Thank you Karolina for your final blog of the month. It's a shame that you haven't had the time to write more, as I think we have all enjoyed reading your posts and finding out about life in Poland.

However, if you're glued to the desk it's not so much fun, especially when you know that other people are enjoying the sunshine outside. Offices with lots of windows can feel like giant greenhouses, and if you're stuck on the busy underground in hot weather, the heat can be stifling and very unpleasant.

When the weather is hot, I like to stroll down by the river on my way home. It's a great way to unwind and breathe in the summer air. It's important to grab opportunities like this when they come along, as it is more than likely to rain again by the end of the week! Fingers crossed the good weather will last a little longer so we can all make the most of it.

Let's take a look at Karolina's final blog, all about... well, according to Karolina, her cousin's 'weeding'.

Karolina's blog
When I first read the title of your blog, 'Weeding day' (which I later corrected), I was a little surprised. At first I thought you were writing about a day working in the garden. Why?

Well, a small mistake in spelling can vastly change the meaning of a word. You wrote about your cousin's weeding. If you are weeding the garden, it means that you are getting rid of all of the unwanted flowers and plants - the weeds.

Your father is in the garden doing the weeding.

What you meant to write about was your cousin's wedding. This is where two people get married to each other - quite a different event! So always check your spelling.

There are a few other things which you can do to improve your writing, so let me point some out to you.

Prepositions
Some of the prepositions that you have used in your sentences aren't quite right. For example, you write:

Last weekend I spend on my cousin's wedding.

If you are going somewhere, we talk about spending time 'at' something. So you should have written:

Last weekend I spent [time] at my cousin's wedding.

If you bought expensive presents, you could say:

Last weekend I spent money on my cousin for her wedding.

Changing the preposition from 'at' to 'on' also changes the meaning of the verb 'to spend'. You also write:

We play in many games.

You don't need a preposition here: the correct way to write this is simply,

We play many games.

Agreement
There are quite a few occasions in this current blog where your subject and verb do not agree. What is the correct form of the verb that should go in these gaps?

The bride ________ her flowers (to throw)

Every girl ______ to sit on her chair (to have)

Again, try to make sure that you have the correct form of the verb - it will all help to make your writing a lot more fluent.

Finally, you mention 'oczepiny', but you don't tell us what it is - keep in mind that your readers may not understand traditions from your own country, so sometimes you may need to explain more about what they are.

Well done and thank you for all of your blogs and remember to keep writing and speaking as much English as you can: practice makes perfect!

Homework answers
Here are the homework answers from last week - congratulations to everyone who got them all right!

1. Flooding has devastated this small fishing village.
2. It's pouring with rain outside. My barbeque will be ruined!
3. My boyfriend wants to split up with me: I'm devastated.
4. Around the corner is a ruined Roman fort.
5. If the share price keeps falling, the company will be financially ruined and the boss will be devastated.

Thank you to all of you for your comments and participation this month. I'll be handing over to another teacher blogger for next month, so watch this space to find out who is going to be leading you on your English journey next time!

Jennifer

Vocabulary
soaring - rising
carefree - without worries
head down to - go to
a spot of - a bit of
disposable - something which can be thrown away
a rare treat - something nice which doesn't happen often
glued to the desk - stuck at work
greenhouses - glass buildings for growing plants
stifling - very hot and difficult to breathe
stroll - walk
unwind - relax
more than likely - probably
fingers crossed - hopefully
weeds - unwanted garden plants
watch this space - keep checking here

Thanks to everyone who got in touch after my last couple of blogs, in particular thanks to Jow who shared a very interesting legend about two sparring giants. There are so many tales of giants throughout the world, it seems that almost every country has its own myths of colossal human beings. It's not too late to tell us about the local legends where you are.

Adjectives to describe buildings
First of all, you use the word "devastated" a couple of times to describe some of the older buildings in your city:

Now it's very devastated but it was a beautiful building in the past.

It's not crowded or devastated.

The word "devastated" has a couple of different meanings in English. Although it can be used to describe the state of buildings, it usually means that a place has been completely wrecked or is no longer standing. Here are some examples:

This city was devastated by a massive earthquake.

The town has been devastated by so many bombings.

In addition, the word "devastated" can be used to describe the feeling of being overwhelmed with sadness. For example, if someone dies suddenly, their family may be devastated by their loss.

However, Karolina is describing buildings which are still there in the city, so let's take a look at some adjectives you could use to describe disused buildings.

This pub is dilapidated. It's old and in very bad condition. You could also use this word to describe an area in general.

In this picture we can see a derelict factory. It's not an old building, but it is empty and also in very bad condition. You could also say it's run-down.

This picture shows a castle in England. We can say this castle is ruined, which means many of its parts have been severely damaged over time. We tend to use this adjective when referring to much older buildings. Karolina uses this adjective in her blog to describe a castle in her home town.

Adjectives give your writing a lot of colour and flavour, but make sure the translation is correct before you use them.

Subject / verb agreement
Make sure that your subject and verb agree. Your blog is generally very good, but there's a mistake in the last sentence.

There is a lot of interesting places in my city which I would like to show you.

"Places" is plural, so we need to say "there are", rather than "there is".

Article improvement
Karolina's use of articles in this blog is much better - so well done. There are still a couple of slip-ups, for example:

it will be ___ party with a folk band

but generally your writing has improved.

It's been great learning about your hometown and really getting to know where you're from. Next time, why not tell us a little more about yourself and your studies?

Homework answers
Here are the answers from last week. Well done if you got it right!

"But there is also an historical explanation."

"One of the destroyed buildings was the Royal Castle..."

"So the castle was devastated by Swedish, German and Russian armies."

When you use the indefinite article ("a") in front of a word which begins with a vowel sound, you need to use "an" instead.

This week's homework
We've already seen that the word "devastated" can have two meanings. The word "ruined" also has two meanings. Firstly it can be used to describe a building which is falling down, but also it can be used to describe something which has been spoiled.
Complete the sentences below and choose either "devastated" or "ruined".

1. Flooding has _____________ this small fishing village.
2. It's pouring with rain outside. My barbeque will be ________!
3. My boyfriend wants to split up with me: I'm ___________.
4. Around the corner is a ______________ Roman fort.
5. If the share price keeps falling, the company will be financially _________ and the boss will be ___________.

Good luck - and I'll give you the answers in my next blog!

Jennifer

Vocabulary
sparring - fighting
colossal - huge
overwhelmed - overcome by a feeling
disused - no longer in use
dilapidated - falling apart and in a poor state
condition - state
derelict - empty and in a poor state
run-down - not taken care of, in a poor condition
slip-ups - mistakes

Thanks to everyone for the comments on my last post and I'm pleased to see so many new people getting involved with our BBC Learning English blog. We'll look at the homework answers later but first let's take a look at Karolina's second blog.

When you are writing about something that involves a lot of facts, especially historical ones, it's really important to break up your writing into paragraphs and manageable sentences so that it doesn't become too monotonous for the reader. Each paragraph should demonstrate a key point or opinion.

Karolina did this very well. First of all, she explained in her introduction exactly what she was going to talk about and why: I particularly liked the use of Rajeeb's question as a quotation to help set up the article. This was followed by some very interesting theories about the etymology of the name 'Warsaw', and finally we heard some of Karolina's own opinions on history and what she likes about it.

Like Karolina, I'm also interested in my local history. The north-east of England, where I'm from, is rich in cultural history and has its own myths and legends. My favourite local legend has to be the tale of the Lambton Worm. It tells the story of a young man named John Lambton, who decides to miss church one Sunday morning and go fishing in the River Wear instead. He manages to catch a small worm, which he then throws down a nearby well.

Lambton forgets about the worm and goes off to war. While he is away, the worm begins to grow and becomes huge and menacing, eating livestock and causing havoc around the town. Eventually it grows so large that it becomes wrapped around Penshaw Hill and Lambton must return to kill it.

Penshaw Hill and monument in the north-east of England.

The story has been handed down through generations as a folk song. It's most likely to be a religious allegory about the dangers of sinful living, but as a child, I loved the idea that a monstrous worm may have existed near to me! Are there any legends about monsters or mythical creatures in your country?

Once again, Karolina's blog was very well written, but I'll point out a couple of small errors.

Capitol or capital?
Beware these two nouns! They have very similar spellings, but their meanings differ. "Capital" in this context refers to the city that serves as a seat of government, but "capitol" refers to the actual building in which a legislative assembly meets.

Check it or check it out?
Karolina writes: "I don't have my own photography of it but you can check it on the Internet."

I'm not sure if you mean "you can check it out" - this means to see something for your self. If you "check something on the Internet," you're verifying whether something is true or not.

Articles...
This article is much better in terms of using articles (the or a/an), but there are still a few missing... Try to work out what they are:

"But there is also ___ historical explanation."

"One of ___ destroyed buildings was ___ Royal Castle..."

"So ___ castle was devastated by Swedish, German and Russian armies.

Which leads me on nicely to...

Homework answers

Now we are at the end of the long holiday which lasts nine days.

I was mostly reading a book and enjoying the beautiful weather.

But the evenings were reserved for our favourite activity.

He needs a special stick to grill the sausages.

Well done to everyone who did the homework - articles can be very confusing at times. This week, I'd like you write a few lines about your own local myths or legends - let's see how many different ones we can learn about!

Jennifer

Vocabulary
myth - a traditional or legendary story
monotonous - boring, tedious
etymology - the study of the origins of words
tale - story
menacing - scary or threatening
livestock - farm animals, often sheep and cows
havoc - destruction or devastation
folk song - a traditional, local song passed down through generations
allegory - a story used to symbolize a deeper moral or spiritual meaning
monstrous - terrifying or resembling a monster

It's Jennifer here - I'm back as your teacher blogger for the next month.

A very warm welcome to Caroline, who is our latest student blogger and many thanks for your first blog. Most people in the BBC Learning English office will tell you that my life revolves around food, so I was very interested to hear about your "national sport". We'll look in closer detail at your blog later.

I'm particularly interested in seeing some of these places because, like many people, I haven't travelled much around my own country, yet I know that there will be some real hidden gems that will be well worth visiting.

It has become increasingly popular to remain in your own country rather than travel abroad for a holiday. The phrase 'staycation' was coined when it became clear that many people were spending their vacation a bit closer to home. Caroline mentioned in her blog that she would like to become a tour guide one day. I think that it would be wonderful to have extensive knowledge of a place and to be able to share that with other people.

Holidaying at home has a financial advantage: it's generally not as expensive to travel in your own country; you aren't ripped off by extortionate exchange rates; you don't have to spend hours looking for your passport; you don't even have to miss your favourite programme on the television! So I am going to watch the torch relay closely to see if I am inspired to stay at home in England for my holidays.

However, after reading Caroline's blog, I'm wondering if I should travel to Poland instead...

Caroline's blog
Your first blog is very informative, descriptive and funny. I liked the way that you used the metaphor "national sport" to refer to the popular way of spending evenings together over a barbecue. It's a humorous way to engage the reader and a good way to begin your blog.

Generally your level of English is very good but there are a couple of improvements which you could make to make it even better.

Vocabulary
You talk about your favourite activity - "grilling." In English, we talk about "barbecuing" rather than "grilling". The grill itself is called a "barbecue" (which can be fuelled by gas or coal), or you can use it as a verb "to barbecue something". For example:

Put some more coal on the barbecue.

I'm going to barbecue a whole chicken today.

There is a phrase in English "to give someone a grilling" - this means to interrogate someone or ask them a lot of difficult questions. I'm sure that you aren't referring to this type of grilling in your blog, though!

Subject / verb agreement
Try to ensure that you use a singular verb with a singular subject and a plural verb with a plural subject. For example, you say:

But evenings was reserved for our favourite activity...

The correct way of writing this is:

But evenings were reserved for our favourite activity...

Later you write: "Here you can see how baked potatoes looks." How should this be written?

Articles
A couple of times in your blog you have articles missing from your sentences. You can use the definite article ("the") or the indefinite article ("a/an") to make your English more fluent. Try it with these sentences:

Now we are at the end of ____ long holiday which lasts nine days.

I was mostly reading a book and enjoying _____ beautiful weather.

But _____ evenings were reserved for our favourite activity.

He needs ____ special stick to grill _____ sausage.

Have a go, and I'll let you know next week if you're right.

All in all, though, it's a lovely first blog Caroline. I'm really looking forward to hearing more about Poland (especially anything food-related). I think that if barbecuing was a real national sport, then I would definitely like to train to become an athlete!

See you all next week!

Jen

Vocabulary
my life revolves around... - ...is a very important part of my life
kick off - begin
hidden gems - undiscovered places
staycation - a holiday at home
ripped off - cheated out of money
metaphor - a word or phrase which represents something else
engage - hold the attention of

I hope you're all well. Here in the UK, people are gearing up to celebrate Mother's Day, which will be on Sunday 18th March.

It's a celebration which honours motherhood and for many sons and daughters, it's an opportunity to thank their mother for bringing them up.

Once a year, children would be permitted to go home and make a visit to their 'mother' church - that is, the church near their family's home - and on the way, many would pick violets or wild flowers to take to church, or to give to their mother.

Many countries have a specific day on which they honour and thank their mother, with similar roots in many religions and cultures. I suppose the matriarch is such an important figure in most types of society, it's no wonder that Mother's Day has developed in the way it has.

Nowadays it's an extremely commercial festive day, with some people spending hundreds of pounds on greetings cards, chocolates, flowers and presents for their mum. There's a lot of pressure to prove your love through the buying of fancy gifts. If you've got brothers and sisters, it can become a case of sibling rivalry or one-upmanship when it comes to buying the best present for Mum.

And that leads me on to my next Mother's Day observation. In English, it's rare to address the person that brought you into the world directly as 'Mother'. It's more common to call her 'Mum', or little ones might call her 'Mummy'; very little ones, 'Mamma'.

But I come from Newcastle, in the north-east of England, where the word 'Mum' would sound exceedingly posh and out of place. My mother is affectionately called 'Mam', and this spelling and pronunciation is common throughout many parts of the UK.

In the past, I've always felt a bit silly sending a greetings card with 'Thanks Mum' written on the front, as it just isn't what I would normally call her, so it didn't feel right. But, to my delight, on a recent trip home, someone has recognised a gap in the market for us northerners who want to spoil our mothers, and a card shop has introduced a whole new aisle of cards for 'Mam' and 'Mammy'.

A card shop in Newcastle with 'Mam' cards.

On Sunday, I'll be sending flowers and a card, with a promise of a trip up north to see my 'Mam' very soon, but I hope that she thinks I'm a good daughter all year round, and not just on Mother's Day!

Do you celebrate Mother's Day in your country? I'd love to know what the traditions are in your culture, so get in touch and let me know!

Jennifer

VOCABULARY
gearing up to - preparing to
bringing them up - rearing them
matriarch - female head of the family
commercial - for profit
sibling rivalry - competition between brothers and sisters
one-upmanship - the act of trying to do something better than someone else
posh - upper-class
a gap in the market - an opportunity to sell something new

Just a quick one from me to give you the homework answers from my last blog. The task was to look at common abbreviations and acronyms that appear in English, particularly in email and text / internet language. Many of you knew a couple, but some were a little more confusing. Here are the answers!

2. ASAP - 'As soon as possible'. You will often hear people using this in everyday speech, for example, "I've just left work - I'll be there ASAP!"

3. brb - 'Be right back'. This is a common one used for internet chat if you have to go away from your computer!

4. ttfn - 'Ta-ta for now!' An informal way of saying goodbye.

5. A.O.B - 'Any other business'. You may see this written on an agenda for a meeting.

It's time for me to say a very quick 'TTFN' to all of you, as I'm off to take a well-earned break and have a little holiday in Africa! I'll be sure to show you some of my pictures when I get back.

There'll be a new teacher with you next week!

TTFN!

Jennifer

Here in the UK it was Valentine's Day yesterday, so many people were caught up in buying romantic cards and gifts for their loved ones. Many people are quite cynical about the day and think that all of the hype comes from greetings card companies and shops who want you to buy their products.

Hundreds of Valentine's Day cards on sale

But should it not be more important to show your partner that you love them all year round? Surely a spontaneous kind gesture would be better than a mass-produced card and predictable box of chocolates from the supermarket? Is it better to hear an unexpected 'I love you' than seeing it on a cheesy card? I think being genuinely loving all year round might be a better than being forced to spend lots of money on one day in February.

But however much I question the real value of Valentine's Day, I do know this: I would have been terribly upset if I hadn't received a little card... And some of the Valentine's cakes on offer are really too good to miss...

My tasty Valentine's Day surprise!

JANE'S BLOG

It's great to read your first two blogs and see that you're so enthusiastic about learning English. Such keenness will stand you in good stead and help to develop your language enormously.

Your writing is very engaging and full of passion and emotion and, contrary to what you think, your vocabulary and grammar are generally very good. However, I've noticed a few repeated mistakes that I think we can take a look at...

PLURALS
In your writing, you have a tendency to write nouns in the singular form. Look at these sentences from your first blog:

"I like reading comic book so I read those in English language."
"I like watching movie so I watched them in English language."
"I like song so I listening to them in English language."

Your object pronouns here ('those/them') are correctly plural - you just need to match this with the object of your sentence, which also must be plural here. So what you should write is:

"I like reading comic books"
"I like watching movies"
"I like songs," etc.

There are a few examples of this in your second blog too. Let's take a look at this beautiful paragraph about your experience at university:

"When I think about the thing we have done together, the moment we all had fun, the moment we all share our sadness, etc, and to think that I have to say Goodbye to them soon, tear starting to form in my eyes."

We need plurals here too to make this sound more English, so it should read:

"When I think about the things we have done together, the moments we all had fun, the moments we all share our sadness, etc, and to think that I have to say goodbye to them soon, tears start to form in my eyes."

Have a look back through your first two blogs and take a look at the nouns you have used, thinking about whether they may need to be plural or not.

HOMEWORK
Jane signs off her second blog with "btw" - do you know what that means? It's an abbreviation of the phrase "by the way", and is a common way to communicate a message, particularly in email, internet chat or text messaging. Do you know what the following abbreviations mean and where you might see them?
1. lol
2. ASAP
3. brb
4. ttfn
5. A.O.B

That's all from me for this week. There's one last thing I wanted to know from Jane, though. How did you and your friends jump so high on your last photograph? It's been puzzling me for ages!

Jennifer

VOCABULARY
stand you in good stead - become useful to you
cynical - mistrustful
swamped - overwhelmed by
other half - partner
overpriced - costing more than it's worth
put the pressure on you - make you feel you must do something
spontaneous - unplanned
predictable - expected
cheesy - bad taste

Thanks for all of your comments on my last blog, and welcome to those of you who are participating for the first time. It's good to see so many tips about learning English! I think the general theme of people's advice is that it's good to get stuck in, even if you feel a little shy or embarrassed. It doesn't matter if you make mistakes - eventually you'll get it right, and have some great experiences along the way.

Another very famous Brit celebrated an anniversary this week. Queen Elizabeth II took to the throne sixty years ago this week after learning that her father, King George VI, had died. Most of the celebrations for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee will take place in June, including a flotilla of one thousand boats sailing along the River Thames - what a sight that will be!

But for me, an interesting anniversary that was perhaps less well-known than the two above was the anniversary of French film director Francois Truffaut, who was born eighty years ago this week. When I first began to learn French as a teenager, my teacher encouraged the class to absorb as much of the language as we possibly could. As well as reading novels, newspapers and magazines, she gave us a pile of movies to watch, which not only helped us to learn the language, but also gave us a taste of French culture.

Francois Truffaut (Getty Images)

My favourite film by Truffaut is called 'Les Quatre Cents Coups', or 'The Four Hundred Blows.' It's a partly autobiographical film all about an adolescent boy in Paris who is thought to be a bit of a trouble maker. It's a beautiful film.

Watching television programmes or films can be a good way to practise a foreign language. Have any of you used this as a way to understand English? What did you learn or find difficult?

HOMEWORK

Here is a paragraph all about the writer Charles Dickens. Try to choose the right tense for the sentence, but beware, it may be tricky!

This week saw the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens, who __________ (lives/lived) in London in the 1800s. Before he wrote stories, he ________ (is/was) a journalist. He ________ (writes/wrote) many novels which explored the theme of poverty in London. Many of his characters __________ (were/are) very well-known, such as Scrooge or Oliver Twist. Dickens _________ (is/was) still one of the most popular writers in English literature today.

I'll give you the answers next week, when we'll also meet our new student blogger!

See you then!

Jennifer

VOCABULARY
to get stuck in - to throw yourself into doing something
quintessentially - typically
poverty - the state of being very poor
jubilee -celebration of a particular anniversary
flotilla - a group of boats or vessels
absorb - take in

Thanks to Xiaowei for her final blog - it really made me think and brought back a lot of memories from when I lived abroad.

I was nineteen when I did my compulsory year abroad as part of my degree. Looking back, it seems like a really young age to go off into the wide world alone, but as you say, there are so many things to learn from such an experience. I lived in Paris and for a long time, I felt like a tourist: a little bit lost, a little bit conspicuous... I was convinced that folks could tell that I wasn't a proper citizen.

Me as a young student living in Paris

Like Xiaowei, I had friends who spoke my language and it was often a welcome relief to speak in my mother tongue - speaking foreign languages all of the time can be exhausting, as I'm sure you know!

However, there were a few things I did learn during my time abroad. First of all, I realised that, unlike a lot of the people who lived in the city, I didn't take anything for granted. I was keen to explore museums, wander around art galleries or go to local festivals, whereas the locals perhaps weren't so keen. They didn't have a clue about many of the wonderful things to do right on their doorstep, but in time, I was able to tell them interesting facts about their own history that even they didn't know. That's definitely an advantage to being an ex-pat abroad.

As for everything else, integrating takes time. One day you'll find that you are laughing at a joke you previously didn't understand, or perhaps you might end up giving a local person directions. If you look back to how you felt when you first unpacked your suitcase, I'm sure that you are already far closer than you think.

LANGUAGE

I've just got a couple of things to point out about Xiaowei's recent post.

1) In your sentence,

"I like collecting information of interesting places and gatherings in Sydney."

it's probably easier to say "I like finding out about interesting places and gatherings in Sydney."

2) Uncountable nouns

There is another uncountable noun in your blog which you have put in the plural form incorrectly. I bet you didn't spot it! It's the word "scenery".

"...as well as wandering around to see the pleasant sceneries in my free time."

In English, we say "the pleasant scenery", no matter how many "views" we are talking about!

HOMEWORK

When you're living in a foreign town or city, it can really take a long time to get to know a place and to feel at home. When I was living in Paris, I knew I was settling down when I plucked up the courage to go into my local cheese shop and ask to try a sample of some goat's cheese, something I'd seen my real French friends do. It was such a small thing to do, but made a big difference in boosting my confidence (and the cheese was delicious).

I'd like to know about your experiences of spending time abroad and speaking foreign languages. Was there something which you were afraid to do? What happened when you tried it? What tips can you give to others who are just starting out on their journey?

FAREWELL TO XIAOWEI
It's time to say a final farewell to Xiaowei. Thanks for entertaining us all with your blog and letting us know about your exciting experiences in Sydney.

Good luck with the rest of your time in Australia and continue to keep chipping away at learning English!

Jennifer

VOCABULARY
conspicuous - easily noticed
folks could tell - people could notice
mother tongue - first language
take for granted - treat something with indifference
on their doorstep - close by
plucked up the courage - summoning up the confidence to do something
chipping away at - working at something bit by bit

Just a short-ish blog from me ahead of the weekend, I'll have more for you next week.

I hope that this weekend will live up to the last. On Saturday I was lucky enough to be invited to take part in a project that my friend Lucy has undertaken as one of her New Year's Resolutions. I say lucky, because this project is all about one of my favourite subjects: food.

Every week she is inviting different friends to dinner so that she can tick off some more recipes, so last weekend it was my turn to sample her culinary delights!

As part of her three course meal, Lucy served avocado with prawns and a cool tomato salsa; coq au Riesling (which had been made with an entire bottle of wine!); and a deliciously rich white chocolate mousse. She even decorated it with little spoons to look like oars, as she knows how much I love rowing! I wolfed it down.

Lucy's delicious white chocolate mousse!

Lucy has now cooked 51 recipes from her book and has 194 to go. Hopefully that means that I'll get another invite somewhere along the line to come and try some more of her delicious cooking!

Reading Xiaowei's blog, it looks like she's a pretty good cook too - those dumplings look mouthwatering!

LANGUAGE

Once again, Xiaowei's language is very clear, descriptive and funny! I laughed at the line: "Maybe the lions just feel too chilly to dance there." I don't blame them!

I've just picked out one sentence where the context of the words you use doesn't really fit what you're describing:

"However this was often the most boisterous moment in the street: dozens of younger families like us mushroomed outside to get a taxi home (until 15 years ago private cars were not spread yet taxi were quite affordable in my city)."

In English, the word "boisterous" is often used to describe people - you often hear people complaining that their children are being too boisterous. I think instead you could use the word "lively" here, and so the sentence would read:

"However this was often the liveliest moment in the street."

The word "mushroomed" is a great word to use, but perhaps not here. It means something which grows in number very quickly - think of mushrooms growing in a forest and how quickly they sprout up. Instead you could use the phrase "piled out into" (which has the sense of many people gathering and pushing), or even the word "rushed", which would give more of a sense of urgency.

Finally, the word "widespread" should be used instead of "spread".

I look forward to your last week of blogging!

HOMEWORK

Here are the answers from the last piece of homework:

My sister Wendy moved house at the weekend, so all of the family had to come and pitch in. She had lots of boxes which were jam-packed with books and ornaments - they were really heavy! I was really tired after a late night on Friday, but lifting boxes early in the morning really blows the cobwebs away! She couldn't manage on her own, so having the family around to help was a real necessity. After we moved everything to the new house, I was surprised at how quickly Wendy unpacked and had the place looking fantastic - she's got a keen eye for interior design!

Well done to everyone who got it right, especially those of you who have tried to use these words in your comments. There'll be more homework next week.

Have a great weekend everybody, and let me know if you eat anything tasty...

Jennifer

VOCABULARY
mammoth task - big job
culinary delights - delicious food
wolfed it down - ate something very quickly
mouthwatering - delicious looking

Thank you for your blog comments and thanks again to Xiaowei for her latest blog, which was jam-packed with brilliant photographs. Your dad clearly has a keen eye for a picture!

In 2010, the UK experienced a huge amount of snowfall which brought the country to a standstill for days, with very few planes or trains able to operate. Suddenly the beauty of the snow was replaced by a close study of the weather forecasts to find out when it might melt.

In contrast, this winter has been exceptionally mild so far, which is great for me, as one of my favourite sports involves being outdoors on the river in all weather...

I started rowing last year to try and take advantage of living near the River Thames. Everyone has to pitch in to help carry a boat onto the water, and wash it afterwards - it's a real pain sometimes, but it's a necessity unfortunately. Another disadvantage of rowing is that it's a very early morning sport - I have to wake up at 5.45am in order to get to the river for 7.00am.

So why do it at all? Firstly it's a great discipline, it teaches you a lot about teamwork. Secondly, you get a full-body workout - even on chilly winter mornings, it really blows the cobwebs away. Perhaps the best feeling about rowing is on a hot summer's day, when the sun is beating down on you on a beautifully still river. It's second to none.

Have you tried rowing before? Keep an eye out for it at the Olympic Games and see if it tempts you!

Once again, Xiaowei's blog is colourful and descriptive, with lots of interesting facts and anecdotes. I love the "tomatoes on sticks"; I've never tried hawthorn before so I couldn't imagine what they taste like. And as for the orange fruit, could they be kumquats? Just a guess!

Let's take a closer look at your blog and the language in it...

LANGUAGE

1) Tenses

There are a couple of instances in your blog where your tenses are incorrect. For example, you say:

"I came from a city called Anshan which is in the north east of China."
In English, we use the present tense to talk about where we come from, even if we don't live there any more. So the correct phrase to use is:

"I come from a city called Anshan which is in the north east of China."

Similarly, be careful when talking about the past. You write:

"When I was in primary school my favourite sport is to jump into the snow cover by the roadside on the way home..."

As you use the simple past tense in the first part of your sentence, you need to follow that with the same tense in the second part, so your sentence should read:

"When I was in primary school, my favourite sport was jumping in the snow."

2) No plurals for months

When talking about months, we don't use plurals to suggest it happens every year. You write:

"You always find something delicious and fresh to eat there in Septembers and Octobers."

which should be:

"You always find something delicious and fresh to eat there in September and October."

3) "Definitely I grew taller, but I mean the snow isn't as big as before..."

I love the humour in the first part of this sentence, but it would sound more English to say:

"Obviously I grew taller..."

Also, when we refer to snow, we wouldn't use the word "big", but we would talk about it being "deep" (if it's lying on the ground) or "heavy" (if it's falling from the sky)

HOMEWORK

Well done to everyone who tried the homework and got it right! The answers are below. Remember that using phrases like this in your writing will help you to sound more "English"!

Answers
1. to bad mouth = (e) to speak badly about
2. to put your foot in your mouth = (d) to say something stupid or embarrassing
3. to look like butter wouldn't melt in your mouth = (b) to appear to be innocent
4. to shut your mouth = (a) to stop talking
5. to mouth off = (c) to moan

This week:

Fill in the gaps with words from this week's vocabulary list.

My sister Wendy moved house at the weekend, so all of the family had to come and _____________. She had lots of boxes which were _____________ with books and ornaments - they were really heavy! I was really tired after a late night on Friday, but lifting boxes early in the morning really _____________! She couldn't manage on her own, so having the family around to help was a real _________. After we moved everything to the new house, I was surprised at how quickly Wendy unpacked and had the place looking fantastic - she's got ___________ for interior design!

VOCABULARY
jam-packed - crammed full
a keen eye - good visual judgement
pitch in - help out
necessity - something essential
discipline - training regime
blows the cobwebs away - makes you feel awake
second to none - the best
anecdotes - short, amusing stories

Thank you all for the warm welcome you've given me to BBC Learning English and well done to those of you who completed the homework - I'll give you the answers shortly.

I come from a coastal town in the north east of England called South Shields. The town is situated on the mouth of the River Tyne and boasts six miles of clean, sandy beaches. At first it may not seem as spectacular as the town described by Xiaowei, particularly because of the chilly wind which comes from the North Sea, but for me it's still beautiful in its own right.

My favourite thing to do is to go for a long walk on the beach on a spring morning, followed by a trip to Minchella's ice cream parlour. They make a mean knickerbocker glory! If you have never had one, it's an ice cream dessert served in a tall glass with lots of fruit, jelly and cream, with a couple of wafers thrown in!

Here are a couple of pictures of just such a trip home I made last year - don't the ice-creams look mouth-watering (but perhaps not so good for the waistline)?

South Shields beach in the spring

Two knickerbocker glory ice-creams... (not both for me!)

If you're ever in England, taking a trip to the north east coast is really worth it, it's a real hidden gem. Have any of you been to this part of the UK before?

Thanks to Xiaowei for your second blog. It sounds like you are really making the most of your time in Australia and I really believe that travel broadens the mind. What's been the best thing you've discovered since moving abroad?

LANGUAGE

Again your piece is full of detailed descriptions which really help us to picture the scene, but there are some little mistakes. Let's take a look.

1) Talking about being alone

A couple of times in your blog you use the phrase "with my own" to say that you travelled by yourself. The correct preposition to use for this is 'on', so you should have said:

"I took the trip there on my own nearly a year ago..."

"It was a fantastic experience of travelling on my own."

2) Spelling

Watch out for these spellings:

"It was exactly the same time of January last year when I was on summer vocation..."

The word 'vocation' means a specific job or career path - so the word you needed here was 'vacation' (which means 'holiday').

"I turned back to wonder around the town..."

This often catches people out, even native English speakers! The verb 'to wonder' means to think about something curiously, whereas 'to wander', which is what you should have used, means to stroll or walk around.

"It's a place famous for its lighthouse, blowhole and quality surfacing beaches."

Do you mean 'surfing beaches' here?

As you can see, an incorrect letter here or there can completely change the meaning of a word, so remember to check carefully to avoid mistakes!

3) "So here comes me to introduce Kiama..."

I understand what you mean here, but it doesn't sound particularly English. You might want to say "So this brings me to introduce Kiama..." or "So this leads me to talk about..." which would sound more fluent.

HOMEWORK

Here are last week's answers:

1) I'm going to apply to run the London Marathon.
2) Can I apply for a visa, please?
3) If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
4) Have you had any success in finding a job?

This week:

The word "mouth" has come up a couple of times in this week's blog ("mouth-watering", "mouth of the river"). Here are some more "mouth" idioms - see if you can match each phrase with each meaning:

1. to bad-mouth
2. to put your foot in your mouth
3. to look like butter wouldn't melt in your mouth
4. to shut your mouth
5. to mouth off

a) to stop talking
b) to appear to be innocent
c) to moan
d) to say something stupid or embarrassing
e) to speak badly about

That's all from me for this week, but I look forward to reading your blog and comments. Oh, and if anyone has any other ice-cream recipes, I'd love to hear those too!

Jennifer

VOCABULARY

tricky - difficult
mouth of the river - place where a river flows out to the sea
mean - (informal) fantastic
wafer - very thin, flaky biscuit
waistline - size of your stomach
hidden gem - little known discovery

First of all I'd like to say 'hello' and introduce myself. My name's Jennifer and I'm this month's teacher blogger. Not only am I new to the blog, but I am also new to BBC Learning English - I joined the team this week as a producer, so I'm slowly learning the ropes!

Hopefully by now your work will have settled down after the Christmas holiday period. Was your New Year as busy as Christmas Eve? How did you celebrate it? I'd be interested to hear about it.

LANGUAGE

I thought your blog was very engaging, particularly as you use a lot of adjectives and descriptive phrases. These really help to give us a flavour of what your life is like, especially the hustle and bustle of the supermarket on Christmas Eve.

Your English is very good indeed, but there are a few points to note which will help to improve it further.

In your blog, you write:

''I'm now studying Accounting at Sydney. Before I finished my Bachelor degree in China, majoring in Journalism...''

In English, university subjects or disciplines are not given capital letters unless they refer to a language. So you might study art with French, or English with accounting.

Look at the sentence below:

''I became a fan of the BBC when I was a freshman at university in China, and applied for setting up a blog at Learning English once but didn't success unfortunately''

There are a couple of things here that aren't quite right.

1) Apply for / apply to

In English, we can either use the phrase 'to apply for something' or 'to apply to do something.' So, for example, you could have said:

''I applied to write the student blog at Learning English.''

We use the phrase 'apply for' with a noun. For example:

''I applied for a job in the USA, so I had to apply for a visa.''

2) Succeed / success

You didn't get accepted on your first application, so you could say ''but didn't succeed'' or ''but didn't have any success.'' Here, 'succeed' is the verb and 'success' is the noun.

Finally, pay close attention to these uncountable nouns:

''with staffs standing at the gate''

''with full trolleys of foods, drinks and festival decorations''

In English, we can't make uncountable nouns plural, so have a look at these sentences again. How should they be written?

HOMEWORK

Choose the right word(s) to go in the gap

1) I'm going to _____________ run the London Marathon. (apply for / apply to)
2) Can I ___________ a visa, please? (apply for / apply to)
3) If at first you don't _________ , try, try again. (success / succeed)
4) Have you had any __________ in finding a job? (success / succeed)

Writing about your experiences at work or at home is a good way to practice your English - why not try keeping a diary and writing down the interesting things that happen to you?

That's it from me for this week - good luck!

VOCABULARY
learning the ropes - becoming familiar with a job
to bug someone - to annoy a person
engaging - interesting or captivating
give a flavour of - give a short description of
hustle and bustle - energetic activity