 Welcome to ESL Progress
Dear EnglishClub.com Member!
Welcome to this edition of ESL Progress! In this issue you can learn about idioms, get free information about schools in the USA, and take part in our Talking Point Discussion on insurance. Test yourself too with Quick Quiz. As always there is the latest news; and lesson plan, jobs and business opportunities for teachers and schools.
Happy Progress!
Josef Essberger, Founder
EnglishClub.com
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NEWS FOR ESL LEARNERS  Featured ESL Blogs
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This Month's Lesson  English Idioms
What is an Idiom?
There are two features that identify an idiom: firstly, we cannot deduce the meaning of the idiom from the individual words; and secondly, both the grammar and the vocabulary of the idiom are fixed, and if we change them we lose the meaning of the idiom. Thus the idiom "pull your socks up" means "improve the way you are behaving" (or it can have a literal meaning); if we change it grammatically to "pull your sock up" or we change its vocabulary to "pull your stockings up", then we must interpret the phrase literally - it has lost its idiomatic meaning.
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Latest Talking Point  Insuring Body Parts
How and why
When taking out insurance on our homes, cars, etc. many of us might consider taking out insurance on our lives too. But for many of the world's celebrities it seems that this is not enough: they like to insure their famous 'parts' as well. Over the years, celebrities have insured various body parts, and indeed, functions of their bodies, to protect their careers. Dancers insure their legs, singers insure their voices, and so on.
To do this they usually to go to the world's biggest insurance market - Lloyd's of London - which has been insuring people all over the world since the seventeenth century. There people can insure themselves against anything from natural disasters to abduction by Martians!
Who and what
There have been several well-known cases of celebrities insuring parts of their bodies over the years. It all seems to have started in the 1920s with an actor called Ben Turpin who insured his famously crossed eyes, upon which he based his career as an actor in silent movies. In 1940 Betty Grable (a famous actress, singer and dancer) became the first woman to have her legs insured for a million dollars. Since then several actresses and singers have taken her lead: Angie Dickinson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Brooke Shields and Tina Turner reportedly among them. But the trend is not confined to women - Michael Flatley, a dancer, Fred Astaire, a dancer, singer and actor, and David Beckham, a soccer player, have all had their legs insured for enormous sums.
However, it is not only legs that get insured. Celebrities in other professions insure against losing their livelihoods too. Musicians have insured fingers or whole hands. Pianists such as Liberace and Richard Clayderman have both insured their hands, as has Keith Richards, a guitarist for the Rolling Stones. Singers Rod Stewart and Bruce Springsteen both have their voices insured for millions.
The more unusual insurance policies taken out must include Bette Davis' policy against putting on weight and Tom Jones' policy to cover, not his famed singing voice, but his chest hair!
Even sexual attributes can be insured. Famous singer Dolly Parton has reputedly insured her generous breasts, and she is not alone in doing so. Topless dancers and porn stars are also keen to insure their 'attributes'.
--Each month we have a new Talking Point and invite your views and opinions. Just follow the link below to say what you think.This month's Talking Point is:"Generally speaking, insurance is a waste of money"Say what YOU think... |
Quick Quiz 
If you put your foot on the brake, a car will
a) break down
b) slow down
c) run down
See end of newsletter for answer
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This Month's Lesson Plan  Talking Point: Insurance(NB: this is not a "Business English" lesson though it can be easily integrated into one.) An unusual topic for a general English lesson, you might think, but surprisingly stimulating nevertheless - try it! Vocabulary is explored and practised through a gap-fill exercise based around topic-based words and phrases. Conversation practice is provided through a series of discussion questions designed for the layman and based around the topic. For example: "How many insurance policies do you and your family have? What have you insured?"Download lesson plan...Each Talking Point worksheet is available for download as a PDF file that you can view in the free Adobe Acrobat Reader. Each worksheet can be easily printed and is freely photocopiable. |
Latest ESL Jobs 
Find the latest job offers for English teachers posted by schools around the world.Also in the Job Centre:- Subscribe to JobAlert FREE
- Resumes bank where you can post your resume
- Schools can post ESL vacancies
- ESL Jobs FAQ
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- Resume Tips for ESL Jobs
- Top 10 Interview Questions for Teachers to Ask
- Transferable Skills for ESL Teachers
- The Functional Resume
- Now What? Climbing the ESL Ladder
- Don't Forget Your Toothbrush
- ESL Job Satisfaction
- What Kind of Teacher Are You?
- 7 ESL Job Interview Tips
- Finding the Perfect ESL Job
ESL Jobs Centre... |
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Answer to Quick Quiz
b) slow down
This is a level 3 question and answer from Word Up, the ESL board game that's fun to play at home or at school.
Learn more about Word Up here
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