When learning English every student will run across a large number of tools that will prove helpful to some degree or another. From basic textbooks, books made strictly to exercise grammar, to apps and add-ons that make learning easier, each of these tools helps students increase their knowledge in a faster, more effective manner.

As the learning process progressed, more and more advanced and complex learning tools have appeared. Certain apps can help with a lot of aspects, from vocabulary building to grammar lessons, helping out with pronunciation, or just making the entire process more fun with the help of interactive games. These apps made the entire learning process more efficient by allowing students to use them outside of class during dead time they would normally waste while riding the bus or subway, or waiting in line for something.

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Deciding to take the ESL exams and the necessary learning process is a huge part of learning English. But just making the decision to study hard isn’t enough. A careful student will want to find the school that best suits his or her needs. This means that every student should check to see if a school is compatible with their interests. Things like schedule, the location of the school, the instructors, material and teaching methods should rank pretty high when researching a school.

To save you time we’ve compiled a list with the main focus points any student should look over before choosing the perfect school to learn English in New York.

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If you’re going to be travelling to New York City you will probably want to know what to expect weather wise. So make sure you bring a full suitcase if you will be staying for a longer period as New York experiences every season and every type of weather, from scorching hot to freezing cold and everything in between. Officially, New York’s climate is humid-subtropical, making the northernmost big city in the United States a four season city with the coldest month being January and the hottest July. This can be a blessing or a curse depending on what type of weather you prefer.

The city gets at least 234 days with sunshine, with an estimated 2800 hours of sunshine per year. Winters, as surely most people currently visiting the city know, can get pretty intense, ranging from mildly cold and damp, to raging blizzards and snowstorms.  The lowest temperature recorded was -15 degrees Fahrenheit (-26 degrees Celsius) and was registered in 1934 while the hottest was recorded two years later in 1936 and measured up to 106 degrees Fahrenheit (41 degrees Celsius).

Generally, temperatures in winter range from 0 degrees Fahrenheit (-18 degrees Celsius) to 38 degrees Fahrenheit (4.5 degrees Celsius) while the summer average temperature is somewhere around 84.1 degrees Fahrenheit (29 degrees Celsius). Summers are reasonably hot without shocking changes of temperature; however, humidity can be a problem.

While the weather is generally mild with few extreme temperatures, hurricanes or huge snowfalls do tend to happen. Last winter’s heavy snowfall, also known as Winter Storm Nemo or The Blizzard of 2013, was one of the city’s most violent resulting in plane cancellations, a state of emergency and several days of closed schools and other public institutions.

This year’s winter storms are also quite harsh, with blizzards and heavy snowfall causing many flight cancellations and difficult driving conditions. With repeated storms that had an estimated 14 inches of snow each, New York had to dig itself out a number of times.

While the harsh winter weather can make life difficult it does come with a silver lining and that is the magical look that New York has when covered knee deep in snow. Central Park is the perfect destination for tourists as well as locals that want to enjoy the snow, however, Brooklyn Bridge Park or Bryant Park are also delightful this time of year. The weather also makes an average walk through the city an unforgettable experience as Beaux-Art buildings get a magical look due to the snow covered decorations that really bring out the city’s innate beauty.

The ingenuity of New Yorkers is also a fun treat and possibly a great photo opportunity as people on cross-country skies, snow adapted bicycles or improvised, dog-pulled sleighs can be seen across the city.

So if there’s a lesson to be learned, it’s that regardless of season, New York is tough enough to make even the harshest weather conditions work in its favor.

A homophone is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning and spelling. Here, we have a few homophones, with pictures included to accentuate the meaning:

Knight/Night

Knight: A man in the middle ages who fought in armor. This person also possessed a high social rank.

Night: The time of the day when no sun can be seen, and people usually sleep.

Vale/Veil 

Vale: It is an accusative of valley. Vale is a valley.

Veil: A piece of fine material worn by women to conceal the face. It is often worn by the bride on her wedding day.

Genes/Jeans

Genes: A part of a cell that controls or influences the appearance, growth, etc… of a living thing.

Jeans: A sturdy twilled fabric, usually made of cotton. First invented in 1873.

Pale/Pail

Pale: Very light in color.

Pail: Bucket.

Course/Coarse

Course: A direction or route. Like taking courses at PC TECH. 🙂

Coarse: Something rough in texture.

Remember, pay attention when writing!

PC TECH: English Language School in New York City

Fact #1

The word ”butterfly”, was originally called ”flutterfly”.  Some say Shakespeare is responsible for this name change.

Fact #2

Shakespeare invented a lot of the words he used. For example: Grovel, Worthless, and Mimic. Shakespeare decided to lump them up together for the sake of fitting his iambic pentameter!

Fact #3

The English language grows at a rate of about one new word every two hours.

Fact #4

The word “goodbye” came from “God bye”, which in turn comes from “God be with you”.

Fact #5

The dot above “i” and “j” is known as a Tittle.

Fact #6

The first English dictionary was written in 1755.

Fact #7

A “jiffy” is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.

Fact #8

The name “Evian” spelled backwards is naive.

Fact #9

Pinocchio is Italian for “pine head.”

Last, but not least: Fact #10

“Freelance” comes from a knight whose lance was free for hire, i.e. not pledged to one master.

PC TECH teaches us everything we need to know about English, and it’s diversity. Yes, diversity. Because English is evolving. And PC TECH is evolving, too. 🙂

PC TECH: English Language School in New York City

This is the eighth in our list of phrasal verb examples that you would learn in our PC TECH classes.  Look through our previous blogs to read more:

“We’re going to have a surprise party for Lisa next Friday.  Don’t give it away!”  [Reveal a secret]

“Go to Times Square this afternoon.  They are giving away theater tickets.”  [Offering something that is free]

“You can give me back my pen tomorrow morning.”  [Return something]

“I give in.  (Also “I give up.) You win.”  [Surrender]

“Toby gave up cigarettes a year ago.”  [Stopped a habit]

“ He tried to go after the thief who stole his phone.” [Chase]

“ I’m going after a master’s degree.”  [Pursue]

“ Our football team is going against Los Angeles next Sunday.”  [Opposing]

“If you really want to study English in America, go ahead.”  [Begin, start, proceed]

“I am going to go back to my apartment after class”  [Return]

“ Are you going out tonight?”  [Leave one’s home to attend a party or to be with friends]

“George has been going out with Beatrice for a year.” [Dating]

“Let’s go over the grammar lesson again.” [Review]

“We’re going over to Staten Island this afternoon.” [Visit; travel to]

PC TECH:English Language School in New York City