Comments

Hi Samantha! Today I could understand a little about uncountable nouns. Through this blog I really could see how poor is my grammar knowledges and how I have to improve it urgently. By the way talking about grammar, could you recommend a good grammar self student book to me if was possible, please? It´s hard to find one without a recommendation, because there are so many titles at the shelves that I feel kind of lost among them. Anyway, I guess role reversal is something related to a situation that we exchange the "roles" I mean the position with another person. As you said in today´s blog to Lidia, that you feel like a student while she brings some light about some Russia national stereotypes. No, I think I´ve never lived this experience with someone before, maybe someday, who knows? Best wishes, Ana Paula.

Hello Samantha. I’m very glad to see that my answers to your previous task were accepted by you. Thank you, our gorgeous teacher! I will try my best and do much better in the future. I do hope I can get fantastic results in my English learning. Your today’s blog title – ‘role reversal’ means that you changed your role. Your role was a teacher but now you changed it to a student, because Lidia had taught us some lessons. Let me think whether I have ever experienced role reversal. Yes, I have. When my mum is not at home, I will make dinner for my dad and my little brother. It seems that I am not a daughter or a sister any more. Instead, I take a role of Mother. Can I say that it’s a role reversal? Today we continue to have a sunny day here. How wonderful! I love the bright day! Best wishes and bye for now, see you tomorrow! Jill.

Dear Samantha,i must tell you i am inspired by all the comments after reading them.They are excellent learners.What's a role reversal?My answer is that two persons in the same situation may change their position to think about things around us.I have experienced once and the feeling in my heart was so impressive.My grandparents are both in their old age especially my granny who has a overweight body of her age.One day i was typing something in my room while i heard her voice,so i ran out and found she could not stand up because sit so long a time.I helped her and at that very moment i thought they need us now as well as we needed them when we were babies.

Hello.. << SAMANTHA >> For me , your such a great teacher who is teaching a variety of vocabulary and a new experience . I really like the way that you teachs your students in every day blogs. It is useful for me. When I take time to read blog and pose many blog , I am happy and enjoy with it. Expecting this way may be improve my writing and reading skill . Thus I love BBC blog very much . Farewell.............

HAPPY WOMAN'S DAY, Samantha and all ladies! :)

Have I ever experienced role reversal? I think I have, although I am not certain that I understand the meaning correctly. In my opinion ROLE REVESAL is to do with identity change. If it means the later, then I can say I often experience the phenomenon. I was born in Finland and I have lived most of my life here, but I also have lived abroad about 12 years. During the years spent abroad I spoke English. One can say that English was the language I used at home for twelve years, yet I still make mistakes often. Later on I used both English and Finnish daily for another eight years, bilingual. Now for almost ten years I have mainly spoken Finnish. Fortunately I have read and I also have written English almost weekly. I find that when I speak Finnish I am a Finn. When I speak, write or read English for some length of time my personality changes. I also still sometimes dream in English. ROLE REVESAL could also mean that one steps in to others person´s shoes?

Samantha and everyone, hi! Speaking of national stereotypes, Siberia seems to be one of the stereotypes even for people from Russia. It is all the more ironical if you consider that Siberia makes a huge part of Russia, but Russians who live in the western part still think that it is all covered with snow all the time and white bears walk along the streets freely (well, only very few of them do). OK, so much for that. Can I share some news with you? Today is the 8th of March, known as the International Woman's Day and a public holiday here in Russia. It has become really the celebration of spring and woman’s beauty. I have read that only here, in Russia, it is so much acknowledged. Its main attributes are flowers and men in desperate chase for gifts for women. So, flowers and perfume are much sought after. Poor men! It sometimes occurs to me that these days are the most stressful days throughout the entire year for men. You can easily become an enemy of the mankind if you do not buy at least a box of chocolates to your work colleagues (women, of course). But do not forget about your mother and wife who also wait for a gift… So let me congratulate you, Samantha and all women taking part in the BBC Learning English Blog with the beginning of spring and wish you love to be around! Olga, Russia

Hello Samantha , I am from Yemen and my country isn't very known to everybody and some people think that my country need explorer to discover it :) so when I was abroad some people asked me whether people in Yemen know modern invention like cars , planes , TV , computer and so on or they still live their life as well as primitive people , actually these questions don't bother me and I sometimes answer them : we don't have cars but we have camels instead and we have special roads and traffic light for those camels to go safely , but the fact of the matter is our country doesn't differ from a lot of other countries and we have all modern invention as well , but the problem is we don't produce these equipment by ourselves , we almost import any stuff we need in our life . Best wishes ,

Hi Samantha, and thanks for the interesting points you mention. I think LydiaÂ’s sentences refer to a general meaning of the mentioned words, while you refer to some specific types of them which are explained in more details by means of a clause. for example "I would find difficult to give up" in the first example is the reason for needing an article.

Hi Samantha, how nice to read your blog and learn more about english. I was curious to know about one sentence Lidia used in her blog. She said "NO Russia isn't only Siberia". I think I understood what she said, but it felt to me that that's not the way a native speaker would say that. But I don't know how to put it in English either. Could you say something about that please? About the task, I think role reversal is to be in a situation that is common in someone else's life not yours. Is it what it means? Thank you again for staying with us on this learning journey. Bye.

Hi, all here! It`s maybe me who writes the longest here. How terrific people I do know from such intresting countries and cultures! That was as a nice present to my tomorow`s birthday to read the comments. I enjoy Samanta`s teaching and your clever answers help me understand better all that difficult grammar!

Dear Samantha! As I did not know the noun “role reversal”, I had to look it up in the dictionary. It is a situation in which two people exchange their usual duties or positions. I can answer your task now. In Slovakia, I think that stereotypes are still very common. Popular imagination is for example that many people cannot accept the idea of men staying at home to take care of children. However, a friend of mine is a kind of house husband because his wife works full-time and her salary is higher than his. So he stays at home and takes care of their two children. To tell the truth, I cannot imagine my husband doing the same. I also remember how difficult it was for him when I was in hospital five years ago. From my point of view we, -wives and mothers- do not expect our husbands and sons to do housework because it is not very common for them to do it here. I was really surprised when my daughter’s friend from the UK said that he always irons his clothes and can cook different kinds of meals. My two English teachers, who come from the UK and Ireland, were also familiar with doing housework. Since then I have formed the impression of this and I am teaching my son to cook a variety of meals and to do housework. I think that I have never experienced a role reversal because nobody seems to want to do my job. Maybe if they did, they would appreciate it more. Best wishes,

Hi Samantha, It seems that I did the privious task a bit late!:( I think role reversal happens alot in everyday life.we always can learn new intresting things from our students and there are always things that our teachers can learn from us.Its simple reason is that the number of things we don't know is much more than the number of ones we know.

hi Samantha, what a pity I can't take advantage of your blog-lessons every single day, but I try to catch up. For today task about the meaning of "role reversal", in my words takes place when a person substitute somebody else.

Hi Samantha,About role reveral,I think if someone offend you or make you angry,before you lose your temper you must think about these two words"role reversal" When you stand on another side of the things you can understand why this guy had done.;)

Hi Samantha,my beautiful teacher:)Compare with our former teacher,I found your class are more interactive,you could always answer our question and set us some homework,it is entertaining and attrative,I love your homework! On today's task,role reversal,we Chinese call it "Fan Ke Wei Zhu",the literal meaning is that at the beginning you are a guest,but after you become to a host.In our blog,Samantha must be the host of England,but the introduction was started by Lidia,so it was the guest change to the host.If my anwser is right?Samantha? Today I learn this new word"Sympathise",I do sympathise with you, Lidia!:)

Hello Samantha! As allways your entry is so instructive, I am thankful! Unfortunately I had more unpleasant then pleasant experiences connect with role reversal. Most of them took part at work, for example when I was coming as a listener to a meeting, and I was becaming to a speaker... I best wishes to you and all bloggers!

Dear samantha.first, i must say that foggy and rainy was the impression that London gave me before reading your blog.it's truly that comes from the novels and old firlms.this image always comes into my mind that people in London must take umbrella all the time or they are walking in the street with an umbrella on a rainy day.now i know it is incorrect.it is stereotypes as well as you always think Russia is snowy and cold. second,what is "role reversal?" i think it is you change the situation with another person .do sth or think of sth from his situation. am i right?i don't know if it is the "role reversal" when i became a mother now. i begin to understand my mother,it is hard for her to bring me up. Best wishes.

Hi Samantha and all the other great bloggers, Reading YOUR comments has been such an enthralling experience! Isn't amazing that just at the touch of a button, we find ourselves in a melting pot cyberspace!Here I feel myself as part of the planet rather than in isolation as I felt in the past! I remember my surprise, some years ago, to know that some foreigners thought Buenos Aires was the capital of Brazil! Some even asked us if there were snakes, monkeys and onças in our villages and others could not believe that cities like Rio,Belo Horizonte, São Paulo, Porto Algre, Recife and so forth existed! Thanks to the cable TV, internet and popular tourism, which are now accessible to countless people,it possible for us to know our planet better! As for the question you posed, I looked it up in the dictionary and it says: it's a situation in which two people, especially a man and a woman, each do what is traditionally expected of the other.If it means the latter,then I can say that I often experience this when I have to change a flat tyre, something I know how to do better than my hubby, despite his size and strength!And he always helps me with the housework, although his preference is for the washing and sweeping!As you can see he can be rather CHOOSY. In fact, it's nice to see this role reversal phenomenon happening in all fields such as sports,work,family,love.We now have women as soccer playes, breadwinners,truck drivers, astronauts, ministers, something unimaginable in the past.I just feel that men should do more female things so that we maitain a reasonable balance. We are still to overloaded! So for all the women in this community congratulations and for you boys congratulations as well, for having the pleasure of having us in your lives.