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...
“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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
