Lesson Corner – Grammar Resources

It’s been a long time since I posted new material here – I have not been teaching for quite some time. However I heard today from a website called Lesson Corner and thought that my visitors here would like to know about the site which has some excellent resources – and lots of them. These [...]

Daily Words 20 – Space Exploration Special

I’ve not been making posts as frequently as usual recently as I have been very busy so here is a special edition to make up for it. Last night someone introduced me to NASA TV at the website of the US Space Exploration Program. Wow! You can watch a live webcam broadcast of astronauts aboard [...]

A Cure for Global Warming – Active Remedy Update

One of my more popular posts here was a mini-lesson, suitable for all English learners who need to write or speak about solutions for Environmental problems, featuring the work of two inspirational friends of mine, Stella and Tara Joy in India. They have been hard at work recently creating an online exhibition featuring words and [...]

Daily Words 13 – Youth Crime Special

Today’s Daily Words are from the Sky News article Tackling Youth Crime – Through Boxing that I posted yesterday tearaway     philanthropist    funding     debate     initiative    transform     gangster    gang culture intervene     to tackle head on      mainstream      excluded    disaffected    to turn your life around law-abiding      crimewave     work ethic   donor    negotiate motivate With these words and the ideas gained [...]

Writing about Youth Crime – a Success Story

Here is a really brilliant topic resource for any student who needs to write an essay about Youth problems. It is a news report from the UK’s Sky News about a highly successful scheme set up to offer young men who have been excluded from school for bad behaviour a new and different way to [...]

Death of a Language

This is rather sad but will be of interest to anyone who loves languages. The BBC reported today that the very last speaker of an Alaskan language called Eyak has died. Marie Smith Jones (picture above borrowed from the BBC story) was the mother of 9 children but none of them learned Eyak because when [...]

Daily Words 6 – Special Edition

Today’s Daily Words is a special selection to help you work with the excellent resource for studying the Environment and ESL topics based on the problems associated with it to be found at http://www.activeremedy.org.uk Climate Change Reforestation Viable alternative extinction to threaten safeguard imminent Think Globally, Act Locally sustainable Remedy habitat Read and study the [...]

Writing about Environmental Problems

We are often asked to talk and write about issues like Hunger and our planet’s environmental problems as part of our English studies and to offer solutions. Hah! I have been known to get very cross about this kind of composition. How can examiners expect teenagers to write solutions to problems which some of the [...]

Topics and Issues for ECCE – More Rubbish!

The Michigan ECCE Writing Exam (like all the other English exams) often asks students to make suggestions or offer opinions on topical or social issues like the environment or safety. Many students find it difficult to come up with good ideas. One useful idea is to suggest an advertising campaign to raise awareness of the [...]

The Great British Auntie

I am always encouraging (or pleading with) my students to read more real English. If you are going to sit any advanced English exam it is absolutely essential that you make it a habit to read something English every day. You can spend years working at grammar exercises but nothing will help solve your problems [...]