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New Vocabulary: Barnes Bridge to Fulham Palace - Wednesday 30 May 2012

5/6/2012

Hello to you
I really enjoyed walking and talking to you last Wednesday from Barnes to Fulham Palace. It is such a pretty walk so I hope you enjoyed it too.

Here is some of the new vocabulary that arose during the walk. I hope it is useful! If I've missed any, please do add it to the blog.

Best Wishes
Gail

A bud (noun): The growth on a plant that develops into a flower or leaf.

E.g. Before a the flowers are out on a rose bush, we say it is ‘in bud’.

When all the flowers are out and we say they are ‘in bloom’.

To swing (verb): When something moves back and forth (backwards and forwards). It can be an object or a person. E.g. The girl swings her legs under the table. E.g. Tania swings on the rope.

A swing (noun): Usually found in a children’s play area in a park. A seat is fixed between ropes or chains and someone sits on it and swings backwards and forwards. E.g. Adrian is sitting on the swing.

A goose (noun). A large waterbird. It has a long neck, short legs and webbed feet and a short wide beak.

Geese (noun). Plural of ‘goose’.

To row (verb): When people sit in a boat and use oars (long wooden-shaped sticks with a flat end) to move the boat in the direction that they want to go. E.g. They rowed all the way from Putney to Barnes.

Oars (noun): We use these to row a boat. They are long and usually made of wood. The end is wide and flat and used to move in the water to direct the boat to where you want it to go.

Canoe (noun): a small, narrow boat with pointed ends. Paddles are used to steer it and make it go in the right direction.

Rowing boat (noun): A long, narrow boat that is steered with oars (see above). There is room for a team of eight to row together.

Referee (noun): An official person who watches a game (e.g. football, rugby etc). This person makes sure that the rules are kept properly and if not, they decide what happens next.

Earthquake (noun): When the ground suddenly shakes violently. It opens up and sometimes buildings or roads break and collapse.

An imposter (noun): When a person pretends to be something that they are not. Or pretends to be a person that they are not. E.g. Some people think that Paul McCartney is not really the real Paul McCartney! They say that the real one died many years ago and since then, an imposter has pretended to be him!

A crumb (noun) (plural = crumbs): Small fragments of bread, cakes or biscuits. We usually see them left on the plate after we have eaten. E.g. After David had finished his sandwich, he cleaned the crumbs from his plate.

To turn in your grave (idiom): When something has happened after someone’s death that would make them unhappy, we say that they would ‘turn in their grave’ if they knew. E.g. If Edward Rose knew that the money he gave to the church to provide roses on his grave wasn’t being used properly, he would turn in his grave!

A beak (bird) (noun): The pointed, hard sharp mouth on a bird is called ‘a beak’.

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New Vocabulary: The Inns of Court - Thursday 24 May 2012

30/5/2012

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Hello everyone
I am so pleased that you enjoyed the walk through The Inns of Court last Thursday. It really does come as a surprise to find this area in London ... it is calm and peaceful as well as being so interesting.

Here is the vocabulary that we went over at the end. If you have any others to add, please do so.

I look forward to seeing you on future walks.
Best Wishes
Gail

A lawyer (noun). A person who studies law and passes the exams to be able to act as a lawyer.

To defend (verb). When a lawyer represents the person who is in court and tries to show the court that this person is not guilty.

To prosecute (verb). When a lawyer begins a criminal or civil court action against someone.

A barrister (noun). A lawyer who has completed extra training so that he/she can practice in court as an advocate, particularly in the higher courts. We have ‘Defence barristers’ and ‘Prosecution barristers’.

Defence barrister (see above)

Prosecution barrister (see above)

Wisteria (noun). A type of plant that climbs up buildings or other structures. It has lovely purple flowers in spring. Wisteria can live for over 200 years!

Bunting (noun). When we have big celebrations, we hang up lots of little flags on that are on a string. We use other colourful decorations too. During the most important celebrations, you will see bunting in shops; hanging across roads; hanging from buildings etc.

Blacklegs (noun). When a worker or trade unionist continues to work during a strike, they are often called ‘a blackleg’. If someone takes the job of another person, they are called ‘a blackleg’ too.

To demolish (verb). To pull or knock down something like a building. E.g. Those pretty cottages were demolished and they built a car park instead. E.g. He demolished the old garage because it was dangerous.

Urinal (noun). A public place for men to urinate. Usually, a urinal is fixed to a wall

A diarist (noun). A person who writes a diary. However, we usually call someone a ‘diarist’ if their diary has become well-known and the information has been used to give us important information. E.g. Samuel Pepys wrote a diary between 1660 and 1669. As he witnessed so many important events, his diary was published in the 19th century and this is how we have learnt so much about the Great Fire of London in 1666 and what London was like during this period.

Blogger (noun). A modern day diarist? Someone who writes nearly everyday on a ‘blog’ – a space on the internet to write about anything.

To swallow our words (expression). a) When we speak English fluently, it can sound as if we have swallowed our words i.e. we don’t finish each word. This can be difficult for someone who is learning English!

b) When we are forced to admit that we have said something that is wrong.

Illiterate (adjective). When someone is not able to read or write.

Literacy (noun). When someone is able to read and write.

Literally (adverb). a) When we say something and intend it to be correct and exact. E.g. What does that word mean literally? (what does that word mean exactly?)

b) We also use it to mean something that is not exact or true. We use it to add emphasis to express a strong feeling. E.g. I was literally freezing (if we really freeze, we die). What we really mean is: I was very, very cold.

Flamboyant (adjective). a) If a place has lots of brightly, coloured decorations, we can say that it is ‘flamboyant’. E.g. Lloyds Bank Law Court Branch is the most flamboyant bank in London because of the decoration.

To preserve (verb). a) When we have a very old building and we keep it like this. We don’t change it to look modern or different. When we looked at the old buildings in The Inns of Court, we saw many ‘preserved’ buildings – they have been looked after so that they are still look like they did when they were built.

b) We preserve fruit to make jam. We cook the fruit in sugar and water and then put it in a glass jar. It keeps for a long time.

Incongruous (adjective). When we walked through The Inns of Court, we saw lots of very old buildings. Just outside the Inns there are many modern buildings. We can say that the old buildings and the modern ones are not in harmony with each other. E.g. That modern glass office block looks incongruous between those 16th century ones.

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New vocabulary: Vauxhall to Battersea Walk, May 20th, 2012

20/5/2012

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Dear all,I really enjoyed spending the afternoon with you last Monday, despite the rain and cold wind! Here are some of the new words from the walk. If you can think of any others that I've missed here, just add them!

I look forward to seeing you on some other walks
Best Wishes
Gail

A goose (noun). A large waterbird. It has a long neck, short legs and webbed feet and a short wide beak.

Geese (noun). Plural of ‘goose’.

A gosling (noun). A baby goose.

A heron (noun). A large water bird that seeks and eats fish. It is often found along the shore of a river, lake or reservoir. It has long legs, a tall neck and a long pointed beak.

London planes (noun). Their scientific name is = platinus hispanica.Type of tree common in England and especially London. It is often used to line a road with trees. In London, you are likely to find them in every square, park and other open spaces. They are tall with rough multi-coloured bark. They have ‘nuts’ that look like little cones that hang from their branches.

The trees line the road (noun + verb + noun). When you see a road or avenue with trees planted in a straight line on either side so that it almost forms a tunnel, we say: ‘The trees are lining the road’ or ‘a tree-lined road’.

To tremble (verb). When something shakes without being able to stop. It makes quick, short movements. People and animals can tremble from fear, excitement, weakness or cold. Objects, such as a bridge, can tremble from the vibration of people crossing over it.

Trembling (present participle of the verb ‘tremble’). E.g. I can see some leaves trembling in the breeze. E.g. She is trembling in anticipation of her exam results.

To vibrate (verb). When something moves very quickly and continuously backwards and forwards. E.g. The bumblebee’s wings vibrated while it hovered over the flower.

To shake (verb). a) When you are scared of something you can feel your body shake. It moves or sways with short, irregular movements and you can’t stop them.

b) To shake something. E.g. we shake a carton of pineapple juice before we use as it separates when still.

Fussy (adjective). a) Anxious, usually about the smallest of details. E.g. She is very fussy about her food.

b) ‘I’m not fussy’ (expression). This means: ‘I don’t mind’.

E.g. Person A: Would you like to live in a houseboat or one of these waterside flats? Person B: I’m not fussy.

To crash (verb). a) When something breaks violently or noisily. E.g. When the vase fell off the table and crashed onto the floor, it broke into hundreds of pieces.

b) To crash into (something or someone). When something bangs violently into something else. E.g. His car crashed into the lamppost.

c) A crash (noun). A sudden, loud noise. E.g. We heard the crash of thunder during the night.

A pedalo (noun). A small boat with pedals, usually used for leisure.

A canoe (noun). A narrow boat with pointed ends. Paddles are used to steer it.

Bark (of tree) (noun). a) The outer ‘skin’ of a tree. It can be rough or smooth and different colours, depending on the tree type.

b) The bark (of an animal) (noun). The sharp cry of some animals such as a dog, a fox or a seal. E.g. That dog barked all night long and kept me away!

To bark (verb). When an animal (such as a dog) gives a loud, explosive cry or series of cries.

A village green (noun). The grassy area in the middle of village. Traditionally, it was used for playing cricket, holding fairs and other community activities.

A village square (noun). As above, but not a grassy area.

To burp (verb). When we make a noise to release air that has come up from our stomach and through our mouth.

To belch (verb). a) As above. When we emit gas that has come up from our stomach and through our mouth. It makes a loud noise.

b) We also use ‘belch’ to talk about buildings and objects. E.g. the chimneys belched out smoke. E.g. the power station belched out pollution.

To stray (verb). To go a different way from the planned route. E.g. She strayed off the path and got lost. E.g. He strayed from the main road and discovered a beautiful park.

A stray (noun). A person or thing that is lost or not where it should be. E.g. there are lots of stray dogs in Battersea Dogs and Cats Home E.g. They found a stray child on the beach (the child was lost/not where he/she should be).

To have a view (noun) across somewhere. When we are high up (on a hill) above a town or area and looking at the view. E.g. She had a wonderful view across London.

To have a view (noun) of somewhere. When we are closer to something, including a town or area. E.g. She had a good view of the football match. E.g. She studied the picture and enjoyed seeing a view of Richmond.

A view (noun) from ... When we are inside or on something. E.g. We had a really good view of the play from where we were sitting.

A bumble bee (noun). Large, hairy flying insect that makes a buzzing sound. From the species of the social bee family.

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New vocabulary: Where business, finance and skyscrapers meet medieval London: Old Street to London Bridge - Wednesday 09 May 2012.

13/5/2012

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Firstly, if anyone has tried to leave a comment, I apologise that it hasn't shown up here. I am still learning how to use this Blog and I am trying to sort out the settings so that your comments arrive automatically. I have asked for support from the experts here so hopefully this will change soon!

Here is the new Vocabulary from last Wednesday's walk:
Vocabulary City Walk – Wednesday 09 May 2012

A nuisance (noun). An annoying person, thing or circumstance

e.g. That man who spoke very loudly on his mobile on the bus a nuisance.

e.g. Having to wait so long in the queue was a nuisance.

To gawp (verb used with an object). To stare at something or someone with your mouth open in astonishment.

e.g. she gawped at that man who took his trousers off in public!

To stare (verb without object). To look at something very intently, with eyes wide open.

To gaze (verb without object). To look at something or someone. Not so wide open-eyed like staring or gawping.

Mind-blowing (adjective). Something that is extremely exciting or surprising. That has an intense effect on our emotions.

e.g. When I moved to London from the countryside, it was mind-blowing.

A buzz (noun). A feeling of intense excitement.

e.g. I got a real buzz from that history walk.

Snap (noun). A children’s card game. You match the pictures so that when you see a card the same as your one, you say ‘SNAP’ loudly. We use it to mean ‘the same’.

e.g. Person A: I used to live in Birmingham

Person B: Snap. (i.e. I did as well)

Snap (verb without object).a) To make a sudden, sharp sound.

b) to break an object in two. E.g. I snapped the stick in two. E.g. the tree branch snapped off.

c) to be very angry. E.g. She snapped when she lost her job.

To bury (verb). (buried = past participle/past tense of ‘bury’) To put something in the ground and cover it with earth. E.g. The squirrel buried some nuts in that flower bed. E.g. When her cat died, she buried it.

Litter (noun). Rubbish such as plastic cups, paper, bottles etc that are left in an open or public place.

Littering (present participle of verb ‘to litter’). To make a place untidy with rubbish or lots of objects lying about. E.g. The newspapers littered the floor. E.g. No littering in the railway station.

Grubby (adjective). Dirty. E.g. The little boy had a grubby face.

A bowler hat (noun). A type of hat worn in England up until the 1960s.

Bone china (noun). Very fine china. Porcelain.

To slaughter (verb). a) When many, many people are killed deliberately. E.g. During the First World War, thousands of young men were slaughtered.

b) When animals are killed, especially for food.

Note: the pronunciation for ‘slaughter’ is: //slɔːtə//

Sl – then the ‘augh’ sound = ‘oor’ that as in ‘door’.

Other words with the same sound:
Slaughter
Ought
Bought
Brought
Thought

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New Vocabulary from Clerkenwell Walk, Saturday 05 May 2012

7/5/2012

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Hello to all of you who came on the English Conversation Walk on Saturday in Clerkenwell. I really enjoyed spending the day with all of you. Thank you to all of you for participating throughout the walk with the history, the vocabulary and asking so many useful questions.

Here are some of the new words that we used on Saturday and went over again in the cafe at the end. Of course, I cannot include every new word that we looked at, but if there is something that you would like to have included here, please add it yourself.

Words relating to buildings:
slum (noun). A very run-down area where very poor people live. Often two or three families live in the same room.

a slum dweller – the person who lives in a slum

e.g. this is a slum area

to slum it (phrasal verb). When a person lives in a place that is not as good as the one they have had in the past.

to demolish (verb used with an object). To destroy or ruin a building or other type of structure. Often done deliberately.

e.g. the fire demolished the street.

We also use ‘to demolish’ informally. E.g. If we are very hungry and eat our dinner very quickly, we might say ‘I demolished that lot quickly!’ or ‘he demolished his meal in no time!’ or ‘she demolished that chocolate bar!.’

demolition (noun). The act of demolishing something. E.g. Demolition work began on the old office building this morning.

dilapidated (adjective). When something (usually a building or similar structure) has been left to fall to pieces. When it has become ruined and decayed.

Words relating to demonstrations, rebellions and riots:
riot (a noun: A noisy, often violent public disorder caused by a group of people or a crowd protesting against something such as government policy.

to riot (verb). To take part in a riot. E.g. they rioted in Clerkenwell last week.

Other uses:

a riot of colour (idiom): Something that is extremely colourful and bright, e.g. ‘her garen was a riot of colour last spring’.

to have a riot (phrasal verb). To have a lot of fun.

rebellion (noun). Organised action against a government or ruler. This can include armed resistance.

to rebel (verb). To reject and resist the government or ruler. To rise up in arms (when the people are angry and start to take action).

e.g. the people rebelled

to demonstrate (verb). To take part in an action against something such as a government e.g. they demonstrated against the war in London today.

to clash (verb). When two groups of people who disagree come together, often violently. E.g. the demonstrators clashed with the police.

to loot (verb). To steal goods, usually during a riot or war. E.g. the rioters were looting the shops all night.

e.g. He was a looter during the riots in London last August.

a wage freeze (noun). When a company or government fixes the amount paid to workers and will not allow any increases. E.g. The government imposed a two-year wage freeze on a million teachers.

a pickpocket (noun). A person who steals money, wallets or anything else from the pockets of people in the street or other crowded places.

to pickpocket (verb). To steal money, wallets or other items from someone’s pockets. You may have heard this in London sometimes: Beware of pickpockets!

decapitated!! Ha ha, I’m sure you’ll remember this one!

to decapitate (verb). To cut off a person’s head.

Words relating to tourists:

(to be) off the tourist path. An expression we use to describe an area that tourists don’t usually go to.

touristy (adjective). E.g. It’s too touristy in Oxford Street. Let’s go somewhere off the tourist path.

Other words that we used on the walk:

Lilac Tree (noun). A shrub or tree with large, fragrant purple or white flowers.

a bluebell (noun). A type of flower with blue, bell-shaped flowers. It is common in England.

livestock (noun used with singular or plural verb). E.g. the horses, cattle, sheep etc. Animals we find on farms, in the countryside and in live aninal meat markets.

Words relating to water (excluding those on the English Worksheet):
a puddle (noun) A small pool of water, often made by rainwater.

Now it's your turn! Please add any new words that we used on Saturday that are not included here! Or, if you have any questions, we will do our best to answer them ...

Best Wishes
Gail

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New Vocabulary: Barnes Bridge to Fulham Palace - Wednesday 30 May 2012

New Vocabulary: The Inns of Court - Thursday 24 May 2012

New vocabulary: Vauxhall to Battersea Walk, May 20th, 2012

New vocabulary: Where business, finance and skyscrapers meet medieval London: Old Street to London Bridge - Wednesday 09 May 2012.

New Vocabulary from Clerkenwell Walk, Saturday 05 May 2012

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