We recently got a taste of World Cup action just up the street from the English, baby! office in Portland. The US Women’s National Team took on the Canadians, and two of the athletes were happy to teach some new vocabulary to our members around the world.

Canadian goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc talked about the number one term every goalie must know, “save”. She was tons of fun. We grabbed her right after she said hello to ESPN broadcaster and women’s soccer legend Julie Foudy (pictured above).

There were a few hundred fans there to watch the teams practice. Just before signing some autographs, US defender Ali Krieger gave us an interview. Since she’s such a smart player and a leader, we had her teach the more abstract term “distribution.” She also happened to use the phrase “sink or swim,” so we turned that into a second video.

We also recently featured a pair of lessons by the only Japanese player in MLS, Kosuke Kimura. He talks about last year’s MLS Cup in which his Colorado Rapids pulled off a come from behind victory, and he demonstrates how to “cut the angle” in a hotel lobby. This easy going attitude has made Kosuke a fan favorite, so it’s no surprise that these videos were covered by soccer blogs including Soccer 365 and Burgundy Wave.

You can find more soccer slang lessons on English, baby! See you next season.

Throw away whatever you have planned for today! Unless you have something Halloween-themed planned. You MUST take advantage of the holiday today and use it to introduce your students to a little bit of culture and fun!

Since it is such short notice, I am going to give you three good links to websites where you can download Halloween-themed worksheets and activities for free.

The first link is to ESL-Kids. You might not teach kids, but this website lets you create a worksheet, flashcards with pictures, word finds, bingo, board games and more. Just pick the Halloween vocabulary theme and select the exact words you want to use and print it out. Awesome!

The second handy Halloween resource is from English Raven. There you can find cards to play fun Halloween role-play activities and more word finds and flashcards.

The third website has reading activities that students can do online, but you could also modify and print them. In fact, the page has a lot of Halloween resources. Maybe because it is titled ESL and Halloween.

If you don’t have time to print out any of these handouts or games, consider handing out candy (a Halloween tradition) or doing something with scary stories. You could make one up as a class. You could read a scary story as a listening activity or students could write their own. No matter what you do today, don’t forget that it is a holiday…so have fun!

We recently found a good article in the Shanghai Daily about how so many learners are taking the fun out of learning English. Does it have to be so painstaking, and is there proof that no-fun learning is more efficient?

It’s amazing to me that most people believe learning English and having fun are mutually exclusive. After years of painfully trying to learn the language by memorizing grammar rules, how often do students end up at the promiseland of fluency? Rarely.

People are trained that the harder they work at something, the greater the rewards. I agree with this principle and if your end goal is to be really good at diagramming sentences, then work hard and study them every night.

However, most learners aren’t studying English to analyze sentences or become linguists. They want to communicate, interact, and socialize – and here’s the key – with other people.

While books and rules remain important to build a sound foundation for the English language, genuine human engagement will take learners to the communication level they desire.

The best part about the social component of learning English is that it makes learning fun. Take any hobby or interest that involves other people and do it in English, making the language part of your lifestyle. Instead of spending nights memorizing arbitrary vocabulary lists, join a bowling league, hang out at a sports bar, or find your nearest hiking club. The possibilities for practice are endless. You’ll feel your improvement every day and even have some fun at the same time.