Assessing students’ English learning needs and goals is important for both teachers and English learners themselves. Here are some helpful articles: Why are You Learning English? (interactive quiz, with follow-up suggestions) Setting…View article…

Ten Differences Between a Good Writer and a Bad Writer

About 2,500 years ago, Socrates posed the question in Plato’s Phaedrus: “What, then, is the way to distinguish good writing from bad?”A collection of thoughts from different writers on the subject  View article…

David Crystal’s Six Good Reasons to Study the English Language

Some books about the English language are cleverly written–playful, humorous, and all too often littered with inaccuracies. At the other end of the shelf are the formal linguistic studies–heavily footnoted,… View article…

Brigada Today

1.       YOUR OPINION ON THIS ARTICLE ABOUT AFRICA NEEDING MISSIONARIES? –
Here’s an article by an atheist pointing out that, in his opinion, Africa would be made better by missionaries. Would you take a moment to read the article and comment on it? What’s your opinion about this atheist’s conclusions? (Thanks for the tip about this article, Shibu!)

To see the article, click to this item on the web: http://www.brigada.org/2009/02/1_08.html

2.       DIGITAL MINISTRY FOR MISSIONS — Lausanne World Pulse is a free online publication on mission issues. An article in their February issue covers the many opportunities that missions can use for digital outreach:

http://www.lausanneworldpulse.com/themedarticles.php/1087

3.       CHRIST FOR THE NATIONS — Japan Bible School is celebrating its 25th Anniversary this year. Information on Japan and activities at CFN-Japan can be found on the English web site  http://www.cfnjapan.org/

4.       EFL WORKBOOKS FOR CHRISTIAN STUDIES — These workbooks provide contextualized passages for students involved in biblical studies who want to improve their proficiency in reading English. Vocabulary Building for Biblical Studies is an intermediate level workbook of 15 contextualized chapters centering on biblical and Christian themes. Each unit includes a passage of 1000 words and exercises that aid the students in understanding and expanding their vocabulary. Men and Women in the History of the Church is a pre-intermediate reader. Each unit begins with pre-reading questions and a biography of approximately 650 words. This is followed by exercises on reading comprehension and vocabulary building, and ends with discussion questions. The workbooks are available as a download, to print and photocopy for personal or
class use, but may not be reproduced for profit. The website is:
http://geocities.com/stapletonlyn/homepage

Visual Dictionaries

Let’s read again that living story of His birth, His life, His death…and beyond.  The book of Luke, written in EasyEnglish using simple words, will help us all to understand what lies at the heart of Christmas.

There are two new items on our website which you really must look at!  “The King who did not obey God“ is a simple translation of 1 Samuel, in Level A EasyEnglish (1200 word vocabulary).  This book begins with the lovely story of the birth and childhood of Samuel, and that special night when God came to his bedside and spoke directly to the little boy.  But the book goes on to tell of God’s call to Saul, Israel’s first king.  There follows the sad story of his disobedience and eventual downfall.  However, please don’t give up because running alongside is the wonderful account of David, God’s choice for the next king – “A man after My own heart who shall do all My will.” (Acts 13:22)

The other new item is “Alive and new, with Christ“, a Level A translation of Colossians.  This short book is a letter from the apostle Paul, written whilst he was in prison for preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ. Paul was troubled because the Gentile Christians in Colossae were being told that they should live like Jews.  Paul explains to them that they have been saved by Jesus Christ and they are “complete in Him” (chap.2:10).  This letter gives us a wonderful picture of the Lord Jesus, in all His dignity and glory.  It is the perfect book to read after you have finished Luke’s Gospel.  You will discover here just what God thinks of His beloved Son.

Echo Effect

The “echo effect” is when a slogan or jingle get’s into everyday talk. Advertisers love to get people to incorporate slogans into regular conversation.

Echo effect examples: Wendy’s “Where’s the beef?” or Miller Beer’s “I love you man!” Nike’s “Just do it!” These brand slogan reverberated in pop culture and infiltrated our everyday conversations.

Thanksgiving Reading Comprehension

This holiday feature includes a Thanksgiving reading comprehension with difficult vocabulary explanations about the history of the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving followed by a Thanksgiving reading comprehension quiz. …

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Textrovert

1. One who feels an increased sense of bravery over texting, as opposed to in person.

2. One who will often only say what they really feel over text messages.

Kelly: “So how’d the conversation go with Bill last night?”
Wendy: “Ah he’s such a textrovert. We didn’t make any progress until I went home and he spilled his guts over texts.”

Dictionary

Theological Word of the Day

Aaronic

AARON’IC, a. Pertaining to Aaron, the Jewish High Priest, or to the priesthood of which he was the head.

English Lesson of the Day

Tense Review Chart

This overview chart shows the positive, negative and interrogative (question) forms of all the principal tenses in English with a brief description of the principal usage. The timeline tenses chart provides…

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