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Showing posts from July, 2013

What are loanwords?

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The number of loanwords in the English language is unusually large. English vocabulary borrows heavily from other languages, particularly Latin, Greek and French. See below for how this reliance on foreign words evolved. Loanwords are an important feature of English. They do not, however, affect the structure of the language. An English speaker may use the word ballet but he will not say a dancer of ballet ‚ as you would in French. A few imported terms retain their original syntax. The United Nations has a secretary general while the chief officer of the English legal system is the attorney general . But these are rare exceptions. Worksheets on the use of loanwords in English are included in the  English FAQ Teaching Pack   Use coupon code CQDWKF0 to download English FAQ Teaching Pack  for only £1.99

What is Game Theory? How did Jane Austen use it?

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Game theory is an approach to predicting the likely outcome of an action when interests conflict (e.g. in sport, business or military strategy. Associated with the prisoner's dilemna (see image above). It origins are complex but the publication of John von Neuemann's minimax theory in 1928  is a key development. This discussion from the Freakonomics podcast  makes the surprising claim that the Regency Eighteenth Century novelist was a pioneering game theorist.

Best way to teach a language? Guide to ELT methods

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An interesting a overview of the different approaches here: With thanks to the excellent Slideshare   100 English Language FAQ    Teaching Pack - only£0.99/$1.50 Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching  How To Teach English (with DVD) How to Teach English Language Learners