You will often be required to compare and contrast things when you are speaking, whether in a conversation, taking an English Speaking exam or using English in the workplace or university. The video below is part of our '5-Minute Functions' series and was written for IELTS students. However, it will be equally useful for you whether you are taking IELTS or … [Read more...] about How to Compare and Contrast
Skills
Looking to improve your accuracy? Want advice on how to become more fluent? Need help developing your vocabulary? See what’s on offer below.
Self-Assess Your Speaking Skills
Introduction There's no short cut to improving your general proficiency in English as measured by your use of grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and fluency. Your English is currently at a particular level and this will only improve over time depending on the amount of practice you put in. This is why you need to take every opportunity both in class and during self-study to … [Read more...] about Self-Assess Your Speaking Skills
6 Common Grammar Mistakes
Introduction Have you noticed how some mistakes seem to hang around quite a while during your studies? Even at advanced level, after years of studying English, you find yourself making the same errors again and again. Having taught a huge number of English students over the years, I've noted how the following 6 types of grammatical mistakes are often made at this level - … [Read more...] about 6 Common Grammar Mistakes
Pronunciation: An Introduction
Check out the key areas to focus on Quite understandably, students often aspire to speak ‘perfect English’, including using pronunciation that doesn’t identify them as a non-native speaker. But what is perfect pronunciation?’ Are we talking about the Queens English or a national or regional variation? If you're taking an exam, the good news is the assessor will not be … [Read more...] about Pronunciation: An Introduction
Sentence Stress
Introduction English is a stress-timed language which means certain words and syllables within a statement are stressed. Listen to me saying the following statement. You should start to hear a rhythm: I try to eat a balanced diet. Now you try. The stressed syllables are as follows: I TRY to EAT a BALanced DIet. Practice Examine the following statements … [Read more...] about Sentence Stress
Pronunciation of ‘ed’ Verb Endings
Introduction The ‘ed’ endings of regular past tense verbs can be pronounced in three different ways: /t/ Example: ‘helped‘/d/ Example: ‘played’/id/ Example: ‘visited’ 1) How should the following verbs be pronounced? needed triedbooked shopped wanted picked stayedtravelled planned relaxedwalked hoped intended looked decidedloved enjoyed Check your answers … [Read more...] about Pronunciation of ‘ed’ Verb Endings
Splendid Expressions
Would you like to be able to understand the everyday expressions used by native speakers of English? Then this is the page for you! Each day, Monday to Friday, we publish a quiz featuring 3 English expressions. See the latest quiz below. ALL 26 weeks of Splendid Expressions come FREE with CAE Speaking Success, IELTS Speaking Advanced and The Splendid Speaking Course. Find … [Read more...] about Splendid Expressions
Improve English Fluency with Chunks
Chunks and how they can they help improve fluency Knowing the meaning of a word is useful, but knowing how to use it in context is vital. Words aren't used in isolation and will often form part of an expression or fixed set of words. Being able to call on these 'chunks' of vocabulary will help you to improve English fluency skills. Take the word 'thing' for example. … [Read more...] about Improve English Fluency with Chunks