English vocabulary building: cold weather idioms
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English vocabulary building: cold weather idioms

The weather in San Diego and San Francisco is beautiful this weekend, but in other parts of the world, winter is in full force! To cheer up our future and former students as they endure winter temperatures, we have a list of snow and cold weather-related idioms for you to practice. We hope that you...

Grammar Lesson of the Month: Dangling Modifiers
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Grammar Lesson of the Month: Dangling Modifiers

“Looking out across the ocean, a dolphin jumped out of the water.” What is wrong with this sentence? Perhaps you understand that the author was looking out over the ocean and that the author saw a dolphin jump out of the water. But the way that this sentence is structured, it seems as if the...

New words added to the English dictionary in 2012
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New words added to the English dictionary in 2012

Every language grows and changes as people create new words. According to Miriam-Webster Dictionary, English officially added many new words in 2012, and CISL is taking a look at 15 of them today. How many of these have you heard before? aha moment bucket list cloud computing copernicium earworm energy drink f-bomb game changer gassed...

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Improve your English vocabulary by learning academic-based words

English students are eager to learn as many new English words as possible, and although there are many ways to practice vocabulary, there are definitely modes of study that help students learn words quicker. One method of vocabulary learning is to identify the words that are used more often in the English language and then...

Grammar Lesson of the Month: Prepositions of Place
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Grammar Lesson of the Month: Prepositions of Place

Last month, the CISL Blog explored rules regarding prepositions with time. For December, we are looking at another aspect of prepositions: using this part of speech to express placement. On? Above? Over? Below? The following is a list of prepositions to express  the location of an object in relation to another one. Location One: Close...

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Five basic punctuation rules for the comma

Writing in English is much more than just putting words together into sentences: students must learn to make sentences flow naturally to keep the attention of the reader. One easy way to master this skill is to learn basic punctuation rules. All English teachers will tell their students that punctuation can make a lot of...

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Grammar Lesson of the Month: Prepositions with Time

Prepositions can be one of the most frustrating parts of language learning. When students go to the movies, are they “in” the movies, or “at” the movies? This weekend, were you “on” Pacific Beach, “in” Pacific Beach, or “at” Pacific Beach? Many students believe that prepositions are something you have to memorize, but there are...

Stative (Non-action) Verbs that Break Normal Rules in English
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Stative (Non-action) Verbs that Break Normal Rules in English

Several weeks ago, CISL published a Grammar Lesson of the Month about Stative and Dynamic Verbs. Many students know these types of verbs as Action and Non-Action verbs. However, there are some verbs that break the normal rules: they can be classified as stative (non-action) or active (action) verbs. Stative (Non-action) Verbs that Break Normal...

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“Enquire” vs. “Inquire”

Recently, a CISL student asked his teacher a great question: What is the difference between “inquire” and “enquire?” We thought it was such a good question that it deserved an entire blog post!   Definitions of “enquire” and “inquire” The truth is, “enquire” and “inquire” are two spellings of the exact same word. According to...

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Action vs. Non-Action English Verbs

In September, Converse International School of Languages’ grammar lesson is about action and non-action verbs. What are they? What is the difference between them? And, most importantly, how can we correctly use them in our writing and speaking? Action Verbs English language verbs can be broken into two categories: action and non-action. Just like the...