Sunday, November 25, 2018

Week of November 26


Volunteering is a fantastic way to improve your English and have experience to put on an American resume.  It also gives you a way to pass the long, dark days of Cleveland's winter. Here is a short list of local opportunities:

Cleveland Metroparks

Southwest General Hospital

Berea Animal Rescue

Cleveland Animal Protective League

Strongsville Emergency Food Bank

Cleveland Playhouse Square (theater district)

St. Malachi Catholic Church (serve meals)

VolunteerMatch  (create a free account and search for volunteer opportunities near you)


Our 2018-19 class calendar is now available on this website. Scroll to the bottom of the page and you will see a link for our Polaris ESOL Class Calendar.

This week you will register for a free program called USA Learns which you can access from any computer. This program has 4 classes you can complete: 1st English Course, 2nd English Course, Practice English and Reading, and Citizenship. You must have a valid email to register. During class, you will sign up with 4 special class codes. If you work on the program at home, you will receive attendance credit.

Part of your homework this week is to go to the class called Practice English and Reading and complete the unit called "Going Places". 



Our next unit will be on travel. To the left, you will see several phrasal verbs associated with travelling.

At Learn English Feel Good you can practice with travel vocabulary.



ELLLO offers several opportunities to practice your listening about travel-related topics:


Pronunciation: ED endings in English









Thursday, November 15, 2018

Week of November 19


First - a funny Thanksgiving video!




Thanksgiving is an American holiday where people celebrate with family, friends, food, and football! Many people watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade which is in New York City. It is also a time where many Americans begin thinking about buying gifts for Christmas and many stores have good sales. Black Friday is the name of the day after Thanksgiving. You can look at some websites to help you learn more about Thanksgiving.

Here is a video where you can hear the Thanksgiving story and practice your listening.

This is a short video where you will learn some idioms related to Thanksgiving. 

Complete a short crossword puzzle

Read this article about Black Friday and answer the questions on a separate piece of paper,

You can watch a slideshow about the Macy's Parade and read about each picture.





It's time to review your Word of the Day and Phrase of Day vocabulary again! Go to Quizlet to practice in 7 different ways.

This past week we learned about holidays and celebrations. Challenge yourself by learning more Holidays and Special Events Vocabulary in English. 




 Tipping in the USA. During the holidays, many people eat out more while they are shopping and running errands. How familiar are you with our tipping policy?

In this lesson, you will learn new vocabulary, 10 phrasal verbs, and watch a video about tipping customs. You can also read about a man who things we should end the tipping custom in the USA.     Tipping Waiters and Waitresses

Friday, November 9, 2018

Week of November 12


Veterans Day is November 11th every year. It is also called Armistice Day. Below is a video to learn more. You can also read about it and print out exercises to practice your vocabulary at this website: https://eslholidaylessons.com/11/armistice_day.html


This past week we practiced adjectives ending with -ed and -ing. Watch the video below for a quick review. Practice more here and here.


What do you think about this Dutch man who wants to legally change his age? https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/man-wants-to-legally-change-his-age/4650494.html

Here is another video to help you with your pronunciation.


Finally, you can practice your listening and writing skills by listening to dictations. There are elementary, intermediate, and advanced options. 





Saturday, November 3, 2018

Week of November 4

November is a time for voting, falling leaves, comfort food, warm clothes, and Thanksgiving. What is November like in your country?

Vocabulary for warm clothes

Holidays in the USA: Reading






Practice your pronunciation of dropping the letter "h" in connected speech. Engvid 


Soon we will begin practicing our irregular past tense verbs. Try this Quizlet to see how much you already know.

Irregular Verb Jeopardy (type your name and choose 1-player game)

Irregular Verbs I

Irregular Verbs II

Irregular Verbs III

Irregular Verbs IV


Practice your reading! 
There are many opinions about getting the flu vaccine (flu shot). Reading an article about a new drug recently approved.

A New Drug is Approved for Flu