Complicating the coursebook debate part 3: coursebook use
Today’s post follows on from another recent post that looked at some of the so-called false assumptions that supposedly lie
Read more.19th May 2017
When porridge is not porridge: dealing with culturally specific phenomena in English
It happens to me almost every time I’m in Russia. In fact, it’s happened so many times now that I’ve
Read more.12th May 2017
Complicating the coursebook debate part 2: can’t we just be friends?
This week I thought I would take a break from the grammar series (to be continued!) and pick up on
Read more.27th April 2017
Grammar curiosities 2: relative clauses
Too much choice So in my last post I did ask if anyone had any good ideas about contexts for
Read more.14th April 2017
Grammar nonsense 4: relative clauses
This is less a post about the craziness of description and more one about the way grammar is presented and
Read more.23rd March 2017
Teaching in troubled times: Trump, tackling tensions and resting easy!
We live in troubled times. We’re living through an age in which immigrants are routinely scapegoated and blamed for all
Read more.16th March 2017
Grammar nonsense 3: the use of the word grammar
So the other day, I opened my inbox and found an email encouraging me to celebrate March the 4th, ‘World
Read more.10th March 2017
Grammar nonsense 2: stative verbs
Exceptions – it’s not you, it’s me. A lot of grammar nonsense comes from labels that we use and that
Read more.2nd March 2017
Grammar curiosities 1: reported speech
The first post in our series on grammar nonsense got quite a lot of discussion going and it seemed that
Read more.23rd February 2017
Grammar nonsense 1: reported speech
Is there anything that is more bizarrely and unnecessarily taught in ELT than reported speech? There have been many times
Read more.16th February 2017