Mom’s English: Traffic Lights

Mom’s English: Traffic Lights

Hello, moms and dads raising bilingual kids! Do you ever wonder whether your English sounds natural when chatting with your little ones about everyday things? If so, you’re in the right place! Have you read our first post on handy phrases for bilingual homes? If not, or if you’d like a quick refresher, be sure to check it out here.

This time, we’re focusing on one very specific, everyday situation: traffic lights! 🚦

Picture this: you’re crossing the street with your toddler, who’s fascinated by the passing cars and the traffic lights changing colors. They point at the lights with their tiny little finger, and, of course, you naturally want to talk about what’s happening around you. But what exactly should you say in English? Read on for some handy, natural-sounding phrases you can use in this everyday moment with your little one!

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Travel, Trip, Journey… What’s the Difference?

Travel, Trip, Journey… What’s the Difference?

World Tourism Day is celebrated every year on September 27, and what better way to mark the occasion than by inspiring a little wanderlust? 🌍✈️

Today, we’re exploring the many words we use to talk about travel – from journey and trip to tour, excursion, outing, and voyage – and discovering what makes each one unique.

To travel is to live. Hans Christian Andersen
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Chemistry Terms in Everyday Speech

Chemistry Terms in Everyday Speech

Have you ever stopped to notice how many chemistry terms are used in everyday speech? Consider this short passage:

Their chemistry was obvious the moment they met. A small comment acted as a catalyst, starting a chain reaction of laughter and conversation.

How many chemistry terms did you spot? Check the answer key below, and if you want more, read on. You don’t have to be a scientist to enrich your English with practical everyday chemistry language.

Answer key 🔑

Their chemistry was obvious the moment they met. A small comment acted as a catalyst, starting a chain reaction of laughter and conversation.

  1. chemistry (informal) – a quality that exists when two people understand and are attracted to each other (common collocations: sexual chemistry, right chemistry, personal chemistry between people)
  2. catalyst (for something – a person or thing that causes a change (common collocations: to be seen as a catalyst, to act as a catalyst)
  3. chain reaction – a series of events, each of which causes the next (common collocations: to start, set off a chain reaction)
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