by Scott Dreyer | Feb 10, 2016 | Vocabulary
Ask Scott Dreyer: Q: What is the difference between the words “oil” and “gas”? Lin, Hsinchu, Taiwan A. That’s a GREAT question, Lin, and it’s one that MANY Chinese speakers struggle with when they learn English. It’s confusing...
by Scott Dreyer | Dec 14, 2015 | Vocabulary
Several years ago, I had the pleasure and honor of teaching a class called “Bible as Literature” at the local public high school where I was on staff. It was a great experience for me, and I believe for my students as well. “Bible in a public...
by Scott Dreyer | Nov 4, 2015 | Vocabulary
This question came from Ms. Chen, in Central Taiwan, via email. Q. “The human race has found ways to celebrate just about everything the world has to offer- culture, history, art. Even a few beloved foods are given their due, not least of all chocolate, honored...
by Scott Dreyer | May 27, 2015 | Vocabulary
Q: What is the difference between “shade” and “shadow”? A: That’s a great question! Many Chinese speakers struggle with this one, because it can be the same word in Mandarin: 影子 (Ying tze) or 阴影 (Yinying). However, in English, they are...
by Scott Dreyer | May 20, 2015 | Vocabulary
Today while teaching online I was helping a student with an email. He had written something like, “If you cannot make this appointment, please notice me.” Oops. This is a COMMON mistake many native speakers of Chinese make when writing or speaking English....
by Scott Dreyer | May 20, 2015 | Vocabulary
Ah, homophones….”What is a homophone?” you may ask. The stem “homo” means “same,” and the stem “phone” means “sound,” so homophones are different words that sound the same. And two particularly tricky...
