5 Easy and Fun Ideas to Help You Improve Your English

January 15, 2019

Happy New Year!

Do you have English goals for 2019? (Goals = objectives, intentions)

Here are 5 easy and fun ideas to help you improve your English. Choose one, two, or all five. The most important thing is to make them part of your routine- part of your day, every day. Good luck!

1) Music in English: Listen, write, sing!

Lyrics = words of a song

We recommend these activities:

Choose an English song. Then…

Find the song on the internet. Search on www.YouTube.com
Listen to the song without stopping.
Listen to the song again. Pause (stop) when you want. Repeat.
If you understand all or most of the words, write them as you listen.
Then search YouTube or the internet for “song name + lyrics”
Read the lyrics as you listen to the song. Repeat.
Sing along with the song! Imitate (copy) the accent.
After you know the song very well, search “song name + karaoke” Now it’s your turn! Sing with the music!

For example: “Hey Jude” by The Beatles

Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQER0A0ej0M

Lyrics: http://www.songlyrics.com/the-beatles/hey-jude-lyrics/

Song and Lyrics on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhXU8c8qwXs

Karaoke: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hey+jude+karaoke

2) Live more of your life in English!

Break the habit of translating into your language.

We recommend these activities:

Talk to yourself in English when nobody is listening! In the shower, when cooking, when walking your dog, anywhere!

You may feel strange at first, but remember: nobody is listening. (You can sing in the shower in English, too!)

Change the language on your cell phone to English.
Read one news story in English every day. See if these are a good level for you:

https://www.newsinlevels.com/

http://www.thetimesinplainenglish.com/

Write about your experiences every day in an English diary. Don’t worry about your grammar and spelling, just write!

3) New words: make them YOURS!

Frequent = common; happens often

Frequency = the number of times that something happens during a period of time (High frequency English words are common.)

Flash card = a small card. One side has the new word; the other side has a picture, definition, or the word in your language.

We recommend these activities:

When you see or hear a new word:

Try to understand the word first, then check the dictionary.
Check the English frequency. Memorize common English words. In this online dictionary https://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/learn/red-words.html, frequent English words are red and have 1, 2 or 3 stars to indicate frequency.
Write it in a personal vocabulary list. Keep the list in a small notebook or your cell phone. Write the correct pronunciation after the word. (Use the “pronunciation” button at www.macmillandictionary.com to hear the word.)
Practice A LOT.
Listen to and imitate the pronunciation. Repeat many times.

Write it 5 times.

Use it in a sentence.

Make flash cards. Carry them with you! Practice your new words when you take the subway or bus, wait on line at the supermarket - whenever you have a few minutes.

4) Writing: practice gratitude in English!

We recommend this activity:

Every night, write 5 sentences in English: “I am thankful for _________.”

You can be thankful for something that is important, small, funny, or serious – you choose.

5 things that we at Let’s Go Speak English are thankful for:

1. We are thankful for our awesome students.

2. We are thankful for hot coffee.

3. We are thankful for the beautiful parks in New York City.

4. We are thankful for the opportunity to help English learners in our great city.

5. We are thankful that you are visiting this blog!

5) Practice English in the real world!

We recommend this activity:

Study with a private tutor who will help you learn and practice English while enjoying New York City. Contact us!

OUTDOOR CONCERTS IN NEW YORK CITY PARKS – LET’S GO!

June 1, 2018

The weather may still feel like spring, but outdoor events are starting! If you enjoy music, you can listen for free - or play yourself! Two special events in June: 1) FREE concerts by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, 2) 51 "Sing for Hope" pianos are available to the public on NYC streets.

1) The New York Philharmonic Concerts in the Parks take place in all five NYC boroughs from June 12-17. For the exact schedule, visit their website:

https://nyphil.org/parks

All performances begin at 8:00 p.m. except the Free Indoor Concert in Staten Island, which begins at 3:00 p.m. There will be fireworks after the performances in the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn.

2) "Sing for Hope" will put 51 artistically-decorated pianos on the streets of New York City! Go play one yourself or listen to someone playing! The first piano will be available on June 4 at 12:00 noon at 28 Liberty Plaza. For a complete schedule of the piano locations, visit this website:

https://www.singforhope.org/pianos/2018-artists-map/

You can enter your zip code at the site to find a piano near you!

And to learn more about this event, visit this website:

https://www.6sqft.com/51-stunning-sing-for-hope-pianos-will-hit-the-streets-of-nyc-this-summer/

Let’s learn and practice some vocabulary to talk about these events!

(You can download a copy of these exercises - go down to the black button at the bottom: DOWNLOAD PDF.)

INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED English learners: Go down to Exercise 2 below for a more difficult activity.

BEGINNER English learners: Exercise 1. Choose ONE correct word to fill-in-the-blank. (Answers are at the bottom of the page.)

1. Every _______ (winter / January / June), people can go to FREE concerts in New York City parks.

2. The New York Philharmonic Orchestra plays ________ (baseball / classical music / soccer).

3. The FREE concerts are outside! Bring a _________ (blanket / car / computer) to sit on.

4. You need to pay _________ ($10 / $20 / nothing) because the concerts are free.

5. If you want to eat during the concert, bring _________ (picnic foods / a restaurant / nothing).

6. If you want to drink a ________ (hamburger / beverage / hotdog), bring some water, juice or soda.

7. After the concert, they have a noisy and pretty display of ________ (paintings / fireworks / books). Beautiful!

INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED English learners: Exercise 2. Write in the missing words. Choose from the list below. (Answers are at the bottom of the page.)

beverages fireworks no matter opportunity performs picnicking popular recommend sets rain or shine

The New York Philharmonic Orchestra ____________(8) free concerts in NYC parks every June. This provides a very special _____________(9) to sit outside and hear classical music by a world-class orchestra.

We ____________(10) that you go early to get a good place to sit. The concerts are very _______________(11), so they are usually very crowded. They do place speakers around the area so you can hear reasonably well ______________(12) where you sit.

Do you enjoy eating outside while sitting on the ground? This is called _____________(13). Bring food and _____________(14) to the concerts and have a picnic with your friends. The music will wash over you as the sun ________(15). And by the way, the concerts usually take place ______________________(16), so bring an umbrella if rain is expected!

Immediately after the 90-minute concerts, in all boroughs except Staten Island, there is a display of ______________(17) as a grand finale!

Have a wonderful time at the concerts! Go play or listen to some of the 51 pianos! Free music in NYC - let's go!

And check back here soon to practice your English and learn about more summer events in NYC!

ANSWERS: 1. June 2. classical music 3. blanket 4. nothing 5. picnic foods 6. beverage 7. fireworks 8. performs 9. opportunity 10. recommend 11. popular 12. no matter 13. picnicking 14. beverages 15. sets 16. rain or shine 17. Fireworks

NY Philharmonic on the Great Lawn in Central Park!

Download PDF

Sing for Hope Piano near Lincoln Center and West 62nd Street

Thanksgiving in New York City!

November 15, 2017

Thanksgiving is a national holiday in the United States. Have you ever been here for it? The City That Never Sleeps does slow down for Thanksgiving. We relax with our families and cook. And cook. And cook. And cook. And then eat and eat and eat. And reheat and eat some more. A great holiday!

The first Thanksgiving celebrated the first successful harvest of the Pilgrims in 1621. They thanked the Native Americans for helping them survive the long, hard winter. Watch a fun video about the history of this holiday called, "Bet you didn't know: Thanksgiving" at this link:

So right now, we New Yorkers are planning our menus, cleaning out our refrigerators and getting excited to see our family. Robin is baking Thanksgiving sugar cookies! Do you like baking? Let's talk about it and share recipes. See one of Robin's favorite sugar cookie recipes below.

And for listening and reading practice about baking, go to this website for a great activity: http://www.esl-lab.com/bakingcookies/bakingcookiesrd1.htm

Check back next week for more Thanksgiving ideas and some photos of the Macy's Day parade balloons!

Robin's Rolled Sugar Cookies

Use a mixer at medium speed to cream together: 1 cup butter (salted or unsalted) and 2/3 cup sugar (about 2 minutes).

Beat in 1 large egg.

Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon salt (do not add salt if you used salted butter), and 2 1/2 cups sifted flour (sift the flour BEFORE measuring).

Mix all ingredients for 2 minutes until well-mixed.

Form 2 flat balls of cookie dough. Wrap them in waxed paper or saran wrap and put in a plastic bag. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (350°F).

Roll dough out on a lightly floured table to 1/4 inch thick.

Cut into shapes with cookie cutters and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Top with colored sprinkles. Bake 8-10 minutes until just lightly colored. Remove from cookie sheets. Cool on wire racks. Makes: 24-30 delicious cookies! Enjoy!