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Language Blog
16/08/2011
In our semi-regular feature on the blog, we take a look at interesting vocabulary in the news. As well as explaining what the key words mean we'll also fill you in on the background to the story. This week, we’re looking at the recent riots and looting in London and the reasons behind them.
22/07/2011
So, a few weeks ago I told you about how much I enjoy conferences (!) and I gave you an overview of the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language conference. It was such a packed few days that I only filled you in on the Saturday programme. So in this post I’m going to tell you about the sessions I attended on Sunday.
13/07/2011
As part of a new series on the blog, we’ll be looking at interesting vocabulary in the news. As well as explaining what the key words mean, we'll also fill you in on the background to the story. This week, we’re looking at the Phone Hacking Scandal in the UK.
02/03/2011
At the moment I’m teaching on one of our IELTS courses so I'm thinking in an ‘IELTS’ way. For example, in Task 1 of the writing test students may have to describe a process. I do an evening class in printing and etching and I’ve written up the instructions to one of the printing techniques that we’ve looked at; producing a soft-ground etching. The picture this week shows one of the traditional printing presses that we use in my class!
The only difference between my answer and an IELTS exam answer is that I haven’t based my response on a diagram and a question. Also, my answer is almost twice as long as a Task 2 response needs to be – that’s because there are lots of stages in the process and I wanted to explain them to you! Notice the grammar – to describe a process we generally use the present simple passive.
05/10/2010
A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about my group of Swiss students who are taking both the CAE and the BEC Higher exam. We are now into the third week of the course and I’m happy to say that they are still applying themselves to the course and doing well. In my previous post, I gave you all a test by strategically placing 15 gaps in the text to provide an example of a CAE exam question.
