ESL Blogs

To put it simply, collocation means 'some words are often used/placed together', for example, 'make a mistake', 'make your bed', 'do the warshing up', etc. 

Some people may not agree that collocation should include idioms, fixed expressions or phrasal verbs, such as 'keep it up', 'here and there', 'shut up'. So, what's really a collocation is still arguable. 

It makes sense, however, to take the time to learn about collocation if you really want to sound natural. You say 'fast food' or 'heavy smok

Hi, my friends! This blog is a continuation of the previous with the same title. I was recommended to do it and I completely agree So, I am adding five more expressions for you to have something to think about! LOL!!!

1. to have it in for.

He expected to lose his job because the boss had had it in for him for a long time.

2. to take on.

We have to take on somebody to take care of our pets.

3. to break in.

It is better to break in a new car slowly.

4. to be bound to.

With business improving they are boun

           My house

  My house has many rooms

  with windows that catch the sun.

  Outside the house are trees and grass

  where I can jump and run.

  I stand  near my mother in the kitchen

  and watch her make a cake.

  If   I watch her well,

  then I will learn to bake.

  My father  has a room with tools

  that I can sometimes  use.

  Saws and hammers, nails and string-

  my father lets me choose.

   But all of the rooms inside my house,

   my room's the best by far.

   I have  books and planes and cars and

These pictures are supposed to be annoying and make you anxious! 

Photographer Aaron Tilley was asked to create a horrible moment when you feel something bad is going to happen. These pictures were published in Kinfolk Magazine’s recent Adrenaline Issue. The emphasis is on the relationship between one's mind perception and their body reaction. The anticipation makes the body release adrenaline, even if nothing actually happens.

Look at the pictures below. They are supposed to invoke a sense of dis

"Why are you still here, Dad? Why do you not stay there with your wife?"

"Are you driving me out?", asked the man who was over 50 years-old.

"THIS IS MY HOUSE. You ought to stay there", replied his son.

Without having courage and strength, the man went to his brother's house that are not far from his house. He was shocked. He told his brother about what his son said while shedding tears. His brother immediately phoned that son telling to come and explain.

Knowing that this matter could make him be i

A SHOPPING TRIP: 

I do not like shopping. All the shopping for me and kids are done by my wife. Once she very casually asked me whether I was coming with her. She had to make some shopping for her and kids.

“Ok” I nodded in affirmation. “Oh! You are coming!” Her smile was showing her pleasure while there was surprise in her eyes. 

First we went to Bahadurabad, where she started wandering shop to shop. I was just following her quietly. She purchased two shalwar kameez suits for herself and two four

This professor is a genius and a master of pranks. What wouldn't I give to see the look on that student's face! It looks a little suspicious, but who wouldn't fall for that? 

I bet the first thing that has come to his/her mind was this, "Am I the teacher's pet? Yippee! Heh heh heh. Take that, Robby and Jerry!" 

Poor kid!

How about you? Have you ever been the victim of a cruel yet an awesome prank during college and/or high school?

Have you ever played pranks on someone?

Let's see whose prank's going

Aloha awesomely sweet EC people!

This Señorita is being another busy bee this week! but this is not a complain though. Because to complain is not cool, we are lucky people! - you can breath, right? ;)

I see this site has been on fire!! How dare you guys?! I asked you in my last blog post to be boring!! I can't come online here too often now and I'm missing lot of cool things :(

I want to apologize if still I didn't write any comment in many of the blogs that some of you wrote here, but I promise I

My dear friends! I came across the similar discussion a few days ago and it gave me an idea of starting mine. Honestly, I didn't like that discussion as its author just said we use Latin abbreviations, but didn't explain their meanings. So, I am going to explain what they mean and how to use them. I have a list of such words and abbreviations in a paper book, but I don't have its digital copy. So, I decided to type them here from time to time with my explanations. Today I am posting the words fr

10 Tips for Successful TOEIC Listening and Reading Preparation

1. Evaluate Your Level for Free

The best way to start is to download the TOEIC Examinee Handbook and try to read it up to page 7. Then stop! (Otherwise you’ll accidentally read printed transcripts of the audio questions of the online sample test provided by ETS).

Then, take the sample test from the ETS site to evaluate both your listening and toeic reading skills. Then, take a rest.

After 1-2 days, take a second test of 45 TOEIC training

Yes, you can see the profile pictures or avatars of our new members in the upper-left area of the MyEC main page. 

You may find there's no comment on the new member's page if you try to click on a new member's profile picture. That means nobody has visited their page, or at least, nobody has left a comment for them. 

Imagine you are one of the new members or newbies who just signed up to become a member of MyEC. You don't know where to start - you could be so confused. You don't know where to find

Cheating is the death of reasoning. 

An activity that sounds priceless and worthless in the long run of achieving a quality education is cheating in exams, for now, it has not only left many minds with a weird feeling to do nothing, but also has mainly left the youth off-hands with an unreliable confidence to be well-prepared for every exam without having even a slight look on books. The elimination of the increasing cheating should be brought under a strong control, otherwise; it will leave hund

We normally think that speaking is an art. A person must be so adept and skillful in order to hold his or her audiences spellbound. Apart from having good information about the topic, one must know how to deliver a moving or a powerful speech.  How about listening? Have you ever thought that listening is also an art too?

A speech would be more efficient and effective, if it had listeners who were attentive. A lot of problems in communicating and also a lot of misunderstandings are due to either n

Choosen Picture:

Image Source: gratisography.com/ Ryan McGuire

The picture shows three men sitting on the edge of what looks like a channel in some European city. It was taken by photographer Ryan McGuire. It's a black-and-white photo, what makes it a very nostalgic picture to contemplate details. In fact, it makes me remember older periods of the human history, even though I don't really know  what year or day this very photo was taken.

In the foreground, we can notice a stone causeway with a high

"truth sounds like hatred

for those who hate the truth"

Good day folks, been a while I didn't write any stuff, so today I want to talk about something, which will not cause any problems to you and me. And topic, a few people know about, and no one care about. But it doesn't change its truth and realism. At least I hope some will react with agression and hatred. Blog contains political crap with some nonsense from my sick mind, so if you think you will not like it, then do not cross the line above:

To whom it may concern,

I have been the recipient of an impolite comment. Once. Big whoop! Who hasn't? It happens, hey sticks and stones, right? We all are grown-ups here (minus some of our cute and adorable members who have not entered the astonishing(?) world of adulthood yet), and we know that adults swear. Boy, do they swear! Sometimes it just feels right, you know? But the fact of the matter is that MyEC is for learning and teaching English. A step by step guide to swearing is not the priori

THE WANDERING SPIRIT!

Last night I had a nightmare. I saw that I was in a net café where some people were already there. A girl came floating to me and hold my arm very firmly. I got a bit frightened.

lesson%201.mp3

trying something new... I'm not good and really nervous but i plan to get better at it :)

 English may not be spoken language in the world, but it is the official language in a large number of countries. It is estimated that the number of people in the world that use in English to communicate on a regular basis is 2 billion! English is the dominant business language and it has become almost a necessity for people to speak English if they are to enter a global workforce, research from all over the world shows that cross-border communication is most often conducted in English. Its impo

I should like to thank Expector Smith for kindly agreeing to become Group Administrator for the Official MyEC Welcoming Committee.

This group, started by Tara, has been very helpful in encouraging members to welcome new members and "show them the ropes".

Expector and other existing group members have many good ideas on this subject. If you would like to participate, please feel free to join the group. I know that Expector - and other members - will welcome you to the Welcoming Committee :)