Open Doors English: The Julie Rudd Coulombe Language Program

Open Doors English: The Julie Rudd Coulombe Language Program Open Doors English is a project of the Center for Transformative Action and we are dedicated to our international community's education and well-being.

Open Doors English is a fiscally-sponsored project of the Center for Transformative Action, a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization.

Please join us for Spanish classes this summer! Contact Hilary at:foreignlanguages.ode@gmail.com
06/08/2026

Please join us for Spanish classes this summer!

Contact Hilary at:
[email protected]

💡Thursday Idiom: THAT'S BALOGNA!💡Welcome back, language lovers! Today we have a very *meaty* idiom for you: THAT'S BA...
06/04/2026

💡Thursday Idiom: THAT'S BALOGNA!💡

Welcome back, language lovers! Today we have a very *meaty* idiom for you: THAT'S BALOGNA! This is a very silly idiom. First, pronunciation: Americans pronounce "Balogna" as "Baloney" (NOT "Ball-Og-nuh!") And what is BALOGNA? It's a kind of processed meat made from lots of different parts of the animal. So when we say something is BALOGNA, we're saying it's fake, false, or nonsense -- it's not the real thing. Maybe we wanted steak, but instead we got BALOGNA. That's no good! Let's look at some examples:

Connor jumped up from his computer when he heard the knock on his bedroom door. His mother walked in and asked him, "What have you been doing in here?" "My homework!" He said, quickly trying to close the game on his computer screen. "That's a bunch of BALONGA" his mother said. "I could hear you in here playing games!"

OR

Lucia knew Tim was lying to her again. He said he had been working late, but she knew this time for sure that it wasn't true. "That's BALONGA," she yelled. "I can smell the alcohol on your breath! You were drinking at the bar with your friends again!"

Can you think of an example sentence of your own using "THAT'S BALONGA?" Do you have an idiom in your native language with a similar meaning? Post them in the comments below.

💡Thursday Idiom: IN THE SAME BOAT💡Welcome back language lovers! This week we are talking about a very *empathetic* idiom...
05/28/2026

💡Thursday Idiom: IN THE SAME BOAT💡

Welcome back language lovers! This week we are talking about a very *empathetic* idiom: to be IN THE SAME BOAT. What does that mean? Well, let's talk about it!

If you are IN THE SAME BOAT as someone else, it means you're in the same difficult or uncomfortable situation. It's generally a negative thing, so you share the same problem. If we're both experiencing the same trouble, the same discomfort, you might say that we're IN THE SAME BOAT. Let's look at some examples:

Tammy was having a difficult summer. "It hasn't rained in weeks!" She said. "All my plants are dying!" Her friend Sam gave her a hug. "I know," Sam said. "My garden looks terrible too. We're all IN THE SAME BOAT here. This drought is bad for everyone."

OR

Herman was sick and tired of waiting. He had been standing in this line for over an hour and it hadn't moved an inch. Oh well, he thought, looking around at the other people in line, at least we're all IN THE SAME BOAT HERE. Everyone in this line is suffering together.

Can you think of an example sentence of your own using IN THE SAME BOAT? Is there an idiom in your native language with a similar meaning? Post them in the comments below!

💡Thursday Idiom: GET CARRIED AWAY💡HelloOoOOoOoOoOoooOoo again language lovers! This week we have a very *exciting* idi...
05/21/2026

💡Thursday Idiom: GET CARRIED AWAY💡

HelloOoOOoOoOoOoooOoo again language lovers! This week we have a very *exciting* idiom for you: to GET CARRIED AWAY. We use this idiom when we get too excited! We GET CARRIED AWAY by our emotions or our excitement! We forget our logic, or reason, or judgement, and do something a little too long, or fast, or loud. When we GET CARRIED AWAY we become so excited we lose control! Let's look at some examples:

LinHe knew she was talking too much, but she just couldn't stop! Her friend Kimmy had asked about her favorite video game and she was just so excited to talk about it that she GOT CARRIED AWAY. She could see Kimmy was getting bored, but she just couldn't stop talking!

OR

Benji looked at the back of Vitally's head and made a worried face. He always cut his brother's hair, and normally it went fine. Vitally had straight hair and it was usually very easy to cut. This time, however, Benji had GOTTEN CARRIED AWAY. At first he had made just one little mistake, then he kept cutting and cutting, trying to fix it, and now Vitally was almost bald! "I'm so sorry," Benji said, as he handed Vitally a mirror. "I GOT CARRIED AWAY!"

Can you think of an example sentence of your own using GET CARRIED AWAY? Is there an idiom in your native language with a similar meaning? Post them in the comments below!

💡Thursday Idiom: GO OUT ON A LIMB💡Welcome back, language lovers! This week for the ODE Thursday Idiom we have a very *...
05/14/2026

💡Thursday Idiom: GO OUT ON A LIMB💡

Welcome back, language lovers! This week for the ODE Thursday Idiom we have a very *natural* idiom for you: TO GO OUT ON A LIMB. What's a LIMB, you ask? Great question! For a person, your arms and legs are your LIMBS. But here we are talking about a tree, and of course trees of don't have "arms." They have branches. And another word for a branch is a LIMB! So to GO OUT ON A LIMB is to climb a tree and then walk out on a fragile tree branch that might break. That's dangerous!

This is an idiom, though, so we aren't actually talking about climbing trees. GOING OUT ON A LIMB just means to put yourself in an unstable or unsupported position. Maybe you're making a guess, or taking a chance, or stating an unpopular opinion. It's a little bit risky or dangerous -- not for your body, but for your reputation. Let's look at some examples:

Tabitha was tired of waiting. She and her friend Rebecca had been standing in the line at the post office for over an hour now. At the front of the line, a single post office employee was trying her best to help everyone. "What a disaster," Rebecca said. "I'm going to GO OUT ON A LIMB and say there should be more than one worker at the post office."

OR

Yvette was furious. She had GONE OUT ON A LIMB and recommended Tyler for a job and he had gotten fired on the first day. Now his boss was calling, angry at Yvette for recommending Tyler. What a mistake it was GOING OUT ON A LIMB for that guy!

Can you think of an example sentence using GO OUT ON A LIMB? Is there an idiom in your native language with a similar meaning? Post them in the comments below!

💡Thursday Idiom: PUT SOMEONE ON THE SPOT💡Hello again language lovers! Welcome back to another edition of the Open Door...
05/07/2026

💡Thursday Idiom: PUT SOMEONE ON THE SPOT💡

Hello again language lovers! Welcome back to another edition of the Open Doors English Thursday Idiom! This week we have a very *show business* idiom for you: to PUT SOMEONE ON THE SPOT. This one is about spotlights -- It's about the spot on the stage where the lights are brightest, where everyone in the audience is looking. If you PUT SOMEONE ON THE SPOT it means you're asking them to perform, or speak, or answer a question when they aren't prepared. You don't want to be PUT ON THE SPOT! Let's look at some examples:

"Last week my friend Wilfred was sitting in a meeting at work, watching the clock. He really wanted to go home. Suddenly he heard his name! Uh oh, he thought. His boss was looking at him, asking him about something, and he was completely unprepared. He hated it when his boss PUT HIM ON THE SPOT. He had no idea what to say, so instead he made up an excuse and ran to the bathroom."

OR

"Yesterday in class we were doing a grammar review about the Present Perfect tense. I asked my student Harold, "What's the best movie you've ever seen?" He just looked at me. "Uh..." he said. "Okay, sorry, I didn't mean to PUT YOU ON THE SPOT," I told him. "Everyone take 5 minutes, think about it, take some notes, and then we'll share our answers with a partner." Harold exhaled in relief. I found out later that he understood the question perfectly, but he had ten thousand answers in his head! He just needed some time to really think about it."

Can you write an example sentence of your own using PUT SOMEONE ON THE SPOT? Is there an idiom in your native language with a similar meaning? Post them in the comments below!

💡Thursday Idiom: KEEP ME POSTED💡Welcome back language lovers! This week we have a very common, very old idiom for you:...
04/30/2026

💡Thursday Idiom: KEEP ME POSTED💡

Welcome back language lovers! This week we have a very common, very old idiom for you: KEEP ME POSTED. This one comes from the age before email, way back in the old days when we used to send letters. The POST just means the mail -- another word for your friendly local mailman is the POSTman! So KEEP ME POSTED literally used to mean send me letters to tell me how something is going. Not the general news in your life, but specific news about a specific thing. In 2026 most people don't send letters anymore, but we still say KEEP ME POSTED to mean give me updates about something. Let me know how it's going, what's changing, if you need my help, etc... Okay, now let's look at some examples:

"Hey Jurgen," I said, "how's progress on your science project? Are you still stuck? Do you need help?" He sighed.
"Things are okay right now," he said. "We fixed the first problem, and now we're making progress. But I will definitely need help when we get to the next part."
"Okay," I said, "just KEEP ME POSTED. I'm happy to help."

OR

Lucille was very nervous. She was leaving her hometown for the first time to take a new job in Japan. Her friends were all sad to see her go, but excited for this new adventure she was about to have. They made her promise to KEEP THEM POSTED about how it was going. She said she would send them a group text as soon as she was settled and had a minute to relax in her new home.

Can you write an example sentence of your own using KEEP ME POSTED? Do you have an idiom in your language with a similar meaning? Post them in the comments below!

💡THURSDAY IDIOM: ON THE TIP OF MY TONGUE💡HellOoOoOoOoOoooOo language lovers! Welcome back to another edition of Open D...
04/23/2026

💡THURSDAY IDIOM: ON THE TIP OF MY TONGUE💡

HellOoOoOoOoOoooOo language lovers! Welcome back to another edition of Open Doors English's Thursday Idiom. This week we have a very *frustrating* idiom for you: ON THE TIP OF MY TONGUE! Your tongue is the muscle in your mouth that helps you speak and eat. The TIP is the very top or end of something. So the TIP of your TONGUE is the end of your tongue. If something is ON THE TIP OF YOUR TONGUE it means you can *almost* remember. This is one of the most frustrating things in life! You just had it, you should know this, you knew it ten minutes ago, why can't you remember!?! It's ON THE TIP OF YOUR TONGUE! Let's look at some examples:

"Last week, my friend ShuHua asked me who my favorite actor is, and my mind just went blank. I could see his face but I just couldn't think of his name. 'It starts with a B... I think... Ben... Bob... Barry... Oh man, this is so frustrating,' I said. 'It's right there in my mind, right ON THE TIP OF MY TONGUE...' Then it hit me, and I snapped my fingers. 'Bill Murray! My favorite actor is Bill Murray!'"

OR

"Giuseppe had lived at the same address for almost ten years. But when the lady at the DMV asked him for his address, he suddenly couldn't remember. 'Oh God,' he said. 'This is so embarrassing.' He thought and thought. He made little frustrated noises. It was right there, he almost had it, it was right ON THE TIP OF HIS TONGUE, but he simply could not remember."

Can you make an example sentence of your own using ON THE TIP OF MY TONGUE? Do you have an idiom in your native language that has a similar meaning? Post them in the comments below!

💡Thursday Idiom: OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD💡Hello again, my language-loving friends! This week we have kind of a strange i...
04/16/2026

💡Thursday Idiom: OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD💡

Hello again, my language-loving friends! This week we have kind of a strange idiom for you: OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD. This is usually something we say when someone asks us a question that we are not prepared to answer. It means I will tell you something, I will do my best to remember, but I don't have the exact answer here with me right now. If I give you an answer OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, it means I can go check later, but this is my best guess right now. Let's look at some examples:

'Vanessa was starting to sweat. The meeting was almost over, and her boss suddenly had some questions for her. "How much did we spend on paper last year?" he asked. She knew the exact answer was on her desk somewhere, but she didn't have it with her and everyone was looking at her, waiting for her to say something. "Well, OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD I think it's around a thousand dollars. But I can check later and get an exact number for you," she said.'

OR

'The other day, my friend Samantha asked me how many people live in Ithaca. "Honestly, I'm not sure," I said. "OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, I think it's only about 30,000 people if you don't include university students. But I could be wrong! I'll check Wikipedia for you next time I'm at my computer."'

Can you write an example sentence of your own? Do you have an idiom in your native language with a similar meaning? Post them in the comments below!

💡THURSDAY IDIOM: PULL someone's LEG💡HellOoOoOoOooooo language lovers! We have a silly idiom for you today: to PULL so...
04/09/2026

💡THURSDAY IDIOM: PULL someone's LEG💡

HellOoOoOoOooooo language lovers! We have a silly idiom for you today: to PULL someone's LEG. What does it mean? Let's talk about it! So this one is not literal at all. PULLING someone's LEG just means you are joking with them! Specifically, you are telling a joke that is tricking them. It's something we say when someone takes a joke seriously and we need them to understand it was just a joke, it's not real. You're just PULLING their LEG. Let's look at some examples:

"Layla's boss called her into his office last week and said, 'You're fired!' When she started to cry he jumped up and said, "Wait, wait, please don't cry! I was just PULLING your LEG! It was a joke!" Layla dried her eyes with a tissue and went home. What a terrible joke, she thought. That night she started looking for a new job."

OR

"My friend Cynthia was super nervous about giving a presentation at school. I sat in the audience and watched -- she did a fantastic job. When she was finished, she came over and asked me how I thought it went. 'Oh, great,' I said, 'except you had a piece of food stuck in your teeth the whole time.' 'WHAT!?' Cynthia said. I laughed. "Relax, relax, I'm just PULLING your LEG. It went great, you did a wonderful job."

Can you write an example of your own using PULL someone's LEG? Can you think of a similar idiom in your own language? Post them in the comments below!

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