by Heather Chetwynd | Feb 17, 2022 | Culture and Values
A former student of mine got a job in northern Quebec years ago. The weather is pretty harsh there and, being quick witted, he wrote the following few paragraphs with common weather idioms. I felt it was so well written and the idioms used so naturally, I decided to...
by Heather Chetwynd | Feb 17, 2022 | Accent Modification
This poem has many names and can be found on the internet under a number of titles. I like this one – BRUSH UP YOUR ENGLISH. The author is also in debate but I found one name – T.S Watt – with the date posted as 1954. The relationship between...
by Heather Chetwynd | Sep 27, 2021 | Language Training
Most cities have their landmarks. In Toronto, we have one that was sold after the death of its owner, Ed Mirvish. A poor immigrant to Toronto in the 1920s, he built a discount store in 1948 that catered to immigrants and the working class, delighting passersby with...
by Heather Chetwynd | Jun 1, 2021 | Language Training
Many of us have our pet peeves – minor annoyances that particularly irritate us, more so than would be normally expected. Well, one of my pet peeves is messing up an expression. Sometimes referred to as an “eggcorn,” the more technical word for this error is...
by Heather Chetwynd | Feb 11, 2021 | Language Training
Pluto the dog is a character that has become popular under Covid. I’ve always enjoyed the humour but this one – called “Losing your Marbles” – is wonderful for my line of work. He speaks in almost pure idioms throughout the 3-minute clip. Listen to...
