Just For Kicks: The Language Lovers Corner - By Oriel Villagarcía
 

THE LANGUAGE LOVERS’ CORNER 39: JUST FOR KICKS
Notes for language teachers and advanced students of the English language
by Oriel E. Villagarcia at newtoolsforteachers@yahoo.com.ar

 

I. FURTHER MEANINGS OF FAMILIAR WORDS

Today’s word is CROWD.

Here are some uses of this word that your students may not be familiar with:

  1. Lots of books crowded the tables, chairs and sofas in my living room.
  2. Some teachers think that there are too many textbooks crowding the publishing market.
  3. You shouldn’t crowd too many people in a small space as it may be dangerous if they are going to stay there for a long time.
  4. We crowded onto a bus and braced ourselves for an uncomfortable journey.
  5. Please move back. Don’t you realize that you’re crowding her (standing far too near somebody)? [Am. Engl.]
  6. He broke up with her when he felt she was crowding him (not giving him psychological space, being on top of him, not respecting his privacy, etc.)
  7. If someone says that he prefers to be one of the crowd, he is saying that he is not interested in being noticed or drawing other people’s attention towards him.
  8. There is a saying which goes, To get nowhere just follow the crowd.
  9. His parents are worried that he may hang out with a bad crowd ( group of people).
  10. If you’re short of money near the end of the month, join the crowd (you’re not the only one as many other people are in the same situation).
  11. I don’t know how I’ll manage tomorrow. I have a very crowded schedule (too many things to do).
  12. A crowd pleaser is a performer, or a politician who always pleases his audience.
  13. A crowd puller is somebody or something that draws the attention of a large number of people.

 

II. OVER TO YOU: PHRASALS WITH CROWD
Supply the missing particle in the sentences below.

1. Supermarkets are crowding …… small grocery stores these days.
      2. I don’t think we can crowd any more people …. This auditorium has limited
          seating capacity.
      3. When the elevator doors opened, a lot of people crowded ……
      4. She complained that she could not get any sleep at night as unpleasant
    memories kept crowding …….  her mind.
      5. Teenage girls were crowding ………. the singer to get his autograph

 

       6. He started getting scared when nasty looking people began crowding ….
    …….. him. (two particles)

      Find the answers at the end of this article.

III. DECIDE WHETHER TRUE OR FALSE (except number 4)

       1. A milling crowd is one that starts getting smaller and smaller.
       2. A bumper crowd is made up of angry, noisy people.
       3. A jostling crowd is most likely one made up of a large number of people
           moving in a disorganized, rather confusing way.
       4. Which of the following is a crowd unlikely to do: erupt, disperse, thin out,
            dissolve.
       5. A mob is a crowd which is angry, usually violent and difficult to control.
      
       Answers at the bottom.

IV. SUPPLY THE MISSING WORDS
The first letter(s) is(are) given to jog your memory.

       1. Lay o….. Stop bothering me!
       2. He glared at her, got up and st…… out of the room.
       3. The car screeched to a h……..i.e. it made a loud noise when it stopped.
       4. A fl……… excuse is unlikely to be believed. // The evidence against him was
           fl………, so the police decided not to press charges.
       5. He has a fl………. for languages, i.e. a special/an innate/natural ability to
           use/learn them.
       6. He was adamant and wouldn’t b……. an inch no matter how hard we tried
           to persuade him.
       7. She was very sad, had a l……..in her throat and was about to cry.

       Answers at the bottom.

V. A FAMILY OF CRUs

The following words begin with the sequence c r u.Study the clues and write down the words in full.
Example: …….. important, decisive
Answer: crucial

1. ……….a difficult test or challenge (used in formal and literary language)
2. ……….pieces of raw vegetables eaten before a meal
3. ……….of inferior quality, not pleasant, lousy, as in ______weather, job, or
                 feeling ______ (informal language)
4. ……… making a sharp sound when you bite it, ____cereal, vegetables,  ice
                 cream cones, etc.
5. ……….you have a ____on somebody when you feel romantically attached to that
                 person, usually for a short period of time.

6. ……… someone who is _______is bad tempered.  A ____old man (inf. lang.)
7. ……… the most important part of a problem. The _____ of the matter is
                 people’s refusal to change their points of view.

 

ANSWERS TO THE EXERCISES

OVER TO YOU     

1. crowding out, i.e. displace, replace, force/push out
2. crowd in, i.e. make room for, accommodate people when there is not enough
    room.
3. crowded in, a large number of people moved in (even if they know they might
    feel uncomfortable)
4. crowded into her mind, i.e. lots of thoughts came to her mind.
5. crowded around him, they got very close to him and surrounded him
6. crowded in on him, i.e. moved close to him in a way that was menacing

DECIDE WHETHER TRUE OR FALSE

1. False. A milling crowd refers to a large number of people who are walking
    around without any particular purpose.
2. False.  A bumper crowd is a large crowd.
3. Right. A jostling crowd makes reference to lots of people very likely pushing
    one another (jostle) in order to get somewhere.
4. A crowd does not dissolve. It disperses. All of the other words are all right.
5. True.

SUPPLY THE MISSING WORDS

1. Lay off (leave me alone, stop what you are doing, cut it out)
2. …and stalked or stormed or stomped
3. The car screeched to a halt.
4. a flimsy excuse, weak, lacking credibility, not strong enough.
5. flair
6. budge
7. lump

A FAMILY OF CRUs

1. crucible                  2. crudités                  3. crummy     4. crunchy
5. crush                      6. crusty                     7. crux
 

TOOLS FOR TEACHER ANNOUNCES 
a panel discussion on
BRITISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISH
with
Alastair Grant (U.K.), Seth Sokol (USA) and
Jorge Ghenadenik (Argentina), Oriel Villagarcia (Argentina)

Saturday, 10 November, 10:30 to 13:00

 

  • at SBS Palermo, Coronel Diaz 1747, CABA
  • fee: $120
  • timetable: as stated above
  • registration: full details below

BRITISH AN AMERICAN ENGLISH: some lexical differences
George Bernard Shaw is supposed to have said that England and America were two countries divided by a common language. Indeed, there are differences in pronunciation, grammar, spelling and vocabulary. In this panel discussion, we will be focusing on the differences of a number of words as they are used in both varieties of English. Here is a small sample of the lexical (vocabulary) items we will be dealing with:

1. Is a sprog the same as a hob?
2. If you snuffed it, would your friends be happy?
3. When would you scarper?
4. What is the American English equivalent of getting your knickers in a twist?
5. Why might the phrasal verb knock up be a source of misunderstanding between
    an Englishman and an American?

 Members of the panel will be:

Jorge Ghenadenik, M.A. in linguistics, Ball State University, Indiana, USA. Doctoral course (abd), University of Pennsylvania. Tenured teacher of language and linguistics, ISP “Dr Joaquin V. González”

Alastair Grant, B.A. honours degree in English literature and philosophy, University of Warwick, U.K. Director of Studies and Teacher Development Manager, International House, San Isidro. His special interests are process writing, the development of listening skills and discourse analysis.

Seth Sokol, a graduate from Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA, with a degree in civil and environmental engineering. After obtaining his certification in Teaching English to speakers of other languages (CELTA), he joined the IH San Isidro staff where he specializes in training students for the IELTS exam.

Oriel Villagarcia, M.A. University of Lancaster, graduate studies, University of Texas, at present giving workshops on methods and advanced language through his own institution, Tools for Teachers. 

REGISTRATIONS
Reserve a seat by emailing newtoolsforteachers@yahoo.com.ar with your full name, address and phone numbers, and indicate the name of the workshop you are
registering for. You will then receive an acknowledgment of receipt which will enable you to pay the fee right before the workshop starts.

  • Certificates of attendance will be issued

 

  • Limited vacancies

 

TOOLS FOR TEACHERS wishes to express its gratitude towards ENGLISH AND
FUN for the support received since THE LANGUAGE LOVERS’ CORNER came into being in March 2008. The PANEL DISCUSSION as announced above is meant to celebrate the publication of THE LANGUAGE LOVERS’ CORNER, Issue Number 40 in November this year. Thank you, ENGLISH AND FUN!!!

THE LANGUAGE LOVERS’ CORNER is written by Oriel E. Villagarcía, who holds an M.A. in Linguistics for English Language Teaching from the University of Lancaster, did graduate work at the University of Texas and was on the Advisory Panel for the MACMILLAN ENGLISH DICTIONARY (MED), First Edition. He is a former British Council and Fulbright Scholar. Apart from his interest in language and language teaching, for the past ten years he has been studying body-mind therapies and energy work. From time to time he offers introductory workshops on visualization, bodywork and the perception and use of healing energy to improve your quality of living. He is available for workshops throughout the country or abroad. Write to newtoolsforteachers@yahoo.com.ar