Learning English

Session 1: Activity 1

Brand names that become part of the language

Are you on Skype?

Some of these brand names are then used as verbs and other nouns:

I'll facebook you about it tonight.

I sometimes spend hours just googling.

The brand name has a capital letter but the verb and noun derivatives do not:

Are you on Skype?

Let's skype.

Hoover / to hoover / do the hoovering

Xerox / to xerox / a xeroxed document

Facebook / to facebook / facebooking

Skype / to skype / skyping

Google / to google / googling

Rollerblade / to rollerblade / rollerblading

Kleenex

Nescafe

Jacuzzi

Levis

Ping Pong

Activity 2: Useful words

a trademark
a legally recognised name or design used to identify the product of a particular company.
That shape of bottle is a trademark of Coca Cola.

a brand
a product with a particular name from a company
There are many different brands of washing powder in the supermarket.

generic 
(adjective) referring to a product in general without connection to a particular company or brand
To hoover has become a generic verb meaning to vacuum clean.

Activity 3: New language of technology

to take something for granted
to expect that something will always be there and not think it's unusual or special to have it.
We take our gadgets for granted and would be lost without them.

in something's infancy
in the very early stages of something's development and use
Driverless cars are in their infancy but their use will soon grow.

to coin a term/expression/phrase
to be the first person to say a word or phrase that then becomes more widely used
William Shakespeare coined many phrases that are now common in English.

social media
internet sites that allow people to share comments, photos, videos etc with friends and others
I spend too much time on social media every day.

the noughties
the first decade of the 21st Century (2000 - 2009)
I became a teenager in the noughties and I don't really remember a time without the internet.

a search engine
a software tool for looking for information on the internet
One of the best things to learn is how to use a search engine properly.

Session 4: British public signs

tentative
unsure, careful

ventures
new activities, often dangerous

came in handy
were convenient

era
period

dash
rush

trespassers
people who enter a place without the owner's permission

prosecuted
officially accused of a crime

discard
throw away

adolescence
period when a young person develops into an adult

step out of line
break the laws or rules

credit
arrangement to pay later

offends
makes people upset

toe the line
behave as expected

state the obvious
say something everybody knows

premises
land and buildings belonging to someone

comply with
obey, follow

bombarded
(here) faced with so many questions or messages that you can't deal with them

heed
pay attention to

CCTV 
(Closed-circuit television) a system used for monitoring and security and not for public entertainment

Session 5: Gulliver's Travels

adrift 
(of a boat) moving on the water not controlled by anyone

misfortune
bad luck

floating 
staying on the surface of water

make out
see, with difficulty

dangled
hung

winched
pulled using a machine with a rope or chain

mortals
an ordinary person (not a god)

escorted
taken somewhere by someone

symphony
music played by many instruments

harmonious
(of music) having a good tune

crooked
not straight

stunning
very beautiful