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Handbook of Commonly Used American Idioms by Adam Makkai
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The Bilingual Family: A Handbook for Parents
Edith Harding-Esch - 1986
This second edition contains updated references and new entries to the alphabetical reference guide.
How to Learn a Foreign Language
Graham E. Fuller - 1987
But it’s a lot easier if you know the hidden skills and techniques that experts know -- and use -- to learn any foreign language. In this little handbook, language expert Graham E. Fuller -- whose career has required him to learn more than a dozen languages -- shows how to take the steps that will make it easier for anyone struggling to learn any new language.That’s why How to Learn a Foreign Language is used by schools, universities, and independent language-learners throughout the world. Acclaim for How to Learn a Foreign Language:“Useful and entertaining.” -- The New York Times“It’s astonishing that no one has ever thought of a book like this before -- designed to prepare students for beginning the study of any language. This book is indispensable to anyone learning a first foreign language.” -- Dr. L. Michael Bell Professor of English and Foreign Languages, University of Colorado“This book could save a beginning student hours of confusion, and might provide some confidence that learning a language is normal and possible, even for someone like him or her!...Fuller has codified what many successful language learners have found out for themselves by learning languages...The knowledge that Fuller is writing from such vast experience can only inspire confidence on the part of the reluctant language learner.” -- Carol L. McKay, Modern Language JournalExcerpts from the Book:This book is for those of you who have never studied a foreign language before. And it is for those of you who have already had one painful experience with a foreign language and who hope to do better at it this time...This book isn’t just for people who like languages. It’s for those of you who have to learn a language for one reason or another...
Yes, I Could Care Less: How to Be a Language Snob Without Being a Jerk
Bill Walsh - 2013
His first of the day was a small businessman, followed by a high schoolteacher.""Betty was 100% percent wrong." Pat yourself on the back if you found issues in every one of these sentences, but remember: There is a world out there beyond the stylebooks, beyond Strunk and White, beyond Lynne Truss and Failblogs. Part usage manual, part confessional and part manifesto, Yes, I Could Care Less bounces from sadomasochism to weather geekery, Top Chef to Monty Python. It is a lively and often personal look at one man’s continuing journey through the obstacle course that some refer to, far too simply, as “grammar.”
Grammar Girl's 101 Words to Sound Smart
Mignon Fogarty - 2011
Now she's turning her attention to improving our vocabulary—one smart word at a time—with Grammar Girl's 101 Words to Sound Smart.Are you often stumped for the perfect way to say or write something? Do you find yourself using the same words over and over? Grammar Girl to the rescue! This handy reference guide contains 101 words that will enhance your writing, adding nuance, subtlety, and insight. Using these words in speeches, you'll sound confident and articulate—a skill that will benefit you for years to come.Full of clear, straightforward definitions and fun quotations from historic luminaries such as Leonardo da Vinci and Charlotte Bronte as well as contemporary notables such as Dave Eggers and Rowan Atkinson, this highly useable guidebook gives you the ability to speak and write eloquently at any occasion, setting you up for a lifetime of success.
Language Hacking Guide
Benny Lewis - 2010
You need to speak the language from day one.No years of studying grammar, no expensive and complicated software, no “magic pill” to master a language while you sleep, you just need to speak it. Speak it regularly, speak it confidently, and speak it immediately. The more you speak, the quicker you will improve.Even though this may be obvious, how you actually speak a language that you have just started to learn seems almost impossible to many people. So they’ll wait until they are “ready”. That wait may be years, or they may simply never even try.But it’s not actually that hard! That’s what the Language Hacking Guide is about.
Forgotten English
Jeffrey Kacirk - 1997
These words are alive and well, however, in Forgotten English, a charming collection of hundreds of archaic words, their definitions, and old-fashioned line drawings.For readers of Bill Bryson, Henry Beard, and Richard Lederer, Forgotten English is an eye-opening trip down a delightful etymological path. Readers learn that an ale connor sat in a puddle of ale to judge its quality, that a beemaster informed bees of any important household events, and that our ancestors had a saint for hangover sufferers, St. Bibiana, a fact pertinent to the word bibulous. Each selection is accompanied by literary excerpts demonstrating the word's usage, from sources such as Shakespeare, Dickens, Chaucer, and Benjamin Franklin. Entertaining as well as educational, Forgotten English is a fascinating addition to word lovers' books.
The Highly Selective Dictionary for the Extraordinarily Literate
Eugene Ehrlich - 1997
People are interacting more frequently and more fervently than ever before, turning the English language into an indecipherable mess. Now, this unique and concise compendium presents the most confused and misused words in the language today -- words misused by careless speakers and writers everywhere. It defines, discerns and distinguishes the finer points of sense and meaning. Was it fortuitous or only fortunate? Are you trying to remember, or more fully recollect? Is he uninterested or disinterested? Is it healthful or healthy, regretful or regrettable, notorious or infamous? The answers to these and many more fascinating etymological questions can be found within the pages of this invaluable (or is it valuable?) reference.
Teaching and Learning in the Language Classroom
Tricia Hedge - 2000
What do I set up as aims for my next lesson with this class and what kind of activities will help to achieve those aims? How do I deal with this reading text in class? What amount of out-of-class work can I reasonably expect my learners to do? How do I make best use of a textbook I am not entirely happy with? These are just a few examples of the many questions typically asked by teachers which she addresses in this book.Although insights from research can help, there are no 'right answers' provided. Instead, the aim is to give you a solid foundation of knowledge which you can use to evaluate and apply your own ideas about teaching and learning.The book is organized into four parts.- Part One ('A framework for teaching and learning') looks at insights from research into learners, learning, and language in use and discusses how these have influenced methodology and materials in ELT. Specific topics covered include: the use of communicative tasks in the classroom, the concept of learner strategies and how you can train your students to develop them, the growth of interactive methodology and its consequences in changing the roles of teacher and learner.- Part Two ('Teaching the language system') focuses on vocabulary and grammar, and Part Three ('Developing the language skills') on the traditional four language skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. There is also discussion of how these different areas fit together.- Part Four ('Planning and assessing learning') moves on to wider issues. Chapter 10 on course design refers back to topics covered earlier in the book. Chapter 11 deals with the relationship between teaching and different forms of assessment.There is an Introductory task at the start of each chapter (with supporting guidance notes), as well as a Discussion topics and projects section - which can be used for group discussion - at the end.The book also has a complete glossary, further reading suggestions at the end of each chapter, a bibliography, and a full index.
How English Works: A Grammar Practice Book
Michael Swan - 1997
This book makes grammar practice interesting by presenting rules that are easy to understand and remember, with exercises that entertain as they teach.
The Joy of Lex
Gyles Brandreth - 1980
For word buffs, for puzzle lovers, for anagram addicts, for crossword enthusiasts, for Scrabble players, for readers with an eye for the eccentric, and an ear for the unusual, this is the ultimate guide to the lighter side of the English language, written by a seasoned wordsmith and self-confessed verbaholic.
Complete English Grammar Rules: Examples, Exceptions, Exercises, and Everything You Need to Master Proper Grammar (The Farlex Grammar Book Book 1)
Farlex International - 2016
The grammar book for the 21st century has arrived, from the language experts at Farlex International and TheFreeDictionary.com, the trusted reference destination with 1 billion+ annual visits. Farlex brings you the most comprehensive grammar guide yet: all the rules of English grammar, explained in simple, easy-to-understand terms. Over 500 pages of proper grammar instruction—2X more than the leading grammar book! Whether you're an expert or a beginner, there's always something new to learn when it comes to the always-evolving English language. Don't rely on multiple incomplete textbooks that contradict each other—fill in all the gaps in your grammar knowledge with one go-to guide. Only Complete English Grammar Rules gives you key exceptions, common grammar mistakes, thousands of real-world examples, and hundreds of grammar quizzes designed to help you retain what you've learned. With Complete English Grammar Rules, you'll be able to: • Quickly master basic English grammar and tackle more advanced topics. • Properly use every type of noun, verb, and even the most obscure grammar elements. • Master verb tenses, including irregular verbs and exceptions. • Avoid embarrassing grammar errors. • Immediately put your skills into action! Become a more effective writer and communicator in school, at work, and in everyday conversation.
That Doesn't Mean What You Think It Means: The 150 Most Commonly Misused Words and Their Tangled Histories
Kathryn Petras - 2018
Don't be one of them. Using examples of misuse from leading newspapers, prominent public figures and famous writers, among others, language gurus Ross Petras and Kathryn Petras explain how to avoid these perilous pitfalls in the English language. Each entry also includes short histories of how and why these mistake have happened, some of the (often surprisingly nasty) debates about which uses are (and are not) mistakes, and finally, how to use these words correctly ... or why to not use them at all. By the end of this book, every literati will be able to confidently, casually, and correctly toss in an "a priori" or a "limns" without hesitation.
I Always Look Up the Word 'Egregious'
Maxwell Nurnberg - 1981
The result is a veritable panoply of words -- drawn from the real-life context of written and spoken language.
Death Sentences: How Cliches, Weasel Words and Management-Speak Are Strangling Public Language
Don Watson - 2003
Do you ever leave work wondering whether all of the words exchanged between you and your colleagues in emails and meetings actually had any meaning? You spend the day touching base and networking, workshopping and impacting, strategizing and implementing, going forward with your key performance indicators. No wonder you are exhausted when you leave the office! Even as English spreads around the globe, the language itself is shrinking. Our vocabularies are increasingly trimmed of subtlety and obscure words are forbidden unless they qualify as economic or business jargon. The constant pressure in our society to be efficient and productive is working like a noose around the neck of the English language. Don Watson is one of Australia's foremost writers and intellectuals. In Death Sentences, he takes up the fight against the pestilence of bullet points, the scourge of buzzwords, and the dearth of verbs in public discourse. He encourages us to wage war against the personal mission statement and the Powerpoint essay and to take back our language from the corporate wordsmiths and marketeers. BACKCOVER: Praise for Don Watson’s Death Sentences: “Don Watson has written a fine and necessary book. Any citizen who neglects to read it does so at his or her peril.” –Lewis H. Lapham, editor of Harper’s Magazine "[a] marvelous polemic..." —forbes.com “…captures the powerlessness and frustration we feel when confronted by meaningless words delivered with authority.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review “Watson makes an eloquent, elegant, and sometimes scathing case for taking back language from those who would trip it of all color and emotion and, therefore, of all meaning. —Joanne Wilkinson, Booklist) “…many lessons and insights in this book…” —Leigh Buchanan, Harvard Business Review “[Watson is] always clear and precise, even when exposing the verbal pollution that passes for wisdom in the public realm.” –Toronto Star