Archive for July, 2009
Michael Jackson Tribute
Jul 28th
Yesterday was a beautiful day and so at lunch time I decided to take advantage of the warm weather and have my lunch outside. I was peacefully eating my lunch with a friend of mine when all of the sudden, out of nowhere, we started hearing REALLY loud music. It was Michael Jackson’s hit song “Beat It.” Not only was there loud music but suddenly a hundred or more people were dancing on the steps to the song. All of these people did the choreographed dance to the song. After the song ended all of the people who were dancing just disappeared. I was so surprised, a lot of people who were like me and just having there lunch outside joined in the dancing. I don’t know the steps and I was too surprised to join in!
When I got back to my office, I saw an article describing this impromptu (spontaneous) dancing. It started in Hong Kong where Michael Jackson fans played tribute to him with planned flash mob (a large group of people suddenly appear in public) performances. They started in Hong Kong but they have spread to Montreal . Has it spread to your part of the world? I have attached the article and also a YouTube video of the dance that I saw yesterday.
Click here to see the article I read and check out the clip of the dancing in Montreal below!
Culture: Wedding anniversaries
Jul 26th
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Eliza from China emailed to ask us about Wedding Anniversaries. Here we talk about different ways to wish someone a happy anniversary, what couples do on their anniversaries and the special names of some anniversaries. If you’re married or not, listen below.
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Robin: Right, but this is only for big anniversaries, like 25 years, maybe 30, 40 or 50 years. Usually big parties come after the couple has been married a long time.
Harp: Yes, sometimes it is the children of the couple who plan a big party for the parents’ wedding anniversary. You know I actually did this for my parents’ 25th Anniversary.
Robin: Did you?
Harp: Yeah I planned a party with my 2 sisters.
Robin: Really? Were there a lot of people?
Harp: Yeah, there were actually about 60 people.
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: amandabhslater
To Come Down With Something
Jul 19th
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Are you healthy? Or are you coming down with something? Have you been sick for a few days and feeling under the weather? Or maybe you are lucky and are getting over it? In this episode we look at some casual expressions to talk about being sick, from the beginning of your cold to the end!
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Maura: Yeah, I can hear it in your voice, you’re not feeling well, eh?
Jessie: Yeah, my nose is kind of stuffed up, feels like it’s blocked, I’m coughing a lot.
Maura: Yeah, I understand, I was actually sick last week.
Jessie: Yeah, you’re feeling better now?
Maura: Yeah, my throat hurt a lot and I was tired, but I’m feeling better.
Jessie: That’s good.
Maura: OK, let’s look at today’s expression.
Jessie: Well, it is kind of a coincidence, ‘cause the first expression that we are going to look at today is coming down with something.
Maura: Yeah, to come down with something.
Jessie: If you are coming down with something that means you are starting to get sick.
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo credit: casch52
Useful Tool for you!
Jul 15th
Hey everyone!
Recently I was working on the Detailed Explanation for Lipservice and I found a really useful language tool. It allows you to search for words, but it is not a dictionary!
The website is www.morewords.com. What it allows you to do is search for words that you are not sure how to spell. If you don’t know some of the letters in the word, you simply replace the space with a hyphen (dash) - . For example, you want to find the word bear, but you can’t remember how to spell it. So you can search b–r. And then the results will give you every word that starts with a b and ends with an r and has two letters in the middle. Or if you just want to know every three-letter word that stars with a d and ends with a t, search d-t.
Let me know what you think and if you find this site useful!
Expression: Hit it off
Jul 13th
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If you are single and looking for a partner, then you are looking to hit it off with someone. You can also hit it off with a new friend, a new boss or colleague, or any new person in your life. We also look at the similar expressions, to get along and to have chemistry. These expressions are all used a bit differently, so listen to this episode to find out how!
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Jessie: Yeah, if you were going on a blind date, meeting someone for the first time that one of your friends set you up with and they asked you how it went later, you might say, “Oh, we really hit it off.”
Maura: Right, which means that it was the first date but you really liked each other right away.
Jessie: Right.
Maura: Or maybe you could say, “We didn’t hit it off.”
Jessie: Yes, if you didn’t like each other you could say you didn’t hit it off.
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo credit: casch52
Expression: There are plenty of fish in the sea
Jul 3rd
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Many different languages around the world have this expression. Do you have this expression in your language? Listen to this episode about There are plenty of fish in the sea and see if you recognize a similar expression in your native language. Hint: This expression is often used when talking about relationships that didn’t work out.
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Harp: Exactly. So now, you can use this expression in different ways, but the most common one is used in reference to relationships.
Jessie: Right, so a boyfriend or a girlfriend. So it’s almost like saying that you are catching a boyfriend like you are catching a fish. So if you break up with your boyfriend, it’s like the fish got away.
Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Illust: wynlok
Stevie Wonder in Montreal!
Jul 2nd
Hello everyone!
There has been a lot happening in Montreal lately. Yesterday was Canada Day so there were lots of celebrations all across the country. July 1 is also the day when many people move to new apartments in the province of Quebec. Many leases (the aggreements between owner and renter) finish at the end of June.
But before that, on June 30, there was a lot of excitement in Montreal. The Jazz Festival began with an opening performance, free for all, in the heart of the city (downtown). This year the opening performance got everyone’s attention. This year Stevie Wonder played a free concert outside. There was some rain, but still thousands of people waited outside for hours for the show to begin. Here is an article about it in the local English newspaper.
I looked around youtube to find a video of the concert for you. The video below is not the best quality but it is one of Stevie Wonder’s most famous songs. And it is also super fun when the chorus (the repeated part of a song) comes and everyone sings along!
Of all the podcasts with 'real world' English examples, I like yours the best. Maybe its the fun you put into the lessons. The students can here that in your voices. And they also feel your dedication to what you are doing - it's just not a job you do, but a gift you give to everyone who listens. And while the students like the Lipservice PDFs for all the information it contains, as a teacher I am impressed by the professional effort put into making them. I give the Culips podcast and the Culips crew my highest recommendation, both as a teacher, and a listener. 
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