Today had been the busiest day I’ve had in ages and I barely had time to stop and take my meals. That’s actually a good sign as my day was filled by teaching classes online and just today alone, I had 6 hours of lessons! Now that I’ve had time to rest and catch up […]
Read more "Busy Busy Busy"My online lesson today involved practising the strategies of skimming and scanning. These skills are especially necessary for students who are sitting for the IELTS or CAE tests. Not only do they have to beat the clock, candidates have to try very hard to give the right answers as well. It can be a stressful […]
Read more "Skimming and Scanning in IELTS Reading"Being fluent in English can be a challenge for students who are not used to thinking in a foreign language on their feet. This can be quite crucial if you are in an exam situation like IELTS where candidates’ fluency and coherence are measured during the test. To help you overcome this problem, here are […]
Read more "How To Speak Fluently in the IELTS interview"When I get stressed, I usually bake. It used to be that I would listen to music to soothe myself but there’s something about beating dough in a bowl that’s far more therapeutic. Plus, you get to eat the results! I’ve been baking for the past three days, don’t ask me why because I’m not […]
Read more "That cookie dough!"This morning’s class was a little different as it involved a group of 11-year-olds, including mine, in one English class. I had a teacher collaboration session in Japan using Skype where the student group did a presentation and asked me questions in basic English. At the end of it, my daughter had a brief chat […]
Read more "Skype Learning"Nick: to steal something Someone nicked my bicycle when I went to the park. I could never tell who’s nicked my pen at the office when I wasn’t looking. Cambridge Dictionaries Online Image courtesy of stuart miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Read more "IELTS Word of the Day"…eat them! Those were exactly what I had after lunch today. I love melon season in the summer! It cools you down on the inside just when you feel you’re drying up like a crust. There are other types of tropical fruit that I miss but I’ll start getting depressed if I go on about […]
Read more "When life gives you melons…"If you’re looking to improve your listening, vocabulary and overall English skills, here is a video that gives you an insight into British life and culture while helping you improve your language. You can do the worksheet with the video below. Work in Britain
Read more "Discussing work in IELTS Speaking and Writing"During my IELTS Speaking lesson today, I noticed that the /s/ and /θ/ sounds could present problems for some learners. For example, the expression thought can be pronounced as sought, so this can be confusing for listeners who may not understand the context in which it was spoken. In an emergency situation, saying /s/ and /θ/ clearly can help […]
Read more "IELTS Speaking – /s/ or /θ/?"My online lesson today was a change from the usual: preparing a CAE candidate instead of an IELTS student for the test. We looked at strategies for reading and even though the format between IELTS and CAE are slightly different, the skills required to perform well for both tests remain the same. If you are […]
Read more "CAE Paper 1"