Ice Fishing
I will send out some handy tips and useful exercises for adults learning to navigate and use the English language each week. Please feel free to share this newsletter with friends and colleagues.
Ice fishing is a form of fishing that takes place on a frozen body of water, usually a lake. Ice fishers drill holes through the ice and use rods to catch fish already living in the water below.
This is possible because certain species of fish can survive the winter months by burrowing into the mud at the bottom of these bodies of water –and when they’re hungry enough, they’ll swim onto the ice to feed off insects, worms, and other small aquatic organisms that get caught in its surface.
Listening Tip
Language Level – B2
Just because you are fishing on frozen water doesn’t mean you have to be cold. You can purchase or build your own ice shanty. It is a building that you put on top of the ice to give you shelter during ice fishing. Here is a video of a man explaining how he built his own.
Note: I chose this video specifically because it is someone with a mid-west American speaking pattern and is not super easy to understand. Turn on the CC to read along and maybe open the setting to slow down the video a bit to help you.
Grammar Tip
Language Level – B1
Punctuation communicates a lot in English. Reading the language without punctuation would be like driving on the highway without any roadsigns. Punctuation often tells the reader the meaning, voice and tone of the message. Here are the basics:
Let’s practice!
Put the correct punctuation and capitalization in each of these sentences:
- my names bill and i come from new york
- my favorite color is blue whats yours
- i have a dog its name is benji
- my sisters name is jenny shes twenty four
- my phone numbers 459-0904
- her uncle jorge is from madrid in spain
- im not from london, im from chicago in the united states
- kevin is from australia he lives in melbourne
Vocabulary Tip
Language Level – B2
We continue to add to our vocabulary words from the Oxford 3000.
A list of 3000 words someone should know if they are taking the CEFR (Common European Framework Reference) language tests.
- Fortune (n)
- Forward (adj)
- Found (v)
- Free (v)
- Freedom (n)
- Frequency (n)
- Fuel (v)
- Fully (adv)
- Function (v)
- Fund (n, v)
Study these terms on your phone with this quizlet.
This is the fourth quizlet in this set. Look for B2 vocabulary (300-400)
Did you know? The average English language learner will know double their English vocabulary words from the B2 to C1 level.
Reading Tip
Language Level – B2
Want to explore ice fishing in America? The article below tells you about the 10 best places in the US to go ice fishing.
https://fishingbooker.com/blog/ice-fishing-destinations/
Weekly Challenge
Language Level – C1
Read this poem by Maya Angelou. What does it say to you? How does it make you feel? What do you feel is the message?
Phenomenal Woman
By Maya Angelou
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of my arms,
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It’s the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can’t touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them,
They say they still can’t see.
I say,
It’s in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed.
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing,
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need for my care.
’Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Questions?
