ESL Vocabulary: 2020 Slang

Celina Powell 

1. What you said was the biggest cap I've heard in a minute. 

2. The movie was fire. You have to check it out. 

3. Her fit was bold last night. 

4. He drove himself to school in a new car the day after he got his license. He's trying to flex. 

5. She celebrated her birthday for an entire month. She is so extra. 

6. I don't want to hear anything else about what I'm doing wrong until you find ways to get yourself right, period. 

7. I'm mad salty right now, lowkey. 

8. Spill the tea, what did he say. 

9. A lot of people wanted Bill Burr canceled after what he said about caucasian women on Saturday Night Live. 

10. A lot of people think Celina Powell is a clout chaser. 

Note: definition sources here and here. 

ESL Grammar: Similies

 Use of Similes

1. Similes are used a figure of speech to compare two different things in an interesting way. They fought like cats and dogs.  He is as strong as an ox. 

Exercise with Similes 

Instructions: Complete the simile by creating your own ending. 

1. As cute as __________ . 

2. As blind as __________ . 

3. As cold as __________ 

4. They fought like _______ . 

5. I slept like a ________ . 

6. This show was like __________ . 

7. As hot as _________ . 

8. As cool as _______ . 

9. As tough as ________ . 

10. She swims like a _________ . 

ESL Grammar: Phrasal Verb Review

1. to publish something 

A. come up | B. put out | C. bring to the table 

2. to consider someone inferior 

A. iron out | B. turn out | C. look down on 

3. to accompany someone 

A. come along | B. make up | C. get along  

4. to understand or find a reason 

A. flare up | B. set out | C. make of 

5. a plan being discussed 

A. under the table | B. bring to the table | C. on the table 

6. to have a similar character or quality to a family member 

A. take after | B. come after | C. go after 

7. to be successful in life 

A. get on with | B. look up to | C. get ahead 

8. to decline an offer 

A. come down | B. turn down | C. pull down 

ESL Vocabulary: Entrepreneur

 

1. Venture - noun  - a risky project or business idea 

2. Accelerator - noun - an organization or project that promotes or supports the fast growth of small businesses 

3. Incubator - noun -  an organization or space dedicated to supporting new business ventures 

4. Copyright - noun - the exclusive legal right to use and reproduce literary, artistic, or musical material

5. Trademark - noun- a symbol, words or a phrase officially registered for a company 

6. Side Hustle - noun - a side project or business 

7. Pitch - noun/verb - to propose a business idea, usually with the goal of obtaining a contract or funding 

ESL Grammar: Near and Far

 

Definition of Near and Far 

1. Near - adverb-  at or to a short distance away; nearby 

2. Far - adverb - at, to, or by a great distance 

Conversation Questions with Near and Far 

1. Do you live near your cousins? 

2. How far away do you live from me? 

3. What is the distance of the nearest hospital to your home? 

4. Is China far away from where you live? 

5. Do you know someone who is nearsighted? 

6. How far would you travel by foot? 

ESL Vocabulary: Hip Hop

 

1. Flash that buttery gold, jittery zeitgeist / Wither by the water hole, Border patrol - Aesop Rock 

Zeitgeist - the spirit of the time 

2. I don't mean no harm it's the hood in me / Psychedelic colors in my jewelry / Suckers hella jealous cause you're diggin' me - E-40 

Psychedelic - producing distorted sensory perceptions and feelings 

3. My funk prognosis make my brains comatose / One hundred percent funk runs blood straight through your nose - Redman 

Prognosis - a prediction about how something will develop 

4. Yo ill insanity that's cold and morbid/ But when I'm in your orbit your soul absorb it - The Roots 

Morbid - suggesting the horror of death and decay 

5. Somebody ordered pancakes, I just sip the sizzurp / That right there could drive a sane man berserk - Kanye West 

Berserk - out of control with anger or excitement 

6. So outside my misery, I think I'll find / A way of envisioning a better life - XXXtentacion 

Envisioning - imagine as a future possibility; visualize 

 

Expressions about Health and Hospitals

 

1. Under the weather - to not be  feeling well 

2. run in the family - to be a common family characteristic 

3. kick the bucket - to die

4. black out - to lose consciousness 

5. flare up - for a an illness or disease to come back again 

6. taste of your own medicine - to treat someone in the same poor way they treated you or others 

ESL Vocabulary: Hospital

 

1. doctor                                                 A. a small round mass of solid medicine to be swallowed whole                                                                    

2. crutches                                              B. an instrument for measuring indicating temperature  

3. bandage                                              C. a qualified practitioner of medicine; a physician 

4. prescription                                         D. a strip of material used to bind a wound 

5. thermometer                                        E. a vehicle especially equipped for sick or injured people

6. paramedic                                            F. a person trained in emergency medical care 

7. pill                                                       G. used as a support for mobility aid  

8. ambulance                                           H. authorizes a patient to have certain kind of medicine or drug 

ESL Phrasal Verbs with Make

 

Phrasal Verbs with Make 

1. Make up - to forgive someone 

2. Make of - to understand or find a reason 

3. Make up for - compensate for something 

4. Make over - to do something again 

5. Make way - allow room for someone or something else  

6. Make out to be - to pretend, seem 

Phrasal Verb Questions with Make 

1. Why is it difficult for people to make up with each other after an argument? 

2. What do you make of countries who have banned McDonald's? 

3. Do you think a majority of women over thirty years old try to make up for their age by getting cosmetic surgery? 

4. If you were to do a home makeover  what would your color scheme be? 

5. Why do you think teenagers usually make their problems out to be much worse than they actually are? 

6. How often do you think people make up stories to get out of trouble? 

ESL Conversation Questions: Banking

 

1. Would you like to use the services of an offshore bank? 

2. What do you think of the Islamic banking concept of forbidding interest rates? 

3. What is the difference between a commercial bank and a credit union? 

4. From you experiences what would you like to change about banking services in your home country? 

5. Do you think all banking will be done online one day? 

6. Have you ever used a piggy bank before? 

Expressions about Banking and Money

 

1. Bank on - to rely on a future occurrence 

2. Break the bank - to be very expensive

3. Can take (something) to the bank - a statement or piece of information that is definitely true

4. In the red - to lose money 

5. Dime a dozen - very common and of no special value

6. Foot the bill - to pay for something 

ESL Conversation Questions: Home

 

1. What is the difference between the words house and home? 

2. Can you learn something about someone just by seeing their home color scheme and furniture? 

3. What do the exteriors of homes look like in the neighborhood where you grew up? 

4. Describe all of the furniture in your favorite room in your apartment or house. 

5. An old English saying is that, " A man's home is his castle." Do you agree with this saying? 

6. In your culture or society do you think it is important to own a home? 

ESL Visual Exercise: Home and Furniture

 Exercise 1. Name the home tool equipment in the pictures

#1

#2

#3

Room 1 

Room 2 

Expressions about Home and Furniture

 

1. Bring to the table - to make a contribution or to offer something in a negotiation or discussion 

2. Down the drain - to waste something especially money or work 

3. Pull the plug - to be terminated prematurely usually by stopping funding 

4. Under the table - bribes or illegal payments 

5. On the table - a plan that is being discussed 

6. Iron Out - to resolve an issue

ESL Visual Exercise: Shopping

 Exercise 1. Describe the clothing you see in the picture. 

Couple #1 / Ocean Drive 

Couple #2 / Ocean Drive 

Couple #3 / Ocean Drive 

Exercise 2. Tell me the name of the item and in what season it is commonly used. 

#1

#2

#3

Expressions about Shopping

 

Expressions about Shopping

1. It's a steal - a product or service  at a very low price 

2. Rip-off - an overpriced product or service 

3. Window shopping - to look at products, but not actually buy them 

4. Shop lift - to steal products from a store

5. Shop around - to visit many shops in order to compare prices 

6. In-stock - products are available to be purchased 

ESL Conversation Questions: Shopping

 

Light Wash Ripped Boyfriend Jeans 

1. Why are basic necessity items such as eggs, milk, and other items  usually situated in the back of a supermarket? 

2. What items will you usually find near the cash register at a supermarket? 

3. What are some methods  consumers can use to resist spending extra money in a supermarket or mall? 

4. Will a single woman who wears boyfriend jeans become more likely to find an actual boyfriend? 

5. Why is there a stereotype that women prefer to shop more than men? 

6. In which store would you like to go on a shopping spree? 

ESL Phrasal Verbs with Come

 

1. Come up - to happen; to occur 

2. Come across - to find something by accident or chance 

3. Come along - to accompany someone 

4. Come around to - to accept something you had previously disapproved or disliked

5. Come out - to be released; appear 

6. Come apart- to break into pieces 

Phrasal Verb Questions with Come 

1. Does religion ever come up in your conversations with your family or close friends?  

2. If you came across $100 on the street what would you do with the money? 

3. Do you enjoy your family or friends coming along with you when you go grocery shopping? 

4. What ideas or beliefs have you come around to as you have matured in life? 

5. Are there any interesting movies that have come out recently that you are interested in seeing? 

6. In your opinion what are the top reasons some marriages come apart?