I Have Lived in Four Countries — Present Perfect
1. I ___ (visit) Paris in 2018. visited (past simple — finished time: 2018)
Category: English Teaching
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…