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Category: American Culture (Page 2 of 2)

Navigating the Keyboard in English: Pt 2

October 19, 2010 / / 0 Comments

Is it difficult for you to find your way around the computer keyboard in English?

This blog post is Part Two of our look at the English language keyboard used here in the United States. Today we’ll look at the right side of the main cluster of keys. (Click here for Part 1.)

First on the top row we have the backspace key.

The backspace key deletes what you’ve typed, one keystroke at a time.
one stroke at a time
one stroke at a tim
one stroke at a ti
one stroke at a t

and so on.

Next we have the back slash ( \ ) key. You use this key when you are designating file locations on your computer: c:\myeslblog\thekeyboard.doc  or c:\myeslblog\thekeyboard.pdf.

Beneath the backslash key, you have the Enter key. When you use the Enter key alone, it returns you two lines down (i.e. double space).

like this.

and this.

When you use the Enter key and the Shift key at the same time, it returns you one line down.
like this.
or this.

On the bottom row you have the Shift key, again, just like on the right side of the keyboard.  The shift key, again, creates CAPITAL LETTERS or, in terms of the top row of the keyboard, &)&&((#$@%^%&+_), the symbols on the tops of the keys.

Below is a review of the vocabulary used in this blog post:

Now I’ll list our vocabulary:

(to) backspace, the backspace key

backslash      \

(to) enter/to hit the enter key

(to) shift/(to) hit the shift key

(to) return

(to) hit the shift key

So that’s PART TWO of today’s lesson, Navigating the Computer Keyboard in English!

We will complete the keyboard in subsequent lessons. Continue reading

Vocabulary: Navigating the Computer Keyboard in English

October 12, 2010 / / 2 Comments

Are you having trouble expressing your computer-literate self in English?  One summer my husband and I traveled to Spain and found our hotel internet to be down.  So we went to some of the public internet sites that abound.  I had so much difficulty knowing how to navigate my way around the keyboard. The language on the keys was different.  Even the keyboard was different from the American keyboard: keys were in different places than I was accustomed to!

So let’s take a look at the English language keyboard used here in the United States and let’s learn what everything is.  We’ll begin with the left side of the keyboard.


The top left key that says “Esc” is for “ESCAPE“. You use this key to escape from any bad situations. Be careful, because this might close any programs that you have running. We use this word “escape” as a noun (he planned his escape), as an adjective (the escape route), and as a verb (he escaped).

On the left, you have the “Tab” key. The “tab” key moves a certain number of predetermined spaces to the right each time you hit, or click, it. We use this as a verb (to tab over to a certain point).

Beneath that, you have the “Caps Lock” key. “Caps” stands for “capitals” and it locks the capital letters into place.

Beneath that, you have the “Shift” key.  Pressing this alternates your letters between small letters and capital letters (small letters and “caps”) and alternates the number row between the numerals and the symbols (such as the numeral 2 and the symbol @, or the numeral 8 and the symbol *). “Shift” is also a verb: You shift between capital letters and small letters.

Beneath the “Shift” key you have the “Control” key. You use the Control key together with another key to perform some function that you desire. For example, if you select some text or an image, then press the Control key and the “C” key together, you will COPY the text you have selected onto your notepad, which you can then paste onto something else.

Below is a review of the vocabulary used in this blog post:

Now I’ll list our vocabulary:

(to be) down
(to) escape
(to) close a program
(to) run/(to) have running
(to) tab/(to) tab over to…
(to) lock
caps/capital letters
(to) shift
(to) alternate

So that’s PART 1 of today’s lesson, Navigating the Computer Keyboard in English!

We will complete the keyboard in subsequent lessons.

You’ve Got Mail: An Example of Bad Grammar

October 5, 2010 / / 15 Comments

Today I opened my AOL mail account and this example of bad grammar went off in my ears like a car backfiring. We hear it so often that people barely understand that it is entirely grammatically incorrect. Many have come to think that it is correct.

What’s wrong with the ubiquitous “You’ve got mail“?  This phrase is used in my own AOL account and shared by the blockbuster movie of the same name (which features this email relationship).

Even the most grammatically correct of us say “You’ve got to see this” but this is admittedly BAD GRAMMAR.

Let’s look at this verb by verb, beginning with the verb “(to) have“.

  • The simple present tense of this verb would be “You have mail. (Come pick it up.)”
  • The present perfect tense of this verb would be “You’ve gotten mail. (Why haven’t you opened it?)”

Let’s look at the verb “(to) get“.

  • The simple present tense of this verb would be “You get mail (every day except Sundays).”
  • The simple past tense would be “You got mail (yesterday).”
  • The present perfect tense would be “You have gotten mail* (every day for the last 2 months. Why haven’t I?”  * or “You’ve gotten mail…”)

So there is no such correct verb form for “You’ve Got Mail” at all! And yet we hear this composite of verb forms  everywhere.

A word of advice: Avoid saying it! Instead of “You’ve Got Mail”, say “You Have Mail.” And instead of saying “You’ve got to hear this,” say “You have to hear this.

And if you are going to use it occasionally in conversation, be aware that it is not correct English and be able to use correct grammar when socially necessary. Speaking with bad grammar might mean you don’t get the job you are looking for, and more.  And certainly never use it in writing. Unless, of course, you want to write copy for advertisements.

Stay tuned for a future podcast, where we discuss the advertising slogan, “Got Milk?” and why that too is grammatically incorrect.

Baseball in America

July 11, 2010 / / 0 Comments

Many of my ESL students have come from the Dominican Republic. They understand baseball! Baseball and the Dominican Republic go hand in hand! Baseball is also very popular in Japan so my Japanese students also understand and love baseball.

Many other international students, however, have no idea what’s going on in the game of baseball, which is so popular in the United States. Baseball is not popular in Europe, Russia, or the Middle East.  That sounds odd to an American, especially after many Americans complain about how slow baseball is! How could the game of baseball be so confusing when it goes so slowly? I guess when you grow up with a sport, like I did, its seem so easy!

So here’s my attempt to explain baseball, to the person who has no idea what’s going on. In fact,  baseball is so complicated that it will take more than one post.  So I’ll begin:

First, baseball is a team sport. There are two teams.   The teams are the “home” team and the “away” team. The team that is the “away” team bats* first.

The game is organized into “innings“. The basic game consists of nine complete innings. If the game is tied** after nine innings, the game goes into “extra innings” until one team wins.  The longest game in baseball occurred in 1920; it was 25 innings long!

Each inning lasts until there are three “outs” on the part of the team that is “at bat“.  There are many ways to score an “out”.

Let’s talk about the baseball field.  There are four bases:  home plate, first base, second base, and third base. Because the bases are arranged in the shape of a diamond, we use the term “baseball diamond” to refer to these four bases.

Also located in the infield is the pitcher’s mound.

Finally, the field is divided into “infield” and “outfield“.  The “infielders” are the following players: The pitcher, the catcher, the first baseman, the second baseman, the shortstop, and the third baseman. The “outfielders” are the right fielder, the center fielder, and the left fielder. That adds up to nine players on the defensive team who may be on the field at any one time.

The equipment used in the game is the following: the bat, the fielders’ gloves, the four bases. There are also batting helmets , knee and ankle protectors, and the catcher’s and umpire’s protective equipment such as the face mask and chest protector, because the ball is traveling so very quickly and could do some serious damage.  You might include sunglasses, batting gloves, and suntan lotion in this category, as the sun is a big factor in this game when played in the daytime.

Do you have that so far?

In part 2, we will discuss the rules of baseball.

As usual, we would love to hear your feedback and comments.

* from the verb, (to) bat
**from the verb (to) tie/ passive form: (to) be tied

American Labor Day

September 3, 2009 / / 0 Comments

Say you want to know when the lifeguards will leave the beaches and swimming pools for the end of the summer. Say you want to know when the swimming pools will officially close for the summer.  Say you want to know when, if you want to swim in the ocean, you will have to “swim at your own risk”.  Say you want to know when the public schools will open up again and signal the official end of summer.  You are talking about Labor Day!

Labor Day takes place on the first Monday in September.  That creates something that Americans love: A three-day holiday!  As such, it is a big travel weekend, with many people trying to get their last “big bang” out of summer.

Many retail stores have big sales, which leads people to ask, “How is this a celebration of labor, of workers, if everybody has to go to work?” But you can be sure the most non-retail businesses, all banks and all governmental offices are closed, which includes no mail delivery and no trash pick-ups.

Labor Day has been an American holiday since 1882.  We don’t know exactly when students returned to school before that date, but you can be sure that Labor Day is now a major part of American life.

You can read more about Labor Day in the United States Department of Labor‘s own website!

Michael Jackson

July 7, 2009 / / 11 Comments

Music is considered to be the universal language.  However, each country and ethnic group seems to have its own music.  What types of music do you think are universally loved? What types of music cross the boundaries of language and nationhood?

Michael Jackson died at the age of 50.  He was known and recognized all over the world. Did people listen to Michael Jackson where you live? What is the effect of American music on the music of the country where you live?

We at the ESL Help! Desk mourn the passing of this great figure in American entertainment and pop music.

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