Time and Date

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Keep your English up to date

Staycation

A holiday in Britain

Staycation

These days people have less and less money to spend on luxuries, things like holidays, for example. So, when they have some time off work, some are choosing to stay at home, instead of flying, or driving perhaps to the beach or mountains, maybe to another country. It's a staycation, a combination of the words stay and vacation.

Particularly if you live in a big city, you might not get time to enjoy everything that it has to offer in terms of entertainment – to go to the theatre, to concerts or just to go sightseeing. So a staycation might be an attractive idea.

Other reasons to take a staycation might be having very young children, or perhaps you want to make some home improvements, like redecorating. In any case, a staycation will almost certainly save you money! I have some friends from the US who come over to London every year or so and stay with me – so I regularly take some time off and have a staycation. Sometimes I visit them in Seattle, and they have a staycation.

About Mark Shea

Mark Shea

Mark Shea has been a teacher and teacher trainer for eighteen years. He has taught English and trained teachers extensively in Asia and South America, and is a qualified examiner for the University of Cambridge oral examinations. He is currently working with journalists at the World Service and is the author of the BBC College of Journalism's online English tutor.

Posted by James at 3:32 AM

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Build your vocabulary and use it appropriately

The ability to articulate your feelings, attitudes, needs, skills, and knowledge is vital to success in networking and in life. Good communication—which is a critical element in building and inspiring trust and understanding from others—pivots on your ability to clearly and accurately express yourself.

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It amazes me how many people have poor vocabularies. These people fail to realize that they are limiting their success, negatively impacting their destiny and lifestyle by not having the ability to use the right word at the right time in any communication situation.

The key is to have a good enough vocabulary to be able to communicate effectively with anyone, whether they have an outstanding vocabulary or a poor one. In both cases, we need to be able to use effective words that can be understood. The ability to articulate your feelings, attitudes, needs, skills, desires, and knowledge is one of the most important ingredients for success.

Here are a few ways to enlarge your vocabulary: crossword puzzles, Scrabble, magazines, or learning one new word a day (that's 365 new words a year). In five years, imagine what kind of a vocabulary you could have with that technique. When someone uses a word you are unfamiliar with, ask what it means. Get a daily calendar that gives you a new word each day, or try an audio book on vocabulary improvement.—Tim Connor

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