Blog
Phrase of the Week: Make You Pay
“Did you just shoot a blue shell at me? I’ll make you pay for that!” “Calm down. It’s just a video game.” To make someone pay (for something they did) is to get revenge (for what they did). Of course, it can sometimes mean to force someone to pay money for something....
TOEIC Practice Question of the Week
“Can you hear me? Please _____” Fill in the blank. A. call back B. write back C. tell D. respond 「聞こえていますか？返事をしてください」...
Flower, game, hat! Find some phonics sounds around the house! お花、ゲーム、帽子！お家の中でフォニックスの音を探しましょう！
Classroom Tip This song from Happy Valley Phonics Book 1, Unit 3, introduces vocabulary that begins with the f, g, and h sounds. Put the flashcards on the ground and ask the students, What does Filly want? Have them say or touch the words that starts with the same...
Trivia of the Week: Peanut Brittle
Peanut brittle is a flat candy with peanuts in it. “Brittle” means “hard and easy to break”, and peanut brittle is broken into pieces, rather than cut. Peanut brittle is popular in the U.S. but in other places other nuts are more popular, such as pecans or almonds....
Word of the Week: Fidget
“I want my kids to enjoy music so I took them to a classical concert, but they were bored and fidgeted the whole time.” “At the job interview, the chair was so uncomfortable, it was hard not to fidget. I hope nobody noticed.” To fidget is to move around slightly,...
Picture of the Week: Tangerines
Tangerines are closely related to mandarin oranges and Japanese citrus (mikan). They say you should eat them in winter to get some vitamin C and strengthen your immune system against colds....
Phrase of the Week: How About You?
“I liked the movie. How about you?” “I’m allergic to peanuts. How about you?” “Betty has a cat. How about you?” “How about you?” can mean many things, depending on the topic of the conversation in which it is used. In these examples, it could mean: “Did you like the...
TOEIC Practice Question of the Week
“This coupon titles the holder to one free small soda with the purchase of any sandwich.” Find the mistake. A. titles B. holder C. purchase D. any 「このクーポンを提示したら、サンドウィッチ購入時に無料でSサイズのソフトドリンクがついてきます！」 クーポンを見ると、大きな文字で「FREE* SODA!」と書いてあり、小さな文字で「*with...
Trivia of the Week: Slug
A slug is like a snail but it has no shell. It has four tentacles on its face—two that can see and two that can smell. Many slugs actually do have shells, but inside their bodies. Sea slugs live in the sea, but land slugs also need a lot of water, so they are more...
Idiom of the Week: Lend a Hand
“This table is too heavy to move by myself. Can you lend me a hand?” “Beth is moving house this weekend so I’m going to go lend her a hand.” If a person had four hands instead of two, could they do twice as much work? When someone “lends a hand”, they usually use...
Word of the Week: Surround
“The excited children surrounded the man dressed as Santa Claus.” “The yard is surrounded by a fence.” “There’s no escape! We’re surrounded by enemies!” “Surround” often appears in the passive voice. It means that something is present on all sides. If you put speakers...
Picture of the Week: Pansies
Pansies come in white, yellow, purple and blue. The names “pansy”, “viola” and “violet” are often used for the same flowers—even though they might not be purple!...
Phrase of the Week: Cut up about it
“Her mother was away on business for her birthday? Is she okay?” “She’s still pretty cut up about it.” If someone is “cut up about” something, they are hurt emotionally. This phrase often describes how someone feels in the days or weeks after something very sad...
TOEIC Practice Question of the Week
“Outside food is ______ in the theme park.” Fill in the blank. A. allow B. disallow C. prohibited D. prescribed 「テーマパークの中では食べ物の持込が禁じられています。」...
Cat, dog, elephant! Let the Phonanimals teach you their sounds! ねこ、いぬ、ぞう！フォナニマルと一緒に英語の音を覚えましょう！
Classroom Tip This song from Happy Valley Phonics Book 1, Unit 2, introduces vocabulary that begin with the c, d, and e sounds. Use gestures for the words and do them as you sing along. Put the flashcards on the ground and ask the students, What does Cally want? Have...
Trivia of the Week: Seahorses
Seahorses live in the sea, but they are not horses. They are actually fish. The shape of their heads looks a little horse-like. As fish, they lay eggs, but interestingly, the eggs hatch inside a pouch on the father seahorse, who then “gives birth”. ...
Idiom of the Week: Keep it under your hat
“We’re getting Sally her own car for her birthday. But keep it under your hat—it’s going to be a surprise!” To keep something under your hat is to keep it a secret and not tell anyone about it. If it’s hidden under your hat, no one can see it—a secret!...
Word of the Week: Painkiller
“I have a pretty bad headache. Do we have any painkillers?” A painkiller is a medicine you use that makes you feel less or no pain: It “kills” pain. Some painkillers can be bought without a prescription. For more serious pain, you might need to get something stronger...
Picture of the Week: Ornamental Cucumbers
What are these strange spiky green things? Do the green stripes seem familiar? They are actually cucumbers. These ones are only for decoration, not for eating....
Phrase of the Week: When all is said and done
“When all is said and done, we’re just too different.” “This device looks beautiful and has a lot of features, but when all is said and done it’s just not very good at its main function.” “When all is said and done” means “in the end”. We use it to say what’s really...
