Monday, August 12, 2013

Here's a second video, this one on American style small talk.   Remember, you can check me out on the web at ESL and Accent Reduction Training Website or you can sign up for my Twitter feed at The American Idiom of the Day or check out my YouTube channel for more great videos!

Check this out!




Til next time, see ya!

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Two New Videos and How About This Lovely Summer!

Well!  A couple of months ago I complained that God appeared to have left the refrigerator door open. But we've been having some *stunning* weather these past couple of weeks--its been absolutely balmy!  Temps in the high 70s, low 80s, air very dry--very, very nice.   The only issue is that the ocean hasn't warmed up and it probably won't at this point.

They are predicting another very active hurricane season although it is not predicted to be as bad as last year's.  But we could very well get another superstorm like Sandy.  Frankly, I don't know if we could make it.  Its tough.  A lot of people where I live haven't been able to get insurance settlements--its been very tough.

In any case!  If you are a new American, or you just arrived here from another place, or you currently live in another place and you want to improve your English and make your accent less "foreign" to Americans, don't wait another moment.  Contact me at (732) 807-5424 for a FREE no-obligation phone consult and  a FREE trial lesson.   Or you can reach me on Skype at david.berlin.esl

Also, feel free to check out my Twitter feed, The American Idiom of The Day or my website, David Berlin's ESL and Accent Reduction Training or my Facebook Page.  Meanwhile, here is a video--one on how to make the /l/ sound and the /r/ sound.  Enjoy!


Thursday, May 16, 2013

New Vids on YouTube, God Left The Fridge Door Open

Well, my goodness.  It looks like God left the fridge door open.  We keep getting nice warm weather, and then winter comes and drags us back.  Spring sprung late this year.  Wonder if we'll be getting chilly again!

(By the way, comments like the comment above about the weather are a *good* way to make small talk.  Just saying, "Its hot outside" *isn't* a good way to make small talk in America.  Reason:  Statements like the one above have a lot of detail to them.   They are interesting statements and opinions about the weather.  They have a lot of feeling and emotion.  People's opinions and emotions are very important to Americans.  Look at our talk shows on TV and our TV shows like "The View" and "Good Morning America" and our American football commentators and our how--to shows--even our sitcoms are loaded with our cultural opinions, beliefs, and emotions.)

Check out these videos of me--one of me eating some bangin' chicken biryani, cooked by Mani, the mother of one of my students:


Also, check out this video of me eating a special kind of dosha made with bean sprouts, also made by Mani.  I ate this with upma.


 
As always, if you want to call me to talk to me about ESL, accent reduction, or related topics, (or to find out how YOU can get your FREE phone consult  and FREE trial lesson) give me a call @ (732) 807-5424.  Or check out David Berlin's ESL and Accent Reduction Training website or my American Idiom of The Day twitter feed or my YouTube channel for information on my services offered and free tips and tricks and techniques on ESL and accent reduction.  Call me today!

'Til next time!


Sunday, March 17, 2013

Spring is gradually springing

Spring is gradually springing.  This is the time of year when no two days are the same...sometimes its warm and lovely out and you can feel the sunshine on your face, and some days it is bitter cold like the worst of winter.  The days have gotten longer--largely due to a change in the clock known as "Daylight Savings Time".

Most countries in the world do not do a Daylight Savings season, so I probably ought to explain what it is.  Essentially, the goal was to make the productive period of the day longer for farmers and workers--if the light period shifted from early in the morning to later in the evening, the reasoning went, farmers could spend longer in the Spring planting and the Fall harvest, people who worked second and graveyard shifts in factories would have daylight to live by, and the light time of the 24-hour cycle would fall exactly when--so it was thought--people would be most productive.

Nowadays, now that commerce is global and communications are global and done at lightning speed--the smallest business in India or China or wherever can do business all over the world--Daylight Savings Time seems a bit silly.

So I'll explain why we don't change things here in America with a little story.   In the late 1960s and 1970s, there was a push to convert America to the metric system that pretty much the entire rest of the world uses--ie miles to kilometers, pounds to kilos and so on.  Although the effort was sponsored by the government, people absolutely *refused*.   When that happens, we say, "There is no political will to do this."  There was no political will to switch America to the metric system, and there is no political will to end Daylight Savings time, which is really an anachronism.

Why is there no political will?  This is an important point of American culture:  Part of American culture is the notion of "American Exceptionalism"---the notion that America is somehow special among nations.  We won't change Daylight Savings time because we are America, and we do things our way, and we are special.

What do *I* think?  All nations are different and different opportunities exist in all nations.  For a certain kind of person seeking a certain kind of opportunity, America *can* be exceptional.  Is Amercia special within the world?  I need to travel more to figure that out.  But I won't get on an airplane. 

Anyone h9o wants to know why I won't get on an airplane--or just wants to get a FREE ESL/accent reduction consult ad a FREE trial lesson can call me @ (732) 807-5424 or check out my American Idiom of The Day Twitter pagge, or David Berlin's ESL and Accent Reduction Training website or my YouTube channel which  has instructional videos on ESL and accent reduction.  You can also check out some of the ESL/accent reduction podcasts by me I've linked to on the right hand side of this blog.  Okay?  Okay  Call me today!