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| From : https://joannawillis.wordpress.com/2011/04/27/happy-1st-yr-blog-anniversary-blog-updates-thank-yous-more/ |
August is coming to an end alongside my holidays 😥. To give closure to both my vacation and the anniversary of my blog, I thought that it might be a wonderful idea to present all the entries of my blog up to now, divided in sections, to make them more accessible, and, at the same time, advance more blog entries that I will soon be writing. This is a great opportunity to spot all my blog entries divided into section so that you can catch up with the blog.
So far I have written no less than 70 entries including this one and it has been hard but also rewarding and satisfying. The aim of the blog was to identify and signal the most beautiful and interesting quirks of English, so I divided it into 12 sections. Let's explain all of them and I will mention all the entries within each section and some future ideas for each section :
1. English quirks : In this section, I have explored the oddities of the English language, i.e. the features that make English a unique language. What quirks of English have I explored so far ?
- Lexical creativity, or the English capacity and facility for the creation of new words.
- The Spanish expressions in the English language including words such as 'fiesta', 'siesta', 'vigilante' or 'persona'.
- Abbreviations and initials : Common abbreviations used in everyday language, such as 'aka' (also known as) or 'MIA' (missing in action).
- Homophones, that is, words written differently and yet pronounced in the same way, for example, words such as 'right' and 'write' or 'sun' and 'son'. Amazing, eh ?
- French influence on English : 'Vis-a-vis', 'fiancé', 'cliché' and many more other French words are commonplace in the English language.
- Interjections : Short phrases thanks to which we can express a wide range of feelings. Examples of these are Homer Simpson's catchy phrase 'd'oh', or more familiar ones such as 'hurrah' or 'cool'.
- Paronyms I and paronyms II : Very similar words, words that look like the same but have different meanings: economic (related to economy) and economical (cheap) are two examples or paronyms. To know more, click on the links provided.
- Animal sounds in English and Spanish : Would it be surprising for you to know that animal sounds are perceived differently according to the culture ? That's right, indeed. In English birds say 'tweet' while in Spanish they say 'pio, pio'. Can you believe it ?
- Languages which have deeply influenced English : Although English has a remarkable identity by itself, it is, on the other hand, a compound of a great deal of languages including Greek, Latin, Italian, Spanish... Click on the link to know more examples.
- Homographs : Words written in the same way but pronounced differently. 'Read' in the infinitive is pronounced differently from 'read' in the past and participle forms, but there are way more examples !
- 10 quirks about irregular verbs : Irregular verbs accompany us during our English learning process. If you want to know some curiosities about them, click on the link !
- Blends : The English ability to combine two words together to create a new one. A two-word hybrid, indeed. 'Brunch' (breakfast + lunch) and 'smog' (smoke + fog) are very good examples.
- Some quirks about the English language : Get to know some important curiosities of English.
- Onomatopoeias or words which represent a sound : bang, bang !
- Auto-antonyms : Contradictory words with contradictory meanings. 'Then' refers to a time in the past and a time in the future. Get to know more fun auto-antonyms.
Future entries :These are all the entries that I have written about the English quirks, but I intend to write many more about eponyms, antonyms, shortenings and clippings, proper names in English, compounds, the English accents and varieties, polysemy, prefixes and suffixes,...So, stay tuned !
2. Vocabulary : If you want to know some words, expressions and idioms, this is your section ! :
- Dog days : Vocabulary and expressions related to heat and hot weather.
- Freezing cold : Terms and expressions related to cold weather.
- It's Raining Cats and Dogs : Vocabulary and expressions related to rainy weather.
- Many happy returns : Vocabulary related to birthday celebrations.
- Let's ditch exams : Vocabulary and expressions related to exams and schooling.
- It smells of holidays : Vocabulary related to holidays and holiday destinations and activities.
- Joy all over my body : Idioms and expressions related to happiness.
- The Crazy Story : Lexis about fairy tale characters.
- Friday, 13th : Lexis and expressions related to good and bad luck.
- World Peace Day : Vocabulary and symbols related to peace.
- Christmas vocabulary : Vocabulary related to Christmas.
- Animal idioms I and animal idioms II : Expressions involving animals.
- My niece is born. Welcome onboard : Expressions and vocabulary related to babies !
- Ouch ! These idioms really hurt : Idioms and expressions related to violence.
- Yummy yummy ! These idioms are really tasty : Idioms related to food ! Delicious !
Future entries : I am planning some entries on idioms of parts of the body, idioms of colours, vocabulary related to wedding celebrations and ways of saying hello and goodbye.
3. Culture : A language cannot be separated from its culture. That is why I have included some entries about cultural elements in the English language :
- Emblems and symbols of the United States : the flag, the Statue of Liberty,...
- Independence Day : Important trivia facts about July, 4th.
- Friday, 13th : some good luck charms, bad luck bearers and much more...
- April Fools' Day : Learn about the best day to pull some pranks...
- Easter is not only a Spanish tradition : Learn some funny facts about Easter.
- Saint Patrick's : Learn about this important day for Ireland !
- Top 10 Halloween symbols : Discover something about Halloween !
- Back 2 school : The school system in England ! Don't miss it !
Future entries : In the future I will continue to write about the most important cultural elements of the United Kingdom, influential people in the US, Remembrance Day and Gun Powder's Day.
4. Exercises and songs: Exercises to practise some of the points I write about.
- Text messages : Try to decipher some text messages including abbreviations and symbols.
- Homophones : Some exercises to test if you know some homophones.
- Easter videos : Practise your listening comprehension with some videos related to Easter.
- Same or different ? : Decide if certain pairs of words are homophones or homographs.
- Christmas carols and videos : Practise your listening while learning about Christmas.
- Test your knowledge about irregular verbs : Do you know the past and participle of all the irregular verbs ? Let's see !
- Exercises about blends : Discover the two words that originated the hybrid word. Fun !
- Let's sing : I'm a believer : Fill in the gaps missing in this famous song.
- It's a Beautiful Day : Complete this song by Michel Bublé with modals and do other varied exercises.
- World Peace Day : Four songs about peace including Green Day's 21 Guns with exercises.
- Cold Play's Paradise : Enjoy this song while you practise your English
- Fast Car : Enjoy this song by Tracy Chapman and improve your English !
- Somebody I Used to Know : This song by Gotye is not only rhythmic but very interesting to learn English.
Future entries : I will continue uploading more and more exercises including new songs for you to keep practising your English ! I am open to suggestions !
5. English vs. Spanish : I like comparing my mother tongue with my favourite tongue. So far I've only written these four entries :
- Films in the English language : Contrast between the titles of some famous films in English and Spanish ! Must-see entry.
- Interjections : Different interjections in English and Spanish.
- Lost in Translation : Speaking English by mechanically translating from Spanish does not always work. Here you have some examples.
Animal sounds in English and Spanish : Apparently, an English dog sounds differently from a Spanish one !
Future entries : I will keep on writing about this. In fact, I am preparing a contrast of idioms from Spanish and English and also examples of funny translation made by my students !
6. Grammar : English grammar is sometimes difficult but we all have grown accustomed to it. Here are the entries I wrote :
- Irregular verbs : Learn some quirks about irregular verbs.
- Frolicking in the water : A surprising grammar rule that I discovered myself !
- The verb 'have' in seven stages : Learn everything about the verb 'have' which happens to be in the simplest and most complex structures.
Future entries : In the future I am planning to write about the most complicated grammar items in English. Besides, I will write about the gender in the English language and also about irregular plurals. In addition, I intend to write an entry about the verb 'do' and another one about some quirks of modal verbs.
7. Literature : Reading is and has always been my pending subject. In spite of that I have managed to read four books during this year :
- The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
- Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Dafoe
- Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
- The Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway
8. English pronunciation : Tricky, chaotic, difficult... We think of these adjectives regarding English pronunciation. Here are my entries :
- Same or different ? : Decide if these tricky words are pronounced in the same way or differently.
- The pronunciation of -ed forms : Learn to pronounce the regular past and participle forms.
Future entries : Well, I am planning an entry about the most complicated words in English, another one about minimal pairs, another one about the flexibility in English pronunciation and a final one about the pronunciation of English in different parts of the globe.
9. Christmas : Probably the best time of the year. These are my entries so far.
- Christmas in the UK, the US and Spain : similarities and differences.
- Top 10 Christmas carols : a ranking with a selection of carols.
Future entries : Well, for next Christmas I am envisaging some entries about the origin of Christmas, Christmas celebrations around the globe and New Year resolutions.
10. General stuff : Interesting information that do not belong to the previous aforementioned categories :
- The aims of the blog : the first entry of the blog containing my intentions when I started writing the blog.
- The Crazy Story : A theatre play performed by my students of 1º ESO.
- Fun resources to learn English : Some very interesting webpages to keep learning English.
Future entries : Very soon I will write two entries : one about the importance of the English language and another one about the importance of learning foreign languages.
11. Blog anniversary : How did I commemorate the anniversary of my blog ? :
Well, with this long entry you have a golden opportunity : to browse through each and all of the entries of my blog so that you can catch up. In September, I will be writing new entries and I expect you like them all and keep following my blog. It has been a wonderful anniversary and I am delightful to have written so many entries in a year and, most importantly, to be able to keep writing. And, last but not least, as the image above states, thank you for supporting and reading my blog.
See you soon !
