Category Archives: Advanced (Level 6+)

Spelling Mistakes that Ruin your Writing

English spelling is not easy for anyone learning English as a second language. It may surprise you to learn that many native English speakers are not good at spelling in their native language. They know that spelling is very important … Continue reading

Posted in Advanced (Level 6+), IELTS, Intermediate (Level 4), Pre-Intermediate (Level 3), Upper Intermediate (Level 5), Writing | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Christmas 2024

Greetings Dear Students! It’s the Festive Season now for many of you: end-of-year party time; the beginning of summer holidays for the southern hemisphere; and Christmas celebrations and festivities.   As requested last Christmas, this year I am including some Christmas … Continue reading

Posted in Advanced (Level 6+), Beginner (Level 1), Elementary (Level 2), ESL Teachers, Intermediate (Level 4), Pre-Intermediate (Level 3), Upper Intermediate (Level 5) | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Improve Fluency with Understatement

Greetings English learners! Today, I am looking at how you can improve your fluency with a simple technique and you can start today. Yes, today! Ready? Let’s start. Have a look at the painting below. What do you think? Do … Continue reading

Posted in Advanced (Level 6+), Cambridge, Speaking & Pronunciation, Upper Intermediate (Level 5) | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Christmas 2023

Happy Christmas! It’s that time of year again when many of us prepare to celebrate Christmas. Traditionally, for Christians, it is about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ approximately 2,000 years ago. However, Christmas has become an important time for … Continue reading

Posted in Advanced (Level 6+), Elementary (Level 2), Intermediate (Level 4), Pre-Intermediate (Level 3), Songs, Upper Intermediate (Level 5) | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

English Inversion #1: Why? When? How?

One of the first things you learn when you start learning English is the word order in sentences. The subject comes before the verb:  SUBJECT                           VERB you                                        learn … Continue reading

Posted in Advanced (Level 6+), Cambridge, Grammar, IELTS, Upper Intermediate (Level 5) | Leave a comment

Relative Clauses #11: Advanced non-defining Relative Clauses

First, read the earlier posts on Relative Clauses, especially #3 and #6. Advanced non-defining Relative Clauses are not as difficult as their name suggests. There are only two Relative Clause Pronouns used, whom & which, and the Relative Clause is usually … Continue reading

Posted in Advanced (Level 6+), Cambridge, Grammar, IELTS, Relative Clauses, Upper Intermediate (Level 5), Writing | 1 Comment

A song with Collocations and Idioms

The English language is full of collocations and idioms. By collocations, I mean words that naturally go together like ‘high hopes‘, ‘heavy rain‘, and ‘make friends‘. We don’t say ‘tall hopes’, ‘huge rain‘ or ‘produce friends‘.  Idioms are expressions whose … Continue reading

Posted in Advanced (Level 6+), Intermediate (Level 4), Listening, Songs, Upper Intermediate (Level 5), Vocabulary, Writing | Tagged , | 6 Comments

5 Weak Words to Avoid & What to Use Instead

Weak words are commonly used in everyday English speech. Perhaps we are a little lazy. Perhaps we know that we convey meaning using our tone of voice. No doubt, you have similar common words in your language which are used … Continue reading

Posted in Advanced (Level 6+), Cambridge, IELTS, Intermediate (Level 4), Pre-Intermediate (Level 3), Upper Intermediate (Level 5), Writing | 1 Comment

Advanced Reading & Writing ∼ Learn from the Best Writers!

Greetings English Learners. It’s not always easy to find good examples of English writing to show you. Actually, ‘good’ is not good enough! I want ‘brilliant’ examples, and you shall have them! Of course, there are numerous excellent authors around … Continue reading

Posted in Advanced (Level 6+), Cambridge, Reading, Writing | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Mercy & Cancel Culture – Advanced Reading

Nick Cave is a is an Australian singer, songwriter, author, and screenwriter. On his website, The Red Hand Files, he answers questions from fans, any questions about anything. In this post, I’m featuring his eloquent response to the questions: What … Continue reading

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