Let LOI Be Your One-Stop Shop For English Idioms

Let LOI Be Your One-Stop Shop For English Idioms For learners of the English  language,  understanding and using English idioms is a never-ending process.  It might feel like your progress moves at a snails pace.  Maybe you have spent  time  learning  dozens of common English idioms and youve been using them successfully.  Thats great!  But what about when you encounter an English idiom for the first time?  This can be tricky because idioms are expressions without a literal meaning.  One of our talented instructors at LOI, Peter, created this interesting and helpful  post that shines a light on a new way to understand  English idioms:https://www.skypeenglishclasses.com/idiomatic-expressions/About English Idioms:Today well be putting some of Peters helpful advice into practice.  If you are reading this post, you obviously have a strong appetite for learning, so, lets get started!Fill in the blanks with  the idiomatic expressions used in this video.  Then, match the expression to a definition listed.  As Peter states in his post, its important to listen for the context, paying attention to facial expression.  Its also helpful to listen for expressions people say commonly, and try to use those more often.  Todays lesson will help you do just that.  We are always  over the moon when we see your responses and get to help by correcting and giving explanations.  So, write your responses in the comments section.  Or, if youd like to spend quality time practicing with a native speaker, schedule a class!Listening Section and Exercise:To see how lithium is pulled from the earth, I went to visit the operations of the ______ ______, SQM.Hes a cheerful engineer who has _____ _____  working in The Great Void.Over millions of years, minerals from the mountains _____ into  the ground.From there, its __ __ ___ ___  to __ ___ _____  and evaporate away the water, _______  the minerals and salt ______.  This is __________ _____.You guys must be excited that Teslas are selling well and that everybodys _______ ____  e lectric cars now.Chile may have the largest lithium deposits in the world, but its starting to ____ ______  countries like Australia and China when it comes to production.In China its a ___-____ ____  with the mining and battery production happening together.This is a ____  Chilean companies have been unwilling to  ____.The feds have put strict quotas on lithium production, and theyve also been trying to act tough and ____ ____  after some politicos were accused of taking bribes from the mines.Environmentalists arent  ____ ____ of the mines either.But there are some  __ ___ ___ _____.Alejandro  ___ _ _____.These odd marvels ____  the modern world  __.Matching and Gap Fill:Next, use the context to match your answers to the following meanings:a.  disappear/go awayb.  batteryc.  starting to liked.  make things in our lives work welle.  people  who really like somethingf.  dominating the respective fieldg.  done something for yearsh. sucki.  has a correct ideaj.  positive aspects of a j obk.  do something risky with hope of successl. prevent embarrassment, shame or judgement of othersm. do its jobn.  place to buy everything at onceo.  become less successfulp.  the suns responsibilityHopefully by this point in the lesson, your relationship with idioms is getting warmer.  Several of these expressions  can also be categorized according to Peters grouping method:Expressions about life: roadExpressions about time:  moneyExpressions about knowledge: foodExpressions about relationships: temperatureExpressions about economics: gardeningExpressions about opinions: buildingExpressions about truth: archaeologyExpressions about intelligence: lightExpressions about opinions: geographyGrouping idioms in this way makes them easier to understand and put into context.  So now the next part of the lesson is to look at each of the following idiomatic expressions and place them into one of the categories above.example: spent years: time/moneygetting into:  _______/________fall behin d: _______/________leave behind: _______/________take a leap (of faith):  _______/________has a point (of view): _______/________make the world run: _______/________Find the English Idioms:Finally, you might have noticed that there are 7  idioms written throughout this post.  Find each idiom and place it in the correct category.  Then, for an extra challenge, write what you think the meaning is according to the category and context of the sentence!  Dont forget to write your responses in the comments section.If you still dont feel like these idioms are crystal clear, were happy to answer your questions in the comments section below, but were even happier to speak with you in a one-on-one lesson, so schedule a class today!

Become a memory guru

Become a memory guru The Journey method of memorising important information is something I came across absolutely accidentally and it struck me how simple and absolutely brilliant it is. Sadly the times of me taking exams have passed but I can still use the technique for shopping lists, phone numbers or addresses. I have always been a big fan of Top Gear and was excited to see that James May has restarted his Man's Lab show which teaches people lost skills. In the first episode of the new series what caught my attention the most is that he was asked to commentate on the Grand National - the most valuable horse race in Europe. In order to be able to cover the race James had to learn 40 horses' names and the colours of their attire. As he only had a few days to prepare for this challenge he asked Dominic O'Brien, the world memory champion, for advice on how to memorise these quickly. Dominic met up with James in a countryside inn where he explained in practice how to use the Journey method to easily remember information. They explored the back garden and attached horses' names and colours to different places around the garden in a way that resembled the names or the patterns in order to make it easier to memorise. By doing that, James was able to successfully commentate on the race with a little help from his sidekick Rory. The Journey method itself originated from Ancient Greece and is based on three main features: imagination, association and location. Imagination helps make regular things more memorable especially if a little bit of fantasy is added so that in your mind, the information you need to remember stands out. When it comes to association, we make connections all the time and don't even stop to notice how it works as it is so natural, but we can also create new artificial association in order to make the forgettable information stand out. And obviously, location is the main ingredient in this method where imagination and association come to help. When using this method you attach a piece of information to a particular place and create a sort of informational journey through your house, town or park - any location will work as long as you know it very well. By creating associations between the information and a place it is very easy to revisit it in your mind when you need to access it. The number of journeys you can create is limitless and you can remember each for a very long time as long as you keep revisiting them regularly. In order to help your brain cope with so much new information you should also focus on healthy wellbeing. Healthy sleeping pattern, no junk food, no binge drinking, exercising and getting all the vitamins will not only boost your mental capacity to remember information but also will make you feel a lot better in general. Training your memory this way and feeding your brain will also benefit you in the long term as it will stave off the symptoms of dementia and will allow you to enjoy a healthy mind for longer. And of course you will never have to worry about where you have left your car or what you needed to buy in the supermarket!