EWJ English with Jennifer
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The Blog for language learners. I Provide quality resources for learners and teachers of English. My goal is to make English language studies enjoyable and productive. Run By Jennifer Lebedev.
EWJ English with Jennifer
3d ago
The field of ESL attracts those who take more than a casual interest in other cultures. To different degrees, our careers involve international travel. A smaller number of teachers make a long-term commitment and teach abroad for years. What are the joys? What are the challenges? Since the internet remains accessible no matter where we...
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EWJ English with Jennifer
1w ago
If you’re like me, you’re starting to get into conference preparation mode. The annual TESOL convention will be held next week in Long Beach, California. From packing a few days’ worth of clothing to selecting sessions in advance, we participants have a to-do list. Are you on top of it? Don’t worry if you answered...
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EWJ English with Jennifer
2w ago
Oops! I missed my own mistake while writing a sentence during a livestream. Thankfully, I caught it afterwards, and I’ve pinned a comment with the correction and explanation. Guess what it was! Subject-verb agreement. This is what my fingers originally typed: Significant changes in your lifestyle requires a positive attitude. Do you see it? The...
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EWJ English with Jennifer
2w ago
Advanced students can usually construct sentences well. One challenge, however, can be to write both clearly and concisely, so it’s helpful to know what tends to contribute to wordiness. Overloading a sentence with prepositional phrases, for example, will do the trick. (See a related YouTube lesson.) Another culprit is the word “that.” Knowing when it’s...
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EWJ English with Jennifer
1M ago
This is the second part of my exclusive interview with grammar legend Betty Azar. Enjoy! (Jump back to Part 1 if you didn’t read that yet.) About BettyBetty Azar taught ESL at Iowa State University, 1965-1968, then at St. Louis University, 1968-1981. 1981 proved to be a significant year: Betty’s first book was published, Understanding...
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EWJ English with Jennifer
1M ago
How do I find the words to introduce someone whose work I’ve admired for years and whose impact on English language instruction spans decades? I was giddy like a child on Christmas morning when Betty Azar accepted my invitation to give an interview. I bubbled with delight at the chance to establish a real connection...
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EWJ English with Jennifer
1M ago
I’m dancing with excitement, and my heart is singing with joy because I’ll have the honor of sharing an exclusive two-part interview with the grammar legend Betty Azar! What would you ask someone who has helped shape our field and positively impacted the learning of millions worldwide? Imagine my delight at putting together a list...
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EWJ English with Jennifer
1M ago
Even if you’ve only dipped a toe in the world of personal development, you may know about the Wheel of Life, a form of self-assessment. As I understand, it was created by Paul J. Meyers, and it’s been used by life coaches for decades. I first learned about it from my Russian teacher, who introduced...
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EWJ English with Jennifer
1M ago
QUESTION: What’s the difference between “except” and “except for”? ANSWER: In many cases, they’re interchangeable. They both express the idea that someone or something is not included. We use these words to present exceptions. Dictionaries identify them as prepositions and conjunctions, and there seem to be common tendencies. Both can be followed by a noun...
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EWJ English with Jennifer
2M ago
Sometimes we need to remind our students how much they’ve learned and then guide them to apply it. Recently, I suggested alternative wording to a student who was scripting a conversation about New Year’s resolutions. In response to a question about future plans, one speaker said something to this effect: “Becoming fully fluent in conversation...
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