This post continues the list of  phrasal verbs that you can use when you speak and write English.  There are  many more that you can find in previous blog posts, and there will be yet more to be published in future posts.  We invite you to take our ESL classes at PC TECH to learn these and many more:

“Would you please look over my report to see if everything is accurate?”  [Examine lightly]

“I want to look up information about the United States soccer (football) team to find out if they have ever won a World Cup.”  [Research]

“She looks up to her grandmother to receive good advice.”  [Gives respect to]

“He made up an excuse when the boss asked him why he was late for work.”  [Invented]

“We were all mixed up after they gave us the wrong directions to get to Times Square” [Confused]

“His aunt and uncle passed away many years ago.” [Died; also, passed on]

“He passed out when they told him that he had won $10,000,000 in the lottery.” [Temporarily lost consciousness; fainted]

“The teacher requested that a student pass out the quiz papers to the class.” [Distribute]

“Please don’t pass up the opportunity to study English at PC TECH in New York City.” [Miss]

“I will lend you $10 for the taxi fare; you can pay me back tomorrow.” [Return something, usually money]

“They will pay for all the crimes they have committed.” [Be punished]

“Her mother took her shopping last week so she could pick out a nice birthday gift for her friend.” [Choose]

“Please point out the location of your city on the map.” [Indicate, often with the index finger]

PC TECH: English Language School in New York City

Practicing what you learn, as soon as you learn it, is the only guaranteed method for truly incorporating your English studies into your daily life. This means that regardless of your current level and abilities as a student, you can improve and learn faster by actually using the language.

It doesn’t really matter how you use it. Whether you watch an English language movie, read a book, navigate the city, order food, talk with natives, or something in between, challenging yourself to use English and overcome the initial shock and shyness of using a second language is a must. And because you are lucky enough to be studying English in one of the largest, most diverse, culturally rich cities in the world, the learning experience can be much easier and rewarding.

Where to Practice

For example, all it takes for a beginner student to explore the city is some basic vocabulary and numbers. Pick a safe area and try to figure out street numbers, bus routes, and so on. Take it a step further by asking people for directions to see how well you would do in a real-life situation.

More advanced students can use what they learn to interact with people. They can seek out employment, try to make friends online or even talk to people in bars, clubs, or other cultural events. Speaking of cultural events, if you have the inclination and are open to trying new things, you can even practice your English by joining an amateur theatre company, an improvisation class, or a poetry class.

If you are confident enough and your skill level is somewhere between intermediate and advanced, you can try your hand at some dating sites or go to a singles bar. While flirting might require a larger vocabulary, what better motivation can anyone have than possibly finding a significant other?

If you’re not that into group activities or socializing, you can still apply what you learn by exploring the city by yourself. Treat yourself to a great meal or several local fast food spots. Try to identify each item on the menu, figuring out what it’s made from and how to ask to change the order if you don’t like an ingredient.

Shopping at the supermarket is another fantastic way to increase your vocabulary with some very useful words. Basics like what to say at the checkout or asking what aisle a specific food is in are extremely important in the long run. When shopping, try to spice things up by going to specialty food stores like natural/organic grocery stores, international markets, and farmers markets.

Another interesting way to practice English and experience New York City at the same time is by studying the city and its rich history. When passing by historical buildings, take a moment to stop and read the information presented near monuments, statues, or on plaques. You can follow up on what you read by doing research on how the historical events or people changed the city’s history.

Take an English language (ESL) course at PC TECH and you will improve your communications skills and your writing style.  Your teachers will guide you in sentence and paragraph structure, grammar, and punctuation.

Federica, a student from Messina, Italy, has written about her thoughts of becoming a trapeze artist in a circus, such a very different career from that of architect, her current occupation!  Here is her writing, lightly edited by her teacher.

If I have to choose an offbeat job, I’d like to be a trapeze artist.  [Federica uses the term “trapezist.” —editor]   I know, it is a strange job for many people, but I think it is very fascinating.  When I was fifteen years old, I did it for a few months, but only as a joke with my friends.  While I was clinging to the trapeze, I was very happy because I was feeling good and free.  My “career” ended because I am too heavy and I don’t have enough skills for it.  It is hard work because it is like a sport: you have to dedicate a lot of hours every day to improve yourself.  It is dangerous because it is practiced ten meters above the ground.  I think it is a very creative job; to do it, you are an artist!  The salary is not high is not high, but there isn’t a price [to be put on] the feeling you get when you fly from trapeze to trapeze.  It’s amazing!

By the way, it is only a fantasy of my mind because I’m an architect.  At this moment, I’m out of work.  Sometimes, when I have a bad day and I don’t have a [reply] from companies, I like to close my eyes and think about myself on the trapeze!

PC TECH: English Language School in New York City

One of the topics for English writing practice at PC TECH is “If you wanted an offbeat job, what would you do?  Why?”  Students have come up with a number of interesting examples.  Aki from Japan writes about this:

If I wanted an offbeat job, I would like to be a skydiving instructor.

The first time I skydived was in Hawaii.  There was no rain and no wind; conditions were perfect.  Before I skydived, I was scared.  The distance of 10,000 feet [more than 3000 meters]was too high for me.  My instructor tried to talk with me, but I couldn’t respond.

However, I could do it!  And I could see beautiful views of the ocean, clouds, mountains…  Everything I could see was amazing!

At this time, I didn’t think I was falling through the air.  Then we arrived at the point of landing and [the skydiving instructor and I] made a friendship which overcame difficulties together.  This was the most impressive experience of my life.  So I hope that everybody will try the wonderful [activity] of skydiving.

PC TECH students create an essay every week.  Their teachers make corrections to spelling, grammar, punctuation, and suggest improvements to writing style.  This is often a class activity, where everyone has copies of each completed composition.  All the students, guided by the teacher,  can then add their comments and suggestions.  The teacher makes the final – but not too technical – edit before publishing to PC TECH’s blog page.

PC TECH: English Language School in New York City

Here are several more phrasal verbs that you can use when you speak and write English.  There are  many more that you can find in previous blog posts, and there will be yet more to be published in future posts.  We invite you to take our ESL classes at PC TECH to learn these and a lot more:

“The New York Rangers hockey team is in the championship series; I hope they don’t let us down by losing the next game.”  [Disappoint]

“In New York City, there are many opportunities to let your hair down on weekends.”  [Let your hair down: to relax after having done some difficult work or task.]

“Please open the door and let me in.”  [Permit to enter]

“When will the rain ever let up?”  [Lessen or stop]

“You have to let your dog out when it needs exercise.” [Allow to go outside]

“She always looks after her elderly parents when they are not feeling well.” [Takes care of]

“On the day that we arrived in New York, we went to Central Park to look around.” [Explore informally]

“Please don’t look down on me because I am short.” [Think that someone is inferior]

“I have been looking all over in my bedroom, but I still can’t find my glasses.” [Searching extensively]

“For a long time we have been looking forward to the World Cup, and now it is finally in progress.” [Anticipating]

“They are going to look into the monthly rent for that Brooklyn apartment.” [Get more information about]

“You have to look out for the traffic when you cross the busy street.” [Be aware of]

 PC TECH: English Language School in New York City

In one of PC TECH’s ESL classes, students have been writing about the world’s indigenous cultures.  Federica, an architect from Italy, offers her opinion in response to this question: “What would the world be like if most indigenous cultures disappear?”

There aren’t that many indigenous [cultures] surviving in the world. They [largely] live on the American continents (especially in South America), in Africa, in Asia, and in Australia. They have adapted to nature, particularly in the jungle, very far from the big city. Many indigenous are nomadic; others have been forced by logging companies to leave their lands.

It’s very important that we remember who we are, and that we must never forget [that] they are our ancestors, our history. They are what makes us unique. Unfortunately, more than their customs and their history have been lost. The world went ahead and probably to blame is globalization. I don’t know how the world would be if they were to disappear. But I know that we are similar. I take care of myself with plants and roots like indigenous people and we speak the “same” language; it has only evolved.  [Editor’s note: The author gives the example of Italian having evolved from Latin].

I think that what would help [many] indigenous people would be if logging companies stop [activity] in their territories. We can also try to not lose old cultures and [instead] learn from them. We have to protect them and we have to continue to [merge] the old world with the modern world.

PC TECH students create an essay every week. Their teachers make corrections to spelling, grammar, punctuation, and suggest improvements to writing style. This is often a class activity, where everyone has copies of each completed composition. All the students, guided by the teacher, can then add their comments and suggestions. The teacher makes the final – but not too technical – edit before publishing to PC TECH’s blog page.

PC TECH: English Language School in New York City

Based on a prospective students question; If one can extend their program once in the United States

For example, let’s say that you signed up for a 12 weeks program at PC TECH from June 23rd, end date will be September 12, That’s how it will be mentioned on the I-20 – Start date and end date. But this doesn’t mean that your visa will have the same dates, You can get a visa anywhere from one to five years.
The visa duration dates depends upon the interviewers discretion.

In this above case. Your I-20 is only valid till September 12th with an open extension option.

By the last date of the program if you choose not to extend then have 60 days grace period to either exit the country or transfer out to another school.

If you extend your term with us, we will simply extend your I-20 and you can continue studying at PC TECH

If you transfer out to another school you must start your new term based upon the start dates provided by your new school.

International students must maintain good attendance in order to continue to extend the term at any existing school – must keep their I-20 document up to date and in good standing.

VISA comes in the picture once the student plans to exit the country and re-enter, one must re apply for the visa only if its expired.

Here are more phrasal verbs that are very common in English.  You can find many more in previous blog posts, and we will be publishing yet more in future posts.  We invite you to take ESL classes at PC TECH to learn these and many others:

“Could you hang on a moment?  I have to answer the door.”  [Wait a short time]

“They like to hang out in Times Square with their friends.”  [Relax]

“If you can’t talk to me respectfully, I will hang up the phone!”  [End a call]

“She had to  hold her dog back from attacking her neighbor’s cat. ”  [Restrain]

“When he heard that he had won $1,000,000 in the lotto, he could not hold back his joy.”  [Restrain an emotion]

“Please hold on for a minute while I check my messages.” [Wait a short time (similar to hang on)]

“It’s very important to hold onto the pole when you are standing on the train. ”  [Grasp with your hand]

“The thief held up the store after most of the customers had left.”  [Robbed]

“If you are having trouble with English pronunciation, keep on practicing and you will become fluent.”  [Continue]

“It was very difficult for me to keep from revealing the secret about the surprise birthday party that they were planning for their friend.” [Not tell about]

“We must keep out of the building while they repairing the electrical system.” [Avoid; stay away from]

“He was walking so fast that I could not keep up with him.”  [Go at the same speed]

 PC TECH: English Language School in New York City

If you will be spending some time in New York City, you might as well learn to speak like a New Yorker. While native New Yorkers are a rarity, the New York City accent is still widely found throughout the five boroughs, helping give the city much of its charm.

You will have no problem recognizing the accent as you have probably already heard it in cartoons or movies. While you may associate it with sleek gangsters or gritty and jaded police officers, the characteristics of the New York City accent make it quite a unique and interesting subject to study. If you want to impress the people back home and your friends that speak fluent English, or you just want to have a cool party trick, why not practice some of the accent’s more easily identifiable features.

Elusive “R”

The most recognizable, almost stereotypical New York pronunciation is the elusive “r.” Most commonly, the “r” consonant is not pronounced, especially when it is found in the middle of a word. The exception to this rule is when the “r” is situated at the end of a word or is followed by a vowel.

In the past, the silent “r” was considered a sign of immigrants or the lower class, therefore, it was stigmatized. While still popular, the number of New Yorkers that drop the “r” is dwindling.

Intrusive “R”

The intrusive “r” is a different phenomenon where the consonant attaches itself onto words that normally don’t include it. For example, the phrase “law and order” is sometimes pronounced as “lawr and order” or “idea” becomes “idear.”

Glottal Stop

Some linguists say the glottal stop is heavily influenced by the southern English and cockney accents. Within the United States, the greatest number of people using the glottal stop [ʔ] is centered in New York City.

The easiest way to spot the glottal sound is in the pronunciation of “bottle,” where the double “t” is replaced by the glottal sound. As it can be difficult to express what the glottal stop sounds like in writing, the best way to learn is to ask your PC TECH teacher for help or search for audio references on the Internet.

Intrusive “G”

Similar to the intrusive “r,” the intrusive “g” is one of the most stereotypical sounds found in the New York City accent. It is uncommon to all other regions of the United States and was once considered as a sign of the lower classes. The best example of the intrusive “g” can be heard when pronouncing “Long Island,” which is commonly heard as “Lawn Guyland.”

Short “A” Split

Another typical New York pronunciation is the short “a” split which most of us will recognize from the cartoon character Bugs Bunny. When words include the “a” vowel, like “cab” or “avenue,” the “a” is sometimes pronounced as “i-uh,” resulting in “ki-uhb” for cab and “i-uhvenue” for avenue.

While in the past, the short “a” split was most commonly associated with New York City, nowadays, it is rare to hear even locals use it.

These examples are just some of the most recognizable characteristics of the New York City accent. By digging deeper, you will uncover a linguistic treasure trove of the city’s unique vocabulary, grammar, pronunciations, and sayings, as well as have a greater awareness of the historical, geographical, and social factors that created this endearing accent. With study and practice, even you can one day be mistaken as a native New Yorker.

F1 visa means a US student’s visa. It is generally issued by the Department of State at an overseas mission/US consulate. An I-20 is a US government form, issued by an accredited/certified/licensed institution of learning, showing that the visa applicant has been found to meet the enrollment and financial requirements of the institution of learning, and has been accepted into one of their programs.
Without an I-20, you cannot apply for an F1 visa, but even with an I-20, an F1 visa is not guaranteed (school enrollment standards are not necessarily the same as Department of State visa issuance standards).

PC TECH I-20 Department.