Word of the day: Harry Pottered out
I spent last Friday and Saturday in Bologna, Italy, where I was talking at an excellent conference for English-language teachers. In
06-12-2023
From a trickle to a flood: water metaphors and their emotional pull
One of the most depressing things about British politics right now – and trust me, there are plenty of things
05-12-2023
One is most bemused: hedging and the strange function of ‘one’
The original idea for this blog post came one afternoon when my wife saw my response to an email we'd
10-11-2023
Everyday English drawn from Greek mythology
A while back, I wrote a blog post about words and expressions that come from literature, but which have passed
13-10-2023
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