TALC Chats Podcast

Send us Fan Mail

If that phone belongs to Mary, I can say “That is Mary’s phone.” If that phone belongs to John, I can say, “That book is John’s phone.” When we are talking about someone owning or possessing something, we can use the person’s name, add an apostrophe plus an ‘s’  to show possession or ownership. An apostrophe is a little mark. It looks like a comma, but it is higher, not down on the line like a comma. Look in the written summary of this podcast to see an example of an apostrophe. (‘)  We also use apostrophes for contractions when we put two words together to make one; For example, “I’m”  is short for “I am”. We use apostrophes in contractions to show that we have left a letter or letters out to make the contraction. Got it! But today we are talking about possession. Let’s go back to “That is Mary’s phone.” . and “That is John’s phone. “Yes! When we see those sentences written, we see an apostrophe plus “s” in Mary’s name and in John’s name to show that the phone belongs to Mary and the book belongs to John. OK, so far so good! Now, if we are talking and we both know that we are talking about Mary, I don’t need to say Mary’s phone, I can just say “her” phone. “her” is a possessive adjective. It means that phone belongs to Mary. It is her phone.  An adjective is a describing word. A describing word that describes a noun or pronoun – ( a person, place or thing.) A “possessive adjective” shows who owns or possesses the person, place or thing. “Her” is the feminine possessive adjective. We use “her” when the person. place or thing belongs to a woman or girl – a female.Emily ‘s car is new. Her car is new. Carol’s daughter is a teacher. Her daughter is a teacher.
Notice that the possessive adjective “her” does not have an apostrophe.  “Her” is the feminine possessive adjective. Let’s go back to John.  We said
that is John’s phone.” John is a male so we cannot use the feminine possessive adjective for John’s book, can we? We have to use the masculine possessive adjective.
And what is masculine possessive adjective? “his”  That is John’s phone.  That is his phone. John’s brother lives in Mexico. His brother lives in Mexico. John’s apartment is nice. His apartment is nice.
There are seven possessive adjectives. We are focusing on her and his, because they are the probably the most challenging possessive adjectives for English learners. If you use her when you are talking about a female person or animal who possesses something and his when you are talking about a masculine person or animal possessing something, you can be proud! Watch future episodes for practice using the other five possessive adjectives!

Here’s a short story. Listen for those possessive adjectives – her and his!

Mona and her kids are at the fair. Her son’s name is Max. Her daughter’s name is Hannah. Hannah and Max have balloons on long strings. Her balloon is red and his balloon is yellow.  Max doesn’t want his balloon. He wants his sister’s balloon.But Hannah doesn’t want her brother’s yellow balloon. She wants her red balloon because her favorite color is red. Max grabs Hannah’s balloon string. Hannah pulls her balloon string away from Max. Max loses his grip on the string of his balloon.  He watches as his balloon floats upward in the sky. Hannah holds the string of her balloon tightly. Max looks up at his mom with tears in his eyes. Hannah has a big smile on her face and says to her mom,” It’s his fault that he lost his balloon!"

Tacomaliteracy.org

Send us Fan Mail

     In podcast #35 we talked about the Puget Sound -  a body of salt water that is connected to the Pacific Ocean at the Straits of Juan de Fuca north of Seattle and extends 95 miles south to Olympia.  Olympia, Tacoma, Seattle, Bellevue and Everett are cities on Puget Sound. About 2/3 of Washington state’s population live on Puget Sound.
     Today we’re going to talk about the orcas who live in the waters of Puget Sound for several months every year. Orcas are also called killer whales. They are in the dolphin family, but because they are so big they are also considered whales. Killer whales sounds scary and dangerous! A killer is a human or animal that kills another creature. The reason they are called killer whales interesting. Hundreds of years ago Spanish sailors called them “ballena asesina”  Ballena means “whale” and “asesina"  means “killer”.  Because the sailors saw orca kill other whales, they called them ”whale killers”. When ballena asesina was translated to English, it was incorrectly translated it to killer whale.   In our conversation we will use “orca” sometimes and “killer whale” other times, to talk about the same animal.
     Whales are not fish. They are mammals that live in the ocean.  A mammal is an animal that has fur at some time in its life, a complicated brain, a backbone (spine), and is born alive ( not hatched from an egg);  female mammals have mammary glands that produce milk to feed their young.  “Mamma” is where the word mammal comes from.  Wait a minute! Whales don’t have fur! Well, whales do have fur before they are born. Orcas are big! Males can be 30 feet long and can weigh 22.000 pounds.  They’re very beautiful! They are mostly black on top with white undersides. They have white patches near their eyes. If you don’t know what an orca looks like, please do a quick Google search. Orcas live in every ocean on Earth. Most orcas  are transient killer whales. They hunt marine mammals like seals and walruses, and sometimes other whales. The whales we see in Puget sound are called southern resident killer whales/ orcas. They spend several months of the summer and fall in Puget Sound. Unlike transient whales, the southern resident orcas east only salmon…and only a specific kind of salmon, the chinook salmon.Salmon is a tricky word because it looks like we should pronounce it “sal mon”, but we say “saamon”.
     The Southern Resident orcas come to Puget Sound in the summer and fall because that is when salmon are returning from the ocean. The people who live in the Puget Sound region LOVE the Southern Resident orcas. Many Puget Sound residents and tourists go on whale watching boats to look for the orcas. The Southern Resident orcas that visit Puget Sound are endangered (they are in danger of becoming extinct) so scientists watch them closely.  
     In October 2024, there were 74 Southern Resident orcas. They live in three family groups called “pods”. The pods are called J, K and L pods. Female orcas are the leaders of each pod. The group of pods is called a clan. They use clicks, whistles and pulsed calls to communicate. You can Google “orca communication” to listen to orcas “talking" to each other.  Each pod has its own dialect! The orcas of Puget sound are fascinating creatures!
     The best time to see the orcas in Puget Sound is October through December. The San Juan Islands is a good place for whale watching. Lime Kiln Point State Park on San Juan Island is one of the best places in the world to watch whales from the shore. 
      If you have ever seen an orca, dear listener, please tell us all about it at [email protected]!

Tacomaliteracy.org

Send us Fan Mail

Today how about practicing some English phrases that are useful for everyday life situations? That sounds good! Where shall we start?
Let’s start with greetings: To greet someone:
                Formal: Good morning/afternoon/ evening;  How are you?                           It’s nice to see you!
                Informal: What’s new?; What’s up?; How’s it going?
 To reply:
                Formal : I’m fine, thanks, and you?; It’s nice to see you, too.
                Informal: Pretty good. I can’t complain. Could be better, how about you?
To say you don’t understand:
                                Could you repeat that, please. I’m sorry, didn’t get that. One more time please. ;  Could you please say that a little slower.; I didn’t understand everything you said. Please repeat it a little slower.
To say you want something :   
                                   I would like a /some…………. please.
To say thank you:
                Formal: Thank you!; Thank you so much.; I really appreciate …..                                    Informal: Thanks! Thanks a million!Thanks a lot! Thanks a bunch!
To respond to a thank you:  Formal: You’re very welcome! My pleasure!  Of course!
                Informal: No problem!  Anytime!
To say you are sorry (to apologize)
                Formal: I apologize for …… ;  I’m sorry! My apologies! Informal:  So sorry!  Sorry!   
To respond to an apology: Formal: That’s OK!  Don’t worry, it’s fine! Informal: No worries!  No problem!
To end a conversation:
                Formal: It was nice to see you. We’ll talk soon.  Informal: Gotta run!  Later!
Here is a formal conversation between a student and her teacher at the library.
Student: Good morning, Mrs. Jackson.
Teacher: Hello Mariah, it’s nice to see you, this morning. How are you today?Student: I’m fine, thank you, and you?
Teacher: I’m very well, thank you. 
Student: I really appreciate your help with my homework yesterday.
Mrs. Jackson: It was my pleasure, Mariah. I’m glad you understand it now.
Student: I do understand it now. Thanks again.
Teacher: Well, I’ll see you in class tomorrow.
Student:  Yes, it was great to see you, Mrs. Jackson. Goodbye.
Now here’s an informal conversation between two friends at Safeway:
D: Hey Latonya, how’s it going?
L: Pretty good, thanks Diana. How about you?
D: I can’t complain. Hey, I’m sorry I missed your birthday party last weekend.
L: Oh, no problem. We had a great time without you.
D: What did you say, Latonya?   Could you repeat that, please?
L: Sorry! That didn’t come out the way I meant it to. I meant to say that we had a great time, and we were sorry that you were not there. Thanks a million for sending the nice flowers! I really appreciate your thoughtfulness!
D: You’re welcome. I’m glad that you like them. Well, gotta run!
L: Me too! See you later!       

Tacomaliteracy.org

Send us Fan Mail

•  On November 20th there was a big windstorm in western Washington.
•  Did you have a lot of wind at your house? 
•  Some places escaped the high winds, but many areas in northwestern Washington were hit hard!
• What do you mean by that? “some places were hit hard.”
•  I mean some places had a lot of wind. They were affected by the storm. The storm hit those places hard.
•  What were some of the areas that were hit hard – had a lot of wind?
• Well, Issaquah, Renton, Bellevue and Shoreline were some hard-hit areas. There were wind gusts of over 70 mph in some areas. 
• Gusts? What are gusts of wind? Gusts are increases in wind speed.  Gusts are sudden and brief, lasting only about 20 seconds. 
• The average speed of wind that is blowing over time is called sustained wind.  When the speed of the wind is more than 34 mph it is called a windstorm.  Here are some examples of wind speeds during the windstorm in November: Enumclaw–77 mph wind gust, Federal Way–57 mph, Sea-Tac Airport-55 mph.
  •  Wow! Definitely a windstorm! What problems can windstorms cause?
  •  High winds can cause lots of problems; trees can fall onto houses or cars. Fallen trees can block roads.  I know of at least two people who died during the November windstorm.
    • Windstorms can damage power lines.  A power line is a thick cable that carries electricity from one place to another. A system or network of power lines carries electricity from the source, the place it comes from – a dam or power plant, for example – to where it is used – like our homes, schools and apartment buildings.
  •  How does the wind damage power lines?
  • Windstorms can blow tree branches or entire trees onto power lines. This can make the power lines fall to the ground. The wind can also make power lines move around wildly and swing together. When the lines touch, it causes a short circuit that stops the electricity from flowing through the lines.
• What happens when power lines are damaged in a windstorm?
• The power or electrical system is interrupted.  Businesses, schools and homes lose their power. After a windstorm I might ask you “Do you have  power?  Or… “Do you have electricity?”   Or.. “Do you have lights?”
• We use “power”, “electricity” and “lights” interchangeably to mean the same thing when we talk about electricity.  To talk about when the electricity stopped working, we say “The power/electricity /lights went out at 8 last night.” Or “We lost our power/electricity or lights last night.”  To talk about when the electricity started working again, we say “The power/electricity/lights came back on this morning.” To ask if another person’s electricity stopped working, we say “Did your power (or lights or electricity) go out last night?”
• During the windstorm in November more than 600,000 people in western Washington lost their power. It took 2 – 3 days to restore or bring back power to all those people.

A lot of people had a conversation like this after the windstorm:
Ann: That was quite a storm last night, wasn’t it?
Beth: You’d better believe it!  Did you get hit hard?
Ann: Yeah, the wind was blowing like crazy all night. We had gusts of 60 mph. How about you? 
Beth: We were lucky! It wasn’t windy here at all. Did your lights go out? 
Ann: Oh yeah! Our lights went out at about 7:30 and we still don’t have power.
Beth: Gosh! I’m so sorry. Do you know when your electricity will come back on?
Ann: They say we might have power by this afternoon.
Beth: I sure hope so! It’s not easy to live without electricity.
Ann: You’ve got that right!

Tacomaliteracy.org

Send us Fan Mail

Happy holidays to you!

And happy holidays to you, too!

We’re right in the middle of the time of the year we call “the holidays”.

What is a “holiday?”   It comes from an old English word that meant “holy day”. The word was first used a long time ago - before the 12th century. The word was used for days that were special religious days, holy days. People had religious festivals, and they did not work; they had the day “off”. Now “holiday” is used for days that we celebrate.  Some holidays are religious, some are cultural some holidays celebrate a national event. The 4th of July or Veteran’s Day are holidays that celebrate a national event. Thanksgiving is a cultural holiday. Christmas and Easter are of course, religious holidays.

December is full of holidays. Let’s talk about three of them. 

Christmas - On December 25th Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus. Christmas is celebrated with Christmas songs – or carols. We decorate Christmas trees with colored glass balls and lights. We hang colored lights outside our houses and public buildings. Santa Claus or Father Christmas brings gifts to children.  Where did that tradition of giving gifts come from? Well, in the Bible story of Jesus’ birth, the three wisemen or Magi followed a star to the place where Jesus was born. They brought gifts for the baby. In the US, Christmas is the dominant holiday in December. Many people who are not religious Christians take part in some of the Christmas traditions.          

                Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday that is also celebrated in December. Hanukkah is a Hebrew word that means “dedication”.     Hanukkah  is also known as “the festival of lights”. What does Hanukkah celebrate? 2000 years ago, the Jewish people drove the Greek-Syrian rulers out of Jerusalem.  To celebrate, the people lit a lamp in the temple.  The lamp had only enough oil to last 1 day, but the lamp burned for eight days. That’s the reason that Hanukkah lasts for eight days. The Menorah is the symbol of Hanukkah. The  Menorah is a candelabra (candle holder) that has 8 candles the same size and a ninth candle that stands apart. The dates for  Hanukkah change every year. This year, 2024, Hanukkah is Dec 25 – Jan 2.

Let’s talk about one more holiday that is celebrated in December, Kwanzaa. That’s an interesting word that comes from a Swahili phrase,“matunda ya kwanza”. Swahili is a language that people in many countries in East Africa speak.  “Matunda ya kwanza” means “first fruits of the harvest”  Kwanzaa celebrates African American culture and heritage. It is celebrated for 7 days and each day a different guiding principal is celebrated.  Kwanzaa is celebrated December 26 – January 1. 

Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa are all in December. These holidays remind us that the United States is a multicultural nation. We respect the rights and freedom of everyone to celebrate their special holidays. So, if you celebrate Christmas, a very Merry Christmas to you! If you celebrate Hanukkah, have a Happy Hanukkah! If you celebrate Kwanzaa, Happy Kwanzaa! 

And to all of you, we wish you Happy Holidays! 

We’ll see you next year in 2025!

Tacomaliteracy.org

Send us Fan Mail

Can you hear me?  Are you listening to me?

In Podcast #39 we talked about the difference between “see” “look” and “watch”.  We use “see” when we are talking about our sense of sight. We “see” things without trying.  I can see Mt. Rainier today.”  We use “look” + “at” when we are focusing our eyes on something. “I am looking at the yellow and orange leaves on the trees.” We use look + “for” when we are searching for something – often something that we have lost. “I am looking for my glasses.”

We use “watch” when we are focusing our eyes on something that is moving over time. “We are watching a good movie on TV.”  So.. we talked about see, look watch in episode #39.  What are going to talk about today?

Well.. how about the difference between hear and listen? The difference between hear and listen is like the difference between see and look, isn’t it?

It sure is!  When do we use “hear”? We use “hear” when we are talking about the sense of hearing.  We hear sounds without trying. I hear the birds singing in the morning. I am not trying to hear the birds singing. I am not focusing on the birds singing. I just hear the birds singing.

If I am talking to you on the phone, I might say “Can you hear me?” Or “I can’t hear you.”

 Sometimes we hear sounds that are not pleasant. We call sounds that we don’t want to hear “noise”.  “Her apartment is close to a busy street, so she hears a lot of traffic noise.” 

OK, we hear sounds without trying to or focusing on them, so when do we use “listen”? Just like we use “look” when we focus our eyes,  -  our sight -  on something, we use “listen” when we focus our sense of hearing on a sound. I listen to music. I focus on the sounds that make up the music. I listen to the radio. I focus on what the people are saying on the radio program. If I want another person to focus on what I am saying, I say “Listen to me!”. If I want someone to focus on a song on the radio, I say:” Listen to that beautiful song!”…focus on it!

Sometimes people say “Listen up!” when they want other people to pay attention to what they are going to say.

So, dear listener, please listen up and listen as we use  “listen” and “hear” in this cell phone conversation between two friends.  We’ll first have the conversation in slow English, then a little faster.

A:  Hello?  Hello? Can you hear me?

B: Yes, I can hear you, but I can’t hear you very well. I hear a lot of noise on your end of the line.

A: Oh, yeah. I’m listening to my favorite song on the radio.

B: Song?? I can’t hear any music!  I hear noise that sounds like chickens fighting.

A: You think that my music sounds like chickens fighting?  Well, the music you listen to makes me want to go to sleep.

B: Well, hey!  I don’t have to listen to you insult my music. Why did you call me, anyway?

A: I can’t remember why I called you anymore. I’m going to hang up and listen to the rest of that song.

B:  That sounds like a great idea to me!!

We hope you heard all those times we used listen and hear when you listened to our conversation, dear listener! See,  you re a listener because you focus on what we are saying in the podcast….and you can always listen again if you like.

Tacomaliteracy.org

Send us Fan Mail

"You know, I can do without Halloween. "
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that I don’t like Halloween. It’s just too creepy …scary…for me."
When you asked me “What do mean?” what did you want to find out?
I wasn't sure what you wanted (intended) to say. That little word mean is like a lot of words in English. We use it in many ways. Let’s talk about some ways we use little word: “mean”.

In that question “What do you mean?”, we are using it as a verb. The past tense form of mean is irregular: "meant”. We just add a “t” to mean, but we say “ment”.

Present tense: “I/we/you they mean”  and “he/she/it means”; past tense: we use meant for all subjects (in English past tense verbs stay the same for all subjects.)

We talked about one way of using mean: to ask what one someone wanted to or intended to communicate. “What do you mean?”  Sometimes you hear people say “What did you mean by that. “

We also use mean to talk about intending to do an action. For example, “I meant to get to work on time, but the traffic was terrible.” When we use mean this way, we follow it with the infinitive form of a verb .  The infinitive form  is the  “to” form of a verb. For example “to go” “to clean” “to tell”. 

When we use mean in this way, we usually use it in the past form because we are talking about something that intended to do but we didn’t do, or something that we did but we didn’t intend to do.  For example: I meant to go to your party last weekend, but I had to work. 

Here’s an example of talking about something that I did but I didn’t intend to do: ‘”I didn’t mean to hurt her feelings”. If I call someone by accident, I say ”I’m sorry,  I didn’t mean to call you.” If we bump onto someone with our grocery cart, we can say “Sorry! I didn’t mean to do that.”

We use mean in those ways to talk about intent. We also use mean when someone says a word that I don’t know or understand,  for example: "That tree is slanted to the right.” If I don’t know that word, “slanted”,  I ask:“What does “slanted” mean?” “What does that word mean?”  is a very useful question for English language learners! Notice that we  don’t say “What means slant?” We say “What does slant mean?" 

When we are learning a new language, we also often use mean when we want to ask what a word is in a different language. For example: “What does edificio mean in English?” 

One more way we use mean as a verb: If I want to express strongly that I am very serious about something, I say “I really mean it.” “ I want you to want to help me clean the house on Saturday.  I really mean it!”

Let’s talk about one way we use “mean” as an adjective. When we want to describe a person who is not nice, not pleasant, we use mean. A child says “My brother is mean to me.” Or “Mrs. Jones is a mean teacher.” 

Listen as we use “mean” in our conversation:

Ann: Hey,  I’m sorry! I meant to help you move on Saturday, but I had car trouble.
Briana:  Oh, that’s OK.  My brother, Ben, came over with his boys and they helped me. Well, I mean Ben helped me. The boys spent most of the time complaining that their dad was mean for making them work on a sunny fall day.
Ann: Well, I don’t know what they mean by that. Your brother is the nicest most magnanimous dad that I know, and I really mean that!
Briana: Most magnanimous? I don’t know that word. What does it mean?
Ann: Oh, magnanimous means means generous.
Briana: OK, thanks! Yes, I know what you mean! He is a very magnanimous dad…and brother! I mean, he is helped me move on a beautiful fall Saturday

Tacomaliteracy.org

Send us Fan Mail

You know, I don’t think we have ever devoted an entire podcast to pronunciation of words that are hard for English learners to pronounce and spell, am I correct?

You’re right!  So maybe we ought to do that today.

I agree that we ought to do that!

In fact, ought is one of those words that is challenging for learners to pronounce and spell.

Before we start, dear listener, we suggest that you get a pencil and paper so you can write the words that we will talk about in this episode. You can make a list of the words we talk about.

Ready?

So, we said that our first word is ought.  What does “ought” mean? 

We use the verb “ought” to talk about something that we have a duty to do…something that we should do. The children ought to respect their teachers. They should respect their teachers.
Got it!  How do you write ought ? Or…I can ask “How do you spell ought?"

Well, “ought” … has two sounds, right? And it rhymes with “got” and “got” is spelled g- o- t,  so ought should be spelled  “o” + “t” - “got" without the “g” sound, right? 

Bad news, English learners!    We spell ought “o-u-g-h-t “. Please write that down on your paper, dear listener.  What do we see?  We see lots of letters “u, g & h” that make no sound. It’s an “ought” word.

There are some other words that end with that combination of letters “o-u-g-h-t” that have  that same o + t sound.

Like a little family of ought words!  Let’s meet some other “ought words”

Let’s add a “b” in front of “ought” and we have bought – the past tense form of buy.

“I bought eggs and bread yesterday.” Did you add “bought“ to your list, dear listener?

Great! Now we have two “ought" words: ought and bought. Let’s meet another member of the “ought” word family.

 We’ll add a “th” in front of “ought” and we have “thought” t-h-o-u-g-h-t  – the past tense form of think.  "My mom thought it was too early to eat.”  Take a minute to write “thought” on your paper.

Now let’s add an “f”  before “ought” and we have  “fought”, the past tense form of “fight”. "The soldiers fought in the war." You can add “fought” to your list of ”ought” words.

Here’s one more frequently used word in the “ought” family .  Add a “br” to ought and we have brought – the past tense form of “bring” . "She brought her son to class with her. "

Get ready with your pencil; and paper and write down the “ought” word you hear in these sentences.

Only write the ”ought” word. You can look at the podcast narrative to check that you wrote the word correctly.

1.      The woman fought the man who tried to take her purse.

2.      I thought that he lived in Seattle.

3.      We brought some cookies to share.

4.      I ought to get to class earlier.

5.      Sarah bought a new car last weekend. 

 You have met 5 “ought “ words: “ought, bought, thought, fought and brought.” You can practice saying and spelling them until you feel sure about them. 

It was fun meeting the “ought” family. 

Look for more pronunciation and spelling podcasts in the future! 

Tacomaliteracy.org

Send us Fan Mail

Podcast – Back to school!

It’s the end of September already! Can you believe it! Time flies! Many languages have a similar expression because wherever you live in the world time goes so fast that it seems like it is flying away. 

What does the month of September make you think about? …the beginning of fall? …the days getting shorter?
Or do you think about the new school year starting?  

Many schools started in early September after the Labor Day holiday. Shall we talk about school today?

In the US students usually attend school for 13 years. In most school districts school years are separated into three parts:

 Elementary (primary) school – grades Kindergarten “K” through fifth (5th)or sixth (6th) grade. (Notice those ordinal numbers?)

Middle School (from 6th to 8th grade) or Junior High School  - (from  7th grade to 9th grade).

High School  - grades 9 or 10 through 12th grade.  

In high school 9th graders are called freshmen. Tenth graders are called sophomores. Eleventh graders are juniors. Twelfth graders are seniors.  At the end of their senior year, students graduate from high school. Those graduating seniors are usually 17 or 18 years old. They started school when they were 5 or 6 years old.

How old were you when you started school? Did you go to kindergarten? Was your elementary/primary school near your house? Did you use to walk to school, or did you use to take a bus?

 “use to” – That’s an interesting expression! When we say I used to do something” we’re not talking about using something. We say “use to” or “used to” when we are talking about something we did in the past over and over again. “I used to ride my bike to school.” – It was my habit to ride my bike to school.

When do we say “use to” and when do we say “used to”? There is a rule:  when we ask a question with “Did” we say “use to”: “Did you use to take a bus to school?”

When we aren’t asking a “did” question, we say “used to”. “Yes, I used to take a bus to school.”

We know that’s a little bit “in the weeds”  (being worried about small details). 

The important thing – the “take away” is:  When you are listening to a conversation and you hear “She used to be a teacher.” – you will know that in the past she was a teacher, but she isn’t a teacher now.

We always want to tell you the rule, because some people pay attention to these things.

Anyway…. Back to the question: Did you use to take a bus to school?  What do you remember about your first day of school?

Did you go to kindergarten? Do you remember your kindergarten teacher’s name?

What do children learn in kindergarten? They learn the alphabet and the sounds that letters make.  Many children start to learn to read (subject: reading). They learn to print the letters (subject: penmanship) and write words. They learn numbers and what numbers represent (subject: arithmetic/math).

Children also learn to get along with other kids, to share, to be kind & polite, to take turns,  and to “keep your hands to yourself!”. They learn school rules,  like you have to:
raise your hand to talk, sit in your seat , walk in a line,  do your work,  and be responsible

A man named Robert Fulghum wrote a book in 1986 called “All I really need to know I learned in kindergarten”. The message of the book is that the world would be better if adults practiced what children learn in kindergarten.                 

Do you agree, dear listener? Please let us know! Send us an email at [email protected]<

Tacomaliteracy.org

Send us Fan Mail

Can you see me? Are you looking at me? Are you watching me? “see”, “look” and “watch".  We use those three little words a lot in English. Each word means to do something – an action with our eyes.

But…do they all mean the same thing? No, they don’t! And it’s easy to confuse them. Today let’s look at the differences between see, look and watch.

First, when do we use “see”? Well, we usually use “see” when we are talking about using our sense of sight without trying. We open our eyes in the morning, and we see our bedroom. We don’t try to see our room. We don’t make any effort. Our eyes just sense the objects in our room and we see them. I see Latonya sitting across from me.

When do we use look? We use look when we direct our eyes at something on purpose. We focus on something when we look at it. Notice we usually use the preposition “at” with look. “I am looking at Latonya.” I am focusing my attention on her.

We often use “look” as a command when we want to focus another person’s attention on something: “Look at me!” “Look at that house.”

We also use “look + for” when we are talking about trying to find something. “Mary is looking for her car keys.”

One more way we use look: When we talk about things or people that have a similar appearance, we use “look + like”: “ She looks like her mother.”  “Your phone looks like mine.” 

Finally, when do we use watch?

 We use watch when we are talking about looking (focusing our eyes) at someone or something for a period of time. “Joe watches lots of movies on TV. “   “I watched the football game last night.”

 We also use watch when we talk about taking care of an animal or person/(usually a child) for someone else. “My friend watches my dog when I am away from home.” 

 Oh…and we also use watch as a noun – a thing – meaning that object you wear on your wrist to tell you what time it is. “Do you wear a watch?”

Listen for "see", "look" and "watch" in our conversation in “slowish” English. 

A:  Did you watch that movie on Netflix last night? 

B:  No, I didn’t watch TV last night.  I was watching my niece for my sister. We looked at old pictures of her mom and me when we were kids. 

A: Cool! Can I look at them too? I would like to see what you looked like when you were a kid.

B: Sure, look at this picture of me with my friends when I was 16.

A: Just a sec. I need to look for my glasses. I can’t see a thing without them.

B: Yeah, that’s right. I never see you without your glasses. 

A: OK! I have my glasses. I’m ready to look at the picture.

B: OK… Look at the picture and tell me if you see me.

A: No, I can’t see anyone who looks like you. But wow!  Look at all that big hair and those crazy bell bottom jeans!!! 

B: Look for the girl with the biggest hair and the craziest jeans!

A: OK! Now I see which one is you!

…and now, listen to the same conversation a little faster…

Bye for now, dear listener.  Look for the next podcast!

Tacomaliteracy.org