In this lesson, students use the Visual Thesaurus to explore the pronunciation and meaning of several key vocabulary words in Macbeth. They then examine how Shakespeare uses these vocabulary words to enhance the text through the sound devices of alliteration and assonance.  Continue reading...

Sites to motivate, challenge... and entertain students who are stuck on grammar.  Continue reading...

Having logged many years teaching English and theatre at New York City high schools, Shannon Reed now teaches freshman English Composition at the University of Pittsburgh. Here Shannon shows how teachers can work with students to improve their writing by focusing on five overused words.  Continue reading...

Poking around a mall with his sons, the linguist Neal Whitman came across a sign that said, "Violators will be trespassed." It turns out that the verb trespass has picked up a new meaning in the last twenty years or so, one which hasn't yet made it into any of the dictionaries.  Continue reading...

The language technology company Idibon recently launched a blog, and one interesting contribution comes from Tyler Schnoebelen, who has data-mined the titles of nearly 40,000 songs that have appeared on Billboard's pop charts from 1890 to 2012. It turns out that when it comes to song titles, "love" is most definitely in the air.  Continue reading...

It's April, which means that the major league baseball season is once again under way. Time to celebrate America's favorite pastime with a look at the origins of words from the baseball diamond.  Continue reading...