Live and Learn English with Jean Lee

Since Trump administration launched, I have seen so many people have unfriended their friends on the social media, just because they are upset by their friends’ political dispositions or probably because they might have paralogized their friends’ characters based on differences of ideas they have. Sadly, today we are living in a world where people with different thoughts or opinions of others are something to be impugned without giving them a second chance to provide cogent explanations. If you have somewhat new or creative approach to something in this square world, you are apt to be viewed as some kind of carcinogen that should be stonewalled by majority of others who share their own same colors. It is such a painfully “black or white” type of demarcation. If they look, think, or behave differently from the way we do, they become something negative. This is a stark-naked reality especially in the field of politics. Right or left. In or out of one’s cohort . One or the other...

A lot of people stay in touch with their family and friends through social media today. Sometimes the daily communications make your days and lift you up. Some other times, poser s’ empty panache makes you feel miserable as if only your life would need to get an overhaul for some reason. Do you believe all that bravado or empty show-off out there? Are you motivated or attracted by their piquant way of livings shown through Facebook or Instagram? If you are a frequent or regular social media user, there is one more certainty in your life beyond “taxes” or “death”: occasional bouts of unwanted comparisons . Whenever the valueless moment of comparing others’ lives to yours occurs to me, I recite the following words in my mind “Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.” Yes, the grass often looks way greener on the other side, but that could be simply because the grass on the other side might be fake. What you have, who you are, and wher...

What’s the biggest obstacle in your journey of exploring English? It could be grammar, pronunciation, or huge amount of vocabulary that seems to be endless. Above all, idiomatic expressions that have hidden, figurative meanings. Without understanding the cultural background or conventional usage of idioms, one can hardly imagine what those words are supposed to mean. Using the given list of idioms and your imagination, try to choose a proper expression to fill in the blank of each sentence below.          a.        let one’s freak flag fly                       b.     go the extra mile c.     crunch time d.     dig in your heels             e.     shape up or ship out        ...

The U.S. presidential election of 2016 has shown signs of overheating all along. Among the candidates, the most controversial one in dispute, who has extinct supporters and hate groups at the same time, is Donald Trump. As well aware, Trump is new to the political arena and has been well-known as a big shot in the field of business. Contrary to popular belief or expectation, this novice politician has swept the votes in many primary elections held in major states. Although Trump has manifested his strong opposition to immigration, hatred against Latinos and Muslims, free trade, and military interventionism, he has gained considerable amount of support and eventually emerged as the front-runner for the Republican nomination. Even at a glance , one could tell he is a divider, not a “unifier” as he claims himself. Then, what on earth has made so many voters out there decide to pull for him? Politicians, historians, and polemic writers point out that American people have been way...

1.    Josh looked so pale as a __________________ when he reached the finish line of the 10 K race. 2.    Terry fell down a flight of stairs and her arm became  ________________________. 3.    Did you see the NFL game last night? My favorite quarterback ____________________ when he was hit by the other player. 4.    His grandpa looked ___________________________ at his 100 th birthday party. 5.     Nathan never got over stage fright. He always broke ___________________________ when he had to make a speech in public. 6.    Hannah, just take a deep breath and relax. You are a ________________________ each time I see you before the final exams. 7.    Martha was so happy when she received a __________________________ from her gynecologist. 8.    Thomas, you haven’t slept for three days in a row! I think you need to see a ______________...

What’s the biggest obstacle in your journey of exploring English? It could be grammar, pronunciation, or huge amount of vocabulary that seems to be endless. Above all, idiomatic expressions that have hidden, figurative meanings. Without understanding the cultural background or conventional usage of idioms, one can hardly imagine what those words are supposed to mean. Using the given list of idioms and your imagination, try to choose a proper expression to fill in the blank of each sentence below. a.    up in the air         b.  lose one’s touch       c.  ring a bell        d.  blow off steam e.    look like a million dollars      f.  find one’s feet g.  come around h.  face the music               i.  hit the book ...

It has been almost two decades since I moved here to the States. It’s not much of a stretch to say that there have been moments I got homesick and missed REAL , indigenous Korean dish. Even the Californian signature sunshine could not always fawn over aliens like us, the students from someone else’s country. My husband and I were no snowbirds who had picked the Southern California to soak up the sun away from the cold weather. We needed to buckle down as two poor students with a preschooler son. Burning the midnight oil as graduate students and trying hard to be good parents night and day have depleted our energy sometimes. The most difficult thing to face back then was how to maintain our young one’s mother tongue in the country where English is spoken as the major medium of communication. Along with coping with our little son’s separation anxiety as he started to attend a preschool, we had to decide whether to teach him how to speak, read, and write in Korean language just as...