Listening to What’s Not Said — Attitude and Tone
1. 'That was... interesting.' (said slowly, flatly) What does the speaker really mean? Probably not positive — 'interesting' used as a polite substitute for 'strange' or 'I didn't like it'.
Tag: elt
The Sommelier Test — Vocabulary in Context
1. The news left a ___ taste in my mouth. (bitter/sweet) bitter (unpleasant feeling, like a bitter drink)
When Mistakes Help You Learn — Error Correction
1. Student says 'I goed to the shop' during a speaking task. What do you do? Note it. Feed back after the task — don't interrupt fluency unless it blocks communication.
The Waiter’s Guide to Small Talk
1. What topics should you AVOID in small talk with strangers? Politics, religion, money, personal health problems, relationship issues.
Teach, Teaching, Taught — Word Families
2. Noun: success → Adjective: ___ → Adverb: ___ successful → successfully
Politely Disagreeing Without Losing — Functional Language
1. 'You're wrong' vs 'I see it slightly differently' I see it slightly differently — acknowledges the speaker, opens dialogue
Feelings: The Words Beyond Happy and Sad
2. I was completely ___ (exhaust) after the marathon. exhausted
A Word Is Never Alone — Collocations
1. I ___ a mistake in my report. (make/do) made (make a mistake — fixed collocation)
Three Seconds Before You Tell — Eliciting
1. Why is eliciting better than telling? Students process and produce the language actively — it sticks better. The 'generation effect'.
The Menu as a Text — Skimming and Scanning
1. You need to find the price of a product in a catalogue. Scan — you're looking for a specific piece of information.