Category: Fluency

V as in vocabulary!

Building a strong vocabulary is fundamental. And it gives you a competitive edge.

In both your native language and in a foreign language. I can help you do this. Life is so much nicer, so much … healthier, too with a good, solid active vocabulary at your  service!

Why is this what you need to do now? Because, if you feel frustrated or inhibited when you need to speak, it’s likely that you’re … at a lack of words to say what you want to express!

You need a daily dose of Vitamine V In order to

• understand spoken English immediately
• read the written word quickly
• speak – dialogue – share comfortably
• write clearly

Q: How can I build my vocabulary?

A. If you’re interested in building your vocabulary … subscribe to the Paris Savannah Connection.

And then there’s Vitamine L:

as in Love to Listen …

We’re so incredibly fortunate to have inherited constitutions which guarantee Free Speech. And broadband access to the Internet has given us access to sources and media hitherto relatively unavailable.

Listen not only to the media you’re used to …. but why not the BBC, too … or the Financial Times ? There are interviews and documentaries, often short and sweet – here …. Listen … Whether you’re interested in business, technology, environment, science, the arts or real estate or fashion or sports  … You’ll learn to love to listen!

If you love to listen … subscribe to the Paris Savannah Connection.

Vitamine W:

W as in Word? As is What? Why? Where? Who? When?

Why not?

But what about … writing?  Now that we’re all online … we spend so much time … writing! Keep it up. Think about writing. Develop your own style.

Write! … Even a comment on this blog!

Need some help … some guidelines for good writing?

If you’re interested in writing … subscribe to the Paris Savannah Connection.

not to mention Vitamine P for … Participation.

This is like Vitamine EE (Expression Experience). You’ve got to speak .. You’ve got to Dialogue. The best way to advance .. to get better .. to improve … is to Participate. Not only do we learn from others … we learn from our experience. From doing it.

Speak and Talk and Say and Tell  — Ask  and Answer – Participate and you’ll be a happier person!

And you’d be amazed at what you have to say!

If you’re interested in participating … subscribe to the Paris Savannah Connection.

Vitamines V – L – W – R and P : Does your daily diet include the recommended daily doses or do you absolutely have to …

subscribe to the Paris Savannah Connection. ? …… Yes, I think I’m suffereing from a vitamin deficiency..

 

Related Images:

three words with the same pronunciation … so if you can pronounce one … you can pronounce all 3, can’t you?

Related Images:

Rules … what to do and what not to do. There’s a time for everything. That comes from King Solomon. There’s a time for peace. There’s a time for war. There’s a time to rejoice. There’s a time to cry. There’s a time to love and a time to refrain from loving. There’s … well, you can open the Book of Ecclesaistes, too!

In this morning’s New York Times, our friend Thomas Friedman reminds us of another rule. He wrote:

I’m no expert on American politics, but I do know something about holes. ((And watching the way the Republican Party is reacting to the passage of health care,))  it seems to me the G.O.P. is violating the first rule of holes: “When you’re in one, stop digging.”

Good style! Smart man.

PS.  Shhh…. The past of the verb ‘to dig’ is … “dug“

(not to be confused with the Texan pronunciation of man’s best friend: the dog)

By the way, if you’re interested in keeping up-to-date, just subscribe to the Paris Savannah Connection!

Related Images:

Doing things in the right order – first things first; last things last … is certainly a key to avoiding problems.

There’s an old, pre-automobile proverb telling us this – but it still works pretty well:

Don’t put the cart in front of the horse.

First things first.

[audio:http://test.paris-savannah.com/wp-content/uploads/ex17084d1.mp3|titles=first things first]

If you’re interested in sayings and proverbs … subscribe to my newsletter!

Related Images:

This document allowed me to enumerate, elaborate and visualize how the (my) brain sees this idea. What I associate with the idea of achievement. As you’ll see there are two poles: success and failure, one positive and one negative.

achievement

1. success
2. to succeed
3. to win
4. antonym= to lose/lost

1. won
2. victory
   1. antonyms:  defeat  to give up – to surrender – to abandon

1. successful
2. profitable
3. satisfaction 
   1. antonyms  – failure – to fail
   2. unsuccessful
   3. unprofitable
   4. dissatisfaction/ insatisfaction

III.      to achieve

1. to attain

complete

1. finished

antonyms: incomplete

1. unfinished

achievement

fulfillment

triumph

It may well be that different cultures, different backgrounds see this differently. To each his own!

Related Images:

What goes up … must come down.

So observed Issac Newton when he threw an apple into the air. Gravity.

And the saying persists: “What goes up must come down.”

[audio:http://test.paris-savannah.com/wp-content/uploads/ex18057e1.mp3|titles=what goes up must come down]

Our world has its rules, its laws. Even if we do succeed in defying gravity … at least for a while!

Related Images:

When you’ve got a question, you need an … answer.

Related Images:

“One good turn deserves another” or Good Karma ! That’s what this is all about.

When someone returns a favor (en français, un service … par amitié, par exemple), this expression applies. Suppose that, for example,  once upon a time, you gave some of your children’s childhood books or toys to someone with small children … with no expectation whatsoever of any compensation … and then later on, he returns the favor … by helping you … or even tutoring your children in his specialty …. Why, I’d say … “One good turn deserves another” and deeper friendship is the real, positive result!

Related Images:

Who moved my cheese?

is all about handling change.

(I may be able to help you with this … 🙂

Related Images:

Whether you are a believer or not, one of the proverbs which encourages you to act is this one:

“God helps those who help themselves”

“Aide-toi et le Ciel t’aidera.”

What could this mean … ? Here’s a pretty recent example … But you must have stories of your own.

In wanting to get American health care legislation passed, Nancy Pelosi said “We will go through the gate. If the gate is closed, we will go over the fence. If the fence is too high, we will pole vault it. If that doesn’t work, we will parachute in. But we are going to get health care reform passed.” Jan. 28, 2010.

Have a listen to Pete Seeger’s 1963 Carnegie Hall Concert recording of  “We Shall Overcome” or the more recent one !

One very American saying is: If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

Related Images: