What Do You Do? Present Simple for Jobs & Routines
💬 From my own experience: When I managed the bar team at Uccello in Sydney, new staff always asked me 'What do you do exactly?' I had to describe 15 different things. That's the present…
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Every lesson, essay and journal entry, newest first. 726 published posts.
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Hello, Goodbye, Thank You: Survival English in 5 Minutes
💬 From my own experience: When I first arrived in Sydney from Bangladesh in 2005, I had 'horrible English' — my own words. But I knew 'hello,' 'thank you' and 'sorry.' Those three words opened…
Numbers That Matter: Prices, Times & Room Numbers
💬 From my own experience: At the Star Casino in Sydney I once gave a guest the wrong room number because I confused 'fifteen' and 'fifty.' Learning to stress the right syllable saved me many…
Your First 10 Words in a Restaurant
💬 From my own experience: My first week in Sydney, I pointed at the menu instead of speaking. Learning ten words changed everything — I got a job within a month.
LLFE-T08 · Board Work Basics — Writing Form Clearly on the Board
📖 From the teacher's desk: In my very first observed lesson on the CELTA course, my board work was a disaster — cramped, inconsistent fonts, no clear sections, and I talked while writing with my…
LLFE-T07 · Fixing Errors — On-the-Spot vs Delayed Correction
📖 From the teacher's desk: When I first received feedback on my own teaching in Landerneau, my tutor noted that I was interrupting students mid-speech to correct them — which was killing the fluency phase…
LLFE-T06 · Eliciting vs Telling — Getting Language from Learners
📖 From the teacher's desk: As a sommelier, I quickly learned that guests who chose a wine themselves were far more satisfied than guests I chose for. The same psychology applies in the classroom. When…
LLFE-T05 · The Lead-In — Setting Context Before Language
📖 From the teacher's desk: In hospitality, we always briefed the team before service — setting the scene, building anticipation, making everyone feel ready. The classroom lead-in does exactly the same thing. When I first…
LLFE-T04 · Drilling Done Right — Choral and Individual Drilling
📖 From the teacher's desk: In my CELTA observed lessons in Landerneau, drilling was the technique I had the most physical resistance to. It felt mechanical — almost old-fashioned. But watching it done well by…
LLFE-T03 · Setting Up a Task — ICQs in Practice
📖 From the teacher's desk: Managing 20 front-of-house staff at The Ivy in Sydney, I learned that how you give instructions determines everything — even more than the instructions themselves. In the classroom, I discovered…
LLFE-T02 · Checking Without Asking ‘Do You Understand?’ — CCQs
📖 From the teacher's desk: "Do you understand?" — I must have asked this dozens of times in my first observed teaching practice. And every student nodded. And then not one of them could do…
LLFE-T01 · What Is a Lesson Aim? — Writing Learner-Facing Aims
📖 From the teacher's desk: On my CELTA course, writing lesson aims was the first thing I had to master — and the first thing I got wrong. My early aims were teacher-focused ("to teach…
LLFE-A12 · Learning Never Stops — Talking About Learning Experiences
📖 From the teacher's desk: At 40-something, I completed the Cambridge CELTA course — sitting alongside trainees half my age, writing assignments, being observed teaching, receiving feedback. It was humbling and energising in equal measure.…
LLFE-A11 · Island Life — Describing Where You Live in English
📖 From the teacher's desk: La Réunion is unlike anywhere I have ever lived. We have an active volcano (the Piton de la Fournaise), coral reefs, ancient forests, and tropical beaches — all on one…
LLFE-A10 · Four Languages, One Head — Discussing Multilingualism
📖 From the teacher's desk: English and Bengali are my native languages. I learned French as an adult here in La Réunion — I even passed the DCL exam at C1 level, which proved to…
LLFE-A09 · Writing to Apply — Cover Letter Basics in English
📖 From the teacher's desk: In 18 years of hospitality management, I have read hundreds of job applications. The ones that stood out were never the longest — they were the ones that showed genuine…
LLFE-A08 · I Disagree, But… — Polite Disagreement in English
📖 From the teacher's desk: Managing multicultural teams in Sydney's hospitality industry meant navigating strong opinions — about menus, rosters, service standards — every single day. In my mixed-ability classes in Brittany, I noticed that…
LLFE-A07 · Food Around the World — Describing Dishes in English
📖 From the teacher's desk: As a sommelier at Uccello and Popolo in Sydney, I paired wines with dishes from Italian to modern Australian cuisine. Here in La Réunion, the food is an extraordinary fusion…
LLFE-A06 · Moving Abroad — Discussing Change and New Starts
📖 From the teacher's desk: Moving from Sydney to La Réunion with Vanessa and our young son was one of the biggest adventures of my life — and one of the hardest. A new language,…
LLFE-A05 · I Used to Work in Sydney — Used To for Past Habits
📖 From the teacher's desk: I used to manage a team of 20 staff at The Ivy in Sydney. I used to taste wine every afternoon and write tasting notes. I used to commute by…