Beckie Loewenstein

English speaking practice with "On The Water" from yi zhao on Vimeo . As a private English teacher, özel İngilizce öğretmeni , I seek to provide as much English speaking practice, İngilizce k onuşma , as possible to my Turkish students in our short private English lessons, İngilizce özel ders .  Silent animation film clips provide an excellent opportunity for student narration. The visuals elicit new vocabulary. Students can record each other narrate the animation. Describe what happens on the water with present continuous. Use water sport vocabulary. Give details about the textures and sensations. Students who can narrate the entire 8 minutes with a wide variety of vocabulary earn bonus points :) For more practice the present continous, please visit previous English lessons Putin action hero for present continuous and English speaking practice with animation

Comedy Central I really enjoy laughing out loud with the students in the English course, İngilizce kurslari .  I like to find entertaining content to keep up student motivation. For example, my student E. usually listens to BBC Learning English podcasts because he would like to understand British accents. As a change of pace, this lesson focuses on the African American accent. Secondly, this lesson achieves the student's second goal to practice listening for emotion. What's better than listening to punch lines? I introduce my Turkish student to American stand-up comedy on Comedy Central. I encourage my students to listen to authentic recordings during our private English lessons, İngilizce özel ders. Hopefully, my student will continue to listen to stand-up comedy to practice English, İngilizce pratik. Listen and fill the gaps. Write the answers in the comments below! CC:Stand-Up: Maronzio Vance - Extreme Home Makeover What show does the comedi

My student would like to practice listening and speaking about the political news. How many of these action verbs can you hear in the news podcasts and comedy show? Compare and contrast how the reporters and talk show host describe the news events. What's happening in Egypt? Write complete sentences in the comments! Egypt's future , The Economist Egypt on the brink , The Economist Morsi's Ouster In Egypt: A 'Bookend' For The Arab Spring , NPR Programs Fresh Air Leader's Digest – Egypt , Daily Show Everybody Coups - Egypt - Semantics , Daily Show Listen for these: anger back out be under pressure brew calm down change back civil disobedience clean up crack down curfew cut off demand discourage distrust disturb enlist escalate exclude force out go underground hope intervene keep down overthrow pick up piss off play along polarize premed

Loading...

brown leaves steep, suspend light, then sink in murky brew. fingers and thumb embrace to squeeze a concave waist of smooth, curved glass in contours of a sweaty palm with no fortune to tell. drops slide down glass slopes to draw rings of paper stains. round rim tips so lips can clumsily sip as brew dribbles down a mouth corner, embarrassed as tongue burns but throat warms. cold metal spoon conducts heat, refuses to stir milk, bathes lemon slices, always absorbs blue collar Turks' white sugar cubes in tea cups on street corners.

My student asks, "how to buy a house in the USA?" This lesson introduces English financial and legal vocabulary. 
The main idea is the amount of the mortgage payment depends on the size of the down payment. My student and I define "escrow" as the contractual and financial commitment to buy the house. We define "lien" as a legal and financial freeze on a property purchase. The deed and title are the main documents to prove ownership in the USA. The deed proves ownership, and the title shows there is no legal claim or lien. First, ask these questions to elicit vocabulary:     1.    What is the house price?     2.    What is the market value?     3.    What is the first payment?     4.    How do you commit to buy a house?     5.    After you pay the deposit and sign the offer, what do you wait for?     6.    What do you do while in escrow?     7.    How do you check a house for problems?     8.    What is a house with problems you can fix?     9.    What

I like to practice listening to Turkish.  I listen and take notes from the podcast episodes until I can use all of the new words. Lesson 83 "I might not make it" teaches how to schedule a meeting in Turkish. Here are my grammar notes: Akşama olur mu? Yarına olur mu? Haftaya olur mu? Gelecek aya olur mu? How about tonight? How about tomorrow? How about next week? How about next month? Pazartesiye kadar. Salıye kadar. Çarşambaya kadar. Perşembeye kadar. Cumaya kadar. Cumartesiye kadar. Pazarya kadar. Until Monday. Until Tuesday. Until Wednesday. Until Thursday. Until Friday. Until Saturday. Until Sunday. Pazartesi olsun? Salı olsun? Çarşamba olsun? Perşembe olsun? Cuma olsun?   Cumartesi olsun?   Pazar olsun? May it be Monday? May it be Tuesday? May it be Wednesday? May it be Thursday? May it be Friday? May it be Saturday? May it be Sunda

English speaking practice with Hezarfen from Hezarfen on Vimeo . As a private English teacher, İstanbul özel ingilizce öğretmeni, I often teach private English speaking lessons, ingilizce özel ders, at cafes near Galata Tower in Istanbul. This video animates Ottoman aviator Hezârfen Ahmed Çelebi gliding off Galata Tower in 17th century Constantinople. The video can be a great language learning tool for English speaking practice, İngilizce pratik. Narrate this video with present continuous and phrasal verbs. Record your narration with vocaroo : The cart is rolling. The chicken is escaping/flying/bouncing The man and sheep are landing on/falling through/gliding over the roof. For more practice the present continous, please visit previous English lessons Putin action hero for present continuous

BBC Science Club - Inheritance from Asa Lucander on Vimeo . --> As a private English teacher, İstanbul özel ingilizce öğretmeni , I encourage my auditory learners to listen to authentic recordings during our private English lessons, ingilizce özel ders . Please listen for new vocabulary about scientific discovery. What traits do you inherit from your family? Who do you look like the most? inheritance traits look like take a leap forward breed height color dominate dominant recessive genes chromosomes genetics For similar video lessons, please visit physics discovery verbs and history of music

*I wrote about my childhood in Turkish. Please feel free to correct my mistakes in the comments! :) Eskiden Plano'da Texas'ta yaşıyordum. Çocukluğum Plano, Texas'ta evin arka bahçesinde ve mahalle parkta kardeşlerimle geçirdik. Bahçede çimenler, domatesler, güller, çiçekler ve ağaçlar vardı. Yılda bir kez bir sıcak hava balonu festival vardı. Babamın bisikletinin çocuk koltuğu içinde ben ve babam parkta gidiyorduk. Eskiden babam zayıftı şimdi yok. Balonlar çok güzeldi. Bazen balonlar evimizin üzerinde uçtu ve arka bahçesinde balonlar izledik. Balonların üzerinde popüler çizgi film karakter vardı. Snoopy balonu en sevdim. Çocukken gökyüzünde büyük bulutlara bakıyorduk. Hayal gücümüz kullandıyorduk. Hayvanların bulutları gördüyorduk. Hem ejderhalar hem de tavşanlar bulutları hayal ediyorduk. Bizim hayal gücümüz kuvvetliydi. Annem bahçede saçlarımız keserdi. Saçlarım kısa keserdi ve uzun perçemi beni yapardı. Gözlerim dışında saçlarım tutmak için plastik toka takardım. Genç

I write a recipe for how to make a burrito in Turkish for my friends in Istanbul. Please feel free to correct my Turkish mistakes in the comments! Enjoy :) Fasulye burrito nasıl yapılır: bir bardak kuru siyah fasulye bir bardak pilav iki tane yeşil biber bir tane kırmızı biber beş tane domates bir demet taze soğan 2 diş sarımsak bir limon yarım demet maydanoz tuz kara biber Bugün bir burrito yapıyorsun.  Kuru fasulyeyi soğuk suda buzdolabında tencere içinde bir gece önce kuru siyah fasulyeyi piştikten ıslatıyorsun.  Ertesi gün iki saat fasulye kanatıyorsun. Fasulye yaptıktan sonra süzgeçle fasulye elekten geçiriyorsun.  Fasulye pişirmeyi bitirmeden önce sebzeleri hazırlıyorsun. İlk önce acılı salçası yapıyorsun.  Taze domatesleri, yeşil ve kırmızı biberleri, taze soğanları, taze sarımsakları yıkıyorsun.  Sebzelerin saplarını kesiyorsun ve biberlerin çekirdeklerini boşaltıyorsun. Taze soğanın dış yapraklarını ve sarımsaklar soyuyorsun.  Beyaz kısımlarını ince ince ve

BBC Science Club - Music from Asa Lucander on Vimeo . --> As a private English teacher, İstanbul özel ingilizce öğretmeni , I encourage my auditory learners to listen to authentic recordings during our private English lessons, ingilizce özel ders . Please listen for English verbs to describe the history of music. music spread record playback kickstart bring music to our ears smaller cheaper louder For similar video lessons, please visit physics discovery verbs and history of music

MOMENTUM from Boris Seewald on Vimeo . As a private English teacher, İstanbul özel İngilizce öğretmeni , I encourage my kinesthetic students to move during our private English lessons, İngilizce özel ders . Are you a kinesthetic learner? Do you learn better when you can stand up, stretch, and dance in class? My student S. who loves to dance and learn language in motion. Here are the discussion questions for the video: What is dance? How does he start to dance? How does he feel? What is momentum? What words describe the dance moves? What is the relationship between the son and the mom? How does the room change appearance? Describe a moment when you begin something new. How do you build momentum? Express emotions with an object in your bag. Dance is... a volcano a moment you feel clear inside yourself knowing who you are not caring what people think about you how you free determines how free you act a moment you feel something deep inside of you

The Imperfectionist from Asa Lucander on Vimeo . pick up the phone imperfectionist see someone handsome recluse control freak hair do a bit of a find depressing better off on my own go around in circles get involved with someone freak Continue English listening practice with a dynamic TED talk video lesson emoticons

As a private English teacher, İstanbul özel İngilizce öğretmeni , I encourage auditory learners to listen to authentic recordings during our private English lessons, İngilizce özel ders .  Listen to the video and find these English phrasal verbs, collocations, and idioms to talk about scientific discovery!  Categorize and memorize the new words: Here are the phrasal verbs: find out fall downards slow down  time warp  space bend Here are the verbs: abandon embrace endorse observe  measure predict Here are the idioms: cast his eye over  be on a roll  get the ball rolling  move things on master the universe  plug the hole  build on a discovery dark clouds hang over  tear up the script all was not well open the door

Every day I learn something new from my students in our private English lessons, İngilizce özel ders.  This morning I met my student A. for an English speaking lesson at Namli Gurme Karakoy. We sit side by side on the wide wooden benches. The wide table surface gives us extra space to lay out the white board, papers, markers, and pens. He has many stories to tell me as he just returned from vacation. Before he tells the story, I guide him to use new linking words such as: in the beginning before long as I was saying as I told you before finally After I listen carefully to each story, we brainstorm new slang words and idioms: sleepy, dog-tired, exhausted , sleep-deprived tipsy , drunk, buzzed , smashed , intoxicated , inebriated bossy, pushy, argumentative, provocative, aggressive, pick a fight We play a speaking practice game. He has 10 seconds to memorize the new vocabulary. I flip the board. He manages to use all of the new words in com

In Istanbul I often encounter cashiers and taxi drivers unprepared to give change. Sometimes I wonder how a business continues efficiently without a certain amount of cash on hand. It makes no sense why some people expect me to pay more to compensate for this cash flow problem. Plain awkward. Never before in Istanbul have I felt so embarrassed than in the Taksim Square metro station. The public transport metro card machines only accept 5, 10, or 20 Turkish lira bills; they do not give change or accept bank cards. As I only have a 50 lira bill, I cannot top up my metro card. Although this system only gives limited options, suddenly it became my own damn fault. Silly card holder, you should have brought the exact bills before entering the metro! If I could break the fifty into smaller denominations, then I could pay my fare. I try to buy a coffee from the coffee shop. Sorry, we do not have cash. I attempt to purchase a cherry juice at the bakery shop opposite. (Everywhere you turn, I

I guide my expat friends to my favorite ice cream shop, Dondurmacı Yaşar Usta Cihangir. Away from the hustle of maras ice cream tricksters on Istiklal, we can relax in the 'bobo,' or bohemian bourgeois, Cihangir neighborhood.  A young guy flexes his right forearm and hand as he scoops the solid ice cream onto the cones. He modestly hands the cones over without teasing or pranking us. As we take our first licks and bites, we observe each other's ice cream ecstasy. Frozen fresh fruit sorbet melts in our mouths, replenishing us with a summer sweetness. Plum erik sorbet tastes frozen ripe without any icicles. Chocolate pistachio tastes like a nutty fudge. Next time I would like to try the walnut and fig ice cream flavors. Summer loving continues. ♡ Dondurmacı

I am a huge fan of home exercise and Cassey Ho, a fun pilates instructor with blogilates youtube channel . I encourage language learners to do the workouts and learn English vocabulary at the same time! Hit that music! Get down! Squat lower! Suck in the belly button! Booty slap! Roll down! Squeeze! Feel the burn!

As a private English teacher, özel İngilizce öğretmeni , I encounter many students who focus on English speaking practice, İngilizce k onuşma . I teach most private English lessons, İngilizce özel ders, at cafés in İstanbul . This gives us many sensory experiences to inspire conversation. I feel aware of the colors, smells, and touch of the objects and places at my fingertips. Why confine lessons to worksheets when we can walk into real practice scenarios? At our Thursday afternoon lesson at a café on Istiklal, I invite my student R. to window shop. I instruct him to describe what he likes without using any hand gestures. What do you like? I like the spinning dervish figure that has a gold and black skirt. I like the sunglasses that are black with a row of brown beads on the top. I like the acoustic guitar that is below the white electric guitar. This activity highlights the practical importance of relative clauses because it requires the speaker to

I encourage my students to listen to authentic recordings during our private English lessons, İngilizce özel ders, in İstanbul . The song video "Carried Away" by Passion Pit performs the idioms "get carried away" and "go to far" in a couple's argument. I instruct my student S. to first read the lyrics for language on arguments, verbal fights, and apologies. Next, watch the video again and take notes of the hurtful things the boy and girl say to each other. Finally, discuss: (1) when does an argument cross over into a verbal fight? (2) when do words hold a physical presence in the room? (3) what is a sincere apology? I am sorry I hurt your feelings. I went too far. I got carried away. I mean no offense. In my defense...

--> I encourage auditory learners to listen to authentic recordings during our private English lessons, İngilizce özel ders, in İstanbul . I introduced my student B. to the use of this, that, these, and those with this TED talk by Rives. Basically, the student listens for the meaning of each emoticon, and then introduces what the punctuation marks and abbreviations represent. >^..^< This is a cat. ^ ^ These are the ears. > < These are the whiskers. Our favorite is YLLAMBWLAW, you look like a mermaid but walk like a waltz. It is great for a Turkish student's listening skills, too, because the letter W does not exist in the Turkish alphabet. Draw emoticons in the comments!

The rain storm this morning brings out the smells of the neighborhood. Climbing up the hill from the Italian Consulate, a fetid stink affronts my nose. Cats lounge in the shade as their kittens stand in flower pots. Could the smell be from the cats? Maybe the cats shit behind the sheet metal doors next to the Ecuadorian Consulate. Their bright, beady eyes and furry, overlapping paws makes me forgive and forget any odor in their alley. People take cover from the light drizzle. A stranger smokes on the doorsteps under the balcony overhang of my house. Please move, sir, so I may enter my house. I feel stinky myself after walking through his cloud of smoke. Awkward. In Amsterdam I once read the sign, "Please do not smoke weed on the bench, children sleeping upstairs." I wish I could put up a similar sign, "Please do not light up here. Trying to breathe." Rain does clear up the most offensive smells. The acrid, noisome stench of tear gas lingers for days without rain