Colours in English: More Than Just Red and Blue
Colours are some of the first words we learn — and some of the most useful. But English has lots more than just 'red' and 'blue'. Let's explore!
Category: Vocabulary & Collocations
Word combinations, collocations, lexical sets, and vocabulary building across all CEFR levels.
Action Verbs for Kids: Jump, Run, Swim, Fly!
Verbs tell us what someone does. Action verbs are easy — they describe movement and activity!
Describing Places: The Language of Home and Belonging
I have called four places home: Chittagong, Sydney, Plessis-Trévise near Paris, and Réunion. Each one needed its own vocabulary. Réunion is not just 'nice' — it is lush, volcanic, remote, tropical, and for me, something…
False Friends Between English and French
When I was reaching French C1 level, English kept ambushing me. I told my neighbour I was embarrassed — and used the French word I thought matched. In French, embarrassé can mean 'bothered' or 'cluttered'.…
Work and Career Vocabulary: The Words You Need in an Interview
I have had job interviews on three continents — in English, in French, once in broken Creole in Réunion. The one thing that helped everywhere was knowing the right vocabulary: not just the buzzwords, but…
Words for Feelings: Beyond Happy and Sad
When I arrived in Sydney in 2005, I could say I was 'happy' or 'sad'. That was it. But feelings in English are precise — there is a difference between homesick and lonely, between overwhelmed…
Wine and Drinks Vocabulary: From Bitters to Barolo
I trained as a sommelier at Uccello and Establishment — two of Merivale's restaurants in Sydney CBD. The vocabulary was its own language. Guests would ask for 'something dry, not too oaky' and I had…
Phrasal Verbs at Work: Put Off, Take On, Hand In
When I managed a team of fifteen at the Ivy, I learned more phrasal verbs in two months than in two years of study. "Hand in the stock report." "Don't put off the complaint." "We're…
Numbers and Counting in the Kitchen (A1)
🎙 From the classroom: As a barista, I measured everything: 18 grams of coffee, 93 degrees, 28 seconds. Numbers are everywhere in cooking and every kitchen in the world. Using the kitchen as a context…
Body Parts in English — Head, Shoulders, Knees (A1)
🎙 From the classroom: Young learners learn body parts fastest when they move. Touch your head. Touch your shoulders. The old song works because kinesthetic memory is one of the strongest kinds of memory —…