication session for the group.

Learn English Idioms

So, summer is now over and finally the next part of the idioms post is complete. Things have been really busy but I have finished creating a more detailed look at the idioms highlighted in my last idioms post 29th July 2009. Sorry it’s taken so long. You can see the full post by clicking here http://londonschoolofenglish.blogspot.com/2009/07/idioms.html ,but here is the final piece of text again describing summer in the school.


So, summer's here (see previous post June) and all the staff in the school are rushed off their feet as there are a lot of learners here trying to brush up their English. It's an incredibly fun time of year in the school as we welcome people from all walks of life. Some of the young learners are trying to find themselves while some of the older learners are attempting to climb to the top of the career ladder or get out of a rut but whoever the learner may be they are all bending over backwards to improve their English.Summer is an excellent time to be in London because there are no end of things to do, from music festivals to day trips, from outdoor theatre to exhibitions. No matter, who you are, where you're from or what you do, there are things to do in London which are right up your street. So, why not come and visit us, experience the city and meet some new people from around the world? You never know you might just have the time of your life and your English could go from strength to strength and make all the difference to your life and career.


The idioms that were highlighted in the text (1-12) and their meanings (a-l), are listed below, Can you match them? Use the text above to help you.

1) to be rushed off your feet
2) to brush something up
3) to be from all walks of life
4) to find yourself
5) to have the time of your life
6) the career ladder
7) to bend over backwards to do something
8) to get out of a rut
9) no end of something
10) to go from strength to strength
11) to be up your street
12) to make all the difference to ……..

a) the job positions someone works through in an organisation
b) to really enjoy yourself
c) to escape a routine course of life that is usually boring and without opportunities
d) what seems to be an unlimited supply of something
e) to refresh your memory or renew a skill
f) to be completely suitable for you
g) to discover what you are good at or what your true ability is
h) to have a key effect
i) to work very hard or fast because you are busy
j) to come from different occupations, professions or social classes
k) to make a large effort
l) to become better and more successful

If you are not sure you can you use these questions to help you? They will also help you to check what you understand.


How much do you have to work if you are rushed off your feet? Why?

Does all walks of life only refer to your job?

If you find yourself what do you discover?

When you have the time of your life do you have the best time ever or just a really good time?

If you get out of a rut what do you escape?

Are you happy when you climb the career ladder?, What happens to you?

How much effort do you make when you bend over backwards to do something?

Is it good to brush something up? What do you do?

How much is available if there is no end of something?

How is it possible to go from strength to strength?

Are you usually happy if something is up your street? Why?

If something makes all the difference to you how significant is it? Why?


I will post the answers at the end of this week, as well as some example sentences with the idioms used in a different context. Until then I hope you have managed to work out a few of the answers.

Using Podcasts to Learn English (Part 3)

Click here for Part 1 and Part 2 of this post.

Hello again. In my last couple of posts I told you about podcasts and how you can listen to them. In this post I’m going to recommend some good podcasts which you can use every day.

First, I would like to say something about how you can use podcasts to improve your English. As a learner of English, you need to expose yourself to English as much as possible. One way to do this is to live in an English speaking country for a while, so you can be around people who are using the language, hear it in the streets, on the bus, in the pub, on TV, on the radio, from friends, teachers and classmates. Being surrounded by English is really important for developing your instinct for the language. If you don’t have the time or money to come to the UK, you can still surround yourself with English. The internet is a great way to do this.

• Download podcasts, put them on your iPod and then listen to them regularly.
• You should listen to them more than once so that the English really goes into your head!
• You don’t have to understand everything – just listening to the rhythm, vocabulary and sentence structure regularly will help you become familiar with the language, and to speak English well it has to be familiar to you!

Anyway, here are some good podcasts which I recommend. Click on the links provided to find each podcast. I’ve divided them into two groups: Ones for learners of English, and ones for native speakers of English.

Podcasts for learners of English:

The BBC

In my opinion, the BBC do everything well, and this includes their learning English podcasts.

Talk about English (Learn English). This is a 20 minute chat show which includes features and interviews to help you develop your English. They talk about useful expressions, grammar and other advice. You can listen to native speakers talking, then the presenter explains what they said. Level: intermediate and above. It is updated weekly.

6 Minute English. As the name suggests, this is a 6 minute show which focuses on the use of English in different common situations. Level: Intermediate and above. Updated weekly.

Grammar Challenge. Each week, the BBC challenges a learner of English to do a grammar task. You can use this podcast to help you understand grammar. It’s also about 6 minutes long and is updated weekly. Level: Intermediate and above.

The British Council have lots of podcasts available. Click here to visit their podcast page. There are lots of different podcasts available there, on different topics. Each podcast has a script, and they are clear and easy to understand. Some of the conversations are scripted though, and can sound a little unnatural.

If American English is your cup of tea, then check out the English as a Second Language Podcast. It’s a very popular one. Click here to visit their page, where you can find podcasts on lots of different topics. I think their business English podcasts are useful, but they sound a little bit slow and patronising sometimes. They should be easy to understand though.

Of course the freshest, funniest and most useful podcast on the internet must be my one! That’s it – it’s Luke’s English Podcast! You probably know about it by now because I’ve been plugging it in each of my blog posts! I do it myself, at home on my computer. You can use it to pick up lots of natural expressions, learn about vocabulary, grammar and culture. Get some good advice on speaking and improving your English, and practise your pronunciation. Hopefully, you’ll have a good laugh when listening to it too! Click here to find it - do it now!

Podcasts for native speakers of English:

Of course, the BBC is a great source of podcasts on a massive range of topics. Click here to visit their podcast homepage. There are podcasts on many different topics, so just find something you’re interested in and check it out. Try searching for podcast by genre. I recommend that you listen to a podcast on a subject that you are personally interested in. This will make it more than just a learning English experience.

If you’re interested in business English – listen to BBC Business Daily. It is updated every day, and it focuses on global business issues. This is a great way to keep your business English fresh, but also to be up-to-date on what is going on in the business world.

The Today Programme (BBC) is what millions of British people listen to every morning while eating breakfast. It is an entertaining show with interviews and news. The interviews with politicians are particularly interesting, especially when they have to answer difficult questions!

My favourite BBC radio programme is The Adam & Joe Show. You can find their podcast, which is updated once a week, here. It’s a funny, entertaining and ironic show. Listen to it regularly and you’ll become a very special person!

If you’re interested in movies, and you’re interested in listening to fast speech, check out Mark Kermode & Simon Mayo’s Film Reviews (BBC). It’s entertaining, funny and a great way to find out about all the latest film releases.

So, to sum up – podcasts are a great way to bring English into your life. Find one that you enjoy listening to, and then listen to it all the time! Play it while you are walking around, doing the housework, going to sleep, driving your car or when you are sitting at your desk ready to study something!

Have fun,

Luke.

Hattrick for Boa Lingua - London School of English Agency wins LTM Star Award 'Best Agency Western Europe' for the third time in a row

A message from Boa Lingua, a Partner Agency.

London School of English - Partner Agency, Boa Lingua in Switzerland won the LTM Star Award 'Best Agency Western Europe 2009'. 'We are honoured that we have won for the third time in a row. This award reflects our strong and personal relationships to our partner schools – as London School of English – as well as our high quality standards in counselling our students. I dedicate this award to the whole Boa Lingua team', says Kurt Krummenacher, Managing Director of Boa Lingua in Switzerland.

The annual award is presented by the well known 'Language Travel Magazine'. It is the most important award of the language travel industry. Nearly 700 people attended the event this year.