Les Ateliers Yes, No, Toaster

02/28/2025

01/12/2023

I'm a big believer in multitasking.... so if you can exercise and practice your English, why not? Adriene became huge during the pandemic, so if you like yoga:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTdBUmHDA4s

there are many other types of exercise available in English on Youtube, and if you are looking for a personal trainer, https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085695183458 is a dedicated professional trainer here in Quebec City! There are a few options out there to get your butt moving while absorbing a little English!

Join Yoga With Adriene for 30 Days of Yoga this January!SIGN UP: https://do.yogawithadriene.com/centerDesigned for whole body mental health, this 30 Day Jour...

01/11/2023

podcasts are a great way to pick up your comprehension, especially if you choose a podcast with an accent. Unlike the radio, you can pause or re-listen, which is a big advantage when learning is your goal.

1) Serial podcast, season one is one of the most popular podcasts of all time! murder mystery that is a true story! https://serialpodcast.org

2) NPR produces This American Life, if you want it to be a different story every time, this is your podcast: https://www.thisamericanlife.org

3)CBC has a ton of podcasts on many different subjects, made locally: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcasts

4)checking out the lists this time of year could be illuminating! https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2022/12/best-podcasts-2022/672613/
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/2022-in-review/the-best-podcasts-of-2022
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/dec/23/the-20-best-podcasts-of-2022
https://www.vulture.com/article/best-podcasts-industry-survey-2022.html
https://mashable.com/article/best-podcasts-2022-list

happy listening!

In 2022, a prosecutor in the Baltimore State’s Attorney’s office stumbled upon two handwritten notes in Adnan’s case file. They changed everything.

01/10/2023

There are literally dozens of grammar practice websites, where you can pick and choose different grammar topics to practice. Here are a few of the websites I like and would recommend!

1) The BBC in England runs a learn English website for free with a ton of resources: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/

2) you have to dig around the menus a little, but this website has many beginner-early intermediate exercises: https://agendaweb.org

3) https://www.esl-lounge.com/student/ has a great collection of online exercises

4) http://a4esl.org

5) a little more appropriate for more advanced students: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl_exercises/

6) the oxford site has some great additional resources for their grammar books: https://elt.oup.com/student/practicegrammar/?cc=ca&selLanguage=en

have fun!

All easy grammar | 6 Minute Grammar - easy | Grammar reference - easyAll medium grammar | Grammar reference - medium | Grammar reference 2 - medium6 Minute Grammar - medium | The Grammar Gameshow  | Grammar class

01/09/2023

Read the news. honestly, for the vocabulary for current events, it is a great practice. For the consistency of tone, it is a great choice. To understand the quasi-social-business banter we often hear in-between colleagues at meetings, it's a really great start. Also, if you already do it in French, it is an easy habit to develop!

1) CBC news is consistently well-written, national and local, available in both video and written for free: https://www.cbc.ca/news

2) CNN world edition is a reasonably good look at the news from an american perspective. https://www.cnn.com

3) BBC gives us an european perspective on the news, and also a whole new set of vocabulary you may not be aware of! https://www.bbc.com/news

If you are worried about bias and reliability of your news source, you may be interested in the chart I've posted where news sources were rated according to reliability (opinion versus fact reporting) and bias ('left' versus 'right' political philosophy leaning). This article on it is good: https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/media-literacy/2021/should-you-trust-media-bias-charts/

01/08/2023

practice practice practice, that's what it's all about, right?

Let's explore this week the different ways you can do some second language practice on your own! First, I'm a reader, so I often turn to books as a way to get to know a language. Reading a book in English that you have already read in French is a good way to start. I prefer electronic books for my second language reading, because it is quicker to look up words, but I also love my second hand books where I feel free to underline and annotate books as much as I need to. The https://www.bibliothequedequebec.qc.ca
has a digital collection (679 books!) which are available to anyone with a library card on the
https://quebec.pretnumerique.ca/home
website. You could also ask for an intra-library loan, where the requested book shows up at your local branch!

If you are looking for a book to call your own, there are a number of second hand stores with a small english selection.

1) of course, value village ("village de valeurs") can always be counted on to have a decent selection.
2) Bouquinerie Nouvelle Chance, 1595 Chem. de la Canardière, has a small section along the back wall. As a plus, it is a non-profit store! They often announce some small sales https://www.facebook.com/LaBouquinerieNouvelleChance
3) Ordi Livres Signes D'Espoir, 2378 Av. Maufils, has an online inventory of about 3000 english books that you can peruse and order from! https://ordilivres.org/product-category/langues/
4) LIbrarie Legendre, 2485 Boul. Sainte-Anne, has a pretty english decent selection tucked up against the back wall, and the guy working there is pretty helpful.
5) of course, for your comic book needs, Librairie Premiere Issue, 27 Rue D'Auteuil, is a solid classic store.
6) I always ALWAYS keep an eye out for the sometimes-twice-a-year (fall and spring) SNACS book sale, for charitable cause and is the largest second hand sale that I have seen in QC of English books. https://snacs.ca/book-fair/
7) Maison Anglaise, Place De La Cite https://lamaisonanglaise.com has a decent collection of new books and grammar books as well.

happy reading!

01/07/2023

WHO versus WHOM? This is something that confuses even most anglos. The basic rule is WHO functions as a subject, while WHOM functions as an object. Use who when the word is performing the action. Use whom when it is receiving the action.

For example, “That's the boy who wrote the book.” It is the subject of “wrote” because the boy was doing the writing. Then, “whom,” as the objective pronoun, receives the action. For instance, “Whom do you like best?” It is the object of “like”, and the subject pronoun is YOU (that's who is doing the liking).

As for Monday's question, the answer is 1. A) WHO can resist and 2. A) herself (because you need to correctly identify who the pronoun refers to, in this case it is the coach, not the team!)

How did you do on the pronoun quizzes this week? ;-)

01/06/2023

Today is January 6, and is the day traditionally known as Old Christmas Day. It's a relic of the Julian Calendar, developed 2,000 years ago. In the late 1500s, Pope Gregory XIII changed the calendar to match the solar cycle more closely, followed by England in the 1700s. To do so, the Julian Calendar had to be reduced from 376 to 365 days, eliminating 11 full days. As a result, Christmas moved from January 6th to December 25th. The twelve days of Christmas start on the 25th and end on the 6th, the "real" Christmas day.

As always, my home Newfoundland has kept some traditions alive, including women's christmas, a chance for women to gather and relax together while the men do all the housework ;-) It's also the day to take down your Christmas tree and turn off your christmas lights unless you wanted some bad luck! (personally, I would keep my lights on until May if Jé would let me!)

http://archivalmoments.ca/2018/01/05/old-christmas-day-trees-cakes-and-cows

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/old-xmas-day-1.5861890

ARCHIVAL MOMENT January 6 “Old Christmas Day” or “Twelfth Day” or “Epiphany”. The season of Christmas ends on “Old Christmas Day,” January 6th also known as “Twelfth Day.…

01/06/2023

Those tricky subject pronouns popping up again! Look at where the pronouns are in the sentence... if they are at the beginning of the sentence before the verb, chances are they are the SUBJECT, and you need to use the subject pronouns!
1. A) SHE and LIVEY
2. C) WE BUDDIES