š Since autumn (or fall, as it is known in Canada and the USA) is my favourite season of the year, I have included several poems and literary passages in recent lessons on this topic. š I have yet another poem in autumn to share, one by the Welsh poet R. S. Thomas (1913-2000) called āA […]
‘And unrecorded left through many an Age, Worthy t’ have not remain’d so long unsung …’ – John Milton, ‘Paradise Regained’ (1671) These lines come from a poem ā āParadise Regainedā ā which I first read as a teenager and whose opening section I copied into the notebook featured in the photograph above. ā¦ You may have seen in an English lesson
Lesson #146: Do We Ever Use Double Negatives In English? Read More Ā»
Is it ‘its’ or ‘it’s’? If you have ever asked yourself that question, you are in the right place! Even if you are uncertain of the answer, know that by asking that question, you show more awareness of the possibility of making a mistake here than many people do – native English speakers included –
One thing we might overlook when reading the first stanza of Emily Bronte’s poem, ‘Faith and Despondency,’ is how the poet used the imperative tense consistently. When we are first taught the imperative tense, we are usually given examples that emphasise a command or order: āStop that!ā or āListen to her!ā or āBuy now!ā As
Mini-Lesson Monday: (Part 1) šWelcome November!š As I sit at my desk, gazing out of the window at the wind and rain (yes, it is stormy here in Ireland as I write), I appreciate the warmth and cosiness indoors. Often, during weather like this, the adjective āwutheringā comes to mind ā the same adjective that
This morning, we picked some flowers from our garden to brighten the kitchen. I think one of them is a carnation, the other a dianthus, but I am open to correction! It brought to mind a passage in one of my favourite books, Elizabeth GaskellāsĀ North and SouthĀ (1854): ā… the sun-flower, shining fair, Ray
Lesson #113: Searching for the Best Words to Describe the Small Things in Life Read More Ā»
Recently, I listened to a thought-provoking podcast featuring Italian educator Lucrezia Oddone, where she discussed the importance of HANDWRITING texts that you would like to memorise. She says that when you write a text by hand, you are fully present and paying attention to every word you write. Compared to typing alone, handwriting is a
Lesson #112: Can Handwriting Actually Help You with Your English? Read More Ā»
INTERMEDIATE LEVEL Sharing a short poem that I memorised in my childhood: O Rose thou art sick. The invisible worm, That flies in the night In the howling storm: Has found out thy bed Of crimson joy: And his dark secret love Does thy life destroy. – William Blake, ‘The Sick Rose’ (1794) Have you
Lesson #108: Why Reading Classic Poetry is Important: Blake’s ‘The Sick Rose’ Read More Ā»
INTERMEDIATE LEVEL Mini-lesson Monday continued (part 2): This is a demonstration of how I approached the opening line of Edna St Vincent Millay’s ‘The Fawn’ in one of my English language lessons. I took a few simple steps to help with text comprehension, and it only took a few minutes. I’m going to tell you
Lesson #106: Mini-lesson Monday (Part 2): Comprehending ‘The Fawn’ Read More Ā»
INTERMEDIATE LEVEL Mini-lesson Monday! (part 1) I would like to share with you the opening lines of one of my favourite poems: ‘The Fawn’ by American poet Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950). ‘There it was I saw what I shall never forgetAnd never retrieve.Monstrous and beautiful to human eyes, hard tobelieve,He lay, yet there he
Lesson #106: Mini-lesson Monday (Part 1): Reading ‘The Fawn’ Read More Ā»
October is here! A beautiful, transformative season, as described by 19th-century poet John Keats: ‘Seasons of mist and mellow fruitfulness,Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;Conspiring with him how to load and blessWith fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees,And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core…’ –
Lesson #101: Seasonal words from British poet John Keats Read More Ā»