Feelings: The Words Beyond Happy and Sad
2. I was completely ___ (exhaust) after the marathon. exhausted
Category: Vocabulary & Collocations
Word combinations, collocations, lexical sets, and vocabulary building across all CEFR levels.
A Word Is Never Alone — Collocations
1. I ___ a mistake in my report. (make/do) made (make a mistake — fixed collocation)
The Casino Floor at 3am — Workplace Vocabulary
1. What is a 'shift'? A period of working time (e.g. morning shift, night shift)
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…
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…
Animals in English: A Colourful Cambridge Starters Lesson
💬 From my own experience: My daughter is still small, but I already point at animals in books and say their names in English. Research is clear: early exposure to vocabulary — even before formal…
Describing People: Adjectives for Appearance and Personality
💬 From my own experience: Managing a front-of-house team at The Ivy in Sydney meant I needed to brief staff on VIP guests before they arrived. 'She's tall, well-dressed and very direct' — three adjectives…
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…