Learn
4 phrasal verbs
in the context of this song:
“Somebody That I Used To Know”
by Gotye
(feat. Kimbra) Continue reading “Phrasal Verbs and Songs: Somebody That I Used To Know”
One word, lots of meanings
A question for Spanish speakers:
Can you think of a verb in English that has all these meanings?
correr (cortinas)
llegar (conclusión)
atraer (atención)
provocar (reacción)
arrastrar (trineo)
sacar (dinero del cajero)
empatar (un partido)
dibujar
Simple home-made chocolate hazelnut spread
A yummy and fun way to put an end to the course with the little ones.
You will need a food processor to blend the ingredients into a creamy texture.
Additionally, you will need something to spread on: it could be toast, crackers or sponge cake.
Continue reading “Simple home-made chocolate hazelnut spread”
Botanic or botanical? (More on suffixes: -ic and -ical)
Do you find the use of these suffixes confusing?
That makes two of us.
Not long ago, I published two posts dealing with some of the differences between historic/historical and classic/classical. In this post, I’ll deal with other common words ending with the suffixes -ic and -ical.
Botanic and botanical
Magic and magical
Comic and comical
Electric and electrical
Economic and economical Continue reading “Botanic or botanical? (More on suffixes: -ic and -ical)”
20 words that you may be mispronouncing
Chaos
Foreigner
Decision
Government
Do you know how to pronounce these words?
If you don’t, keep reading….
As my students know, I’m a great believer in the power of self-study. The activity I’m presenting today comes from material I use in class but you can also use it by yourself at home.
A pre-requisite is that you need to be familiar with the pronunciation chart. If you aren’t yet, you can learn it by yourself or book some classes with a teacher. I encourage you to do that if you want to acquire an invaluable tool to improve your pronunciation over time. It may take a while, but it’s not as hard as it seems. Continue reading “20 words that you may be mispronouncing”
ADJECTIVE COLLOCATIONS WITH THE WORD: EFFECT
Learning collocations makes our communication more vibrant and descriptive. It enlivens it. Let’s have a look at 6 adjectives that collocate with the word effect.
Calming effect
Calming effect“At the end of a stressful week,
the absolute silence in the snowed forest
had a calming effect on her.”
(also soothing effect)
Continue reading “ADJECTIVE COLLOCATIONS WITH THE WORD: EFFECT”
Common mistakes in First-B2 (Part 2)
Can you spot the mistakes?
X “He explained us why he didn’t agree with the proposal.”
Clue: What preposition would you need after explained?
Key: explain to somebody.
√ “He explained to us why he didn’t agree with the proposal.”
Common mistakes in First-B2 (Part 1)
Can you spot the mistakes?
X “I knew her while we were volunteering for the National Trust in the Peak District.”
Clue: What is the difference between meet and know in this context?
Key: You meet someone for the first time and from then on, you know them.
√ “I met her while we were volunteering for the National Trust.”
Extra: “Over the working holiday, I got to know her and we became friends. After having shared some more experiences, we know each other very well now.” Continue reading “Common mistakes in First-B2 (Part 1)”
Talking about a hospital stay
Have you ever had to talk about an experience connected to hospitals in English? Did you feel you lacked the vocabulary? That’s natural; it’s not everyday language.
Here is a suggestion:
Why don’t you try to practise now so that you are prepared next time? You could first use a dictionary to find the words you may need, and then, write the events down or alternatively, record yourself speaking. You can also pick up some words from the following text.
