What's the difference? Parley vs Parlay

Parley - (n) - speech or conversation; (v) - to discuss terms, to hold discussion with

ex: The county school board hopes to parley with teacher over a new contract.

Parlay - (n) - from  French and Italian parole - ''words, promises'' - However, now it means ''to exploit.''

ex: He luckily parlayed a meager $100 investment into a Fortune 500 company.

*** If you are in São Paulo and need English lessons, or Elite English Services including translations (Spanish/French/Portuguese to English), please contact Professor Winn by sending an email to mrenglish101@gmail.com for a prompt evaluation. Buy your English-language texts today!

Bring the Bard into your English class today!

Using Shakespeare in EFL Class
While sometimes controversial for whatever reason, even his detractors must concede the Bard on both the English language and literature.

If one can understand the literature of a second language, one can derive a deeper understanding of that language.

Even for some English speakers, William Shakespeare may be a challenge. As an EFL instructor, you have a choice among tragedies, comedies, and histories. His sonnets may be a tougher assignment.

Julius Cesar's Assassination
Julius Cesar is one of my favorite tragic-histories of the Bard.

One the more memorable scenes is the assassination of Cesar on the Ides of March in the Roman Senate (Act III, Scene I).

So, here is a suggestion. Take a popular scene. If there is video, all the better. Have students take turns reading the parts - all the better with passion of a Shakespearean actor if possible. Then play the video for students to follow the scene if necessary with the texts they just read.

Resources
For the assassination scene in Julius Cesar, enotes.com and youtube.com are handy. Enotes has a split-page showing the original text and the ''modern interpretation.'' Youtube has this scene as a short video.

You have all the elements for introducing students gently to the Bard in the classroom!

Have you used Shakespeare in your class already? Do you have more suggestions or tips?

*** If you are in São Paulo and need English lessons, or Elite English Services including translations (Spanish/French/Portuguese to English), please contact Professor Winn by sending an email to mrenglish101@gmail.com for a prompt evaluation. Buy your English-language texts today!

Famous People in English Class

Are you looking for an exciting addition to your latest lesson plan?

There appears to be, at least in elementary and intermediate level English textbooks, an emphasis on using movie stars and other celebrities for instructional material.

A great website you may want to consider for celebrity material is Famous People Lessons.

You get a short story about a star's life (reading), an MP3 (listening), and exercises (writing).

So, you have already covered three of the four basic language skills.

You can easily slip in a discussion (speaking) to elicit the opinions of students about the person's life.

Now that is a complete lesson all from one website!

*** If you are in São Paulo and need English lessons, or Elite English Services including translations (Spanish/French/Portuguese to English), please contact Professor Winn by sending an email to mrenglish101@gmail.com for a prompt evaluation. Buy your English-language texts today!

What´s the difference - Listen to vs Listen for?

Starting English class with a challenge seems to please my students.

 My ''What's the difference?'' segment points out a particular problem students face learning the language. It is usually a fine point not covered normally in the course of a class, but is valuable nonetheless.

For example - Jack listens to his friend´s car.
                       Jacks listens for his friend´s car.

To ''listen to '' is to the process of hearing, in this case, a noise from the car.

To ''listen for'' is the process of hearing, but also in anticipation of some certain sound or event. In this case, Jack is waiting for the sound of his friend's car.

*** If you are in São Paulo and need English lessons, or Elite English Services including translations (Spanish/French/Portuguese to English), please contact Professor Winn by sending an email to mrenglish101@gmail.com for a prompt evaluation. Buy your English-language texts today!

Historic vs Historical - What's the difference?

Sometimes as a native teacher it is difficult to explain  to a student an idea or concept that you feel naturally.

So was the case of historic vs. historical. What's the difference?

Hat tips to Grammar Girl and Grammar Monster:

Well, both are adjectives, but their sameness diverges there.

Historic: used to describe something momentous or influential in history

Ex: 9/11 was a historic event in US history.

Historical: generally means ''from the past'' or ''relating to history,'' momentous or not

Ex: The US Constitution is a historical document.

Bonus: Notice the indefinite article ''a'' is used instead of ''an.''

*** If you are in São Paulo and need English lessons, or Elite English Services including translations (Spanish/French/Portuguese to English), please contact Professor Winn by sending an email to mrenglish101@gmail.com for a prompt evaluation. Buy your English-language texts today!