Writing Contest Winners: If my best friend came to visit…
“If your best friend came to visit San Diego/San Francisco, what would you do with them on your first day?” We asked our students this question, and after reading all of the entries, it seems like CISL students are amazing tour guides! Congratulations to our winners, Sarah Benghaith and Tanja Sachs! You might remember that April’s Grammar Lesson [...]
Happy 75th Birthday to the Golden Gate Bridge!
Happy 75th Birthday to the Golden Gate Bridge, California’s most famous landmark and an engineering masterpiece! To celebrate the birthday of the West Coast’s most famous bridge, we are sharing a few facts about the bridge with our readers. Did you know that: * The bridge is named for the Golden Gate Strait, which is [...]
Memorial Day Activities in San Diego
Put on your bathing suit, fire up your BBQ grill, and get ready: it is Memorial Day weekend! Many students ask CISL staff members the same question: “What is Memorial Day?” We think that is a very good question to ask! It is a United States holiday created to celebrate the people who died during [...]
Practice with Phrasal Verbs
Have you been practicing phrasal verbs through CISL’s 30-Day Phrasal Verb Challenge? If so, now is the time to test some of your new phrasal verb skills! Today’s lesson is practice with the 21 verbs students have learned since May 1, when the phrasal verb challenge began. If you didn’t take the challenge, you can [...]
The history of the ABCs
How did you learn the ABCs? The classic song–sung to the same tune as “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”–is how most of us learn the English alphabet. But did you know that this was not always the most common way of learning the ABCs? In the 19th century, most students learned the alphabet with a rhyme titled [...]
SD Event: Fashion Show at Pacific Beach’s Typhoon
Many of our students say that one of the most exciting aspects of living in California is the fashion. Californians are known for their relaxed, colorful, and fashion-forward dress, and the state is full of inexpensive shops with great merchandise! On Friday, May 11, students will have an exciting opportunity to learn a little more [...]
Idioms with “May”
April showers bring May flowers, and May brings… a lot of idioms! There are quite a few idioms that use the word “may”. Today, we are looking at a few that are easy to incorporate into everyday speech. Note: these all use the word “may” that is a modal, not the word “May” that is [...]
Christie Brinkley stars in “Chicago” in SD
Supermodels usually walk the catwalk, but this weekend, world-famous supermodel Christie Brinkley will grace a different stage–the theater–in a production of Chicago. Brinkley will perform at the San Diego Civic Theater from May 8 to May 13. Brinkley is one of the world’s most successful supermodels. She has been featured on the cover of [...]
Take the 30-Day Phrasal Verb Challenge with CISL!
It’s phrasal verb month at CISL! Many students groan when they hear the words “phrasal verb.” We understand why: there are hundreds of phrasal verbs in the English language, and the only way to learn them is to memorize them. There is no “quick fix” when it comes to learning phrasal verbs! Or is there? [...]
Grammar Lesson of the Month: Phrasal Verbs
It is that time again: Grammar Lesson of the Month! Last month was all about Conditionals, but this month, we are focusing on Phrasal Verbs. What is a phrasal verb? There are a few types, but the most common phrasal verb is a verb + preposition/adverb. Individually, these two words have separate meanings; together, these [...]
