Author Archives: Dr. Jeff McQuillan

Plunges and Dives

Posted on Wednesday - October 1, 2008 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

I don’t know enough about the financial crisis here in the U.S. to explain why our economy is having so many problems, but I can explain some of the headlines (titles) that have appeared recently in U.S. newspapers for those … Continue reading →

Posted in News and Current Events | 20 Comments

Thank you!

Posted on Friday - September 26, 2008 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

Just a short note of thanks to all of you who emailed and posted comments on our third anniversary video and on Lucy’s post about my birthday. All of us here at ESL Podcast thank you for your kind comments … Continue reading →

Posted in About ESL Podcast | 19 Comments

Third Anniversary Video

Posted on Tuesday - September 23, 2008 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

It’s finally here – our Third Anniversary Video! Thanks to all of you who posted questions for us to answer on the video. We’re sorry we didn’t have time to answer them all. We had some technical difficulties so it … Continue reading →

Posted in Announcements | 52 Comments

Facebook, MySpace, and Your Next Job

Posted on Thursday - September 18, 2008 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

Many people have pages on websites such as Facebook and MySpace.  Even I have a page on Facebook (just search for “Jeff McQuillan” and then you can add me as your “friend”)!  These sites allow you to share information and … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in the United States | 15 Comments

Hockey Moms

Posted on Thursday - September 4, 2008 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

If you read an American newspaper today, you’ll see the phrase hockey mom. What is a hockey mom, and why are all the newspapers talking about it? In the narrowest (most restricted) sense, a hockey mom is a mother who … Continue reading →

Posted in News and Current Events | 14 Comments

An Historic Day

Posted on Thursday - August 28, 2008 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

Yesterday was an historic (historically important) day in the United States. No matter if you are liberal or conservative, Republican or Democrat, it was hard not to notice the significance of what happened in Denver, Colorado, last night. There, one … Continue reading →

Posted in News and Current Events | 24 Comments

Begin To Do and Begin Doing

Posted on Thursday - August 21, 2008 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

We received an interesting question from Maggie and Savor in Beijing: We have a question from Cafe 150: What is the difference between “begin doing” and “begin to do”?  In Cafe 150, it says “Josephine began to act in movies” and … Continue reading →

Posted in Language & Terms | 9 Comments

Majority Minority

Posted on Thursday - August 14, 2008 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

There was an interesting article in the newspaper this week about changes that are taking place in the U.S. population. According to a new report published by the Census Bureau (the part of the federal or national government that counts … Continue reading →

Posted in Life in the United States | 8 Comments

Is iTunes U for You?

Posted on Wednesday - July 23, 2008 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

As some of you probably know already, iTunes has a special section for university lectures and classes.  Different universities, including some of the best in the United States, provide free lectures and demonstrations on a variety of topics from some … Continue reading →

Posted in Recommendations, Technology | 10 Comments

Home Away from Home

Posted on Thursday - July 17, 2008 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

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 … Continue reading →

Posted in Language & Terms | 18 Comments