Hi, Ha!
Hello, Ha! Very nice to e-meet you on BBC Learning English. I see you have a short and sweet name too! I’m looking forward to finding out more about your country, culture and life over the next month. I hope I can give you some useful pointers on the English language, and of course if you have any questions or want me to explain something, just ask! That’s what I’m here for. Oh, and for setting nasty homework of course!
Ha, you say you started learning English at a very young age, and I can see from your writing that you’re very proficient in English. That’s great. You’ve used some nice phrases like ‘deeply impressed’ and ‘I have so many things to tell I don’t know where to start’. Over the next month, I hope I can help you brush up your English even more.
Seeing as it’s your first blog today, Ha, I’m not going to be too mean. I just want to point out a small thing from your first blog:
Did you mean to say ‘defend’ your Bachelor thesis? Do you mean you had to give a speech or presentation about it? We can use the verb ‘defend’ to talk about abstract things like ‘ideas’ or ‘honour’. However, if you mean you had to talk about your thesis, it would be better to say something like ‘Here is a picture of me when I presented my Bachelor’s thesis last year’. And obviously your presentation went well, because you are now a graduate – well done!
OK, I think that’s enough grammar for your first blog. Don’t worry – my tasks will be getting more and more despicable as the month goes on. Today I’m going to tell you a bit about my weekend. I was in Normandy in northern France this weekend. I went over in the car with my fella Richard and Raffles the dog. Yes, Raffles has her own passport too. You can drive through the tunnel under the English Channel to get to France, or you can take a ferry. We went by car and arrived Friday and came back this morning. (Yawn!).
Normandy is a very fertile part of France and it’s famous for its cows. And their milk! Famous cheeses like Camembert and Livarot come from the Normandy area. And you’ll find lots of cream and caramel sweets there too. The other thing that Normandy is famous for is its apples. Farmers make delicious local cider out of the Normandy apples – and sometimes out of pears too. Yum! I think I could put on a lot of weight if I lived in Normandy.
The countryside is really pretty around Normandy and lots of the houses are made from a traditional timber frame, filled in with wattle and daub. Here’s what a traditional house looks like:
It’s nice countryside for walking and for playing Frisbee with dogs in France. Raffles had a whale of a time.
Ah! Where do you like to go for your holidays? If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Until next time,
Jo
Answers to your comments
Benka – ‘Superstition’ is a countable noun. You could say:
I believe only in three superstitions.
What you noticed was a particular phrase I used. Let me explain. You can use the phrase ‘… says’ to describe the idea of or behind something, e.g.
Tradition says brides in the UK should wear white.
Common sense says you should use an umbrella when it rains.
As you saw from the example in my blog, you always start this phrase with the noun in the singular, and without the article.
Ana Paula – I’ve never been to Giverny but I’d love to go. Are you a fan of Monet?
Wisarut – yes, you’re doing really well, I notice that you are using some of the new vocabulary I’ve been introducing. Well done! And no need to apologize – we all make mistakes sometimes!
Vocabulary
short and sweet – small and pleasant
pointers – guidance
proficient – skilled
brush up – to improve
mean – this adjective can be used to mean ‘evil’ or ‘not generous’
despicable – nasty, evil
goes on – progresses, continues
Yawn! – use this if you want to say you’re tired. Or if you’re bored (I’m tired, not bored).
fertile – if an area is fertile, crops will grow there very easily.
wattle and daub – ancient building materials of sticks and clay
if you have a whale of a time, you really enjoy yourself.
Comments
Hi, Jo! How are you? It's been several time since I last went on holydays, so i'm itching to travel. If I could go anywhere in the world I went to Ireland. Firstly, because of its landscape and people, and secondly, 'cause I'm very interested in irish history and literature. As for your weekend, I'll tell you that Normandy is such a beautiful place and didn't know anything about its very tasty production. I like cheese,caramel and apple very much. Best regards!
Dear Jo, Your description of Normandy is very interesting. I went there once, but what I remember the most are a lot of beautiful castles which I visited. Did you visit any? Many thanks, Fulvio
Hi Jo!!! I´m glad to know that you, Richard and Ruffles( what a fancy dog!) had a whale of time in Normandy. :-) Well, actually it´s been a long time that I haven´t taken a holiday. However, if I could go to some place today, this place would be Giverny. Oh yes Jo, I´m a big fan of Monet. Therefore, would be amazing to visit his house in Giverny, and see with my own eyes the stunning place which inspired Monet to create such a beautiful paintings. By the way Jo, I wrote above 'such a beautiful paintings', but I´m not sure if I used 'such' properly. Could you tell me whether or not it´s correct, please? The use of such always put me in a tricky situation while I´m writing. Best wishes, Ana Paula.
Hi Jo Kent:I would like to say a "late hello" to you,I have surfed the BBC english learning website for a very long time,especialy the "teachers blog" website,so it seems "we've known" each other for a very long time,but it is my first time to leave the comment on the website,so I need to say a "late hello" to you. What you said in this blog are very interesting,I've never heared the little town is so famous for its agriculture,espesialy the cheese and the local cider.In my mind,the biggest thing happened in this small town is the most famous battle"landed in Normandy',and it is a crucial battle in the Second war. I think you are a very kind,diligent,responsible and profesional english teacher,I like your blog very much.I hope I should always leave my comments and get your directions when I have time.Thank you .
Again,Jo Kent,Can you give us some more pictures about the traffic,culture,histry,environment,industry and agriculture in the UK,so that we can understand the UK further?thank you again
Hi, Jo. You had a wonderful weekend with your fella Richard and Raffles! I envy you. I've milked a cow once before on a farm. The milk fresh from the cow was rich and sweet! I wanted to drink it a lot but I didn't want to have diarrhea so I unwillingly stopped drinking. I'd like to taste the Normandy milk! If I could go anywhere in the world, where would I go? Well, I'd like to visit at your house! I like the beautiful countryside there. I'd like to have cuppa with a scone with you, your fella Richard and all of your pets there! I'd like to play frisbee with Raffles and nap with Scratchy and Smokey! I've only been to Italy in Europe, so I'd like to go around the other European countries, of all others I'd like to see Mont-Saint- Michel. Have you been there? See you later.
Hello Jo!It seems like you enjoyed yourself a lot. You must have had a lot of cheese, caramel candies and apples. The picture is beautiful!As for holidays, I like to go to hill station. If I could go anywhere in the world, I would go to Kashmir. It has valleys, lakes and so many beautiful places. I would visit every place there and eat a lot of Kashmiri food, and also fresh fruits.
Dear Jo, you had a whale of a time in Normandy I believe.Just like Ha, you also have short and sweet name.Can you recommand some online dictionary or vocabulary of Old english to Modern english and Early Mordern english to Modern english.I find it's hard to look up a ancient word in a common dictionary,for example words in different periods.Best Wishes!
Hi Jo, I have known Normandy only for its famous battle in world war II and now you introduce me a new face of this beautiful place, hope you spent a good holiday there despite your tiredness.
Hi teacher Kent, I hope you will get a large number of pictures from France when you and fella Richard have a short and sweet in there. It would be wonderful if I can see the picture much more. Frankly I give my regard to your pets. I miss them like crazy in order to give homework and share its hilarious stories with us .Anyway in the aspect of the cheese,I prefer eating the cheese as well. As a result of ingredient of the cheese, I find that it is more richer of protein than the butter--it is lacking of protein. In addition if we consume the food like the cheese in the appropriate portion,we are healty or get rid of disease indeed. By the way , I will be giving a piece of information to Smokey not to catch some ZZZZZZ much more in today and another days. And thank you for your answer I get at this stage. I have the homework done already so I will iron my shirts. Bye for now.
Hi Jo, Nice to meet you.Your task will not be despicable for us.We like it that you want to brush up our English so that we can go a long way.I haven't visited Normandy yet but i would like to go their.I suppose Normandy is a beautiful Place.Thank you for giving us some useful pointers about Normandy.You said that its famous for caramel candies,apples and cheese and Normandy is very fertile part of France and its also famous for cows and their milk.Wow i also want to go their and play frisbee.You,Richard and Raffles must have had a whale of a time.That's wonderful. Thank you PARUL(INDIA)
Hello Jo :-) You have good taste in photography: the picture of the wooden house is really romantic. I'd also like to say some words about the expression Ha had used in her blog. I think that in Vietnam, just as in Poland, we defend our Bachelor or master's theses. You don't present your thesis (maybe only at the very begining); you come under attack of questions from the board of examiners and you have to prove your right to be given the title you apply for.
hello,Jo.you asked in your blog where the favourite place that we want to if we have time.maybe,at present,my daughter and i are itching for the place that she was born in and was also the hometown that i have lived for more than 20years.now we moved to another city because of my husband's business.everything is new to us especially for my daughter she has few friends so she missed them very much.though it is just a small city ,there was her happy memory .i think it must be the delightest thing if i could take her back this summer holiday.
hello,Jo.you asked in your blog where the favourite place that we want to if we have time.maybe,at present,my daughter and i are itching for the place that she was born in and was also the hometown that i have lived for more than 20years.now we moved to another city because of my husband's business.everything is new to us especially for my daughter she has few friends so she missed them very much.though it is just a small city ,there was her happy memory .i think it must be the delightest thing if i could take her back this summer holiday.
Hello Jo. It seems that you had a pretty weekend together with your boyfriend and your dog. On the contrary,I, unlike you, don't really like travelling. I'm a very sedentary man and the only idea of travelling makes me feel uneasy. The good thing of this is, I hardly don't have to worry about how to compensate my carbon footprint. I don't want to tell you, that what I do is de right thing to do. Everyone knows what they like and what they don't like. What I can say is that I like where I live and that I don't feel that I need to go on travelling to make me feel well. Best wishes.
Hi Jo, It must have been quite a nice holiday. I meant very good. Did I use it right? What a lovely place. The picture you took was beautiful. It looked like there was some snow, was there? But isn't it summertime in the north now? Jo, let me tell you I'm very happy to be stuck with you for another month. And I'm sure all our friends that read your blogs are very happy as well. Ha seems to be a very nice person. I'm sure we'll like her very much. As much as we'll miss Naheed. Good bye for now.
Hi all, of course I know you will miss Naheed so much, I am also impressed by her writings... However I'll try my best to make my lovely teacher Jo satisfied ^_^ Cheers!
Hi Jo! Nice picture, but did you take it this time or is it from another trip? 'cause is't soooo snowy! If I could, I'd go to every place in the world, I do really love travelling :) But if I could take my luggage just right now, I'll go to Australia to swim with the penguins in the beach.. or I'll go to Holland to see a friend of mine.. though Cuba is calling me as well haha (is it a sentence in english? to be called by something/someone to say that you're waiting forward to do it?) Hopefully, my next real travel will be to Loughborough. Last week I went to an interwiew to be part of a schoolarship to do practises there, so let's see if they choose me! :) And you, where have you already been? and where would you like to go now if you could? Regards to Raffles!
Hi, Jo. Thanks a million for every effort you've put in this blog. I love reading your blog. I have two colleagues whose names are also Jo and Joe. Like what you've mentioned, once, someone mixed them up.:) I've got only one question: can you tell me any movie, TV series, or music you like most? Good luck!
Thanks a million to Jo, its your generous guidances make many people like me dipped in trouble when they try to learn theirlanguage more well go on to a bright road.I will take great care on you in rest days of this month, also hope you do more splendid show.
Hi Jo, Here is a sentence copied from Wimbledone site. Roger could have taken a five-day break somewhere nice, say Switzerland, and still have been back in town in plenty of time for his next match, which will not now be played until tomorrow. I don’t understand why we require a “been” in the second part of this sentence. If we remove been, we get the following sentence(below). For me, this also means the same. Obviously, I am wrong somewhere. Roger could have taken a five-day break somewhere nice, say Switzerland, and still have back in town in plenty of time for his next match, which will not now be played until tomorrow. Please explain the difference. Thank you in advance Paul
Hello Jo, I really enjoy your captivating blogs. They greatly help me improve my English. As an avid learner, I try to find knowledge in anything and ask questions about everything. As such, I'd like to ask you why you used "next month" while we are already at the beginning of the month you are talking of. My second question is about how long is the distance between England and France through the tunnel under the English channel and how much time it takes for a car driver to get to France and vice versa.Thank you very much. Ahmed Elmansour, Casablanca - Morocco.
thanks a milion for youe education i ame sure that i can improve my english ability with you
In my opinion learning English, or for that matter any other language requires a considerable devotion of time as well as concentration.The second important element involves constant practice and guidance.Many of the learners of any language at the later stage of life get involved to meet their monetary obligations and hence don't get enough time and energy for devotion and concentration. What i am desirer to have an answer from this august forum that how much time on regular basis one should devote ,and also in my case, to make one self enough competent to start writing simple English language. Mr. M. Please reply at the earliest opportunity Kindest Regard. Mr. M
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