Forget the Gunplay, These Cowboys Get Their Kicks From Wordplay   Our New Year's tradition: the music group Riders in the Sky, joined by Johnny Western, tell the story of a fellow with a strange habit of speaking only in palindromes

Want to Learn Some Slang? Let 'Hansel and Gretel' Show the Way   From the Wordmaster archives, the classic children's tale as retold by Slangman David Burke; plus, find out about his latest project

Finding the Right Expression of Sympathy When Someone Is Grieving   "This is a topic that you never see in E.S.L. textbooks. And yet it's so important," says English teacher Lida Baker in the first of two parts

In Ads, the Right Language Means More Than Just the Words   Researcher Rohini Ahluwalia says it does not matter much if a local company uses a local language or English; not so for multinationals in global markets

If All Else Fails at a Party, Throw Yourself on the Mercy of the Crowd   "Art of Mingling" author Jeanne Martinet says: "One of my mingling survival rules is that nobody is thinking about you, they're only thinking about themselves"

'National Day of Listening' Promoted; Listening to Stories of Poverty   A group urges Americans to record and share oral-history interviews. Also, an anthropologist bases a book on stories of people she met on intercity buses.

Learning Business English, and a Little Philosophy, in Tough Economic Times   "I think everybody's scared, this is something that we haven't seen in decades, and I think especially for the younger students," says English teacher Nina Weinstein

How Noah Webster's Dictionary Defined American English, and His Own Views   Second of two parts: ''He was a great moralist. His moralism pervades the definitions throughout the book. He tells us how to behave."

A Few Words About Politics, From the First Name in American Dictionaries   First of two parts with Arthur Schulman, who compiled "Websterisms: A Collection of Words and Definitions Set Forth by the Founding Father of American English"

American English Hits a Homer When It Comes to Baseball-Related Idioms   "There's a lot of baseball expressions that really focus on people making mistakes, because errors in baseball are sort of what make the game interesting"

Web Site Offers an Earful of Accents | A Reading of Six-Word Memoirs   Linguist Steven Weinberger talks about accents and his Speech Accent Archive; also, we read seven short -- really short -- stories from audience members

To Be a Good Teacher, 'You Have to Forget About All Your Problems'   Atefeh, first interviewed in 2005 when she was studying English literature at a university in Iran, talks about her switch to teaching English as a foreign language

What Difference Does a Preposition Make? We'll Get Back at You   David Thatcher, a retired English professor in Canada, has started a Web site called Saving Our Prepositions, with a free ''Guide for the Perplexed''

How 'Mavericks,' 'Earmarks' Made Their Way From Cows and Pigs Into Politics   More of our conversation with Ben Zimmer from the Visual Thesaurus, looking at the origin of terms from the presidential election campaign

Knowing the Lingo as Americans Cast Their Ballots, Absentee or Otherwise   Linguist Ben Zimmer explains battleground/swing state, red/blue state, absentee ballot and Hail Mary pass in the first of two parts

Special Edition: How 'Bailouts' and 'Golden Parachutes' Got Their Name   We look at two terms used in connection with efforts to rescue financial companies from bad loans and end the crisis in the U.S. financial system

Calling Young English Learners: Send Us Your Advice for the Candidates   Elyse Eidman-Aadahl, co-director of the National Writing Project, discusses its history and work in trying to improve writing in U.S. schools

Writing Prompt for Teens: What Issues Should Next US President Address?   A project is giving high school students an opportunity, and an audience, to write a persuasive letter; we are doing the same for English language learners abroad

Handling Sensitive Topics in the Classroom? Want Some Legal Advice?   "I'd be very careful to make sure that the discussion and the assignments are really closely linked to the topic," says Rutgers University professor Barbara Lee

When It Comes to Gesturing, Don't Believe Everything You Hear   ''The lore is that northern Europeans gesture less than southern Europeans,'' says psychology professor Susan Goldin-Meadow; second of two parts

Where Spoken Languages Divide, Gestures May Offer a Bridge   Susan Goldin-Meadow, a psychology professor at the University of Chicago, finds that people have a common language when they let their hands do the talking

A Trolley in a Grocery Store? Americans Would Reckon That's Crazy Dileri Borunda Johnston, author of "Speak American: A Survival Guide to the Language and Culture of the USA," discusses differences between U.S. and British English

To Master Rhythms of English, You Really Hafta Learn Reductions   "We have about four different ways of saying `you' which is 'ya,' 'ja,' 'cha' and even 'ju,'" explains David Burke, better known as Slangman

Talking in Rhythm: How to Manage the Stresses of American English   ''Learners of English really have to master the rhythms of English early, and the teaching has to be aimed at rhythm,'' says linguist Herb Stahlke

Think People Always Know When You Are Being Sarcastic? Don't Assume   Kate Rankin, a neuropsychologist at the University of California, San Francisco, discusses the cues of sarcasm, and why some people are unable to recognize them

George Carlin, 1937-2008: He Found Irreverent Humor in Language   The comedian died June 22 at age 71; he was a 1970s counterculture figure and the subject of a Supreme Court ruling on indecency

Would a Top Banana Run Around Like a Chicken With Its Head Cut Off?   You'll be tickled pink as English teacher Nina Weinstein explains some common idioms that involve animals, foods, colors and more

Some Political Terms From the Mouths of Presidents (or Their Speechwriters)   VOA's Adam Phillips has the second part of his interview with William Safire, the New York Times language columnist and editor of Safire's Political Dictionary

Looking for Red Meat Political Terms That Won't Bring a Hail of Dead Cats   VOA's Adam Phillips talks with William Safire, the New York Times language columnist and editor of the newly updated Safire's Political Dictionary

Once Upon a Time, a Girl Could Be a Boy, and to Worry Was to Choke   A two-part interview with lexicographer Sol Stienmetz, author of the new book ''Semantic Antics: How and Why Words Change Meaning''

A Lesson Plan, Ready in About a Minute? Free Web Site Is Ambitious   English teacher Stephen Churchville explains LessonWriter.com, which he spent almost six years developing; it creates activities based on any text

This Is an English Class, Yet Even the Moroccan Is Speaking Spanish   Lee Spencer, a college instructor in New York, discusses the challenge of getting her class to use English as the medium of communication

In Pakistan, a Big Push to Teach English; Local Versions Flourish   Professor Shujaat Hussain sees a recognition that ''even if we want to have this break with our colonial hangover ... we've got to learn English''

In Angola, Education Ministry Aims to Expand Teaching of English   Francisco Matete, president of the Angolan English Language Teachers Association, says Angolans have to be "English-friendly" to work with foreign oil companies

US Campaign Offers Lesson for an English Teacher Who Left Iran   Azadeh Leonard, who arrived a year and a half ago and teaches immigrants in New York, has found herself moderating spirited political discussions in class

Teaching English in Syria: For Some, a Job Is a Matter of Karma   Safwan Abdulsalam Kadoora is director of the English department at the Karma Language Center, which opened in Damascus in 2006

An English Professor Who Found a Calling in Web Accessibility   A 2002 interview with John Slatin, who became an activist for the disabled after losing his sight; he died March 24 after losing a battle with leukemia

Step Two in Writing a College Essay: Don't Think It's a College Essay   More advice on crafting a personal statement for U.S. schools, from Rachel Toor, a creative writing professor, college consultant and former admissions officer

Step One to a Personal Statement for College: Make Sure It's Personal   First of two parts with Rachel Toor, author of ''Admissions Confidential: An Insider's Account of the Elite College Selection Process''

American Political Lingo, and a Candidate With Name Recognition   Slangman David Burke tells the story of Cinderella, who throws her hat in the ring, figuring herself a shoe-in because the incumbent is a lame duck

What Is the Story of Your Life? Please Summarize in Six Words   Rachel Fershleiser and Larry Smith solicited six-word memoirs from strangers for a new book; now, they extend an invitation to WORDMASTER fans

Key to a Better Accent in English? Students Say It's in the Music   In the second of two parts, English teacher Lida Baker discusses accent improvement methods, and the best time to correct students who make errors in class

How to Reduce an Accent? First, Understand Just What an Accent Is   An online English teacher in the Philippines, Arnel Camba, asks for advice; we turn to our friend the English teacher Lida Baker

Trying to Get a Grip on Gestures? Here Is a Handy Book   ''Field Guide to Gestures'' explains more than 100 gestures and their various, and sometimes multiple, meanings around the world

Annotation and Other Tips for Getting the Most Out of Textbooks   ''If I see an empty textbook, then I'm seeing a student who hasn't interacted well with a text,'' says English teacher Maria Spelleri. Second of two parts

Looking Between the Covers for a Lesson in Textbook Intimacy   Many international students ''just imagine all the potential for forgetting that lies within the covers of those books,'' says teacher Maria Spelleri

Between Hello and Goodbye, Learning the Rules of Telephone Etiquette   ''Smile before you pick up the phone, because the callers can hear it,'' says Nancy Friedman, also known as the Telephone Doctor

An Earl and a Whirl: How Sandwiches and Jacuzzi Baths Got Their Names   More with Philip Dodd, author of ''The Reverend Guppy's Aquarium: From Joseph P. Frisbie to Roy Jacuzzi, How Everyday Items Were Named for Extraordinary People''

Meeting Some People Whose Names Went on to Become Household Items   Philip Dodd is author of ''The Reverend Guppy's Aquarium: From Joseph P. Frisbie to Roy Jacuzzi, How Everyday Items Were Named for Extraordinary People''

Creating an Online Community for Trainers of English Teachers   Susan Schwartz, an English as a Second Language teacher in Massachusetts, aims to turn Nexus, an online journal she published, into a global classroom