Dear readers This is my final entry. I’m all blogged out. Thank you for all your positive feedback; it is very much appreciated. If you would like to read more, a full e-copy of "Laugh about English with Luke" is available at Lulu.com Laugh about English with Luke My website is englishwithluke.com... Sign in to see full entry.
Final –s is often left off the plural nouns. You can find scores of examples in a supermarket in a foreign country: Food items Clothing * mixed cup cake * giant mushroom 1 kg * carrot 1 kg * beefburger 1200 gr * sport pant * boxer Combined with missing final s, there were also some interesting word... Sign in to see full entry.
Here are some more one letter bloopers from Taiwan: * To thieve other’s copyrights is a kind of rubbery. It’s immortal. * We ourself must learn mush information in international trade. * I think Taiwan ’s economy is stranger than the other country. This writing is often emailed to us for correction... Sign in to see full entry.
English spelling is notorious for being irregular and complex. T he history of English shows that it has been influenced by many foreign languages. English incorporated vocabulary from a number of other languages as Great Britain was conquered and ruled by foreign nations. This obviously affected... Sign in to see full entry.
Expressing your ideas in a foreign language isn’t easy. Many things have to be taken into account: choosing the right words in the right combination, the context, grammar, word order, spelling and punctuation. Quite often, even culture has to be considered. As you can see, there is a lot of scope... Sign in to see full entry.
Writing is a challenging skill to learn. Not only is the spelling complex and irregular, but English vocabulary is also a minefield. Many words have more than one meaning, and English language learners need to learn the correct context in which to use them. Examples of choosing the wrong context... Sign in to see full entry.
My Australian brother-in-law received a phone call from his Dutch friend who seemed to have a problem with ‘fishes’. Although he didn’t really understand why his friend wanted to talk about fishing, as a patient man and a good listener, he showed understanding and contributed to the telephone... Sign in to see full entry.
When traveling, you notice that more and more people are speaking English, or a form of it, in more and more countries. It is obvious that there is a marked improvement in the level of English spoken in most countries as well as the number of people who can speak some. On the other hand, many new... Sign in to see full entry.
Often these ‘bowel’ problems take us by surprise, and it may take some time to work out what the student is saying. I had some lovely Taiwanese ladies in my class a few years ago who insisted on looking after their teacher well. I would regularly find lunch on my desk, either a home-cooked meal or... Sign in to see full entry.
Most nationalities have problems with the English th-sound. It is interesting to notice that some students, especially South-Americans, replace it with an f, as the two sounds are close together. Children tend to do the same when learning English as their first language. So ‘thank you’ becomes ‘fank... Sign in to see full entry.