English wing

23/05/2016

"An uneducated thief may steal goods from the train but an educated one may steal the entire train. We need to compete for knowledge and wisdom, not for grades".
-shiv khera-

23/05/2016

"Whenever a person says I cannot do this he is really saying two things. Either I don’t know how to do it or I don’t want to do it".
-shiv khera-

23/05/2016

"If we are not a part of the solution, then we are the problem".
-shiv khera-

18/04/2016

Dhirubhai Ambani
Who doesn't know the name Reliance today? But do you know, that Dhirubhai Ambani, the founder of Reliance was perhaps controversy's favourite child? Ambani had a humble beginning and he was not from an affluent background. He moved to Yemen at 16 years of age where he worked as a simple clerk. However, he knew he had to follow his calling and risking everything, he returned to India to set up his business with his close friend. Though Champaklal Damani differed from Ambani in his views and decided to split, Ambani did not give up hope and continued his trade, deciding to even enter the stock market. His stock market dealings and success have often been questioned but the man rose to power through sheer grit and determination.

11/04/2016

Walt Disney
The man who has affected generations to come with his cartoon creations, was once considered a failure. Disney was fired by the editor in 1919 from his job at the Kansas City Star paper because he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” However, the man who brought us Mickey Mouse and a slew of other characters didn’t stop failing there.
Disney’s first go at business landed in bankruptcy when he acquired an animation studio by the name of Laugh-O-Gram. The company was acquired because, at the time, Disney’s cartoon creations had gained popularity in the Kansas City area. But, when he hired on salaried employees, he was unable to manage money and the business wound up heavily in debt. Subsequently, he filed for bankruptcy and moved to Hollywood, California.
The early failures in Disney’s life didn’t dissuade him from moving forward. Of course, like anyone else, Disney’s failures were a blow to the ego. Anyone that has to suffer through the torment of failure and bankruptcy knows how this feels. However, it also laid the foundation for a successful career. When he formed the Walt Disney Company, all of his past failures helped to pave the way for a successful business.
Disney and the Walt Disney Company have touched the lives of millions across the globe. From cartoons, to theme parks, and animated movies, both children and adults now enjoy the fruits of Disney’s labor. Had he given up, things would have been far different. But he persevered, even through bankruptcy

05/04/2016

Thomas Edison
We’ve all heard the name before. This famous American is attributed with failing over 10,000 times to invent a commercially viable electric lightbulb, but he didn’t give up. When asked by a newspaper reporter if he felt like a failure and if he should give up, after having gone through over 9,000 failed attempts, Edison simply stated “Why would I feel like a failure? And why would I ever give up? I now know definitely over 9,000 ways an electric lightbulb will not work. Success is almost in my grasp.”
This is also the same person whose teachers said he was “too stupid to learn anything,” and fired from his first two employment positions for not being productive enough. However, Edison, through his failures, is also the greatest innovator of all time with 1,093 US patents to his name, along with several others in the UK, and Canada. This is someone who refused to ever give up no matter what.
It’s said that in his early days, he attributed his success to his mother, who pulled him out of school and began to teach him herself. It’s because of his mother, and how wholeheartedly she believed in him, that he didn’t want to disappoint her. His early fascination for chemical experiments and mechanical engineering paved the way for a future that was incredible bright. His company, GE, is still one of the largest publicly-traded firms in the world, continually innovating across virtually every spectrum.

02/04/2016

“Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?”
~ Abraham Lincoln -

26/03/2016

25/03/2016

The Oxford Dictionary Online is a warehouse of over 600,000 words. Despite this large arsenal, we continue to coin, clip, and blend new words into existence, and the Oxford folks pump some of these new words into their dictionaries. Here are some more recent additions with their official definitions.

1. Bling (n): Expensive, ostentatious clothing and jewelry.
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2. Bromance (n): A close but non-sexual relationship between two men.
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3. Chillax (v): Calm down and relax.
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4. Crunk (adj): Very excited or full of energy.
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5. D'oh (ex): Exclamation used to comment on a foolish or stupid action, especially one’s own.

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6. Droolworthy (adj): Extremely attractive or desirable.
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7. Frankenfood (n): Genetically modified food.
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8. Grrrl (n): A young woman regarded as independent and strong or aggressive, especially in her attitude to men or in her sexuality (A blend of “Grrrr” and “Girl.”)
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9. Guyliner (n): Eyeliner that is worn by men.
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10. Hater (n): A person who greatly dislikes a specified person or thing.
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11. Illiterati (n): People who are not well educated or well informed about a particular subject or sphere of activity.
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12. Infomania (n): The compulsive desire to check or accumulate news and information, typically via mobile phone or computer.
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13. Jeggings (n): Tight-fitting stretch trousers for women, styled to resemble a pair of denim jeans.
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14. La-la Land (n): A fanciful state or dream world. Also, Los Angeles.
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15. Locavore (n): A person whose diet consists only or principally of locally grown or produced food.
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16. Mankini (n): A brief one-piece bathing garment for men, with a T-back.
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17. Mini-Me (n): A person closely resembling a smaller or younger version of another.
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18. Muffin Top (n): A roll of fat visible above the top of a pair of women’s tight-fitting low-waisted trousers.
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19. Muggle (n): A person who is not conversant with a particular activity or skill.
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20. Noob (n): A person who is inexperienced in a particular sphere or activity, especially computing or the use of the Internet.
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21. Obvs (adv): Obviously.
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22. OMG (ex): Used to express surprise, excitement, or disbelief. (Dates back to 1917.)
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23. Po-po (n): The police.
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24. Purple State (n): A US state where the Democratic and Republican parties have similar levels of support among voters.
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25. Screenager (n): A person in their teens or twenties who has an aptitude for computers and the Internet.
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26. Sexting (n): The sending of sexually explicit photographs or messages via mobile phone.
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27. Textspeak (n): Language regarded as characteristic of text messages, consisting of abbreviations, acronyms, initials, emoticons. (wut hpns win u write lyk dis.)
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28. Totes (adv): Totally.
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29. Truthiness (n): the quality of seeming or being felt to be true, even if not necessarily true.
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30. Twitterati (n): Keen or frequent users of the social networking site Twitter.
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31. Unfriend (v): Remove (someone) from a list of friends or contacts on a social networking site.
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32. Upcycle (v): Reuse (discarded objects or material) in such a way as to create a product of higher quality or value than the original.
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33. Whatevs (ex, adv): Whatever.
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34. Whovian (n): A fan of the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who.
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35. Woot (ex): (Especially in electronic communication) Used to express elation, enthusiasm, or triumph.

15/03/2016

10 Fun & Easy Ways to Learn English Faster

We’ve all heard a thousand times that the only way to really learn English is to be totally immersed in the language, completely surrounded by it everywhere you go. But we wanted to go deeper than that and find quick and easy ways to start getting immersed. So our research team put together 10 steps that you can follow, in this order, to make learning English faster and a whole lot more fun.

#1: Find some English radio stations and podcasts in iTunes
There are tons of podcasts about all topics imaginable these days: entertainment, politics, news. A good way to find one is to look for a podcast from a TV channel you usually watch in your cable TV. Look for one that interests you and listen to it in your car while driving. You’ll train your ear that way!

#2: Check out the Top Videos on YouTube and watch for at least a few minutes
Most of them are hilarious! It will be so worth it. Try looking at the comments to pick up some words and sentences you aren’t familiar with, but be careful there is all kinds of bizarre stuff in YouTube comments.

#3: Talk and sing to yourself in English
When you are alone at home, or of course in the shower, start talking! Sing a song in English the way it sounds to you, talk about the weather or any other topic. Do this frequently and your pronunciation will drastically improve – guaranteed!

4 #: Do you have an English-speaking idol? Go to YouTube and watch all of his/her interviews in English
You can spend hours doing that listening to interviews and it sure won’t feel like studying. But it is! It helps you a great deal.

5 #: Sit near people who are speaking English on the bus or in the park. Listen in…
Okay now don’t be a creepy eavesdropper! But, see what words you can pick up and listen to the flow of the conversation. How much did you understand? What general topic were they talking about? Did you hear an interesting word you might want to look up after?

#6: Pay attention to billboards, signs, advertisements, magazine stands and establishment names
Look and think about what these ads mean. How many words do you recognize? Did you see that same word elsewhere? Make up sentences about what you’re seeing.

#7: Love music? Try figuring out the words/lyrics of your favorite songs
Watch video clips with lyrics on YouTube and sing along. Read the translation and build up your vocabulary. Listen to “clean” versions of songs and try to figure out what dirty words were taken out. It’s fun!

#8: Watch TV clips, episodes or soap operas in English
It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand what they’re saying, watch anyway! Try to understand why something is funny or sad . If the joke is related to the word itself, then maybe that is why the joke does not make sense in your native language. What would be the best translation into your language then?

#9: Engage in a conversation on Facebook with friends who post in English
When you have English speakers in your timeline, you see their posts daily and get inside information about news and viral videos in English. Your friends can be your teachers! Their timeline basically sort out the best material for you to study.

#10: Produce, produce, produce. No matter how shy you are or how much you don’t “get” English, force yourself to speak
Help out a tourist who looks lost. They won’t mind you struggling with the language while you’re doing them a favor! After class, talk to your teacher about how things are going and what you need help with in English. When traveling, ask around for directions in English, even if you don’t need them! Try purchasing things online and by phone, or using customer support in English.
It does not matter if you talk slowly, you are learning, that’s only natural!

BONUS TIP: When seeing a new movie look up the original title on IMDB.com
The translation sometimes does not correspond directly to the original. Find out what the original title really means. Ask yourself how the translation makes sense. What is the relation to the movie? You will never forget a new word that once it’s associated with an unforgettable movie. Works every time!

14/03/2016

15 interesting facts about the English language

English is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world so it is not surprising that so many people want to learn how to speak English.

In your English classes you no doubt learn interesting things but I’m sure you haven’t heard all of these facts before:lettere

1. ‘E’ is the most commonly used letter in the English language. In fact, as many as one in eight of all the letters written in English is ‘e’.

2. More English words begin with the letter ‘S’ than any other letter of the alphabet.

3. ‘I am.’ is the shortest complete sentence in the English language.
thoughtful

4. The longest English word that can be spelled without repeating any letters is ‘uncopyrightable’.

5. The following sentence contains seven different spellings of the sound “ee”: ‘He believed Caesar could see people seizing the seas’.

6. Do you know what is special about the following sentence? ‘The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog’. This type of sentence is called a ‘pangram’ as it uses every letter in the English language.

7. The longest word in English has 45 letters: ‘pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis’! It is a type of lung disease caused by inhaling ash and sand dust.

8. There is no word in the English language that rhymes with month, orange, silver or purple.
confused

9. ‘Queueing’ is the only word with five consecutive vowels (five vowels in a row). This is a great word to use when you play hangman!

10. There are nine different ways to pronounce ‘ough’ in English. This sentence contains all of them: ‘A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughtful ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough; after falling into a slough, he coughed and hiccoughed.’ You can search for these words on the Cambridge Dictionary website to listen to their pronunciation. http://dictionary.cambridge.org/
dictionary

11. Due to a printing error, there was a word in the English dictionary from 1932 to 1940 which didn’t have a meaning. The word was ‘Dord’ and it became known as ‘ghost word’.

12. ‘Pronunciation’ is the word which is most mispronounced in the English language!

13. English is the official language of the sky! It doesn’t matter which country they are from, all pilots speak in English on international flights.
tonguetwister

14.The most difficult tongue twister in the English language is “sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick”. Why not try it out on your friends and see if any of them can say it without making a mistake?

15. Approximately one new word is added to the English language every two hours and around 4,000 new words are added to the English dictionary every year.

11/03/2016

Colonel Sanders
People know him because of his iconic white suit and bow tie. Colonel Sanders was the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). Yet, the zany Sanders got off to a rocky start in life. In fact, it wasn’t until the age of 62 that he set out with a $105 social security check in hand to pitch his chicken recipe to restaurants. 1,009 folks told him he was crazy, but he didn’t give up.
Sanders worked many jobs including fireman, tire salesman, insurance salesman, and of course, a cook. He brewed up his secret chicken recipe between 1939-1940 when he figured out how to pressure fry the chicken in a faster and more consistent product all the time. He was at the age of 50 when that happened.
However, it wasn’t until 1952 that he hit the road and began trying to sell his franchise-model chicken restaurant. The first restaurant that he landed was based out of Salt Lake City, Utah, which became the first Kentucky Fried Chicken. The restaurant tripled its sales within a year where 75% of that revenue was from the colonel’s chicken.
The company grew and expanded faster than he could have ever imagined. In 1964, at the age of 74 years old, Sanders sold the company for $2 million dollars to a group of investors led by Jack C. Massey and John Y. Brown Jr. He retained the rights to the Canadian franchises and stayed on as a salaried goodwill ambassador to the company.
However, this just goes to show you that it doesn’t matter how old you are or just how much money you have to your name in order to accomplish something great.