Everyday English (Vocabulary Building)
Topic: Learning Languages
Lesson Notes March 18, 2025 (Vocabulary Building)
Words & Phrases
I wash the inside of my nose to flush out any congestion during hay fever season.
Inhaling water through your nose usually burns and stings.
In the morning, I hear my husband coughing and choking as he cleans out his nose.
Today, we were learning how to turn while swimming.
When referring to turning while swimming, the most common terms are:
‘Flip turn’ – This is the standard term for turning in freestyle or backstroke when you reach the wall, do a somersault, and push off for the next lap.
‘Touch turn' – This refers to turning by touching the wall and then pushing off, typically used in breaststroke or butterfly.
‘Turn’ – A general term for the action of changing direction during a swim.
The sumo wrestler I was rooting for to win might be facing his last chance due to his age.
Debuting yokozuna Hoshoryu pulled out of the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament on Tuesday after suffering an injury to his right elbow.
Pull out of (phrasal verb); To withdraw or decide not to participate in something
She decided to pull out of the competition at the last minute.
The company had to pull out of the deal due to unexpected issues.
He pulled out of the meeting because of a scheduling conflict.
Learning Languages
Section 6 (example answers)
1 I know some English slang like “cool,” “awesome,” and “chill.” I learned it from movies and TV shows.
Hit the sack; go to bed or to sleep
Gotcha; I understand or I got it
Telly; British slang for television
2 Yes, Japanese has many words that don’t have an exact translation in English, like “wabi-sabi” (the beauty of imperfection) or “komorebi” (sunlight filtering through trees).
3 Yes, the Arabic alphabet looks very different to me. I think it would be interesting to learn it someday.
4 My motivation for learning English is to understand movies, music, and meet new people from different countries.
5 Yes, I think learning a foreign language should be mandatory in school. I think it’s good to start from a young age, maybe around 10 years old.
