Teaching and Learning English

 I was in an online Toastmasters International meeting on Zoom, talking about learning the English Language. 

My project was a question and answer session.

One of the audience asked me

1 How do I improve my English?

For American English, watch Friends with subtitles, several times, until you know the lines by heart (meaning you can remember the lines and repeat them or guess them after hearing the start of each sentence). 

For British English watch traditional British films such as

The Ladykillers starring Alec Guinness and Peter Sellars.

My Fair Lady, starring Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn.

a) Listen to the BBC. 

b) Listen to recordings of speeches such as the Christmas message, by the British royals, King Charles III, and his late (ie deceased) mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

c) Listen to the news on the BBC.

b) Read English newspapers such as The Times and The Sunday Times. Read technical and scientific journals on subjects which interest you.

2 Where can I find out about alliteration, similes and metaphors? 

I have written a book on alliteration. It is humorous, and alphabetical. From book titles such as Famous Five, and film stars such as Marilyn Monroe, from awesome angels, to zany zebras.

For similes and metaphors, see Rhetoric in Wikipedia.

3 Where can I find idioms? 

Books. Numerous books on Amazon, in big bookshops such as Foyles where you can pick one the right price, and with large enough print for you to read easily without getting tired. 

Online. 

4 Where can I find

Why is my 10 year old son at school having to learn words which he finds difficult and abstract, words like noun and adjective, when I picked up the language without knowing any of this?

1 Can you recomment a grammar book?

2 Can you recommend a dictionary, English and American?

3 How can I learn spelling? (I get confused between English and American.)

If you are academic and scientific and like to know the origins of words, learn British English. However if you simply want to learn to read and write English fast, learn and use American spelling. It was simplified to help learners like you.

4 Which is more useful, British or American English? If you are in America or selling to Americans, stick to American English. If you are liing in the UK or your job involves UK citizens, use British English. Simply looking at statistics, there are more Americans than British people.

If you want to know how many poeple speak English as a first or second language in individual countries, and the whole world, and how long it takes to learn a language, check Wikipedia.

5 Which is easiest to learn, British or American English? American English. If you simply want to communicate with lots of people around the world, consider learning Spanish, Swedish, or the made up language Esperanto.

What language was spoken before the Romans invaded Britain?

How do I learn so many English words?

My answer were:

 

New Biblical Site Discovered in Jerusalem, City of David

Let's hope the promised peace from January 2025 will allow us to visit areas which have been inaccessible.

An exciting new discovery from Archaeologists in Jerusalem. A biblical character is recorded as having destroyed local temples, one of which was hidden to save it and the artifacts in it. 

Archaeologists have recently revealed the buried bulding they believe to be the mostly a destroyed local temple. It contains floor channels which could have been runaways for blood from sacrifice on an altar. 

An obelisk which was worshipped remains, and evidence of oil. 

The destroyer, Hezekiah, was recorded in the New Testament as being an ancestor of a Jesus.  

I was shocked to read that a leader had destroyed a pagan temple. And destroyed a little local temple in order to promote a larger central temple so that he had control. How many times has this happened in history? Many. 

In the UK and probably elsewhere Roman temples were build on hilltops previously occupied by pagan buildings.  

Nonetheless, a fascinating discovery from long, long ago.

Useful Website

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-14291409/Shrine-Bible-sealed-Jesus-ancestor-OPENED-3-000-years.html

Toilets In Starbucks & Coffee Bars

If people are using Starbucks for rest rooms (in the UK we say toilets), are there public rest rooms nearby? If so, put a sign on the door saying,

If you just want a rest room, go to (such and such a place).

If there are no public rest rooms within half a mile, the local street or area business owners, or council, should be providing some.

Where else can people go?

Costa.

McDonalds.

Pubs

Shopping malls

Restaurants

Useful Websites

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdxnv4rjdq4o

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/yourmoney/article-14281411/Starbucks-announces-major-reversal-policy-force-customers-pay-simple-pleasure.html

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Packing List For Medicines & Checklist For Health & Safety

 Packing List

1 Past Prescriptions.

2 Pills - whatever you take regularly. eg Thyroxine, contaceptive pills.

3 Pill Dispenser.

4 List of hospitals, clinics, sports injury centres, doctors, dentists, pharmacies at destination, and insurance membership number and phone helpline.

5 Salt in labelled container saying it is salt.

6 Toothbrush and paste. Dental Floss. Toothpicks. From pharmacies and some UK dentists' reception areas.

7 Panadol / painkiller. Antibiotics.

8 For long trips, dental repair kit which you can buy in UK pharmacies.

9 Water and water beaker for taking pills.

10 Translation for vital phrases at a doctor, dentist or pharmacy. (See Wikivoyage phrasebooks.)

11 Plasters, flexible and breathable, also waterproof to allow for showers and swimming.

12 Sting relief.

13 Mosquito repellent or lavender products or lemon products.

14 Bandages.

15 Plain white large cotton scarf as sling for arm. (Fold a square into a supportive triangle and tie it behind neck.)

16 Cap with neck cover against sunburn - prevention is better than cure.

17 Car first aid kit.

18 Wet wipes for hand washing and cleaning aircraft tray tables.

19 Manicure kit for jagged fingernails and hangnails.

20 Towelling square (face flannel) for washing and drying hands and body in places without hand towels.

21 Milk of Magnesia / breath mints.

Walk around your nearest drug store or UK chemist to find small sizes and prices. Check that medicines are not out of date, nor banned in countries you are visiting. For example, quantities of sleeping pills or medical marijuana.

 Carry a doctor's note saying you can travel, if pregnant.

More news on successfully fighting fires with earth, water, lime and neighbours

 

Upadate on fires in California, USA. A surgeon fought fires using these methods

1 Replacing wooden roof tiles with fireproof tiles.

2 Stocking up with spades etc.

3 Getting to know neighbours so they could c-ordinate a plan.

4 Using spades to use earth to cover ground fires (saving water).

5 Escape plan - floats to go out to sea, to the ocean.

Commentators said that bricks have been banned because they are not suitable in eathquake areas becuase bricks are not flexible, unlike wood. However, others have said the factor is not the bricks but the connecting material. Lime based material between the bricks is flexible.

This does require able-bodied people to fight fires and rescue others. Each street should have a resident' association with a pooling of ideas, information, finances, resources, and action. 

Useful Websites

Daily Mail Tuesday 12 feb 2025

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14279749/Incredible-story-heroic-brain-surgeon-saved-entire-Malibu-street-LAs-wildfires-holding-flames-bay-five-nights.html

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Water and Fire retardants against Flames

The reports of fires in California are alarming. What can be done?

One man put oscillating garden hose sprinkers on his roof. Not spraying water but spraying fire retardant. He had bought fire retardant chemicals. 

What are fire retardant chemicals?

Planes are dropping them instead of water.

But, again, environmentalists are protesting that the anti-fire measures are a threat to wildlife.

However, in Australia, people sent to rescue wildlife from fires told heartbreaking stories of animals which could be heard screaming in terror and pain and were found badly burned.

Another man claimed to have saved his house with water hoses.  And water from his swimming pool. But you need pumps and generators (when local electricity is cut off, if it doesn't fail) to raise the water to roof level.

Others have used water from nearby streams. Or their own storage tanks.

The fire services should know where the swimming pools are.  

Useful Websites

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14276225/afghanistan-veteran-reveals-purchase-saved-la-home-fires.html

Packing Medicines - Travel Tooth Problems Tackled - with Antibiotics, Prescriptions, Mouthwash, Photos

I pack assorted medicines to go on holiday. The first thing is an elastoplast in my handbag for counteracting the effects rubbing shoes, or dealing with minor cuts. 

Elastoplast

Nowadays you can buy a spray-on Elastoplast. That is a kind of antiseptic. 

Tooth Repair Kit

You can also buy an emergency tooth repair kit. In case you lose a filling. But this requires a steady hand to apply to the right place. 

I told my friends about this. One weekend they phoned me and asked if they could have my kit, which they would replace on Monday when the shops opened.

Tooth Trouble Tale

This year, 2025, I had a stabbing pain in a tooth with a filling for a few seconds after I used a toothpick after eating. 

I went to the dentist. He took an x-ray. Fortunately, not an immediate disaster. Unless it got worse, and I had non-stop pain lasting more than an hour.

No, I didn't want my tooth extracted. And a crown. Which only lasts ten years. 

More expense, now. And in the future. 

A whole caboodle.  Bed rest for recovery, when I have outings and holidays planned. A breif period with no tooth, before the crown arrives, looking unsightly.

And I have fragile bones, osteoporosis. And a head injury from a car accident. I could end up with a broken jaw. Migraines.

And the pain! I bad memories of being in bed in agony for days after the extraction of my wisdom teeth.

Let's look on the bright side. From my visit to the dentist, I learned several useful things.

Who Can Prescribe Anti-biotics?

In the UK a denstist can prescribe antibiotics for a problem such as a small tooth abscess. No need for me to go to the doctor for the antibiotics. I was relieved there was no need for me to have a tooth extracted there and then.

A dentist can prescribe antibiotics for you to take when you have an ongoing tooth problem and you are about to travel to a remote place.

Pharmacy Information

In England we call the pharmacy a chemist (shop). In America they refer to a drug store.

When I got to the chemist's, the pharmacy, with my prescription, I asked the size of the pills. Large pills would need a lot of water to swallow. Was there an alternative size of pill? Could I chew the pill or crush it? 

The assistant, the pharmacist's wife, looked at the antibiotic pill packet to find out if the pill had a coating, which she said was to stop it being an irritant to your stomach lining. Really? If so, don't crush it.

Liquid Medicine

She said there was an alternative liquid medicine. I had aleady decided to avoid liquid when travelling, because they are not allowed on planes if the bottle of liquid is to large. Could be a nuisance. But faced with large pills, I was having second thoughts, about a course I might start before I left for my travels. So, I wanted to discuss the options,.

But she could not change my prescription from the pills to the liquid. I would have to go back to the dentist. And other patients have said that liquid tastes  horrible.

Mouthwash

To create an emergency mouthwash, use salt in water. So said my dentist. Not new information for me. But I had forgotten it. Great reminder.

When travelling, you can take with you salt. Sometimes you find tiny packets of salt at fast food places.

So, salt is easier. What about prescriptions?

Photograph Of Prescriptions 

I photograph all my prescriptions. Then if I lose the medicine in lost luggage, misrouted luggage, or a stolen handbag, or forgotten jacket, I have a record online for a pharmacist at my destination. 

If security says I can't import pills, I will have proof that they are a prescribed medicine for my own use, and not for resale. Nor are they some forbidden, unknown drug.

Who Can Prescribe Antibiotics?

Afterwards I was talking to other people about my experiences. My family told me that in the UK psychiatrists can prescribe medicines because they have had medical training. But psychologists cannot. 

Who Is A Medical Doctor?

Confusingly, in the UK the word doctor almost always means a medical professional. However, over in Germany other professions such as engineers, who have a doctorate, a PhD, are called Doctor. 

I am now armed with a whole lot of things for packing on my next trip. I just need a list!