Whenever we use language, whether we are speaking, listening, reading or writing, we do it in some kind of context. The situation we are in, the tone we want to express and the ways that others respond to us all affect the nature of the language choices that we make. Language without context lacks...
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4th July 2017By Tom Garside
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27th June 2017By James Pengelley
Mountains, beaches, skyscrapers, some of the planet’s most densely populated urban areas, Michelin-starred dim sum….Hong Kong is unique for many reasons. The number of English teachers is not one of them. But it should be. In 1998, the Hong Kong government launched the Native English... -
20th June 2017By James Pengelley
English exams are big business – the British Council claim more than 2 million IELTS exams were taken in 2013, while over 700,000 people sit a Trinity ESOL exam each year. English exams have become particularly popular for students wishing to emigrate, study or work in English speaking countries... -
13th June 2017By Sharon Maloney
In just a few weeks’ time, hundreds of thousands of TESOL teachers across the world will be celebrating the end of school and the start of a long-awaited summer holiday. And it’s not only teachers who will be celebrating the start of their holidays, but students too. For some teachers... -
6th June 2017By Tom Garside
Over the past 200 years or so, English has grown to become the lingua franca (shared language) in a huge range of industries. The fields of media, engineering, medicine, shipping, air travel, international business and commerce all rely on English as the common language which can facilitate... -
30th May 2017By Tom Garside
Word lists are a widely-practised teaching tool for vocabulary study, but any student who has worked with them will tell you that memorising lists of words is a very time-consuming method that does not really help students to learn words deeply, or to use them appropriately. The main problem with... -
30th May 2017By Bryan Holmes
If you have been teaching for a few years you may thinking it’s time to complete a Trinity DipTESOL or a Cambridge DELTA. Doing either one will broaden your professional horizons while making a huge leap in your professional development. This is considered a rite of passage in the industry... -
23rd May 2017By Sharon Maloney
Dragon Boat Festival, also known as the Double Fifth due to its position in the lunar calendar, has been celebrated in many countries in Asia for more than 2000 years. Legend tells of a famous poet, Qu Yuan (340-278BC), renowned for his patriotism and honesty. He wrote many masterpieces, showing...