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.
06/08/2026
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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!
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!
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!
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