Have you heard of collocations? They sound complicated, don’t they? Well, collocations are important in English, and we do have to learn them just like any other vocabulary, but they…
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Have you ever heard or read a line from a Shakespeare play and thought, ‘sounds good, but just what does it mean?’? Although only 5 to 10% of Shakespeare’s language…
The term ‘modal verb’ often causes confusion. Students wonder what modal verbs are and why they don’t know about them. In fact, if you speak any English, the chances are…
All summer I’ve been talking about Easier Shakespeare: teaching students some simple Shakespearean grammar and vocabulary so that they can tackle and understand the plays for themselves. But why? What…
Have you ever brought home a piece of flat pack furniture and then wondered how on earth all those pieces will make a wardrobe or bookshelf? Long pieces of wood,…
Keeping up with schoolwork at home, during lockdown, communicating with teachers only online, I’ve had a glimpse of what students might be experiencing as, at 17, I completed my A…
Worrying seems to be part of a parent’s job, and education is one of the main worry topics. Right now, back in a national lockdown, parents all over the…
Many more of us have been working from home this year. I’ve been home-based for years but just now it’s a little different. Everyone’s gone off to uni – except…
A while ago I wrote this post, about exams. I explained that they are not always as important as we think. Sometimes, however, we can’t do without them. Earlier this…
Six months ago I switched to tutoring English online overnight. For years, I have travelled to my students’ homes and sat in their kitchens and dining rooms as we worked…
We need each other to create so we can hear and see ourselves.