American English Language School

Pumpkins on every doorstep, orange decorations in the stores, and coworkers asking, "What are you going to be for Halloween?" For English learners in Fullerton, October can feel like everyone suddenly speaks a special holiday language. The good news: a handful of words and phrases covers most of it. Halloween Words You Will Hear Everywhere Start with the basics: costume (special clothes you wear to look like someone else), trick-or-treat (children going door to door for candy), jack-o-lantern (a carved pumpkin with a light inside), spooky (a little scary, in a fun way), and pumpkin patch (a place to choose and buy pumpkins). You will hear these at work, at school events, and at the grocery store all month long. Three Fall Idioms to Try This Month Scared stiff : so scared you cannot move. "I was scared stiff in the haunted house." Give me the creeps : makes me feel uneasy. "That empty parking lot gives me the creeps." Turn over a new leaf : to...

You filed Form I-539, the receipt notice arrived, and now months go by with no news. For students waiting in Fullerton, that quiet stretch is exactly where change of status applications go wrong. Here is the short version of what the rules allow. You cannot start class until USCIS approves On a B-2 visitor visa you may not enroll or begin studying until your change of status is approved. Enrolling while you are in a non-student status is a violation, no matter how informal the class feels. Your status keeps running while you wait If your status was valid the day you filed, F-1 applicants do not have to hold status continuously all the way up to 30 days before the program start date. And if USCIS is slow and the school defers you to the next term, no extra filing is needed as long as your original status had not expired. Do not leave the country Departing the United States while Form I-539 is pending is generally treated as abandoning it. You would have to apply for the F-1 visa ...

Have you ever heard someone say they were "under the weather" and wondered why weather had anything to do with feeling sick? Or maybe a coworker said they "hit the nail on the head" and there was no hammer in sight? Welcome to the world of English idioms. Idioms are phrases where the meaning is completely different from the individual words. Native speakers use them constantly at work, in school, and in everyday conversation. If you are studying ESL classes Fullerton , learning idioms is one of the fastest ways to start sounding like a natural English speaker. 5 Idioms to Know Right Now 1. Bite Off More Than You Can Chew — To take on more than you can handle. ("I signed up for four classes and a part-time job — I really bit off more than I could chew.") 2. Lone Wolf — Someone who prefers to work alone. Common in workplace and academic conversations. 3. Stay Put — To remain in one place. Simple but used constantly in everyday English. 4. Hit the Nail on ...