Literary figures in everyday speech
In one of my recent classes, we were discussing the way in which the use of social media inside authoritarian
18-01-2023
Word of the day: big cheese
At a party last week I was introduced to a foreign businessman who was visiting London. We got talking and started chatting about what
03-05-2022
Teaching through the tears: creating cross-border classes in a time of conflict
I first went to Russia in December 1999 to visit a friend of mine who’d just taken a teaching job
06-03-2022
Another five things I’ve learned running the ENGLISH QUESTIONS ANSWERED group
Three years ago now, I was talked into setting up a Facebook group called ENGLISH QUESTIONS ANSWERED. It was designed
01-12-2021
Chunk of the day: a rite of passage
Generally speaking, I'm not one for complaining about people’s use of language, and certainly not those supposed transgressions of grammar
19-11-2021
Using texts to develop lexical awareness
In this guest post, Patrick Gallagher outlines how he uses the WORD / CHUNK OF THE DAY sections of this
24-09-2021
Twenty things in twenty years part eleven: we’ve been in thrall to the cults of Learning Styles, NLP and Multiple...
It never ceases to both depress and astound me when I see quite how many conference talks, articles, books and
21-09-2021
Back to school Part Five: challenges and homework
As if to prove the point about procrastination and failing to do stuff outside class that I made in my
02-09-2021
Chunk of the day: having some work done
Those of you who follow my ongoing series of ONE-MINUTE ENGLISH videos on YouTube or Instagram may have noticed that
07-07-2021
Word of the day: whitewash
By the 18th of June 1984 – thirty-seven years ago today – miners in England had been on strike for
15-06-2021