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The Primavera English Blog

A Cycling Adventure

Hanna Cavanna, January 4, 2022

Today I want to tell you about a project I am very excited about. Yesterday my son Denton and husband, Reuben, set off with another father-son duo on a bike expedition from Asunción, Paraguay, to the Atlantic coast at Curitiba, Brazil, a journey of one thousand kilometers. Besides being an amazing adventure, the trip is a fundraiser for the PROED-SERVOME school in Bella Vista, Asuncion...

Word of the Month: Habit (hábito)

Shana Goodwin, January 1, 2022

Happy New Year! We’re expecting great things to happen in 2022, and we’re especially excited about all that our students will achieve this year. One word we talk a lot about at the end of the year and the beginning of the new year is “resolution.” What is a resolution? Basically, it’s the decision to stop a bad habit and replace it with a good one...

Pizza at Primavera!

Emily Thomson, December 13, 2021

Who doesn’t love pizza? Last Friday evening, we invited our teen students to join us for a pizza party. But what made the event fun was that each student made their own pizza (or pizzas) themselves! This was a great way to practice food and cooking vocabulary, and learn some new culinary skills in the process...

Word of the Month: Christmas Vocab!

Shana Goodwin, December 1, 2021

As I mentioned in a previous post, I love Christmas, so I couldn’t decide on just one word for December. As a bonus this month, enjoy learning (or refreshing your memory with) the following list of Christmas vocab words!

The Difference between “For” and “To”

Shana Goodwin, November 18, 2021

The simplest explanation for knowing when to use “to” or “for” when talking about a reason or function is that “for” is followed by a noun or gerund, and “to” is followed by a verb. Examples: The ciclovía is a great place for walking and biking. The ciclovía is a great place to walk and bike...

Restroom or Bathroom?

Shana Goodwin, November 8, 2021

Almost all of my students have asked me this at some point: What’s the difference between “restroom” and “bathroom”? When should I use each? The answer is very simple: in my own house, I use “bathroom,” but when I’m in other people’s houses, or in public, I say “restroom.” ...

Word of the Month: Patient

Shana Goodwin, November 1, 2021

What does “patient” mean? Patient is a good word for me in November because I love Christmas and I love birthdays, and both my birthday and Christmas are in December. I always get impatient...

Trick or Treat!

Michelle Cavanna, October 29, 2021

Last night we hosted a crowd of witches, pirates, princesses, and their parents in an October celebration, the first of its kind here (to my memory). Several families in our neighborhood opened their doors to the young visitors to give them candies or cookies. Many of our young English students stopped by to eat...

How to Use “Since”

Shana Goodwin, October 15, 2021

In my classes with adults, or in my TOEFL prep classes, I often hear students confusing their usage of the words “since,” “from,” and “for.” “Since” is used to express the time duration for an action or state that started in the past and is still continuing in the present. It is used with the present perfect continuous or present perfect simple tenses...

Word of the Month: Heavy

Shana Goodwin, October 1, 2021

What does heavy mean? In reality, the word heavy has more than twenty definitions! I only included the most commonly used definitions in this post. In Asuncion in October, the balmy spring weather turns into hot and humid summer, and the air feels really heavy...

Celebrating 1OO Days to Christmas

Michelle Cavanna, September 18, 2021

Learning a language is not only about studying grammar and expanding your vocabulary. It’s important to learn about the traditions and customs of the countries in which that language is spoken as well – and fortunately, that’s a very fun thing to do! This week we invited many of our young students to a party...

Word of the Month: Blossom

Shana Goodwin, September 16, 2021

What better word for September than “blossom”? In Asuncion in September, you can’t walk a block without stepping on Lapacho or Bougainvillea blossoms, or seeing them cascading over walls and doorways...

New Staff Member: A Beta Fish

Jeanette Bazeley, September 4, 2021

Meet the newest staff member at Primavera English! This beautiful blue beta fish now lives in one of our classrooms, where he delights students of all ages. The younger students are enthralled to watch him eat the fish food they give him, and he never misses the chance to show off his lovely colors...

The Difference between In and On

Shana Goodwin, August 26, 2021

In Spanish, the preposition “en” is used to indicate position in space or time. But in English, there are two prepositions that replace “en”: in and on. It can be difficult to know which one to use when, and although they are often interchangeable, here are a few general guidelines...

Word of the Month: pretty

Shana Goodwin, August 2, 2021

Pretty is a pretty common word in English, because it has an adjective, adverb, and verb form. You will most often hear it being used in its adverb form, where it means “moderately,” or “quite”...

The Difference between Make and Do

Shana Goodwin, July 14, 2021

Use “make” when talking about creating, building, or producing something. Use “do” when talking about work or tasks...

A Roundup of Our Favorite Online Resources for Teaching ESL

Shana Goodwin, July 8, 2021

When I’m preparing for class, it’s sometimes overwhelming how many online ESL resources exist, […]

Word of the Month: frozen

Shana Goodwin, July 1, 2021

Fro-zen Verb Past participle of freeze. Example: The lake was frozen last week, but […]

The Difference Between Later and After

Shana Goodwin, June 18, 2021

After you read this article, you’ll be a pro on how to use these two words. Both “later” and “after” mean “at a time in the future.” But the words are used differently...

The Difference Between Say and Tell

Jeanette Bazeley, June 8, 2021

The simple way to think of the differences between say and tell is: You say something. You tell someone something...

Why I Always Include Running Games When I Teach Kids’ English Classes

Michelle Cavanna, June 7, 2021

Running games are an amazing learning tool, giving children a way to have fun, vent some of their energy, learn English vocabulary, and practice teamwork...

Word of the Month: tenacious

Shana Goodwin, June 1, 2021

What does the word "tenacious" mean? If you are tenacious in your English studies, that means you will not only complete your assigned homework each day, but also set aside time to practice speaking, listen to an English podcast...

Meet Messi, Assistant English Teacher

Janean Fischli, May 25, 2021

My young students’ favorite part of class is visiting Messi, our resident parrot and assistant English teacher. During class, we often go outside and spend a few minutes talking to Messi...

Improve English Pronunciation with Tongue Twisters, Part 2

Shana Goodwin, May 17, 2021

Listen to the audio recordings below and practice saying these short tongue twisters to help improve your pronunciation of the English consonants “l” and “r”...

Word of the Month: Strength

Shana Goodwin, May 4, 2021

May is Mother’s Day month! Mothers are a great illustration of the meaning of “strength,” as they raise, nurture, and love their children no matter what comes, whether it’s a stubbed toe or a global pandemic...

Learning from the Ancients

Emily Thomson, April 28, 2021

As part of our European geography unit, my class and I delved into the mythical world of Greek gods and goddesses. Along with a lot of new vocabulary, my students gained wisdom from the ancients!...

Improve Pronunciation with Tongue Twisters, Part 1

Shana Goodwin, April 14, 2021

How should you practice tongue twisters to improve your English? Start by reading slowly, word by word. It can be helpful...

Word of the Month: Conserve

Shana Goodwin, April 1, 2021

April 22 is Earth Day, celebrated around the world to bring awareness to protecting the Earth’s environment. But we can protect the environment every day by conserving resources like water, gasoline, and oil. What will you do to celebrate Earth Day? How can you help conserve Earth’s resources?

A Universe of Fun

Carissa Cavanna, March 16, 2021

As well as teaching English, I love painting and art projects, so I was excited to hear that my middle school-aged students shared my passion...

What’s the Difference between Very and Too?

Shana Goodwin, March 15, 2021

How do I know when to use “very” and when to use “too”? Both words are adverbs, so they...

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