Category Archives: Students

Boris Johnson Wants Immigrants to Learn English by Telephone

Posted on by
1

Boris Johnson Wants Immigrants to Learn English by TelephoneIs it possible to learn English by telephone? This was an idea put forward by the London mayor’s English Language For All initiative this month in an effort to help immigrants learn English.

Boris Johnson’s report revealed that many immigrants living in London are being denied the opportunity to gain higher paid employment due to their lack of English language skills. Learning English by telephone was proposed as a solution to the problem, alongside learning English using the internet – the latter of course being a great idea! Continue reading →

Canada Introduces New Language Requirements for Citizenship Applicants

Posted on by
1

Canada has introduced stricter language requirements for people wanting to obtain Canadian citizenship. Applicants will have to provide evidence of language proficiency in English or French. Right now applicants between the ages of 18 and 54 need to demonstrate informally the ability to speak and understand English or French. But the new guidelines mean that from November this year formal tests will need to be undertaken and objective evidence provided.

Continue reading →

Rota Me In for a Lesson in Past Participles

Posted on by
12

Past participles in the English language are normally simple enough for native speakers, but what about those awkward words? As eagle-eyed readers might already have guessed from the title of this blog post, I am thinking particularly of the word ‘rota’ here.

This word cropped up in the office recently as I was writing an e-mail and I suddenly discovered – I am not sure how to write this as a past participle. What is the past participle of rota? Should it be rota’d, rota’ed, rotad or something else? Continue reading →

Does Being Bilingual Make You More Intelligent?

Posted on by
Reply

Does Being Bilingual Make You More Intelligent? light bulbThere are many advantages to being bilingual. The ability to speak two languages makes travel easier and can open the bilingual person up to a whole new world of news, entertainment, social and cultural references that would be closed off to a monolingual person.

Studies have shown that bilingual children can learn more quickly in other areas and have better concentration spans. And there are even health benefits. But can being bilingual actually make you more intelligent? Continue reading →

Teach EFL Using Nursery Rhymes

Posted on by
1

Teach EFL Using Nursery Rhymes - owl and pussycatNursery rhymes are ideal tools for the English language classroom. Teaching English as a foreign language to young children calls for a different approach. Regular textbooks might not cut it when it comes to stimulating little minds. EFL teachers need to use short, lively, fun exercises to make the words memorable and grammar points particularly easy to grasp.

Young children always respond well to music and song so what better learning method than to incorporate catchy rhymes and songs into an EFL lesson? Nursery rhymes can often be learned with accompanying actions to make them even enjoyable for children to sing along to – which will of course help to make them memorable!

Old King Cole and his fiddlers three might be just what your EFL class needs! Continue reading →

EFL Students to Face New Tests at Immigration

Posted on by
Reply

EFL students will face new tests when they try to enter the UK to study – but these tests won’t be set by universities or educational bodies. Immigration officers at the UK border will be given the right to admit or refuse entry to foreign students trying to enter the UK to study.

This new measure has been taken as an attempt to curb the number of bogus applicants entering the country. Our concern is that many legitimate students could be prevented from entering the UK to study on the decisions of immigration staff.

Will all immigration staff have sufficient knowledge of the English language in en EFL context to be able to properly judge the language capabilities of a foreign student? Continue reading →

Confusing English Words for EFL Students

Posted on by
Reply

We’re going to advise you with some good advice!

Learning a language brings EFL students into contact with lots of interesting and confusing word combinations. Many confusing English words look similar but have totally different meanings and sometimes even opposite meanings. Even English people sometimes have trouble using the right word.

This all causes great potential for a language nightmare – but don’t worry!

In the instance of confusing words, the more you use English, the easier it will become to select the right word for the right occasion. So to spur you on, we’ve put together a short guide to help EFL learners out with some of these tricky words. Continue reading →

EFL Students Ready to Rock! Use Music to Boost Listening Skills

Posted on by
Reply

Learning English as a foreign language is often about completing grammar exercises, learning vocabulary, writing letters, answering comprehension questions and other such ‘serious’ tasks. But what about the fun stuff? There are so many ways to incorporate English learning into your daily life without even opening a textbook and using music for EFL listening practice is one of them.

Lyrics in songs can helps you learn new words and expressions, while the melody can help those words stick in your memory. We have a few suggestions for musical EFL lessons and we’ve even found you an original new songwriting talent! So keep your ears open and read on…   Continue reading →

How to Keep Motivated When Studying English

Posted on by
Reply

How to Keep Motivated When Studying English - Success RoadsignHow to keep motivated when studying English is one of the most important questions faced by all EFL students. Without motivation it is almost impossible to work towards any goal. There is nothing more frustrating than realising a month from now that you still haven’t made any progress! Imagine being in a shop and trying to communicate with the cashier, or needing to understand an official letter – and you still can’t. It’s making me angry just thinking about it. It’s time for action! Continue reading →

Getting Fruity! Fruit and Veg Idioms for TEFL

Posted on by
2

Fruit and Veg Idioms - orangeFruit and veg idioms are more prevalent in the English language than you might think. If you know your onions, you might even be able to think of a few veggie idioms right now! Food in general is a useful theme in English when you are looking to find that perfect expression to describe a situation in an idiomatic way, in a manner with a bit of flavour.

Read on to explore the world of English fruit and veg idioms – adding in a few fruity phrases to your conversations is as easy as pie and it could even be the icing on the cake of your English language learning.
Continue reading →