New method of Learning session 1

strike: if a clock strikes one, two, six etc, its bell makes a sound once, twice, six times etc according to what time it is.

زنگ زدن ساعت

nuzzle: to gently rub or press your nose or head against someone to show you like them

پوزه مالیدن، چانه را به جائی مالیدن

vile: extremely unpleasant or bad

خیلی بد، زننده

Mansions: used in Britain in the names of some apartment building.

آپارتمان، عمارت، خانۀ بزرگ

gritty: containing very small pieces of stone or sand.

شن آلود، غبار آگین، دارای ذرات ریز شن

The Top 10 Confusing English Words

Should you accept an invitation or except one? Do you eat dessert or desert after your meal? English is full of confusing words. Here are some tips on using the right word at the right time!

dessert and desert

Dessert is a sweet dish, while the desert is hot, dry and full of sand.

accept and except

To accept means to receive or agree to something, while except means excluding.

there and their

The former is an adverb of place while the latter is a possessive pronoun e.g. Their house is over there.

principle and principal

Principles are beliefs, values or basic truths, while principal means the head of a school, or the main thing.

advice and advise

The former is a noun while the latter is a verb, so you can advise someone by giving them good advice.

borrow and lend

To borrow means to receive something as a loan, while to lend means to give something as a loan. E.g. Can I borrow your car? Sorry, I can't lend it to you today

.

despite and although

These have a similar meaning but are used differently. Despite is a preposition while although is a conjunction. E.g. He won the race despite his injury. He won the race although he had an injury.

affect and effect

The former is a verb while the latter is a noun, e.g. The effect of the war is enormous; it has affected all sectors of the economy.

personal and personnel

Your personal details include your name, age and nationality, while personnel means the employees of a company.

assure and ensure

To assure someone means to remove doubt or reassure them, while ensure means to make certain that something happens. E.g. I assured him that you would be there, so please ensure that you get to the meeting on time.

Words & Thoughts

Words & Thoughts

Imagine a boxer stepping into the ring, and telling himself:
"I'm a loser. I'm a chicken!"
How long would he last?

Imagine a singer walking onstage, and telling herself:
"I'm pathetic! They'll hate me!"
How well would she sing?

It's a recipe for disaster.

Yet, lots of us use this same recipe every day. We tell ourselves:
"I'm fat."
"I have a rotten memory."
"I'm always broke."
"I'm an idiot."
Then we wonder why we fail!

If you expect to forget, you will forget!
If you expect to be broke, you will stay broke.
If you expect to behave like an idiot ...

So how do we start to think positively?

The first step is to watch your mouth! Notice what you SAY about yourself.

From today, NEVER SAY ANYTHING BAD ABOUT YOURSELF.
Never tell people: "I'm hopeless, I always screw up, my boyfriends always dump me ..."

Make a commitment: "From today, I will not criticise myself. If I have nothing good to say about me, I will keep my mouth shut."

It's hard to control our thoughts - but we CAN control what comes out of our mouth. Once we take control of our language, we begin to have more positive thoughts ... and life gets better.

We become what we think about

I recommend five things for learning English vocabulary

1. Context and Exposure

See or hear the vocabulary used in context 

Sample contexts:  reading material, audio, video, conversation

Sometimes you can guess meaning from the situation.

What type of word is it (noun, verb, adjective)?

Look at the words around it.

Try to read or listen to as much English as possible

Choose from a variety of sources

2. Pictures and associations

Sometimes seeing groups of related words can help

See our picture dictionary.

3. Understand Word Parts (prefixes, suffixes, roots)

See our word parts lists here.

4. Recognize collocations (words that go together)

Some words are commonly used with other words

See our lists of collocations: with verbs, with prepositions.

5. Consider connotations and multiple meanings of words

Some words carry special or emotional meanings

Example:  house vs. home

Some words can have many different meanings

Example:  play, set, run