Live and Learn English with Jean Lee

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.      mind one’s p’s and q’s b.      in the gutter c.      have a familiar ring d.      monkey business e.      Easy does it f.       know something inside out g.      final fling h.      give someone tit for tat i.     ...

What makes people recalcitrant enough to stand up to the power or superior authority? Is it their intransigent characteristic in personality they were born with? Is it their amaranthine determination and bravery to go against people who deny others justice ? Well, quite often times, it is “money” that that makes people confident and square no matter what others tell them to do. To wit , as long as one has enough money to carry on his/her life with, they don’t need to be reluctantly amenable to others.  However, it could be quite the opposite. If they are deprived of money, they are apt to get spiteful in the state of insufficiency and seek after money that seems to miche all the time.  Yes, “ pecuniary matter ” is such a necessary evil that could make us happy or miserable and end up showing turpitude that often goes with money.   Today, let me give you a variety of English names for money . buck : derived from “buckskin” (=deer skin or sheep skin) back...

As stated by Gal (1988, as cited in Wardaugh, 2002), code-switching is used as a very useful conversational skill through which people can build, break, or make changes on their relationships with one another on the basis of their rights, obligations, or purposes. Since bilingualism or multilingualism prevails throughout the world, code-switching is viewed as a natural phenomenon which has attracted a great deal of research attention. According to Blom and Gumperz’ study (1972, as cited in Sridhar, 2002), there are two different kinds of code-switching: One is called a situational code-switching which occurs with the change of situation without altering the topic, and the other is a metaphorical code-switching which takes place for signaling a quotation, giving a laughing marks in a joke, or putting emphasis on a particular point in lectures of conversations. In this respect, code-switching happens in a fairly systematic and functionally motivated way but quite subconsciously, no...

Are you a firm believer of “ living to the fullest of your potential “ reassured by Joel Osteen? Otherwise, you might be a constant grumbler who is sold on the idea of the adage of Murphy’s law that goes “anything that can go wrong, will go wrong!”   No matter how we define or look at “the journey called life we are going through” (as the pop icon Prince had put it), there is no way we can avoid all different kinds of life’s challenges and obstacles. Yes, life can be filled with a fusillade of curveballs and grueling upslopes to overcome. Quite often times, crocodilian niceties given to us by two-faced fellas leave mortal wounds in life. Some other times, promises would turn into an empty talk or an illusion of a lotus-eater . The harsh reality that life is filled with a lot of curveballs can make us bitterly listless or hopeless. I know some of you out there are in the middlescence , going through so called ‘midlife crisis’ when nothing in the world quite makes you ...

My beautiful friend Roxy used to be a gym rat that always puts the morning workout on top of her daily priority list back in California. She believed in the sublime beauty of toned arms and abs, flaunting strong Beyoncé-like hamstrings as well. In her viewpoints, “ embonpoint ” body means giving up on life, sloth, and subversion of beauty just like a flivver in life. Her skimpy-but-riveting workout clothes had turned every guy’s head in the gym, which had made her feel so proud and all smiles. All the praise and admiration towards her body that seems like the one from the “Sports Illustrated” magazine had made her happy throughout grueling sessions of weight lifting and over-the-hour nonstop running on the treadmill every day.  One day, she pointed to a woman at the gym who was rail thin just like a walking stick figure. Roxy said “you know what, Jean, she must be anorexic. Other than that, she can’t look that way.” I asked how she was so certain of that, and she went on ...

It is a known fact that health matters the most in our lives. When you feel ill or under the weather while traveling (or living) in a country where English is spoken as their mother language, you might feel frustrated or panicky with your lack of English expressions. Here’s a list of how you would express your feelings or physical symptoms in English. Hope that helps! Head 두통 ( 깨질듯한 두통 ) 이 있다 : I have a (splitting) headache. 편두통이 있다 : I have a migraine. 머리가 계속 욱신욱신 쑤시고 아프다 : My head won’t stop pounding. 머리가 어질어질하다 ( 현기증 ): I feel lightheaded/ I feel dizzy/ woozy. Allergies/ Flu Symptoms(for nose/ear and more) 열이 높다 : I have a high fever./ I’m running a fever (of 103 degrees). ( 꽃가루 등으로 인해 ) 알러지 증세가 있다 .: I have hay fever./ I have sinus symptoms. 콧물이 난다 : I have a runny nose. 코가 막힌다 .: I have a stuffy nose. 목이 아프다 ( 인후염 ): I have a sore throat./ I guess my tonsils are swollen./ I have a strep throat (which is caused by bacteria called st...

People walking on the red carpet are aliens from another planets? They are also humans, but lay people like us view them as mysterious and unfathomable existence in our dreams. It is probably because they are the ones who make dreams on the huge screen. This week, we are going to go over film-making terminology. (source from https://www.videomaker.com/article/c18/15653-the-language-of-making-movies ) Action Just about everybody knows what this one means. This is what the director yells out after the set is quieted and the events of the shot need to take place. It signals the talent to start acting and for everyone else on the set to be completely quiet except those doing roles that support the actor’s performance. Best Boy The best boy is usually the gaffer’s main assistant, in charge of scheduling the crew and equipment needed for each day’s work. Gender and age don’t make any difference here - it’s a title from the old days that has stuck. Call time Call time s...