My English Language

German President Calls For English To Become the Official Language of Europe

The President of Germany, Joachim Gauck, last week called for English to become the official language of the European Union. He insisted that, as English is the most commonly shared language across the European community, more effort should be put into teaching English as a second language in order to improve communications across the continent and bring together a united Europe.

Although greeted with approval by many, there has been opposition to President Gauck’s proposals, most notably from French diplomats, who feel their linguistic heritage is under threat. (more…)

Movie Vocabulary: And the Oscar goes to…

The glitz and excitement of The Oscars is upon us again! The 92nd Academy Awards will take place on February 9th 2020 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. We can’t wait to see who will walk away with the coveted awards!

To join in the cinematic fun, we’ve prepared some English film vocabulary and phrases related to the world of movie-making. These will be great to use for an Oscars-themed EFL lesson. The vocabulary can be used to create gap-fill exercises, right or wrong answers, and question and answer sessions. So prepare the EFL stage: Lights, camera…. action!
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Win a Language Holiday to Malta

We have a winner! Congratulations to Alejandro “Alex” Montesinos from Spain who guessed correctly that there were 2783 Matesers in the jar! Alex has won a language holiday to Malta, including 2 weeks of English tuition at Maltalingua language school. (more…)

Valentine’s Day EFL Lesson Ideas – Love is in the Air!

Valentine’s Day vocabulary will be making its way into EFL classrooms this month! Love is in the air as the 14th February quickly approaches. With so much vocabulary linked to this most romantic of days, this is the perfect time to introduce some new words and phrases to the class.

English vocabulary can be brought into an EFL Valentine’s Day lesson plan in various ways, including listening to songs, reading poems or letters, talking about activities or writing love letters and greetings cards. There are lots of ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day in the EFL classroom this week. So go ahead and light the pink candles – it’s time to explore Valentine’s Day vocabulary in a romantic EFL lesson! (more…)

Welcome the Academic Snake!

2013 is the Chinese Year of the Snake. This smooth and wily creature will traditionally bring leaps and bounds in academic pursuits – great news for EFL students. People born in the Chinese Year of the Snake are naturally intelligent, cautious and witty.

Their propensity to seek out and understand information means Snake people are well suited to careers in education, research and academia. The influence of the Snake means that 2013 is set to be a year full of steady progress and educational achievement for everyone in the world of EFL!

For EFL teachers, check out our lesson plan for EFL comprehension exercises using the Chinese New Year as a theme.

These kind of seasonal activities are great for EFL lessons as they keep the content relevant and help students learn about a different culture, making the text interesting not only for English language practice but also as an article about Chinese tradition.

The Year of the Snake means that 2013 should be especially prosperous and successful for EFL students and teachers! Ssssssssuper!

EFL Lesson Ideas for Chinese New Year

Happy Chinese New Year! The Year of the Snake begins on Wednesday 29th January 2025. The snake is associated with wisdom, strategic planning and intuition in Chinese culture. This enigmatic creature should imbue your EFL teaching learning and teaching with goal-focused diligence this year. Chinese tradition dictates that 2025 will be filled with effective progress, along with a touch of witty humour!

The Chinese New Year is a great time for a seasonal EFL lesson. Learning about other cultures and traditions is always interesting and a great way to learn more English, so we’ve prepared a fun comprehension exercise for your next EFL lesson relating to Chinese New Year! (more…)

Slither into the Chinese New Year of the Snake

The Chinese Year of the Snake starts tomorrow, Sunday 10th February 2013 – but what does this slithery creature have in store for EFL? The snake is an intellectual and quietly adventurous animal in the Chinese calendar, so this could be the perfect year for those looking to start their TEFL career. It is also a good time to pursue intellectual or academic ambitions, so for EFL students this could be the year for you to make great strides forward in your studies.
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No English Spoken in 5% of UK Homes

5% of the homes in the UK do not use English as a main language. This lack of English language ability among a relatively large proportion of society has caused Eric Pickles, Communities Secretary, to raise his concerns over the lack of opportunities for immigrants due to the poor standard of English language skills among much of the immigrant population. Pickles has blamed the Labour government for the situation. (more…)

English Language Usage Has Made Scrabble Easier

A U.S. academic has declared that the board game Scrabble is now too easy after changes in the English language have made the value of the letters meaningless. American academic Dr. Joshua Lewis suggests that the letter values need to be altered to make allowances for changes made to the English dictionary over recent years. But Scrabble makers, Mattel, claim Scrabble is down to luck and the company is resisting pressure to change the classic scoring system. (more…)

Is the PPP Method of Teaching EFL Out of Date?

For many years, the PPP technique has been used in the EFL classroom to great satisfaction. Presentation, practice and production has been at the centre of TEFL, with teachers first presenting the target information, the students then practising it in a controlled way, before producing it in a fresh context with free communication.

But with some modern approaches to teaching now critical of PPP, and new EFL teaching techniques springing up all the time, has the PPP teaching method become out of date? (more…)

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