This afternoon I interviewed someone who's applied to do one of our language courses this summer. We like to Skype people who are coming to study with us because it helps us get a feel for their level of English,…
Author Archive
Back to school: Part One
As you may have noticed, we recently wrote a Beginner’s book and I have written a series of posts exploring the ideas behind it. One thing that's driving this two-man campaign (you can decide for yourself if that means it’s…
Beyond word lists: eight ways to get more from the OUTCOMES Vocabulary Builder
One of the more innovative add-ons that accompanies the OUTCOMES series of General English coursebooks we wrote for National Geographic Learning is the Vocabulary Builder – often just known as the VB. The main idea behind the Vocabulary Builder was…
Chunk of the day: on the wagon
This Friday I'll be meeting an old friend of mine called Jon. I'm looking forward to seeing him as it's been a while since we last met, but I'm also slightly worried as ever since we arranged to go out…
A different kind of Beginner-level book 5: Pronunciation
Pronunciation: Really? Do I have to? While the bulk of Beginner coursebooks on the market are pretty uniform when it comes to the way they handle grammar and - to some extent - vocabulary, there seems to be little consistency…
Word of the day: (the) MSM
MSM sounds like an unfortunate disease that someone might suffer from - a cancer that's spreading and eating away at your insides, for instance. Maybe that similarity is deliberate, because what we are talking about here is the mainstream media,…
Five things I’ve learned from running the ENGLISH QUESTIONS ANSWERED group
One of the side-effects of being a coursebook writer and teacher with a relatively high social media profile is that I get a lot of mail. A depressingly large chunk of this is simply messages saying things like HI! or…
Chunk of the day: on an industrial scale
On Sunday evening, as I was getting dinner ready for my kids, I listened to a programme on BBC Radio 4 about money laundering – the process of hiding the origin of money that's been obtained from illegal activities by…
Chunk of the day: You’re best … -ing
I overheard an awkward conversation between a native speaker and some tourists this morning in the centre of London. It was one of those exchanges that, as an English language teacher, I often feel compelled to intervene in, although this…
Word of the day: prescribe
If you're ill and go to the doctor’s, once the doctor has examined you and discussed your symptoms, they'll usually prescribe some medicine to help you get better. The doctor usually writes a prescription which you then take to the…