Lefties
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.
I recently had hand surgery on my right hand, which left me a bit incapacitated (unable to function normally). I was forced to do things with my left hand and found it very challenging to do regular, everyday activities, like brushing my teeth. That experience has inspired this week’s newsletter, which focuses on the world of lefties—or people whose dominant hand is the left hand.
Listening Tip
Language Level – B2
An interesting video that discusses what it is like to be a left-handed person in a right-handed world. Turn on the CC to read along.
Speaking Tip
Language Level – B1-B2
The number one language skill you need to master to be successful at work is speaking. You need it to:
- Network-building relationships with individuals and businesses for professional purposes
- Make presentations – whether it is sales, professional development or proposals, you’ll want to feel confident speaking English
- Meetings – when meeting with others in your industry but from different countries, English is usually the common denominator
- Job interviews – You want to show potential employers or business partners that you know your stuff AND can communicate that in English
But how can you practice speaking English when you don’t use it every day?
- You could work with a tutor 1:1 online
- You could practice with other Business English Learners
- You could practice with real-world situations
Find out how you can get all of this and more in my free webinar and you’ll walk away with an elevator speech to take your business English to the next level.
Saturday – Dec. 14th at 11:00 am (WET)
Grammar Tip
Language Level – B1
An auxiliary verb is used with a main verb to help express the main verb’s tense, mood, or voice.
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Tense. The tense of a verb tells us when the action took place.
- Sally was eating the cake.
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Mood. The mood of a verb tells us how it is to be regarded (e.g., as a fact, a command, a wish).
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Voice. The voice of a verb tells us whether the subject is active or passive.
- The cake was eaten by Sally.
The main auxiliary verbs are “to be,” “to have,” and “to do.” They appear in the following forms:
- to be: am, is, are, was, were, being, been, will be
- to have: has, have, had, having, will have
- to do: does, do, did, will do
Modal auxiliary verbs combine with other verbs to express ideas such as necessity, possibility, intention, and ability. Such as:
- It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light. (Greek philosopher Aristotle)
- We shall heal our wounds, collect our dead and continue fighting. (Founding father of the People’s Republic of China Mao Zedong)
- No one can feel as helpless as the owner of a sick goldfish. (Cartoonist Kin Hubbard)
Let’s Practice!
Identify the auxiliary verbs in each of the sentences below:
- My homework was eaten by the dog.
- She has been updating her CV recently.
- The cable will be disconnected tomorrow.
- Don’t forget your presentation.
- I don’t say we all ought to misbehave, but we ought to look as if we could.
- If there were no bad people, there would be no good lawyers.
- Peter is definitely taking you to the airport.
- If you can dream it, you can do it.
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.
- Enthusiastic (adj)
- Entire (adj)
- Entirely (adv)
- Equal (n)
- Establish (v)
- Estate (n)
- Estimate (v, n)
- Ethical (adj)
- Evaluate (v)
- Even (adj)
Use this quizlet to study this vocabulary (it’s free!)
Each week new words are added to the same quizlet, so all of the B2 level words will be in one list for practice.
Reading Tip
Language Level – B2
Left-handedness, a natural phenomenon that has intrigued scientists and societies for centuries, refers to the preference of using the left hand over the right hand for various activities. Approximately 10% of the global population is left-handed, making it a relatively rare trait. While left-handedness is often seen as a unique and intriguing characteristic, it has also been associated with certain advantages and disadvantages.
Finish reading this article by Juliet Kinsey: Unleashing the Power of Left-Handedness: Exploring the Advantages of Being Left-Handed
Weekly Challenge
Language Level – B1
Here are some odd little facts about lefties. As you read through the list, find and correct the spelling erros (American spelling).
- Singer Justin Bieber is left-handed, although the very first guitar he picked up was actually a right-handed one. He attemted to play the instrument backwards, although this proved to be a strugle!
- Though lefteys make up a small percentage of the world’s poppulation, many have been world leaders including Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Winston Churchill and Prince William.
- In many parts of the world, the left hand is concidered unclean or rude to use. If you’re left-handed and visiting places like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal and the Middle East, it’s thought of as rude behaviour to eat, pick up or hand over things with your left hand.
- Left-handed people have been considered unlucky and even evile – the word “sinister” comes from the Latin word for left. In Britain in the Middle Ages, lefties were associated with the devil and often acused of the crime of witchcraft, meaning they would get burned at the steak.
- Scientists at the University of Oxford say that the brians of left-handed people work differently than right-handed people. In a study, the brain was monitored in left-handed participants. Scientists say the too sides of the brain were better connected in lefties and more co-ordinated, particularly in the areas that involve using language.
- Humans are one of the few animals two show a preference between the left and right hand. However, left-handed animals include kangaroos, which tend to favour their left paw for things like grooming and eating. Also, studies have shown that 90% of parrots use their left foot to pick things up.
**Give yourself an extra challenge this week and try writing sentences with your non-dominant hand.
Questions?
