Author: Sourov
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Restaurant and Food Vocabulary — The Words Every Diner Needs (A2)
A2 · 5 min Restaurant and Food Vocabulary Order confidently — know every word on an English menu From Sourov’s world: In my early days at Uccello in Sydney — a fine Italian restaurant in the Merivale group — a guest pointed at the menu and said: “Can I have the thing with the thing…
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Past Perfect — Telling Stories in the Right Order (B2)
B2 · 5 min The Past Perfect Tell stories about two events in the past — and show which one happened first From Sourov’s world: By the time I poured my first glass of wine for a guest at The Ivy, I had already memorised forty labels, studied the tannin profiles of six grape varieties,…
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Speaking Fluency — Buying Time Strategies
B1 · 5 min Speaking Fluency — Buying Time Strategies Sound natural while your brain catches up From Sourov’s world: Job interviews in French in La Réunion were terrifying. I needed 3 seconds to translate my thoughts from English or Bengali into French before I could speak. In French I used Euh… c’est-à-dire… to fill…
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Academic Word List — Upgrade Your Vocabulary Register (C1)
C1 · 5 min Academic Word List: Tier 2 Vocabulary Same idea, higher register — the vocabulary that examiners reward From Sourov’s world: During my IELTS preparation work, I discovered a key pattern: the word help appears everywhere in student writing — in every essay, every task. But IELTS examiners reward vocabulary range and precision.…
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Articles — A, An and The: The Little Words That Change Everything (A2)
A2 · 5 min Articles — A, An & The The smallest words in English — but they change everything about what you mean From Sourov’s world: When I started working in Sydney hospitality, I quickly learned that articles were not optional decoration — they were essential signals. During service at The Ivy, a guest…
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Reading Headlines — What Newspapers Don’t Say
A2/B1 · 5 min Reading Headlines — What Newspapers Don’t Say Crack the compressed code of newspaper language From Sourov’s world: When I moved to La Réunion, I picked up my first French newspaper and read the headline. The words were French but the meaning made no sense — where were the articles? Where was…
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Fixed Expressions and Idioms of Feeling (B2)
B2 · 5 min Idioms of Feeling The strange, beautiful ways English describes emotion From Sourov’s world: When I moved from Sydney to Saint-Pierre in La Réunion to be with my wife Vanessa, I had to relearn how people express feelings in French. The French say “avoir le cafard” — literally “to have the cockroach”…
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Word Families — Learn One Word, Get Four (B2)
B2 · 5 min Word Families Learn one root word and unlock an entire family of four From Sourov’s world: When I was preparing for IELTS as an IELTS Specialist, I had a breakthrough moment. I realised that manage, management, managerial, and unmanageable are all the same word wearing different clothes. I had managed up…
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Second Conditional — Imagining a Different Life (B1)
B1 · 5 min The Second Conditional Talk about imaginary situations in the present or future — and what would happen From Sourov’s world: I sometimes catch myself thinking: if I didn’t leave Chittagong, where would I be now? I wouldn’t have spent 18 years in Sydney hospitality. I wouldn’t have become a sommelier, or…