Welcome!

I write this welcome sitting in a coffee shop, listening to one conversation in French and another in Korean. On my right are a woman and girl studying a third language I cannot identify. On my left, a woman is telling her friend about a recent visit to her family in Egypt. Boston, like the rest of the world, is now multicultural and polyglot. New residents move here from all over the world, some permanently, some for only a year or two. I have moved often enough to know how hard it is to learn about a new city, to find fun activities for the weekend or learn where the best shopping is. I can't imagine the added difficulty of doing it in another language!

I am an English as a Second Language tutor, and for several years my students have been asking me questions about American culture, my favorite books, and other things about life in Boston. "Why do people ask me 'How are you?' but then keep walking away?" "Which children's books have good grammar?" "How do I ask a stranger for directions?" Beanpot Polyglot is a place for these questions.

This will also be a place to learn a little bit about English. I love learning and teaching English, but it is a hard language - every rule has exceptions, every word has synonyms! Instead of the big, basic lessons you learn in a class or from a book, this blog will talk about some of the weird parts of the language, its history, and some tricks I have found to help understand English better. By learning the story of English I hope you will find the rules and exceptions easier to understand.

Welcome - to Boston, to English, and to Beanpot Polyglot!