Live and Learn English with Jean Lee

LIVE, LEARN, & LOVE Do you take delight in watching films, listening to pop music, or reading books? For English learners, movies, songs, and books are one of the most wonderful sources to explore the language! You can indulge in your favorite pastime and still learn some expressions, words of wisdom, and oftentimes good lessons while you’re at it.   #47. The Seed of the Sacred Fig (film, 2024) By incorporating real footage from the 2022–2023 Iranian protests (sparked by Mahsa Amini’s death and violently suppressed by the state), director Mohammad Rasoulof blurs the line between fiction and reality, reinforcing its sense of urgency and political immediacy. He weaves real-life protest footage and scenes of police violence into the film, giving it a striking documentary immediacy. The movie follows Iman, a newly promoted investigative judge. He grows increasingly paranoid amid the unrest in Tehran. When his gun goes missing, he turns his suspicion toward his own family,...

  Who are the “native speakers” of English? Jean J. Lee   As Kachru et al. (cited in McKay & Hornberger, 1996) put it, “native speakers” can be defined as people who acquired a language as their first language from birth in a natural setting. Then who would be classified as the native speaker of English? For may years in the past, although people have broadened the associations of people and places with English (i.e., the Britain, Canada, the U.S., and Australia), they still believed that native English speakers are Anglo-Saxon, which refers to white Americans. However, since several decades ago, this type of simple distinction between native vs. non-native speakers of English has been seriously doubted. In other words, this type of association of language and its native speakers was not sufficient to explain the wide range and depth in language varieties (i.e., world Englishes). Therefore, the first step to take in viewing English as a world language would be to get...

LIVE, LEARN, & LOVE Do you take delight in watching films, listening to pop music, or reading books? For English learners, movies, songs, and books are one of the most wonderful sources to explore the language! You can indulge in your favorite pastime and still learn some expressions, words of wisdom, and oftentimes good lessons while you’re at it.   #46. The Cat and the Moon (Zen tales by Kai Tsukimi, 2025) This is a compilation of Zen stories that guide you to peaceful temples, tranquil gardens, and quiet moments of reflection, accompanied by an enigmatic cat. Each story encourages you to pause, release overthinking, and notice subtle awakenings—known as “Satori ( 悟り ) ”— woven into everyday life. With soft humor, evocative beauty, and understated wisdom, the stories avoid lengthy explanations, instead allowing you to experience their meaning on your own.   (excerpted from “The Cat who Sat in a Circle”) The children were playing in the temple courtyard, dra...

  20 Incredible Animal Adjectives to Go Wild For!! Are you a pet keeper? Then, I bet you are an animal lover. Today, let us test how many animal adjectives we are familiar with! Here are some examples: -      vulpine : meaning literally “ fox-like” or figuratively “sly/clever/resourceful” -      anserine :   meaning literally “resembling a goose”/ “goose-like” or figuratively somebody acting like a “silly goose” / foolish/ stupid/ silly   Are you ready to explore the world of animal vocabulary?     1.    Be careful because they sting!:   v______ine   2.    Bald is one variety: a____iline   3.    The king of the jungle: l_____nine         4.    Smokey, Grizzly, Polar, or Winnie the Pooh: u_____ne   5.    When something slithers past, making hissing noise: s______tine   6.    family of bir...

LIVE, LEARN, & LOVE Do you take delight in watching films, listening to pop music, or reading books? For English learners, movies, songs, and books are one of the most wonderful sources to explore the language! You can indulge in your favorite pastime and still learn some expressions, words of wisdom, and oftentimes good lessons while you’re at it.   #45. Detachment (film, 2011) This is a story of a substitute teacher named Henry Barthes (played by Adrien Brody) who avoids forming emotional ties and never remains in one school long enough to connect with students or staff. Struggling with his own inner turmoil caused by his traumatic childhood, he arrives at a public school where indifferent students and uninvolved parents have led to a weary, cynical, and discouraged faculty. Unexpectedly, Henry Barthes emerges as a source of guidance for his disengaged students and forms a connection with a teenage runaway who shares his sense of confusion and isolation.  ...

Spring Rain by Jean J. Lee   It’s been raining for days, Clearing all the haze. Preparing the dormant grass braird. My unkempt lawn doesn’t look impaired.   Are swallows hiding in the tree maze? But they are not the ones to faze. They are quietly practicing to be heard. Looking up at the sky but not at all glared.   The first chirpy song arrives at my doorways. Sweet tunes to my ears like a message it relays. April rains bring May flowers truly cared. Time to stretch and make your passions flared.