#learningenglish — Public Fediverse posts on home.social

hugo. @[email protected] · 2026-03-04 · 10:15 UTC

William Carlos Williams, died #OTD in 1963.

Visit the Grammaticus blog today and enjoy his short poem "Winter Trees" - it may appear to be about trees in winter, but it’s just as much about us.

https://grammaticus.blog/2025/01/22/winter-trees-by-william-carlos-williams/

#poem #poetry #williamcarloswilliams #literature #americanliterature #learningenglish #englishteacher

#otd #poem #poetry #williamcarloswilliams #literature #americanliterature

hugo. @[email protected] · 2025-11-27 · 11:00 UTC

Gobble gobble 🦃

This Thanksgiving Day, I'm sharing with you two lovely holiday-related poems that you can use to revise your English:

👉 “A Thanksgiving Dinner” by Maude M. Grant (1876-1941) - a children's poem with useful food-related vocabulary.

https://grammaticus.blog/2022/11/23/thanksgiving-dinner/

👉 "Thanksgiving" by Ella Wheeler Wilcox - a longer poem about appreciating the simple joys of life.

https://grammaticus.blog/2023/11/22/thanksgiving-by-wilcox/

Visit the Grammaticus blog (https://grammaticus.blog) and search for more seasonal content!

#learningenglish #englishteacher #englishvocabulary #poetry #education #americanliterature #thanksgivingday

#learningenglish #englishteacher #englishvocabulary #poetry #education #americanliterature

hugo. @[email protected] · 2025-03-04 · 11:09 UTC

William Carlos Williams, died #OTD in 1963.

Visit the Grammaticus website and search for resources dedicated to this amazing poet, such as the blog post "Spring Storm." It includes a brief introduction to his writings, as well as a simple vocabulary exercise for English language learners.

https://grammaticus.blog/2023/04/19/spring-storm-williams/

#poetry #literature #americanliterature #williamcarloswilliams #englishteacher #learningenglish

#otd #poetry #literature #americanliterature #williamcarloswilliams #englishteacher

hugo. @[email protected] · 2025-01-22 · 07:44 UTC

The poem presented in my latest blog post first appeared in William Carlos Williams’ book titled “Sour Grapes: A Book of Poems”, published in 1921. Like many other of his works, it’s wonderfully simple and minimalist: the poet uses an extremely common image only to transform it into something delightfully rich and filled with meaning.

https://grammaticus.blog/2025/01/22/winter-trees-by-william-carlos-williams/

#poem #poetry #williamcarloswilliams #literature #americanliterature #learningenglish #englishteacher #Winter

#poem #poetry #williamcarloswilliams #literature #americanliterature #learningenglish

grammaticus @[email protected] · 2024-12-04 · 10:10 UTC

“Beautiful Snow” by John Whittaker Watson

John Whittaker Watson was a 19th century poet and journalist from New York. The author of many serials, poems and short stories published in various magazines, today he is probably best known for his poem “Beautiful Snow.” It is found in the collection of poems by the same title, published in Philadelphia in 1871.

An illustration from the 1871 edition of “Beautiful Snow; and Other Poems”

I first heard of this poem in an episode of my all-time favourite TV shows from the 1990s, Northern Exposure. I’m sure fellow fans will immediately recognise it as the poem featured in the “First Snow” episode (season 5, episode 10), read out by Chris Stevens on his radio show. And if you have no idea what I’m talking about here, please check out the links below the poem. And go watch some Northern Exposure!

O THE SNOW, the beautiful snow,
Filling the sky and the earth below!
Over the house-tops, over the street,
Over the heads of the people you meet,
          Dancing,        
            Flirting,
              Skimming along.
Beautiful snow! it can do nothing wrong.
Flying to kiss a fair lady’s cheek;
Clinging to lips in a frolicsome freak;        
Beautiful snow, from the heavens above,
Pure as an angel and fickle as love!

O the snow, the beautiful snow!
How the flakes gather and laugh as they go!
Whirling about in its maddening fun,        
It plays in its glee with every one.
          Chasing,
            Laughing,
              Hurrying by,
It lights up the face and it sparkles the eye;        
And even the dogs, with a bark and a bound,
Snap at the crystals that eddy around.
The town is alive, and its heart in a glow,
To welcome the coming of beautiful snow.

How the wild crowd go swaying along,        
Hailing each other with humor and song!
How the gay sledges like meteors flash by,—
Bright for the moment, then lost to the eye!
          Ringing,
            Swinging,        
              Dashing they go
Over the crest of the beautiful snow:
Snow so pure when it falls from the sky,
To be trampled in mud by the crowd rushing by;
To be trampled and tracked by the thousands of feet        
Till it blends with the horrible filth in the street.

Once I was pure as the snows,—but I fell:
Fell, like the snow-flakes, from heaven—to hell:
Fell, to be tramped as the filth of the street:
Fell, to be scoffed, to be spit on, and beat.        
          Pleading,
            Cursing,
              Dreading to die,
Selling my soul to whoever would buy,
Dealing in shame for a morsel of bread,        
Hating the living and fearing the dead.
Merciful God! have I fallen so low?
And yet I was once like this beautiful snow!

Once I was fair as the beautiful snow,
With an eye like its crystals, a heart like its glow;        
Once I was loved for my innocent grace,—
Flattered and sought for the charm of my face.
          Father,
            Mother,
              Sisters all,        
God, and myself, I have lost by my fall.
The veriest wretch that goes shivering by
Will take a wide sweep, lest I wander too nigh;
For all that is on or about me, I know
There is nothing that ’s pure but the beautiful snow.        

How strange it should be that this beautiful snow
Should fall on a sinner with nowhere to go!
How strange it would be, when the night comes again,
If the snow and the ice struck my desperate brain!
          Fainting,        
            Freezing,
              Dying alone,
Too wicked for prayer, too weak for my moan
To be heard in the crash of the crazy town,
Gone mad in its joy at the snow’s coming down;        
To lie and to die in my terrible woe,
With a bed and a shroud of the beautiful snow!

LINKS

“Beautiful Snow, and Other Poems”: full e-version of the collection

Northern Exposure Wiki: the “First Snow” entry

Oh, the Snow – insert from the “First Snow” episode of Northern Exposure

COVER IMAGE CREDIT

Simon Berger via Unsplash

#AmericanLiterature #JohnWhittakerWatson #learningEnglish #literature #NorthernExposure #poem #poetry #reading #readingComprehension #snow #winter

#americanliterature #johnwhittakerwatson #learningenglish #literature #northernexposure #poem

grammaticus @[email protected] · 2024-04-11 · 20:31 UTC

I’ll Fly Away

Some glad morning when this life is o'er
I'll fly away
To a home on God’s celestial shore
I'll fly away

You may have heard this song in the film O Brother, Where Art Thou, or in the popular late-1990s TV series 7th Heaven. Performed by numerous country, bluegrass, and pop music performers, I’ll Fly Away will soon mark its first centenary: originally written as a church hymn by Alfred E. Brumley in 1929, its folksy tune and the message of life eternal continues to inspire hope and faith. And it happens to be one of my all-time favourite songs!

In this post I’ll present an annotated version of the lyrics intended primarily for English language learners: below the lyrics you’ll find the vocabulary notes, along with the links to just a few of the renditions accessible on YouTube. Each one is different, so you can compare different styles.

Tell me how you like this song in the comments section at the bottom of the page!

Some glad morning when this life is o'er, 
I'll fly away; 
To a home on God's celestial shore, 
I'll fly away 

[Chorus] 
I'll fly away, Oh Glory 
I'll fly away; (in the morning) 
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by, 
I'll fly away. 

When the shadows of this life have gone, 
I'll fly away; 
Like a bird from prison bars has flown, 
I'll fly away (I'll fly away) 

[Chorus] 

Just a few more weary days and then, 
I'll fly away; 
To a land where joy shall never end, 
I'll fly away (I'll fly away)

[Chorus]

VOCABULARY NOTES

GLAD (adj.) – causing happiness and satisfaction

CELESTIAL (adj.) – heavenly, in heaven

HALLELUJAH (n.) – expression of joy, happiness or thanks (the original meaning of this Hebrew expression is ‘praise the Lord’)

BY AND BY (adv.) – soon, after a short period of time, in a little while; eventually

BARS (n.) – long, thin pieces of wood or metal used to prevent someone from leaving a cage or a prison cell

WEARY (adj.) – very tired, with no energy or enthusiasm

RECOMMENDED VIDEOS

Joey+Rory (live version)

Cover by Megan Miller

Johnny Cash (from the My Mother’s Hymn Book album)

COVER IMAGE CREDIT

Photo by Pablo Heimplatz via Unsplash

#bluegrass #Christianity #church #churchMusic #EnglishVocabulary #faith #hymn #learningEnglish #lyrics #music #song

#bluegrass #christianity #church #churchmusic #englishvocabulary #faith

Terry Wallwork @[email protected] · 2023-07-31 · 12:50 UTC

Educational and Fun Puzzles and Board Games for Toddlers and Kids in Japan | Tiny Tot In Tokyo

https://tinytotintokyo.com/educational-and-fun-puzzles-and-board-games-for-toddlers-and-kids-in-japan

> Puzzles and board games are an excellent way to not only connect with your child but also stimulate their mind by helping them learn and hone essential skills

#Japanese #English #日本語 #英語 #LearningEnglish
#LearningJapanese #日本語の勉強 #英語の勉強 #Japan #JapaneseCulture #Akachan #Baby #Toddler #kodomo