A Coffee, the Machine, Some Patience — Articles
1. She is ___ English teacher. an (vowel sound: 'English' starts with /ɛ/)
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What the Doctor Told Me — Reported Speech
2. 'We are going to Paris tomorrow.' → They said they ___ were going to Paris the next day.
If I’d Never Left Bangladesh — Second Conditional
1. Complete: If I ___ (be) taller, I ___ (play) basketball. were / would play
The Casino Floor at 3am — Workplace Vocabulary
1. What is a 'shift'? A period of working time (e.g. morning shift, night shift)
I Have Lived in Four Countries — Present Perfect
1. I ___ (visit) Paris in 2018. visited (past simple — finished time: 2018)
My First Word in Sydney — Past Simple
2. Complete: They ___ (not/go) to school yesterday. didn't go
A Day in La Réunion: Present Perfect for Recent Events
From my own experience: My daughter will grow up on an island with a volcano, beaches, and three languages around her. Every day on this island is a little adventure — and adventures are best…
Making Suggestions: What About…? Why Not…? Shall We…?
From my own experience: Teaching adults in mixed-ability groups taught me that the language of suggestion is also the language of inclusion. If you only know 'I want to do X,' the room stays yours.…
Collocations: Words That Live Together
From my own experience: After 18 years in hospitality, certain phrases were automatic: make a reservation, take an order, deal with a complaint, meet a deadline. None of those verbs is interchangeable — you don't…
Describing Places: The Island Where I Live
From my own experience: La Réunion — the island where I live and teach — is in the Indian Ocean, halfway between Madagascar and Mauritius. It has an active volcano, white-sand beaches, mountain peaks, and…
Drilling Without Boredom: Making Pronunciation Practice Stick
From my own experience: My least favourite memory from early teaching: drilling gone wrong. The same sentence, 15 times, same voice, same pace. The students' eyes glazed over. What I learned is that drilling is…
If Only I Had Known: Second Conditional and Third Conditional
From my own experience: There is a version of my life where I never went to Sydney. Where I stayed in Chittagong and became an engineer as my father wanted. When I use the third…
Where Are You From? Countries, Nationalities and Languages
From my own experience: I am Bangladeshi. I grew up speaking Bengali. I live in France, in La Réunion, and my daughter hears English, French and Bengali before she can even read. Nationality, language, and…
Colours and Taste: Describing Wine and Food in English
From my own experience: Becoming a sommelier in Sydney taught me something unexpected: every wine tasting begins with colour. Red, white, rosé, deep ruby, pale gold. The vocabulary of colour is also the vocabulary of…
Cohesion and Coherence: Making Your Writing Flow
From my own experience: When I wrote my first CELTA assignment, my tutor marked it: 'Ideas are good — but where is the thread? I lose you between paragraphs.' That was the day I understood…
Register and Style: Switching Between Formal and Informal English
From my own experience: Four languages in one head means four different registers per language. In Bengali I speak differently to my mother than to a colleague. In English, I learned the same rule applies:…
Complex Noun Phrases: Pack More Into Every Sentence
💬 From my own experience: I worked on my CELTA written assignments at night, after hotel shifts that lasted until 2am. When I read back my early drafts, each idea occupied a full sentence. When…
Intonation: Using Your Voice to Mean More
💬 From my own experience: Working the floor at Merivale, I learned that the same words said with different intonation can mean the opposite. 'Of course, sir' said with a falling tone means genuine agreement.…
Error Correction: When to Step In and When to Step Back
💬 From my own experience: My first year of teaching, I corrected every error the moment it appeared. Lessons became error-correction sessions. My students stopped speaking. The day I learned to hold a correction until…
Discourse Markers: Signposting Your Ideas Like a Pro
💬 From my own experience: When I briefed my team at Establishment before service, I learned to signal transitions: 'First, the VIP table... Furthermore, we have a dietary request... Finally, one important reminder...' Those markers…