less or fewer
Grammar focus: less or fewer Deciding whether to use less or fewer can be difficult. The confusion happens because you often see mistakes in public signs, for example like this…
Situation, task, action, result, reflection
Hi everyone, I hope you are all well. This post is primarily intended for my own students who will be starting to think about job interview assessments which we are…
What does might mean?
I thought I knew what ‘might’ means, but I could be wrong! This week the UK has been experiencing a huge political row about whether the Prime Minister’s chief advisor…
Lockdown language: An unprecedented pandemic and ramping up testing
I hope readers are well as we hopefully move towards some easing of lockdown measures which we have all been experiencing. As a language teacher, I have noticed how some…
Complex structures in academic English
One month into the lockdown in the UK and there are signs that people are going stir crazy. So there’s a good new phrase for you if you don’t know…
TED.com at 75% speed during lockdown!
I hope that you are all well and managing with the lockdown! It is very challenging for lots of people, and a good opportunity for many of us to do…
Relative clauses: leaving out the relative pronoun
I haven’t posted anything for a while, so HELLO to all new subscribers who have joined up since my last post. I also want to say I hope you are…
New word form exercises
Hi everyone, I’ve been noticing how my students are struggling with using word forms correctly. I have been getting my students to do research and I think I have lost…
So what is Academic English?
What is academic English? This post explains in detail the style of academic English Academic English is the genre of English used in the world of research, study, teaching and…
Excuse me! Could I have a quick word please?
Excuse me, could I have a quick word please? I know it’s hard. Your lecturer is in a rush and is walking quickly along the corridor and is avoiding eye…