Articles: A/AN | THE | NO ARTICLE
Articles are an integral part of English. They can be broken into 2 main groups: definite and indefinite articles. In this video we take a look at the basics of articles. Read more
English Tips
More tips to keep up with your English
More tips for improving your English skills on your own
Early January, I shared with you my top tips for improving your language skills at home. This post is focusing on how to work on and memorise vocabulary better and master your English grammar. Finally, at the end of the article, you will find your “English prescription” to help fix your English followed by my top most essential secret ingredients for improving your English dramatically. So, are you ready?
Keeping up with your English
Tips for improving your English skills on your own
Are you studying English now or have studied English before and wish to carry on practising at home and keep up with your English on your own for free? If yes, then these tips are for you!
Whether you are currently studying English in an English-speaking country, busy doing your degree in varsity or working in your country, you will need to set aside some time to practise English every day. The good news is: you don’t necessarily have to spend 5 hours a day. Only 30 minutes suffice as long as you keep it up EVERY DAY.
So, here are my tips and favourite websites and apps to help you improve the four language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing.
Softening the message: Polite English
How to sound more polite in English
There always comes a time when you need to make sure that your English is as polite as possible. You could be asking for information or trying to make a suggestion and you don’t want to come off as too direct or rude. In this video we share 3 important tips on how to sound more polite.
Modifiers for Comparisons
Comparisons: Using Modifiers in your Comparisons
Once we know how to make comparisons in English, we can add more detail by using a modifier. Modifiers create better descriptions and add more colour to your English. Watch this video to find out more.
Past Perfect: Simple or Continuous
Past Perfect: Simple or Continuous
We use the Past Perfect tense to connect past events.
Past Perfect Simple: use this to describe an action which happened before another past action.
Past Perfect Continuous: use this to describe an action which took place over a period of time before another past action. Read more
Pronunciation of Consonant Sounds
Pronunciation of Consonant Sounds
When it comes to pronouncing consonants in English we can divide them into two main categories: Voiced and Unvoiced.
Watch this video to learn about the differences between “voiced” and “unvoiced” sounds, and improve your understanding as we explain how to make consonant sounds in English.
Reading Big Numbers
How to Read Big Numbers
Every language has different ways of reading numbers. Here are some tips on how to read big numbers in English.
Pronouncing -ED
How to Pronounce the -ED ending in English
There are 3 different ways to pronounce the -ed ending in English. Watch this video to see how and when to use each version.
Essay Planning
Perfect Essay Planning
Writing an essay takes a fair amount of effort – even for native speakers! When I write anything significant, it takes me the better part of a week to write and then I check it 2 or 3 times. Consider this when you are trying to put an essay together in an hour. Not even hardcore academics can do that, so please don’t. Essays are an important part of learning any language and if you do the due diligence, you will succeed. Read more
11 Extra Ways to Use LIKE
11 Extra Ways to Use Like
As I mentioned before, like is one of the most versatile words in the English language. So far, we have reviewed the 5 most commonly taught and traditional ways of using it. Now, we will explore all the fantastically diverse ways to incorporate like into your conversation.
CAUTION: Using like in the following ways will make you sound like a native speaker!
How to use LIKE
The Unlikely Power of Like
Like. We use the word like in nearly every conversation. More recently, since the advent of Facebook, it has even become a physical action. As we scroll through our friends’ timelines and posts, we make sure to click on that familiar icon just to show our friends that we have acknowledged their photo, their current status or even their tasty looking lunch. And, though we may hate to admit it, our self-esteem may even depend on how many of those likes we can gather on our own status updates and photos. Beyond our own egos, businesses large and small, are incredibly dependent on how many likes they can manage.
But, are all likes equal? Or has the simple, four letter, single syllabled word taken on a power of its own?
IELTS Writing Guide
The Great IELTS Writing Guide
The Writing section of the IELTS test doesn’t have to be scary! With the information that we’re sharing with you here you can be confident of succeeding in this section of the test. We’re going to give you some expert advice as well as strategies on how to prepare and answer the different question types in the Writing test. Read more
Sentence Structure Part 2
The Big 5: Expanding the Basic Sentence Structure
In the BIG 5 Part 1, we learned how to construct the 5 basic sentence structures. In this post, we will learn how to expand those basic structures by adding other parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs). This helps to add certain details or information to our sentences. Read more
Sentence Structure Part 1
The Big 5: Sentence Structure in English
Real accuracy in English is easy once you know how to order the words in a sentence. Without the proper word order you may confuse the person you are speaking to, or at the least make it harder for them to understand you. Once you know the basic rules of word order you will find it much easier to speak and write in English with confidence.
In this first part we look at the basic elements of sentence structure. Please check out Part 2 for more information. Read more
The Perfect Aspect (part 2)
The Perfect Aspect: Perfect Tenses
So, now that we’ve gone over what it means when a verb tense is perfect, let’s go over the logistics. Before we can put the Perfect Aspect into use, we first have to know why we would use it and then how to construct it. Read more
Perfect Aspect (Part 1)
Understanding the Perfect Aspect in English Grammar
They say that nobody’s perfect and that is true, especially when it comes to using English (even English teachers make mistakes!). However, there is an aspect of English grammar that is perfect, the Perfect Aspect. Though it may be perfect, it most definitely is not easy to understand.
40 Useful Words and Phrases
40 Useful Words and Phrases for everyday English Speaking and Writing
You can improve the quality of your English by making use of certain phrases and words. Here is a list of words and phrases that we think will help you in everyday English – and which can be very helpful if you have to write an academic piece of English. This list is also a valuable tool if you are preparing for an English exam like IELTS for example. Read more
Super Superlatives
How To Use Superlatives
SUPER SUPERLATIVES
The Guinness Book of World Records has superlatives at its heart. It’s all about people who have competed globally to achieve the highest or lowest degree of a specific talent or skill. Superlatives are necessary to accurately describe the weird, wonderful and amazing skills that Guinness World Record holders have demonstrated. Read more
7 Ways to Learn English Faster
7 Ways to learn English faster – that are backed up by science.
Many people think that learning English will be as easy as it was in their school days. They’ll quickly pick up the new words and reach a decent level of fluency in a month or two. Unfortunately, this is seldom the case!
Learning a new language as an adult is rather challenging. Learning grammar is tough, and remembering the correct pronunciation is even worse!
Here are some of the tips and hacks that we like to share with our students. I hope that they will help you as well!
IELTS Listening Guide
The Great IELTS Listening Guide
For those of you preparing for the IELTS test – you no longer need to worry about the Listening section! We are happy to share our professional tips and advice to help you get the best possible result from the Listening section of the test. Read more
Building your Vocabulary
New Ways to Improve your Vocabulary
So you want to improve your English vocabulary. Where do you even begin? A quick look around the internet will find you the usual ideas like: read, keep a dictionary, make lists etc. And these are good ideas, but is it enough? First we’ll review the common ideas and then we’ll take a look at some of the excellent advice from our teachers to see if they have any new ideas. Read more
How long does it take to learn English?
The Big Question: How long does it take to learn English?
People ask us all the time, “how long does it take to learn English?” And there is no simple answer – there are certain factors that can speed up or slow down how quickly English sticks in your brain!
We’re going to take a look at which factors affect how long it takes to learn English, including: the moments when language learning can either be gained or lost, whether or not English takes longer to learn than other languages, and the questions to ask yourself to help define what “language learned” means to you!
While the level of effort and your surroundings can undoubtably affect how long it takes for you to pick up a language, some languages just take longer to learn than others
Whether you’re asking so you can figure out how long to study English, or just out of sheer curiosity, let’s take a look at some of these factors to help you understand just how long it will take you to learn the English language. Read more
3 of the best ways to learn English
Here are 3 of the best ways to learn English
Want to learn English? Congratulations! Committing to learning English is a big step to make, since most people remain comfortable with the language they grew up speaking. Now that you’re ready to take the next step – actually learning the language – you’re probably wondering, what’s the best way to learn English?
Well, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll share with you the 3 of the best ways to learn English (or any language for that matter), where you can go to start learning, and the pros and cons for each option. Before we dig in, let’s first understand how we learn, and not just languages. Read more
How to Learn English Faster: 23 Tips for EFL Students
23 Tips to Help you Learn English Faster
English can be a daunting language to learn. It’s full of contradictions and odd rules and pronunciations, its idiosyncrasies are what makes it interesting, but it can be a challenge if you’re new to it – and even if you’re not! This is why we want to offer you some useful tips on how to speed up the process of learning this complex language, so that you’ll be fluent before you know it. Read more