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Jump on Stage for the Eurovision Song Contest!

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Eurovision is the colourful, over-the-top, cheesy and fabulous international music competition that is broadcast every year across Europe, Asia, the US and Australia to millions of fans and ironic supporters! The Eurovision Song Contest Final always offers an evening of fun and excitement, packed with wacky musical delights.

The Eurovision Final 2022 airs on Saturday 14th May. Come along and explore the ballads, pop songs and other tuneful entries from some of the hopeful nations right here. Plus, we’ll explain how the competition works and consider how the Eurovision Song Contest can add a melodious edge to your next EFL lesson! Continue reading →

Cinco de Mayo – Join the Fiesta!

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Cinco de Mayo EFL Lesson - Mexican dancersCinco de Mayo (5th May) is a celebration day in the US and Mexico when people celebrate Mexican culture, heritage, food and music with street festivals and parades. The day commemorates the Mexican army’s 1862 victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War. This is an ideal time to think about using this seasonal event in a vocabulary and culture lesson. So come and spread some guacamole on your tacos while you enjoy our Cinco de Mayo EFL lesson, complete with gap-fill exercise. Olé! Continue reading →

Robot Teachers Take Over Language Lessons

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British academics have programmed a child-sized robot to teach languages to children. The design has been piloted in the UK and is now being tried out across Europe. The Nao robot teachers are designed to look friendly and approachable and react to children’s moods and facial expressions.

Originally designed to teach History and Maths, the dwarf robots are currently being used in Germany to teach language skills to refugee children as part of the L2TOR language project.

Experts believe that robot teachers will soon become a regular part of the general school education system. Read more to find out about the robot teachers currently being used in Europe’s language classrooms – and how robots could revolutionise education and language learning. Continue reading →

Pancake Day EFL Lesson Ideas

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Pancake Day EFL Lesson ideas - pancake with berries

Pancake Day is just around the corner, which means everyone in the UK will be preparing to make delicious crispy pancakes! The proper name for Pancake Day is of course Shrove Tuesday. This is the day when people traditionally used up all their luxury foods – milk, sugar and eggs – to make pancakes before they began fasting for Lent.

In 2024, Shrove Tuesday falls on Tuesday 13th February. Read on to find out all about this mini celebration day and its religious origins. We’ve included an easy pancake recipe, plus we have some great ideas for Pancake Day EFL lessons!   Continue reading →

Raise a Glass to the Haggis – it’s Burns Night!

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Burns Night EFL Lesson - Rabbie BurnsBurns Night is a celebration dedicated to the life and works of the great Scottish poet Robert (Rabbie) Burns. On 25th January, many people will be throwing a Burns Night supper, featuring all the traditional elements. The classic celebration includes a piper to welcome the guests, speeches, prayers to bring in the food, a special address and toast to the haggis, lively entertainment, a ‘toast to the lassies’ and many other fun elements.

How will you be celebrating Burns Night in the EFL class? Read on to discover more about this fascinating Scottish tradition and how you might use it to create a fun, Scottish-themed EFL lesson.

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New Year’s Resolutions for Language Learners – Part 2

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As we move through January, it is easy to lose a bit of motivation for our language-related New Year’s resolutions. The buzz of freshness has dissipated a little as we get back into our normal routines. But wait! Stay strong and focus your goals. If you keep on practising and stay true to your resolutions, you will continue to improve your language skills and see big changes in 2023.

We have some more interesting ideas for effective New Year’s resolutions for EFL which can help you push into new territory this year with your language learning. Whether you want to focus on your speaking or writing skills this year, or aim to improve all your areas of knowledge, there is a resolution perfect for you. Read on as we continue with the second part in our series of New Year’s resolutions for EFL learners! Continue reading →

New Year’s Resolutions for Language Learning

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New Year’s resolutions are at the forefront of everyone’s mind at the start of January. Learning a language is a popular New Year’s resolution but those of us already learning can also benefit from a January boost. Setting some realistic New Year’s resolutions for language learning can give you a sense of renewed vigour and can help you redefine your long-term and short-term goals.

When learning a new language, it’s easy to lose motivation. New Year is a perfect time to remind yourself why you started learning English in the first place and rekindle your passion for the language. Read on for the first part in our series of blog posts about New Year’s resolutions for language learning. Continue reading →

Music Training Improves Language Learning, Studies Show

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Researchers have found that children who learn an instrument find learning languages much easier, even as adults. It has been proven that music training improves language learning, however, it is not only the ability to learn foreign languages that is boosted. Children who study music before the age of seven also develop better linguistic abilities in their mother tongue. Musicians have bigger vocabularies, better pronunciation and a stronger awareness of grammar than their non-musical friends. Read on to find out more about how music is linked with language learning. Continue reading →

Happy St Andrew’s Day! Exploring Scottish Traditions

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Saint Andrews Day falls on 30th November each year. This special day is marked in Scotland by many traditional events celebrating all things Scottish, such as dancing, playing the bagpipes and eating traditional Scottish foods, such as haggis.

St Andrews Day is a voluntary public holiday in Scotland. It is always fun to mark national events in the EFL classroom, so we are using St Andrews Day as a spring board to look at the Scotland’s flag, its national emblem, the Scottish accent and various legends and traditions associated with Scotland. Continue reading →

The Connection Between Sound, Language and Emotion

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Connection Between Sound, Language and Emotion - headphones listeningSound, language and emotion have strong links. Over 130 years ago, Darwin suggested that speech and melody have the same ancestor. Now two academics have returned to the idea and are currently researching the connection between sound and emotion in relation to language.

It seems that the tone of someone’s voice can affect our emotions in the same way that other sounds in the natural world can, such as running water or barking dogs.

We can feel calm, anxious, excited or happy and can even have our perceptions altered by the tones we hear.

Read on to explore the connection between sounds and emotions as we think about what this means for language. Continue reading →