Ron's ESL Blogs

In many cases, the best way to improve your English fast is to immerse yourself in the language.

Why does it work so fast?

Well, when all you have in order to communicate is your English, then you simply don’t have a choice! You learn English, or you die trying

Of course, sometimes you cannot move to an English speaking country for a few years time, but there are other means we can use to try and imitate this kind of immersion.

One of those is videos.

The best thing would probably be to find videos on a subject that really interests you. Then, while watching, you should check out the new words in a good dictionary. You can use each new word in a few sentences – it will help you understand and remember it better.

Why should you choose a video on a subject that you really like?

Because it’s more fun! And it will give you more motivation to carry on through the obstacles.

The internet offers practically millions of videos, on any subject. You can watch them at your own pace, and pause whenever you need to. (Unlike shows or movies on the TV!)

You can go to websites like YouTube, or simply search for videos on your favorite subject on Google.

You can click here for the Learn English Video Section. In contains videos especially adapted for English learners.

Ola Zur is the editor of Really Learn English Vocabulary and Easy English Grammar, an illustrated guide to English.

My hometown is one of the places that everyone wants to visit. How about living in it? How about growing up in my hometown? Los Angeles is my hometown, one of the modern cities in the United States. I love my hometown because it is the city of opportunity.  Some of the things that make- my hometown unique, is that you will find different kinds of cultures, the community, and the historical places.

One of the things that make my hometown unique is the different cultures. When I say different kind of culture, like Mexican , South American. Although when many people see a latino they think that he is Mexican, that is not true. Some of the people are from South America. The culture of a Mexican is different from South American culture. Starting with the food to the way they talk there is a huge difference. The difference between our cultures is a lot but this doesn`t stop us from working together.

Another thing that makes us unique is how the community works. Although we are from different cultures, we still work as one. One of the things that makes us come together is our background. Mexicans and South Americans are the hard-working people. The people that work all day and night to help their family in the U.S. and in the country they came from.

Los Angeles has some historical and famous places. We have the  “Watts Towers” a historical landmark. We also have the Stars in Hollywood. Many people go to Hollywood to look for the names of the famous stars. We have lots of museums in Los Angeles. My hometown is a place where you will not get bored because there are a lot of things you can do.

In conclusion my hometown is one of the coolest town. If you can come and visit, you might like it. If you like it you will want to stay because it is a fun town and is friendly. You will get to know other cultures, get involved with the community and have some fun visiting some of the historical places that we have here in Los Angeles. The only thing I can tell you is that I dare you to come and visit my hometown.   — Frank Caballero

My hometown is a beautiful place and has amazing traditions. Mexico City is where I have been 13 years of my life living, until I moved to the United States. My hometown is a touristic place where people can go and visit with the family. Many people think that my hometown is a dangerous place, but in reality any other country has vandalism and we are exposed to danger. You should come and enjoy Mexican food and its important traditions like Mother’s Day, Independence Day and Dia de Muertos.  In Mexico City, Mother’s day is an important event because you can thank your mother for being who she is. It is celebrated on May 10. I love Mother’s day because we as students can make a festival, by performing to our mothers and bring them Mariachi to show her how much you love. Mexican people take their mothers to celebrate their day. On May 10 the flower shops are really busy because everyone wants to give flowers to their mothers.   September 15 is the principal tradition of my hometown because it’s Independence Day. We celebrate at “El Zocalo” by giving the Grito of independence “Viva Mexico!” At the Zocalo all of us have fun with fireworks, serpentine, confetti and with flour eggs, which is something historic in my country. People get dressed patriotic and also they shown their proud. The president of my hometown gives the speech and then finally does a defile in memory of the people that died for important issues.  Dia de Muertos is a day to remember all the people that you loved and passed away. Mexicans go and visit the cemetery to garnish the tombs. They put some fresh flowers and bring food to the dead person  that had  liked them. My grandmother is one of those persons that put flor de sempasuchil in front of my grandfather’s photo and a calaberita that is made with candy and sugar all this stuff it’s called ofrenda.  And  something that Mexicans never forget is the ofrenda.  In conclusion my hometown is the best place that I will recommend to anyone to visit and enjoy the traditions. For all Mexicans our country is the best and I have never left it because I don’t like it, it would be for some bad circumstances that life put into our lives. Mexico city is big and has many sculptures and traditions that make my hometown the best and unique.    – Sarai Acua