Grammar: don’t let it be a big problem
Lower intermediate to advanced level (B1-C1)
Learning English outside the UK, the US, Australia etc can often be about learning ‘grammar’. This makes people think you need to know ‘rules’ before you can speak or write. However, in my experience, a heavy focus on a grammar problem can stop people learning and communicating. Continue reading
Exam tips: the Cambridge English Advanced and IELTS interview
Upper intermediate to advanced levels (B2-C1)
You only have a short time to show how good your English is in the Cambridge English Advanced (CAE) or IELTS interview. How can you do it? Continue reading
IELTS interview
How to get a good IELTS score
Almost all exam interviews begin with simple questions about you and your life. This is helpful because it means you can prepare some impressive answers. Continue reading
Grammar: loving, liking etc – advanced points
Upper intermediate to advanced level (B2-C2)
Some English verbs are not usually used in the continuous form. ‘Love’ and ‘like’ are two of them. For example:
A: On Saturday, there’s a Pink Floyd tribute band playing at the National Arena.
B. Really? I love Pink Floyd. Continue reading
Listening: Good website for English podcasts
All levels
Speaking: Effective presentations: the magic of three
Intermediate to higher level (B1-C1)
Have you ever stopped and wondered why some presentations and talks feel much better than others? Continue reading
Speaking: Expressions to check you have understood something correctly
Lower intermediate to advanced level (B1-C1)
Even native speakers need to check that they have understood what they heard or read. To do this, you can use a range of expressions. Continue reading
Exam tips: the FCE and CAE interview
Upper intermediate to advanced levels (B2-C1)
The start of your FCE or CAE interview gives you a great opportunity to show how good your English is. Continue reading
Pronunciation: the ə sound
Elementary to advanced level (A2-C1)
The ə sound is everywhere in English. It’s almost impossible to speak British English for more than a few seconds and not use ə! It is not a letter but many vowels can be pronounced /ə/. Continue reading
Matthew Youlden speaks 9 languages – here are his learning tips
I saw this list in an advertisement for Babbel courses. I think these language learning tips are really useful (edited by me): Continue reading
Speaking: job interview questions
Intermediate to advanced level (B1-C1)
What will you be asked at a job interview. Of course it depends on the job but you can practise answering some common questions: Continue reading
Speaking: using the telephone for business
Pre-intermediate to advanced level (A2-C1)
Learning a few useful phrases can help you use the telephone in business situations. Continue reading
Speaking: disagreeing
Intermediate to advanced level (B2-C2)
In some cultures it is common to disagree with someone quite directly. In English, while this is possible, most of the time people are pretty careful how they offer a different opinion. Continue reading
Pronunciation: silent ‘e’
Elementary to Intermediate (A1-B1)
English pronunciation has changed over hundreds of years. Today you will often see a silent letter ‘e’ at the end of words. This ‘e’ often shows that the vowel sound in the syllable before it is long. Continue reading
The Cambridge First (FCE) interview lasts about 14 minutes and is usually done in pairs (2 candidates). Continue reading
Pronunciation and speaking: hesitating
Lower intermediate to advanced level English (B1-C1)
Speaking continuously is quite difficult, even for native speakers. Almost all speakers of English need to pause frequently. Hesitating gives you more time to think and choose the right words. Continue reading
Contractions (he is → he’s)
Lower level English (A1-A2)
Speakers of English sometimes pronounce two words as one word. May be you have noticed this with the verb ‘be’. Continue reading
Speaking: conversation
Intermediate to higher level English (B1-C2)
Having a conversation is unpredictable. Many things can happen that stop your saying what you want to say. Here are a few ways to help you return to your subject or story. Continue reading
Speaking and writing: giving a presentation
Intermediate to higher level (B1-C1)
Have you ever listened to a presentation and thought: ‘Why are they just reading what’s on the slide?’? Not only can this quickly send the listener to sleep but it’s also a waste of a great opportunity. Here are some tips for giving a presentation: Continue reading
Adjectives
Intermediate to higher level (B1-C1)
We have a lot of words in English to say that something is different or not normal in some way. Continue reading
Speaking: making an offer
Intermediate to higher level (B1-C2)
You can make an offer in English in many different ways. Here are some examples:
Grammar – using ‘there’
Lower level (A1)
An important way to start a sentence in English is to use ‘there’. We can use it to tell people about what we can see and do etc. Continue reading
What you need to know
Lower level (A1-A2)
Teachers, coursebooks and language schools more or less agree about what a student needs to learn at elementary level (A1) Continue reading
Speaking: Business dialogue
Intermediate to advanced (B2-C2)
Imagine you have just come out of a business meeting where a close colleague (Harry) was very impressive. You decide to tell him what you think. Here is a possible English dialogue: Continue reading
Speaking: Dialogue
Intermediate level (B1-B2)
Sometimes we feel we have to say something even if we are not really very interested. Using short responses is one way of doing this. The responses below are not very enthusiastic because person B doesn’t like tennis! Continue reading