Confused??

Personally, we´re not really sure if the English language contains more idioms and idiomatic expressions than the Spanish language...who knows, right? Whatever the case, one can always resort to this manner of speaking at certain times when the occasion calls for it, something like a special clothing accessory that you put on when you think it really goes with the rest of your outfit to emphasise whatever it is you want to emphasise.

This is a cute video we´ve found with some idioms in it. You´ll hear the following during the course of the video:

get right to the punch
an elephant in the room
to point fingers
a little bird told me
money talks
I´m all ears
have a chip on your shoulder
beat a dead horse
have a good head on your shoulders
it´s curtains for you

....Go ahead and play the video (it starts after a rather annoying 24 second or so intro...you know how YouTube videos can be sometimes...)

So... let´s get to the meanings of these expressions, shall we?

get right to the punch - to get straight to the main issues of something
an elephant in the room - when there´s an obvious problem or difficult situation that nobody wants to
                                         talk about
to point fingers- to accuse
a little bird told me- when you don´t want to say who gave you the information you´re talking about
money talks-money or material reward usually persuades people to do as you like
I´m all ears- to be very eager to hear what someone has to say
have a chip on your shoulder- to seem angry about some unfair treatment in the past
beat a dead horse- to waste time doing something that has already been done
have a good head on your shoulders- to have good common sense, to be sensible and intelligent
it´s curtains for you- something you say when you think something will end or someone will soon
                                  stop doing something

So there you are!!!  Now that these expressions have been clarified for you, go ahead and use them next time you find yourself in a suitable situation...!

New sections!!

Tired of grammar lessons and figuring out what the ----- subordinate clauses are??
Check out our new sections above: "Sounds and Music" and "The News!" You´ll find new ways of learning English and it won´t even feel like you´re actually studying!
 In "Sounds and Music" you´ll find a very unique way of using your storytelling skills based on music that you hear. A sort of "write the story AFTER you hear the soundtrack" exercise, great for practicing your narrative tenses as well as for exploring your creative side.
In "The News!" section you´ll find relevant articles that you can read and in this way expand your vocabulary.  The questions after the article encourage you to think about your own opinions regarding the article and write your thoughts down in paragraph form, you know, just in a free-style manner so as to PRACTICE writing in English!

Give these new sections a try, you just might find it a fun learning experience!!

The Black Hole

Many people wonder if they really exist. Scientists swear they do and some even spend their whole lives trying to prove their existence. What are they, exactly? What do they do??

But what if….what if we found a black hole in our everyday environment and not light years away in space? What if you HAD a black hole…? And what if it could help you do stuff??

Watch the short video "The Black Hole" in our VIDEOS section (above) and see for yourself….!

Have a great weekend!!!

The sound of English

Every language has its sounds. The sounds are the result of how the words are pronounced. This is essential to the learning of the language. We are of the opinion that teaching English should be focused more on learning the sounds and how to make them, than learning grammar rules -- especially at the initial stages. Learning and mastering all the sounds are what it´s all about and this is not a short, overnight process but rather something that can only be learned over time and with CONSTANT EXPOSURE  to the language.

So, we will venture today  to present what we think is a good starting point for the subject of sounds. Vowel sounds. And we think that it would be quite correct to say that most initial confusion (for the beginning student of English) lies in the difference between the "long" and the "short" vowel sounds. The five vowels of English, a,e,i,o and u indeed, carry with them more than the two sounds (the "long" and the "short"), but we will tackle just these two sounds today and leave the others for another time.

The "short" a is what you hear in the word "apple".
The "long" a is what you hear in the word "cake".

The "short" e is what you hear in the word "egg".
The "long" e is what you hear in the word "deep".

The "short" i is what you hear in the word "kiss".
The "long" i is what you hear in the word "life".

The "short" o is what you hear in the word "not".
The "long" o is what you hear in the word "note".

The "short" u is what you hear in the word "us".
The "long" u is what you hear in the word "use".

With the exception of e, the rest of the vowels have something in common: the existence of a silent e
at the end of the word makes the sound of the vowel "long". This would be the general rule!!! But, since English rules are made to be broken, there are exceptions. Hey, there´s one right there! "Since"! (the i should be pronounced like the i in "kiss"). Check out this short video... and yes, it is intended for the Beginner student-- so all you Intermediate and upward students, go memorize your past participles or something…..hah!!

It´s the day after Thursday…!

…and we all now what THAT means, now, don´t we??? Outbound traffic jams on the freeway!

Yes, of course. But more importantly, it´s time for the weekly English tip for all you eager students of the language,  something to chew on over the weekend to make your leisure time all the more complete.

We thought we´d talk about that all confusing topic of when we should say "make" or when we should say "do"…if I had a euro for all the time I´ve been asked that… 

And it´s quite understandable, since the Spanish word for this is pretty much the same word used for all tasks if spoken colloquially or simply.

So we hope that the following will be the sun that will help lift the fog that obscures that breathtaking landscape in our heads that is the English language. (????)

“MAKE”??      “DO”????

Which one do I say??????

Many times we confuse the usage of the words “make” and “do” mostly because we tend to translate it from the Spanish “hacer”.

AS A GENERAL RULE (but, as is the case in many rules in English, there are EXCEPTIONS!):

This is a simplified rule! It is not to be taken as true for all cases!!!

“Make” is used for things that we can produce with our hands.

“Do” is used for tasks we perform.

…SO….,

We say:

“I made a clay sculpture yesterday.”  and…

“Did you do your homework?” 

…OTHER EXAMPLES…

…make the dinner(but you can also say “prepare” the dinner or “cook” the dinner)

…do the dishes (as in “wash” the dishes)

…make some coffee

…do the inventory

…make the bed

…do some research

…GET THE IDEA???

…But now comes the fun part…!

We say:

…make an excuse (if you don´t want to go to a certain place or event)

…do the Math! (if you want to calculate some numbers mentally)

…make friends (to establish friendships)

…do good (to do any good thing)

…make time (to find the time to do something)

…do a show (to perform a spectacle)

…make an effort

…do a report (the kind of “report” that we see on the news on TV)

…but there are other things that we can “produce” and “perform” , and for these cases we use specific verbs like:

…write  a report (the kind of report that your boss asks for)

…create art

…manufacture products

…bake a cake or bread

…roast chicken or meat

…work on  my thesis

…interview the candidate (or applicant)

…pay  a visit (to visit someone)

…among others…

…other random and abstract uses of “make” and “do”….

…make arrangements (to organize details/logistics for a plan)

...do time (to be in prison as a punishment)

…make a decision (it´s not “take”!!)

…do  harm (to cause damage, hurt, or pain to someone or something)

…make believe (to pretend, imagine)

…do a favor

…make money (to gain economic profit)

…do business (to engage in a commercial activity)

…and there are lots of others that you learn AS YOU READ AND LISTEN TO ENGLISH MORE…!

A HAPPY WEEKEND TO YOU ALL….!

Start YOU up!

Time to jumpstart your English! 

Fall has just set in, and the memories of the recently concluded summer vacation, though barely 8 weeks ago for most of us, start to fade and slowly turn into blurry images of sun and sand, or faint recollections of fresh mountain air infused with hints of the aromas of the earth…and the rush of our day to day existence leaves us with hardly any time even to daydream and let our minds go back to how much you enjoyed that charming little tourist trap of a restaurant in Pozal de Gallinas (where????), or that splendid week you spent in that bed and breakfast in Canillas de Rio Tuerto (??!!??)….ah yes, your great summer destinations….!

But now it´s time to resume your English studies….! Time to make it past that infamous Intermediate stage and get that B2 level, gosh darn it! 

So here a a few tips we thought we´d share with you to make sure you get the most of your English classes this year.

Show up for class!

Make it a priority! So we all know how busy you are: work, school, family, home chores, gym, Pilates, jury duty, your night job, massage sessions, and a whole list of other essentials….but, hey, if you´ve signed up for class it means you wanted the classes. So make the effort and come to class. You´ll find it can be quite enjoyable (especially at our place!)

Be mentally present!

Yes, we know it can be difficult to tune out your daily life (work, relationships, bills, why didn´t that little man handing out leaflets in Moncloa give ME one?, etc) and just switch to English mode. But you  have to make the effort and then, once all your mental capacities are focused on the task at hand, you´ll find that the task itself is not THAT difficult.

Bring a notebook and pen….and use it!

Uh, no…it´s really NOT advisable to just take a photo of the board with your smart phone. Part of  learning a language is learning how to actually WRITE it, so let´s get primitive and use our pens and notebooks for this. Write down words that are new to you, examples of sentences or expressions that you find useful and interesting. Then you´ll quickly realize that you´re starting to spell better and that writing in English seems foreign no longer.

Go over what you wrote in that notebook!

Admit it: you´re one of those that only looks at their notes while in class… Go ahead, you´d be among legion. Seriously, I mean, what´s the point? That´s just as lame as taking a photo of the board with your smart phone! Only dumber because you actually had to exert more effort WRITING the notes. Go over them! Peruse them over breakfast instead of your Facebook wall. Pore over them while waiting for the bus or standing in line at any Bankia branch office (enough time). Slowly all the concepts you learn and hear in class will sink in and form part of your thinking processes.

Ask and interact!

Don´t understand what "rathskeller" means? Ask the teacher! You´re not sure whether to mention the adverb of time BEFORE the adverb of place or AFTER? Ask the teacher! And it really gets fun when you interact with your fellow students and ask them follow-up questions in English. "So, what exactly did you enjoy most of Torrente 5?" or "How did you feel when your boss caught you reading 

Salvame Deluxe Online?", you get the point…the important thing is to jump in the conversation and it doesn't really matter if your English isn´t perfect…it never WILL be if you never interact and speak.

So there. Not rocket science, is it? And it´s a lot simpler than most of the tasks you do at work or at the university….!

…and, as a bit of comic relief, here is a short video for those of you who remember what Tag Questions are, or for those who are familiar with some idiomatic expressions, or for those who have difficulty spelling or just simply have no vocabulary….

We´re open!!

Yessiree, folks!
…it´s been a combination of hard work and fun putting this place together, and now everything is in place and we´re good to go…!
For those of you out there who haven't been to our place but do have the intention of dropping by, here are our "store hours":

Mondays to Fridays:
9:30 - 12:15 noon
4:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Saturdays:
10:00 - 1:00 p.m.

Welcome to The Bubble!
For our future students, this is something we feel we have to explain, so, allow me.
Learning English (or any other foreign language, for that matter) is most effective if the learner is immersed completely in an environment where that language is spoken. Since the reality is that only a few have the opportunity to actually pack up and go live for a time in the foreign country of their choice, we think that the next best thing is to try and create for oneself the necessary conditions that  simulate  the experience of living in a foreign country as close as possible. We at iSpeak help the learner create that environment, that "bubble". Once the learner has started his English training with us, they have to know that all, and we mean ALL communication and interaction with their teachers and fellow students at the academy WILL BE EXCLUSIVELY IN ENGLISH. We also remind them that this "English bubble" extends itself even to outside our academy doors: if they have to communicate with their teachers via email, phone, text messaging, Morse code, smoke signals, or any other media, this communication WILL BE DONE EXCLUSIVELY IN ENGLISH; if they arrive at the academy doors at the same time that their teachers are opening shop in the mornings and they want to make small talk, all that small talk WILL BE EXCLUSIVELY IN ENGLISH; if, on the happenstance, they come across their teachers at the supermarket, malls, or in a public toilet somewhere, or while paying a parking fine in some town hall because they both swear that for some reason the "Loading and Unloading Only" sign was not visible, or on vacation in some remote town in Teruel when they think they´re finally having a break from English, or any other imaginable place and they want to greet their teachers, the greeting WILL BE DONE EXCLUSIVELY IN ENGLISH. Plus, of course, we HIGHLY RECOMMEND that they watch videos, movies (or short snippets of movies), TV talk shows in English, since hey, everyone´s got Internet and we know this media has no shortage of these resources.
We truly believe that if they collaborate with us in creating this "Bubble", their learning experience will be more holistic, practical, and effective and will take them light years AWAY from the traditional, boring, even nightmarish memories they may have from their school days when English teaching always began with "My tailor is rich" as the first catch phrase…...