A Vocabulary Lesson for Your American Summer

By: The Teachers at St Giles San Francisco

From the Bottle Rock music festival in Napa California to the strange and wonderful Burning Man festival in Black Rock Desert Nevada, Summer in the United States is full of fun events!  Many of our students combine learning English with a road trip or festival.  If you’re thinking about attending a big festival this Summer, here are some phrases that might help you describe your experience in English.

jam packed – adjective phrase meaning very crowded or full.  We usually use the preposition ‘with’ after it.

examples:

“When we arrived at Burning Man, the desert was already jam packed with vans, tents, people, and art.”

“My weekends this Summer are jam packed with weekend trips outside of San Francisco.  I’m going to Napa, Carmel, Santa Cruz, and Silicon Valley.”

have a blast– idiom meaning to have a lot of fun

examples:

“I had a blast at Disney Land.  I rode many rides, ate a lot of delicious food, and made some great memories with my friends.”

“If you like music, you’ll have a blast at Coachella!”

take a dip– idiom meaning to go swimming

examples:

“In Las Vegas, you can go to a concert and take a dip at the same time.  It’s such an exciting and crazy city!”

“It was very hot at the music festival, so we took a dip in our hotel pool at the end of the day.”

stoked– a slang word meaning excited

examples:

“I love Snoop Dogg so I was so stoked to see him at the Bottle Rock music festival in Napa!”

“I’m so stoked about studying English and taking a road trip around the U.S.A. this Summer!”

hit the road– idiom meaning to start a trip

examples:

“Let’s hit the road early tomorrow so we can avoid rush hour traffic in Los Angeles.”

“After my course at St Giles ended, I hit the road to see Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon.”

Find out more about learning English at St Giles San Francisco and read more useful English Language tips!

Students enjoying American  food  in the café during International Food Day