Labor Day! The Official End of Summer in the US!

Well, folks, this weekend is Labor Day, the official "end of summer", the end of the summer season in  the United States.   Although the "end of summer" and beginning of fall doesn't really happen until September 23rd (the vernal equinox, when night and day are of equal length), most folks in the United States consider Labor Day the end of summer---the kids go back to school, students go back to college, work starts up again in earnest, people stop going swimming and to the beach.

On "Labor Day Weekend", a long weekend, which this summer is Saturday September 3rd *through* and including Monday September 5th, Americans get the last of the summer out of our systems.   We have a last party or barbecue before we cover the grill for the summer, we turn on the American football game on TV and sit down with a couple of beers and root for our favorite teams (popular teams in the NY/NJ area where I am are the NY Giants, the NY/NJ Jets (perpetual underdogs), and the Philadelphia Eagles for those further South.

Interestingly enough, understanding American football is a huge part of understanding American culture, and I will consult on a football game or two--watch it with you, explain the rules, finer points of the game, how to tailgate, what "season tickets" are, and so on.   I've had students who felt completely left out because they didn't understand football and needed to understand it to make small talk where they worked.   If that's of interest to you, give me a buzz, we'll talk about it.  My number is (732) 807-5424 or you can reach me on Skype at david.berlin.esl (my Skype ID).  I don't charge my regular in person rate for that; there's a transportation charge and a lower fee to do football/sports consulting.

I also do American cultural consulting as part of my normal ESL/accent reduction work.  Let me know what your needs are and we'll work it out.

In any case, here is a video for you.   It teaches you how to pronounce the  tʃ  sound as in the word "chair" or "chairman".  Basically, you make  /ʃ/ (/sh/) sound as in shy or shell, but before you make that sound you make a /t/ sound as in touch or tear and blend it into the / ʃ/ sound.   And what you get is  /tʃ/--chair, cheese, and so on.

All right?  All right.    Also you can check out my American Idiom of the Day Twitter Feed and my David Berlin's ESL and Accent Reduction Training website.  Or you can check out my YouTube Channel for more tips, tricks, and help on American culture, accent reduction, and American English.

All right?  All right.  Or you can just give me a buzz at (732) 807-5424, or shoot me an email at david.berlin.esl@gmail.com.  Or buzz me on Skype.  All right?  All right.  Take it easy!