The expression home away from home means that the place you are describing is as comfortable as your own house, somewhere you can feel “at home,” and it is usually where you spend a lot of your time.
You could say, “I spend so much time in this hotel for my work, it’s my home away from home.”
Do you have a home away from home? If so, where is it?
We often get questions about slang words listeners see in the newspaper or (more likely) hear in movies, TV programs, and songs. The problem with slang is that it keeps changing. Words that were slang five years ago may no longer be used. Slang tends to be very short-term, although some expressions do have a longer life.
In general, I don’t recommend second language speakers use slang words, especially “new” slang, unless they really understand how it should be used and in what contexts. This is often difficult for a non-native to figure out. It is best, in most cases, just to speak in “normal” English, and avoid using slang that you don’t completely understand.
One place to look for definitions of slang is the Urban Dictionary. This is a Wikipedia-type of website, where readers submit definitions and sample sentences. This is a good place for slang that comes from recent songs or movies.
Note: There is also a lot of vulgar or “bad words” on the website, so use it carefully. Also, remember that because this is a site where anyone can submit definitions, not all of the definitions are correct. Look for words/phrases that have at least five or ten definitions to make sure you are getting the right idea. And don’t think that because it appears in Urban Dictionary, it is a common phrase. Most of these words are not common - again, look for words that have lots of definitions to get an idea of just how common it is (or Google the word or phrase and see how many websites have it).
The signs say: “Re-elect Krambs (for) District Attorney - A Man of Convictions”
A convict (pronounced CON-vict; noun) is a person who has been found guilty of a crime, usually by a judge or a court of law. To convict (pronounced con-VICT; verb) is the act of officially saying someone is guilty of a crime.
Conviction (pronounced con-VIC-tion; noun) has two meanings. First, it refers to the formal statement that someone is guilty of a crime. Second, it describes someone who has strong beliefs or opinions that are unshakable (others are not able to change) and who believes strongly in what they are doing.
So, this candidate (person wanting to be elected to a public position or job)–Mr. Krambs–is running for district attorney. A district attorney is a public official who acts as the state or federal (national) government’s lawyer in court.
Should we congratulate Mr. Krambs for being unusually honest about his crimes, or is he telling us that he has been a successful lawyer and believes strongly in what he is doing? I guess the voters will have to decide.
QUESTION:
Keisuke from Japan wrote us an email and asked,
“What does “fair enough” mean? I saw people saying it many times in movies but I didn’t understand exactly what it meant.”
ANSWER:
“Fair enough” is a response we give to someone to mean that whatever the other peson said, it is acceptable to us. It is often said in response to a suggestion or a compromise, where each person gets some of what he/she wants but not everything. We often use it when the suggestion or compromise isn’t exactly what we wanted, but it is good enough for us to accept it or we feel that it is fair (appropriate or okay in this situation).
For example:
A: If you want to work in this office and meet with clients (customers), you’ll have to cut your hair.
B: Fair enough.
….
Lucy: The boss is coming to the office this afternoon. I’ll hide (put so no one can see) the Wii, if you’ll cover the pinball machine ( –> )
Jeff: Fair enough.
This is a video with a woman who imitates 21 different English accents, including British, Irish, Scottish, Australian, and American accents, as well as several European ESL accents. I think her performance is quite impressive. Notice how she changes her facial expression for each accent. Like any good actor, she knows that the sound that comes out of your mouth depends on the role, the character, that you play.
If you didn’t know these two words–kitty-corner and copycat–you may think they have something to do with cats, but they don’t.
A kitty is what we call a small or baby cat. However, kitty-corner means that something is located diagonally across from something else, usually across an intersection where two streets meet.
In this picture, the chicken is kitty-corner from the restaurant. The bench (long seat) is kitty-corner from the two trees. There are no cats–or kitties–anywhere.
Copycat (or copy cater) is a word used by children to refer to someone who copies someone else’s ideas or behavior, such as the way they dress or the way they speak. Adults sometimes use it jokingly to mean the same thing.
For example, if I cut my hair short and bleached it (made it a lighter color), and the following week, Jeff cut his hair and bleached it, I may say, “Jeff, you are a copycat.” Of course, those of you who have been listening to the podcast for a long time know that that would be impossible!
As many of you know, California has many immigrants who speak English as a second language. The State of California has developed a special website to help adults learn English online. It is full of short, interesting news stories with additional materials to help you improve your English. These stories are good for both intermediate and advanced students. The site is called the California Distance Learning Project (CDLP).
How to use this site: Warren Ediger, one of the best ESL classroom teachers and online tutors I know, has detailed suggestions on how you can use this site to help improve your English. Warren gives you specific steps on how to make the best use of the articles and stories you will find on the CDLP website.
Many of you know that Voice of America has a “Special English” program that helps you improve your English by using a more limited vocabulary and slowing down the rate of speech (how fast someone talks). It is similar to ESL Podcast, except that there are no explanations or “fast” versions at the end.
Voice of America Special English now has a 30 minute television show which gives you four to five news stories each week in video format. The nice thing about these videos is that they are captioned, meaning you can see the words in English on the screen. VOA makes it easy for you to get these automatically by making them part of a weekly podcast.
If you have iTunes and want to subscribe to the podcast, do this:
(a) Open your iTunes and go the the Advanced menu on the top
(b) Click on the ‘Subscribe to Podcast’ menu item
(c) Copy and paste this web address into the box:
http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/customcf/videocastxml.cfm?id=1316
(d) Click Okay.
The latest podcast will begin to download in iTunes. When it’s finished downloading, just click on the episode and enjoy!
Last week, I wrote a post about something called the Din in the Head, what is sometimes called “involuntary mental rehearsal.” (If you haven’t read the first post, go back and read it now.) I asked at the end of Part 1 what the meaning of the Din was. What does the Din say about language acquisition?
One researcher thinks that hearing a Din is a sign that your brain is actually picking up new vocabulary, sounds, and grammatical structures. The “noise” of the Din is a product (result) of your Language Acquisition Device (LAD) - that part of your brain that is dedicated to (has the special purpose for) language acquisition.
Who gets the Din? Usually, it is those who are not yet very advanced speakers of the language, or those who are reading or listening to a type of language they are not familiar with (they don’t know very well). Notice that I said read or listen to this language. We acquire languages by reading and listening, especially reading and listening to things we are able to understand. The Din may be your brain’s way of telling you that you are picking up new language, that your LAD is working.
Don’t be discouraged (down, depressed) if you don’t now hear a Din after listening to or reading English. Many of you are already very advanced speakers, and the English you read and listen to now may not contain anything “new” for you to acquire (to get, to pick up). Remember the Din also seems to work for music as well as language, so just listening to a new song a couple of times will soon give you the Din experience. Just be sure to pick a song you like!
Several years ago I published some scientific articles on a topic called involuntary mental rehearsal. To rehearse means to practice or go over something so that you get better at it. Involuntary is the opposite of voluntary, and means that you don’t intend or try to do something - it just happens. Mental refers to thinking. So you put these all together and you get “thinking about something over and over again without actually wanting or trying to.” An example of involuntary mental rehearsal would be when you hear and song and you keep singing or humming (making noise without opening your mouth) it, even if you don’t like it! (This is sometimes referred to as the Song Stuck in My Head experience, as researcher Tim Murphey has called it.)
Involuntary mental rehearsal also happens with language acquirers (people picking up a new language). One of the leading (best, most important) linguists in the world, Dr. Stephen Krashen, called this the “Din in the Head.” A din is noise, usually a noise that you cannot understand. Krashen noticed that he sometimes experienced a “din” or involuntary mental rehearsal in languages that he was studying. Here’s a description of this experience. See if you have ever had this happen to you in English:
“You have the Din if you sometimes ‘hear’ a clearly noticeable jumble (mix) of English words, sounds, phrases, or even melody patterns in you head. These words and phrases are usually things you have been hearing or reading recently (in class or on English audio programs or television). Often you ‘hear’ the words and phrases in the voice qualities of your teacher or of the people who made English audio, or maybe even in your own voice. These random pieces of English just come into or appear in your head at nearly any time or place, and it’s all usually involuntary. At times it may be active enough to be described as a ‘constant rehearsal in the head.’”
I used to get the Din in my head when I was a beginning and intermediate student of Spanish, and I still do after I read magazine or watch a TV show in Spanish. The same thing happens to me when I hear other languages I’ve tried to acquire (such as Italian and French).
It is also possible to experience a din in your own languge, if you read or listen to a style or type of language that you are not familiar with, such as poetry or an older form of your language. The din usually doesn’t last long, and will go away after a few days unless you continue to read or listen to that form of the language.
Do you ever get a Din in the Head after listening to ESL Podcast? The Din usually takes place when you are not thinking about English or concentrating on something else (for example, when you are washing the dishes or driving and not listening to music).
The more important question is: What does the Din really mean in terms of language acquisition? To find out that, come back next week for Part 2 of this post.
The expression home away from home means that the place you are describing is as comfortable as your own house, somewhere you can feel “at home,” and it is usually where you spend a lot of your time.
Many of you know that 
