10 Popular School Idioms

We’re back to school and ready for some school idioms! Let’s get to it and make this schoolhouse rock! Here is a list of ten popular education idioms and examples of how to use them:

1. A for effort!- recognizing that someone tried hard to accomplish something although they might not have been successful.

Example: “The cake didn’t turn out like she had planned, but I give her an A for effort!”

2. Copycat- someone who copies the work (or mimics the actions) of others

Example: “Janie is a copycat- she was looking at my answers while we were taking the test!”

3. Learn (something) by heart- to memorize something completely

Example: “I have played that song so many times that I have learned it by heart and don’t even have to look at the music.”

4. Pass with flying colors- to pass (a test) easily and with a high score

Example: “Todd must have studied a long time because he passed the test with flying colors.”

5. Play hooky- to skip school

Example: “My friends are playing hooky today so they can be first in line for concert tickets this afternoon.”

6. Drop out of school- to stop attending school

Example: “Maurice had to drop out of school when his mother became ill so that he could help take care of her.”

7. Put your thinking cap on- to think in a serious manner

Example: “We’re all going to have to put our thinking caps on to tackle this big problem.”

8. Show of hands- raising hands to vote about something

Example: “By a show of hands, how many of you would prefer to have the test on Friday?”

9. Teacher’s pet- the teacher’s favorite student

Example: “Jonathan is the teacher’s pet- she always calls on him first.”

10. Bookworm- someone who reads a lot

Example: “She is such a bookworm! She seems to have a new book every day!”

There are plenty more school-related idioms; are there any that you can think of that you would like to have explained? Share with us!

 

Taken from https://voxy.com/blog/index.php/2012/10/10-popular-school-idioms/

To Turn Your Back

In light of Voxy’s recent article, “Obama Urges UN to Confront Roots of Muslim Rage,” we wanted to highlight one of the idioms that President Obama used. To turn your back on something means to forget, betray, or ignore someone or something that is important. Turning your back on someone or something signifies that you are not loyal and can be taken quite literally (imagine if you literally turned around to face away from an issue or someone that needs your help).

Example sentences:

“Joe is a good friend- he didn’t turn his back on me when I needed help after the accident.”

“You should not turn your back on your responsibilities- it’s important to maintain your credibility and keep your promises.”

“These people are asking our government for help- we can’t just turn our backs on them.”

You can check out more examples of this idiom in Voxy’s recent article, “Obama Urges UN to Confront Roots of Muslim Rage.” Last week, President Barack Obama urged foreign leaders to confront and speak out against violence and extremism in their countries. President Obama believes that the future cannot belong to those who turn their backs on the prospect of peace.

Racism and discrimination of all kinds has been a hot topic across the globe, especially between Americans and Muslims since the attacks of 9/11. What do you think about this issue?

 

Taken from https://voxy.com/blog/index.php/2012/10/to-turn-your-back/

When is stress good? An important feature of English pronunciation

The more syllables there are, the more time it takes to say something. Right?

Not necessarily! While it is true of most languages in the world, the above sentence is NOT true for English. Unlike Spanish, French, Mandarin and Cantonese Chinese, and Italian,  English is NOT a syllable-timed language.

The stress-timed nature of English presents one of the biggest challenges for new speakers of English. Learners complain that English sounds very “fast,” or that several syllables are often blurred and smushed together.

Native English speakers do in fact leave about the same amount of time between stressed syllables, even if more unstressed syllables are added between them.

Try pronouncing these sentences about a traditional American dessert for next week’s holiday, Thanksgiving:

• Kids eat pie.
• The kids eat the pie.
• The kids like to eat pie.
• The kids will eat the pie.
• Little kids like eating pie.
• Everyone eats pumpkin pie.
• The little kids like to eat pie.
• The kids will like eating the pie.
• The kids don’t like eating the piecrust.

Which syllables should be stressed in a sentence? How do you decide? These are extremely important in English, not just for sounding fluent and natural, but for conveying meaning. In the above examples, we’ve bolded the stressed syllables to help you practice.

The failure to learn and keep the rhythm of English is also one of the biggest flags that give a language learner away as a foreigner! Even native speakers can sound like robots when they don’t stress-time their speech.

What do you think of English pronunciation? Is it easy as pie? Or are you stressed about stress?

 

Taken from https://voxy.com/blog/index.php/2012/11/when-is-stress-good-an-important-feature-of-english-pronunciation/

5 New Ways to Say “I Don’t Know”

One of the first things that most people learn how to say in English is “I don’t know.” This makes sense, since there will always be a lot of things you don’t know when you’re learning a language. And that’s ok! Feeling confused and making mistakes is part of learning, and it’s a good thing.

But, the fact that you’re just learning English doesn’t mean that you have to use the same boring phrase that every other learner uses. Even if you’re a beginner, you can express yourself in English with more personality.

Here are some different ways to tell someone that you don’t know the answer to his or her question, instead of just saying “I don’t know”:

1. I have no idea.
2. Who knows?
3. Don’t ask me!
4. Beats me!
5. Your guess is as good as mine.

Bonus: “I dunno” is something you’ll often hear native speakers say, or even write. This phrase is used in direct place of “I don’t know” and is considered slang. Try to say it out loud. See how you’ve just eliminated some of the letters?

Now that you have some more ways to say “I don’t know” – and you understand that not knowing is a key part of language learning – go ahead and try them out yourself.

Taken from: https://voxy.com/blog/index.php/2014/05/5-new-ways-say-dont-know/

College Essay Tips for English Language Learners

Even if you don’t major in English or a humanities field, improving your writing skills as an international student will help you in many ways and can open doors for you, such as with applications for scholarships.

The academic essays you write in your classes at a U.S. college offer a basic way to start to eventually master this lifelong skill. Take a look at some of the common mistakes below that many international students make when writing an academic essay.

1. Not being aware of grammatical errors: Even your American roommates will make grammatical mistakes if they do not pay close enough attention to what they write.

Your writing might sound really good when you write​ it, but always make sure that you do not leave any grammatical errors when you’re finished writing and editing your essay. Think about your professor, who needs to grade dozens of papers in a night. If your professor has to pause frequently in reading your essay because of grammar mistakes, he or she will have a hard time understanding your brilliant ideas.

One trick to try for essays that aren’t very long is reading them backward, from the last sentence to the first. When you read your essay normally, your brain can trick you into thinking that your writing is perfect, but reading it backward instead gives you time to consider your words more carefully and spot the grammatical errors.

Also, do not forget about your school’s writing center. This place is truly a great destination whenever you want to improve an essay and your writing skills.

2. Using inappropriate vocabulary: As an international freshman, you probably have not yet forgotten all the fancy SAT words you memorized to pass that and other college entrance exams. But do not bring those fancy words to your academic essay when you’re not entirely sure of their meaning or how they are used in context.

Simply throwing these flamboyant words into your essays does not make your writing sound wiser and more academic. In fact, the opposite is often the case.

The staff of the writing center can help you check your vocabulary use. And if you meet a passionate writer at the writing center like I did, you can have a great conversation with him or her about the use of certain words and the different connotations of their synonyms.

3. Forgetting to cite sources: Unlike a blog post or personal essay, academic essays won’t sound knowledgeable if you only refer to what your friend or an unknown person said.​ Moreover, plagiarism is not welcome at U.S. colleges, and knowing how to cite sources is a must-have skill for international students.

As an international student who has just come to the U.S. to study, you may not be familiar with this habit of citing sources. Talking to your English professor, learning from friends in class or reading more academic essays can help you build this skill. As a bonus, you will also get into the habit of making sure your work is factually correct, and you will soon realize that Wikipedia isn’t the only source to check when writing an academic paper.

Improving English writing skills could never be an overnight process. But being aware of the common mistakes international students who do not speak English as their first language make while writing an academic essay can help you be more conscious as you write.

Taken from: http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/international-student-counsel/2014/09/25/college-essay-tips-for-english-language-learners

Blond vs. Blonde

Sometimes there’s an E at the end, and sometimes there’s not. This post will teach you the simple rules of which word to use when.

With males—noun usage
If you’re writing about a boy or a man with golden-colored hair, use blond (no E).

Example: The handsome man is a blond.

With females—noun usage
However, if you’re writing about a golden-haired girl or woman, use blonde (with the E).

Example: The pretty woman is a blonde.

With males and/or females—adjective usage
You’ll notice that we have so far been talking about nouns (when we use blond or blonde to represent the person). But what about when you simply want to use an adjective to describe a person as being blond? As an adjective, blond never has an E at the end. It’s always simply blond.

Example: The blond man walked through the door.
Example: The blond woman walked through the door.
Example: The blond family walked through the door.

In the examples above, since blond is used as an adjective to describe the noun (man/woman/family), it follows the adjective rule and doesn’t have an E at the end.

Blame the French
Wonder why we have two spellings of this noun? Blame the French. French regularly assigns gender to words and spells them differently based on whether they are masculine or feminine. Since we inherited the word blond/e from French, we also inherited the two ways of spelling it.

Quiz
Test your skills with a quiz. Fill in blond or blonde in the blanks. The answers are at the bottom.

1. The backyard was filled with _______ children.
2. That tall lady is a _______.
3. The man picking his nose is a _______.
4. The _______ dancers twirled across the stage.

Answers: 1. blond (adjective) 2. blonde (noun) 3. blond (noun) 4. blond (adjective)

Taken from: http://grammarpartyblog.com/2012/07/06/blond-vs-blonde/

Money Idioms

Money idioms are everywhere and apply to so much more than just money! So get your cold hard cash ready as we dive into some money idioms!

1. Break the bank – to use up all of your money

Example: John knew that renting the ocean view apartment would break the bank, so he settled for a smaller apartment.

2. Bring home the bacon – to earn money for a family

Example: His wife chooses not to work, so Robert has to bring home the bacon.

3. Cash in on (something) – to make money from an opportunity

Example: The former athlete cashed in on his popularity to open a nightclub in his name.

4. Give (someone) a blank check – to let someone do whatever they want (as if the amount on the check were left blank)

Example: The professor gave the students a blank check with the only requirement being that they turn in their project on time.

5. Turn on a dime – to make a turn in a very small area

Example: The car handles very well and can turn on a dime.

6. Bet your bottom dollar – to bet all that you have because you are certain you will win

Example: I would bet my bottom dollar that Rachel will show up late again today.

7. Look like a million dollars – to look very good

Example: As she stepped out in her wedding dress, she looked like a million dollars.

8. Pinch pennies – to be very careful with money, to be thrifty

Example: My grandfather always pinches pennies; he never spends money if he doesn’t have to.

9. Put in your two cents – to give your opinion about something

Example: You can put in your two cents after I am finished going over all the facts.

10. For peanuts – for very little or no pay

Example: The students had very little money, so they were willing to work for peanuts.

Are there more money idioms that you hear regularly? Share with us!

 

Taken from https://voxy.com/blog/index.php/2012/10/money-idioms/

Hurricane Vocabulary

As some of you may know, we here in New York were hit by a hurricane that also affected other locations in the U.S. and the Caribbean.  If you were reading the news about the hurricane in English, you might have seen some words that were unfamiliar to you, so let’s look at some useful storm and hurricane vocabulary.

Eye (noun): The center of a hurricane or tornado is called the ‘eye’.  It’s a calm, circular area and the hurricane winds blow in a spiral around it.
Example: Did you know the eye of a hurricane is usually 20-30 miles wide and is the warmest part of the storm?

Forecast (noun or verb):  A prediction of future weather by meteorologists.
Example: Meteorologists forecasted (verb) that a hurricane would hit New York by Monday morning.
Today’s weather forecast (noun) says that it will snow, and it did snow!

Overcast (noun):  When the sky is covered with clouds.
Example: Before a big storm, the sky is usually overcast.

Flood (noun or verb):  When land is suddenly covered with water.
Example: There was a big flood (noun) in New York City and many cars were completely covered by water.
Hurricanes often flood (verb) towns or cities and cause a lot of damage.

Storm surge (noun):  A rise in the level of the ocean because of strong winds from a hurricane or storm.  A storm surge often causes flooding.
Example: You should stay away from the coasts during a hurricane because storm surges can be very dangerous.

 

Taken from https://voxy.com/blog/index.php/2012/11/hurricane-vocabulary/

Examples of Slang Language

Slang is a perpetual whirlwind of creativity among the young and avante garde. These groups are constantly breaking new ground with artistic expressions of their lives and the life around them. It’s impossible to be in a hip nightclub, or at a cutting edge art gallery, without the latest slang flying around like confetti. Why do people use slang? There are many answers as there are people who are continually reinventing English as we speak.

Teenagers Are Experts

One of the first signs of impending adolescence is the desire to put space between you and your parents’ generation, and the fastest way to do that is through the art of language.

Teenagers develop their own idioms and expressions that make adults scratch their heads, trying to figure out what the slang means (and if it’s something they should be upset about).

For example:

• Emo – If you’re “all emo,” it’s like being a drama queen (a slightly older expression.) Emo was a type of music that seemed to rip at the souls of adolescent angst. It frequently included wearing all black clothing, dying one’s hair pitch black, and having a complexion so paper white that it looked as if the teen had grown up in the basement.

To be emo was to be perpetually depressed, moody, and emotional, and perpetually at odds with society (even if it was nothing more than a pose).

• My bad – If a teen has made a mistake, the phrase “my bad” is frequently employed as a cover. It means what it appears to mean: “I was bad!”

This is one of the phrases parents, especially mothers, might pick up on and use themselves, to the everlasting embarrassment of their children.

“Busted” Ain’t Broke

Some words have morphed from one meaning to another. Take the word “busted.” To the grandparents of today’s teens, the word was simply slang for “broken.”

The last decade or so reinvented “busted” to mean someone was caught, probably doing something they shouldn’t. If a store detective saw you stealing a candy bar and nabbed you, you were simply “busted” (and probably in a lot of trouble).

• Busted – “Busted” has changed yet again. This time, to say someone is busted is to mean they are ugly. It’s definitely not a flattering figure of speech!

A Change in Meanings

Some words in slang develop from meaning one thing, to meaning another:

• Ride – The word “ride” is of relatively recent origin. It was initially meant to mean a car, as in, “here’s my ride” (even if it’s not the teen’s car, any automobile that could carry him where he wanted to go deserved the title of “ride.”)

Apparently autos are in short supply, or teenagers have discovered the shoe leather express. The word “ride” has become more literal to this group: “How do you like my ride?” no longer means, “do you like my car?” Now it refers to sneakers (particularly of the brand name and expensive variety.)

• Tope – If something is “tope,” it’s cool to the teenage contingent. So what’s a tope? It’s a combination of “tight” and “dope,” both words meaning something that’s beyond cool.

• Frenemy – This term is a combination of the words “friend” and “enemy.” It is a person who appears on one hand to be your friend but, at the same time is antagonistic towards you.
• Supersize – Starting with a way to order a bigger order of fries, “supersize” now is used to point anything, anyone or any idea that is excessively large.

Combinations of Meanings

Other slang words are developed outside of the usual context of words and are just combinations of thoughts that create a new word.

For example:

• Greycation – Having your grandparents join your vacation.
• Bro-tox – Men getting botox
• Iceman – A friend with nerves of steel
• Tarhead – Someone who is involved in oil-based recreation such as car racing.
• Affluential – Having both money and power or influence
• Flamed – To have taken everything too seriously
• Awesomity – The highest state of awesome

Taken from: http://examples.yourdictionary.com/20-examples-of-slang-language.html

Do these Words Sound “Familiar”? Take Another Listen!

 

At Voxy we’re always looking for ways to improve your pronunciation skills. Here is a list of words that many English learners may recognize from their native language, but actually have significant pronunciation differences in English. Let’s re-introduce ourselves to some familiar words, but hear them in a new way!

Familiar – In English, we pronounce this word as 3 syllables, with the stress on the second syllable. The trick to saying it correctly is in its last syllable, “iar.” It is pronounced as “yer,” which rhymes with “her” or “per” as in “kilometers per hour.” fa/MIL/yer
Ex: I’ve seen her, she looks familiar.

Chocolate – The spelling of this word is identical in Spanish and Portuguese, but in English, we reduce its pronunciation to only 2 syllables. The second “o” is completely silent. We say CHAWK/lit, with the stress on the first syllable. “Choc” rhymes with “talk,” and “late” rhymes with “sit.”

It’s a big difference from the pronunciation in other languages!
Ex: They talk, sit, and eat chocolate.

Natural – It looks like 3 syllables, but English speakers almost always reduce it to 2. NATCH/rul This pronunciation is also used in its adverb form, “naturally.” NATCH/rul/lee

Vegetable – In Spanish, it is pronounced as 4 syllables, but in English, only 3! VEDGE/tuh/bul
The “ta” has a weak vowel sound, therefore it is not pronounced as in “table”

Comfortable – Native English speakers almost always reduce “comfortable” to 3 syllables, with the stress on the first syllable. COMF/ter/bul/

Perfume – It only has 2 syllables in English. “Per” as in “perfect” and “fume” rhymes with room. Per/fewm Ex: Her room smells like perfume.

It can be difficult to change the way you normally pronounce a word, especially when that word is already so familiar. But you can’t get too comfortable when you’re learning a new language. Try to say these words as if for the first time – you’ll be a natural before you know it!

 

Taken from voxy.com
https://voxy.com/blog/index.php/2012/11/do-these-words-sound-familiar/