Many of my IELTS students make a point of studying their idioms and phrasal verbs, mostly as it’s a clear cut way to show fluency and develop a more natural and advanced way of speaking English. However, there is something else which can also help here. This is the use of colloquial pairs. You will […]
Some of my students have a particularly hard time understanding modal verbs. Since I teach a lot of Italians I have become familiar with some language work for Italian students of English, specifically that of John Peter Sloan. However, he explains his ‘methods’ in Italian, obviously! So for the purpose of all other students, who […]
Do you still have troubles talking about an aim, a target and a goal? Specifically, in the Russian language there is the same word for all of these meanings! Plus, what about object and purpose? Have a look at these definitions below and perhaps they will help you. Target – what you are aiming for. […]
The above description represents how many young learners felt about the European Unions Erasmus program, and up until quite recently there was still a hint of youthful idealism about the scheme, albeit mixed with some essential life skills for the next generation. More recently however, the newly branded Erasmus+ appears to have a more clearly […]
According to a recent European Commission study, you are more likely to be able to improve your employment and career prospects by studying a foreign language. What is more, you are even more likely to get the job you desire if you have studied a foreign language such as English in England. The same applies […]
So you love English, love social media, are open to relocating, perhaps to China, specially if you also have a keen interest in Kung Fu, yes? Then we have seen the perfect job opportunity for you! You know that English has truly become the global language of choice when you see a situations vacant advertisement […]
Apparently, generally speaking, we invert subject and verb (or DO as auxiliary) when a (near-) negative begins the sentence: Never/Rarely/Seldom have I seen such a sight. Rarely/seldom do you see such beauty. So that is why I have written ‘Rarely will a person…’ (Although in truth, to a native speaker, they won’t know this ‘rule’, […]
What am I talking about? – Reductions!What are reductions? – These are shortened, combined, or ‘reduced’ forms of English words. For example gonna (going to), wanna (want to) and hafta (have to). There aren’t ‘real’ words in English and are not used in writing however they are frequently used in spoken and informal English, especially […]
Many of my IELTS students make a point of studying their idioms and phrasal verbs, mostly as it’s a clear cut way to show fluency and develop a more natural and advanced way of speaking English. However, there is something else which can also help here. This is the use of colloquial pairs. You will […]
In the Scripps National Spelling Bee championship held in the USA, the joint teenage champions had to spell words such assdrucciola, holluschick, thymelici, encaenia, terreplein and stichomythia in order to win. Whether or not they understood the meanings of the words, it is an impressive feat indeed that they managed to spell words such as […]