Always remember that it is normal to not understand everything. DO NOT get frustrated! We recommend you listen for key words that give you a general idea of what the audio is saying. Often speakers will use key phrases like “the main point is…”, so make sure you look for them. Always pay close attention to the speaker; body language and facial expression can communicate a lot and will make it easier for you to grasp meaning.

An easy way to begin is by watching commercials. These are short and may include a lot of slang and idioms that will enrich the way you speak. While watching, think of the message the images and the audio are trying to convey. Here are some funny ones.

We all love music/movies/books and have a favorite artist/singer/writer/actor. Go to YouTube.com and find short interviews where your favorite artist appears. This will be very helpful because they all have different accents and you will be exposed to different ways of speaking the same language.

You already know that watching your favorite TV show in English is a great way to practice, but we think you can do something a little more challenging. Next time try to watch lectures or classes on topics you are interested in. Universities like Harvard and Stanford offer really cool courses that you can watch for free on iTunes U. With this, you will not only improve your English, but learn about many interesting things.

Whatever you do, don’t get discouraged if you don’t understand. Keep practicing and you will progressively get better and better.

Mariana Aguilar Ramírez
Mariana is a Pedagogy and Research summer associate at Voxy completing her Master’s degree in Learning, Media and Technology at UMass Amherst with a Fulbright- García Robles grant. She is passionate about instructional design, educational technology and has been teaching ESL in Mexico for many years. She has studied foreign languages all her life and is now tackling German. She loves to travel and spends a lot of time in the kitchen perfecting her ice-cream making skills.

In general, English words that come from German tend to be basic, everyday words that people say and hear very regularly. On the other hand, it tends to be the case that English words of Latin descent are perceived as more sophisticated, or having a more complex meaning. The following pairs of words have very similar meanings, but follow this pattern. As you can see, this distinction can apply to nouns, adjectives, and verbs alike in English.

German: hard
Latin: difficult

G: smart
L: intelligent

G: understand
L: comprehend

G: teenager
L: adolescent

G: cat
L: feline

G: ask
L: inquire

G: before
L: prior

G: begin
L: commence

G: belly
L: abdomen

G: tongue
L: language

Maya Barzilai
Maya is a Pedagogy and Research summer associate at Voxy. She recently graduated from Middlebury College with a degree in Linguistics and Arabic. She loves not only learning foreign languages, but also learning all about the different languages of the world and what they have in common. Maya is passionate about sharing her love for languages with others and watching as more and more people become empowered by the knowledge of another language.

These tricky little things are a great and fun way to practice the English you have learned with Voxy and to improve your pronunciation. Don’t worry if you don’t understand what the words mean, focus on they way you are saying them. Tongue twisters can be very difficult and almost everyone makes mistakes saying them, so it’s ok if you can’t do it the first time. Keep trying until you get it!

To master a tongue twister, you need to begin slowly. Say the words one by one and try to pronounce them as clearly as possible. Once you feel comfortable with the sounds you are producing, try to say the sentence a little bit faster. And then faster, faster, faster! Remember that you have to say the tongue twister many times!

Let’s begin with some easy ones

• I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream. (Check your pronunciation here.)
• Knife and a fork, bottle and a cork, that is the way you spell New York. (Check your pronunciation here.)
• Four furious friends fought for the phone. (Check your pronunciation here.)

These are a little bit harder, give them a try!

• Can you can a can as a canner can can a can? (Check your pronunciation here.)
• Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear, Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair, Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn’t very fuzzy, was he? (Check your pronunciation here.)
• If two witches would watch two watches, which witch would watch which watch? (Check your pronunciation here.)

Alright, these are a even harder. You can do it!

• When a doctor doctors a doctor, does the doctor doing the doctoring doctor as the doctor being doctored wants to be doctored or does the doctor doing the doctoring doctor as he wants to doctor? (Check your pronunciation here.)
• I wish to wish the wish you wish to wish, but if you wish the wish the witch wishes, I won’t wish the wish you wish to wish. (Check your pronunciation here.)

Now that you are a tongue twister expert, try the hardest one in the English language:

• The sixth sick sheikh’s sixth sheep’s sick.

Tricky, right?  Even English native speakers have a hard time, so don’t be discouraged! If you don’t believe us, check out this video!

All audio clips: Download-ESL

Mariana Aguilar Ramírez
Mariana is a Pedagogy and Research summer associate at Voxy completing her Master’s degree in Learning, Media and Technology at UMass Amherst with a Fulbright- García Robles grant. She is passionate about instructional design, educational technology and has been teaching ESL in Mexico for many years. She has studied foreign languages all her life and is now tackling German. She loves to travel and spends a lot of time in the kitchen perfecting her ice-cream making skills.

The term comes all the way from biblical times. According to the story, there were two tribes, the Gileadites and the Ephraimites, who spoke two different dialects. The Gileadite word “shibboleth” was almost impossible for the Ephraimites to pronounce, because the Ephraimite dialect did not have the “sh” sound — just the “s.” So, when the war broke out between the two tribes and the Gileadites wanted to kill all of the Ephraimites, they used this word as a tool. Gileadites would ask people to pronounce the word “shibboleth,” and based on a person’s pronunciation, they’d know whether he or she was an enemy. If the person pronounced the “sh” sound, they were a Gileadite and therefore they were safe. On the other hand, if the person could only make the “s” sound, the Gileadites knew they were in the presence of an Ephraimite and they would kill him or her.

Though the origins of this word are pretty violent, the term can still be relevant today. As a learner of English, are there shibboleths that you feel you can’t pronounce properly? Do you think people know that you’re not a native speaker because of the way you say certain words? Share your thoughts and stories in the comments!

Maya Barzilai
Maya is a Pedagogy and Research summer associate at Voxy. She recently graduated from Middlebury College with a degree in Linguistics and Arabic. She loves not only learning foreign languages, but also learning all about the different languages of the world and what they have in common. Maya is passionate about sharing her love for languages with others and watching as more and more people become empowered by the knowledge of another language.

Alright, lets begin with “dog-eat-dog”. This expression refers to a place or situation that is highly competitive. In a dog-eat-dog world, people will do whatever it takes to be successful, even if that means harming others. Here’s an example: “The music industry is dog-eat-dog; one day you’re on top and the next, everyone forgot you!”

What about “cat got your tongue?” This question is used when someone is at a loss of words or being unusually quiet. If someone asks you if the cat has got your tongue, it means you seem to be speechless and can’t think of something to say. “What’s the matter Lucy, cat got your tongue?”

To “weasel out” of something can mean two things: 1. that you are trying to avoid an obligation, duty or  job like in “I weaseled out of helping my mom with the laundry!”.  2. That you are literally squeezing your way out of something as in “my little sister got stuck under the bed but she weaseled her way out.”

And the last one for today, “let the cat out of the bag”. You do this when you accidentally reveal information you weren’t supposed to, like sharing a secret. “Tim let the cat out of the bag about my surprise birthday party”.

Can you think of other idioms with animals and their uses? Share more examples with us!! Don’t be shy, or cat got your tongue?

Mariana Aguilar Ramírez
Mariana is a Pedagogy and Research summer associate at Voxy completing her Master’s degree in Learning, Media and Technology at UMass Amherst with a Fulbright- García Robles grant. She is passionate about instructional design, educational technology and has been teaching ESL in Mexico for many years. She has studied foreign languages all her life and is now tackling German. She loves to travel and spends a lot of time in the kitchen perfecting her ice-cream making skills.

The changes in the new product do not just relate to the user’s experience and the sleek, sophisticated new design. While a beautiful aesthetic and convenience of use are enticing and can separate a product from its competition, they are meaningless if the product does not actually do what it’s supposed to. Therefore, a high priority was also placed on enhancing the efficacy of the product. In other words, Voxy users should be able to see progress in their English knowledge, skills, and abilities with continued use of the product. Additionally, they should feel confident that the vocabulary and resources that are matched to them are appropriate for their level.

To address these needs, the new Voxy product offers lessons that are aligned to seven different skill levels, including Beginner and High Beginner as well as Low Advanced and Advanced, which were created based on established pedagogical criteria. And coming soon is an enhanced proficiency assessment for effectively evaluating one’s baseline level and subsequent advancement through the levels. The new diagnostic tool, combined with a new sophisticated and patented adaptive learning technology, results in a dynamic feedback loop which results in lessons and courses that calibrate to the learner. These improvements are fundamental to what makes Voxy unique as lessons become even more personalized.

However, as great as the technology and design are, they cannot on their own keep learners engaged. What keeps learners interested and motivated, as you may have experienced if you have ever tried learning another language (or learning anything else, really), is content that is relevant and personally meaningful. With that in mind, Voxy significantly expanded the breadth of content sources and types available to the learner, and if one fancies sports or entertainment, technology or business, this is the subject matter that will be delivered. Now lessons are created using 11 different sources, including the Associated Press, Bloomberg, Mental Floss and various blogs. Additionally, Voxy has expanded content types to go beyond breaking news stories and now include grammar lessons, conversations, how-tos, and images among others. Now you can learn from a real-world photo by tagging it in different places and becoming familiar with the words that comprise the photo. All of this serves to ensure that engagement with the product becomes second-nature and truly integrated into one’s life.

Successful and effective learning is further encouraged with newly established goal tracks which result in yet another layer of personalization. Learners can choose a goal track that is most closely aligned with their individual language learning objective, which may very well be different than the next user’s objective. For example, they can choose to “Master Technology” or “Acclimate to the US” or “Prep for TOEFL.” And now they can receive awards for completion of goals and benefit from a sense of accomplishment and positive reinforcement.

Finally, the most recent upgrade that Voxy users will enjoy is a new and improved live-tutoring platform that leverages Google Hangouts and is integrated with the core product. Users who have purchased tutoring credits will no longer need to leave the site and open a separate Skype session. Instead, they can book their sessions and choose their tutors directly through the application and booking platform. With the recently announced Google+ integration, anyone with a Google account can seamlessly log in with one click, share their lesson results with people in their Google+ network, and even challenge others to get higher scores.

Now, more than ever, learning English with Voxy is all about “your life, in English.”

Aimee Styler
Special Projects Manager

If you can think of more pairs like this, please post them in comments. Also, feel free to add new sentences that use these phrases in different ways!

1. Hang up / hang out
To “hang up” means to end a phone call; to “hang out” means to spend time relaxing, usually with a friend.
If he hangs up before I’m done talking, I will be too mad to hang out with him this weekend.

2. Look up / look forward
To “look up” means to search and find information about something, usually in a dictionary or some sort of database. To “look forward” to something means to be excited about an event that will happen in the future.
After looking up the plot of Woody Allen’s latest movie, I’m really looking forward to seeing it!

3. Get into / get over
To “get into” means to become involved or interested in something. To “get over” can either mean the opposite of this — to lose interest in something — or it can also mean to recover from something, particularly an illness.
After I get over this flu, which is making me so weak, I’m going to get into biking again.

4. Throw out / throw up
To “throw up” means to vomit, whereas to “throw out” means to dispose of something that is no longer being used. Hint: In this case, “out” and “away” can be used to express the same meaning, so to “throw something out” and to “throw something away” both mean to put it in the garbage.
If my cat throws up on the floor in my living room, I’ll have to throw away the rug that’s in there.

5. Run into / run over
To “run into” someone can have the literal meaning of colliding with their body, but the phrase often means to meet or see someone unexpectedly. To “run over” something means to drive a vehicle over that person or thing.
I was so excited when I ran into my friend that I forgot to look both ways when crossing the street and a car almost ran me over!

6. Put down / put off
To “put down” another person means to insult them or make them feel useless or stupid. To “put off” something, usually some sort of event, means to postpone it.
I put off going out to lunch with my friend because the last time I spoke with her, she kept putting me down.

7. Hand in / hand out
To “hand in” an assignment means to submit it; to “hand out” means to distribute to a group of people. Here, because “in” and “out” are opposites, the two phrases have somewhat opposite meanings. However, be careful, as this is not necessarily always the case.
The teacher handed out the test to all of his students and told them to hand in the answers before the day was over.

8. Break into / break up
To “break into” a place means to forcibly enter it, and is usually used with a place that you should not enter or to which access is usually restricted. To “break up” with someone means to end a relationship.
If your girlfriend breaks into your house in the middle of the night uninvited, that’s probably a pretty good reason to break up with her!

Maya Barzilai
Maya is a Pedagogy and Research summer associate at Voxy. She recently graduated from Middlebury College with a degree in Linguistics and Arabic. She loves not only learning foreign languages, but also learning all about the different languages of the world and what they have in common. Maya is passionate about sharing her love for languages with others and watching as more and more people become empowered by the knowledge of another language.

American English has some interesting regional accents that lead to word variations. To show you just how diverse the United States is, Joshua Katz, a Ph. D student in statistics, published in Business Insider some visualizations of Professor Bert Vaux and Scott Golder’s linguistic survey that demonstrate how Americans pronounce words (Hickey, 2013).

Let’s take “crayon”; how would you say it? If you said something like “cray-ahn,” then you pronounce it like the west coast; if you said “cray-awn,” like the east coast; and if you said something like “cran” then you are just like the people in northwest Wisconsin. Did you realize that there was more than one correct way to pronounce this word?

What about “mayonnaise”? Would you say “may-uh-naze” or “man-aze”? As you can see in the map below, the northwest tends to pronounce it like the former, and the southeast like the latter.

If you want to see the rest of Katz’s maps click here.

Hickey, W. (June 5, 2013). 22 Maps that show how Americans speak English totally differently from each other. Business insider. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/22-maps-that-show-the-deepest-linguistic-conflicts-in-america-2013-6?op=1

Mariana Aguilar Ramírez
Mariana is a Pedagogy and Research summer associate at Voxy completing her Master’s degree in Learning, Media and Technology at UMass Amherst with a Fulbright- García Robles grant. She is passionate about instructional design, educational technology and has been teaching ESL in Mexico for many years. She has studied foreign languages all her life and is now tackling German. She loves to travel and spends a lot of time in the kitchen perfecting her ice-cream making skills.

Voxy chose Hangouts due to its robust features, ability to operate in low-bandwidth situations (including mobile) and ease of customization which ultimately benefit both Voxy users and tutors. In fact, Voxy’s highly trained and certified English language tutors are excited about delivering focused and productive live tutoring sessions via Google+ Hangouts, as they can leverage Hangouts’ video, audio and text features while in live sessions with students.

Keeping with Voxy’s core mission of bringing language learning into a user’s daily life, learners now also have the ability to share their lesson scores with friends, family and co-workers in their Google+ network. Google+’s unique interactive posts feature allows anyone to accept the challenge to beat their friend’s score leveraging the same real-world interactive music, conversation, image or article content Voxy uses for teaching English.

And just as Voxy users begin discovering these new features over the upcoming days, they will also be demonstrated for Google I/O conference participants at the Developer Sandbox portion of the conference from May 15 – 17th. As a Developer Sandbox partner, Voxy was invited to showcase its applications that are based on, or incorporate technologies and products that are featured at the conference and share with over 5000 other developers the next step to integrating language learning into daily life.

Aimee Styler
Special Projects Manager

That’s because Voxy was founded on the concept that language learning should be contextual and that mobile technology allows users to be immersed in their learning experience. This vision is already thriving through the Voxy mobile and web apps: over two million language learners engage with our product to read and listen to authentic personalized content, and practice real conversations in their target language towards the goal of accomplishing real-world tasks. We’re excited to say that this is only the beginning. With the advent of wearable computing technologies, a new medium has been created for Voxy to leverage, for the benefit of its users and language learners everywhere.

At Voxy we’re eager to provide our learners with the best, most effective learning methodologies and Voxy has made it a priority to investigate the usage of wearable computing. Sam Dozor, our Lead Application Developer, spent two days at the recent Google Glass “Foundry” in NYC – a hackathon where developers were invited to see what they could build for Glass. Although we can’t yet disclose the details of what he built, we are proud to say that Sam’s Glass service beat out the field and took home the grand prize! As a result, Voxy will be getting early access to Google Glass, allowing our tech and product teams to start envisioning the next generation of language software.

At Voxy, we know that languages aren’t learned from a textbook; research has proven that adults need real-world input for effective learning. Wearable computing is the ultimate manifestation of having real-world input. Can you imagine a world where you have contextual, personalized language learning lessons pushed to you whenever and wherever you want them? We can. And having an even faster, more effective, and more engaging way to learn a language? You will.

Aimee Styler, Special Projects

Image courtesy of Flickr: zugaldia