What You Say in English!

Today's episode is dedicated to everyone who is preparing for the IELTS, Cambridge exam (or any other English proficiency exam) on their own. It's a difficult road to follow, but filled with learning opportunities. I will give you here some pointers on how to start, what to consider, where to look for materials and other important things. I start by telling you what the possibilities are and the t...

In today's episode, we're talking about the importance of active listening and note-taking for acing exams. Active listening is key for understanding the meaning behind the words and picking up on key information to take notes on. As for note-taking, it's important to find a technique that works best for you, like the Cornell Method, Outline Method, Mapping Method, Charting Method, Sentence Method...

In this episode of What You Say in English, I sit down with Lander Hawes , CEO of Kinjugo, an EdTech startup that has developed a game for learners of English who are preparing for IELTS called 'Preposition Safecracker'. This is the first video episode of the podcast and listeners on Spotify will be able to watch it on their devices and desktop app. Lander explains how the game, which is designed...

In this episode, I do the role of an IELTS Speaking Mythbuster. I set to debunk four common misconceptions surrounding the IELTS Speaking exam. I discuss the importance of using language precisely, flexibly, and appropriately, rather than relying on "big words" to get a high band score. I also address the myth that students must have a British or American accent to do well in the exam, emphasizing...

As my new wish for 2023, I want to thank all of my listeners for their support. I hope you've enjoyed my episodes and have found them helpful in your language learning journey. In today's episode, I'm going to be talking about learning English and setting new year's resolutions . Whether you're just starting out on your language-learning journey, or you're looking for ways to boost your progress,...

For the last episode of the year, I wanted to retake the IELTS speaking test. Here, I'm using a recording which is available on the official IELTS website. It's not a full recording, but it will serve to understand how the speaking criteria should be applied when preparing for the exam. Make sure you have a copy of the speaking scales with you, as I will quote from them at times. Also, download th...

These things rarely happen... That we get big news from Cambridge Assessment English. The organization is undergoing some major rebranding and redesign, not only about their corporate image, but with the way they will handle exams. They'll remove tasks, add other options to take the exams, and 'finally' embrace some new technology to offer new ways of going through the Cambridge experience, among...

We're approaching the end of the year. And as usual, Anchor published my wrapped for 2022 and it's nothing but good news. This podcast has grown exponentially. If you wish to see it, visit this link . Most of the growth is probably because of the number of new listeners from India. I'm here for you guys! I'll try to cover more about the IELTS exam. As promised, this is the first episode in which I...

The previous episode had a great reception. So much so that I decided to extend on how to improve your fluency and intelligibility by working on your consonant clusters . The five sample sentences are: O n my first trip, I traveled the length and breadth of Sri Lanka. Scientists say that humans’ sixth sense can be explained. Last February, meteorologists measured the temperature in the forests in...

It's been some time since I haven't reacted to a celebrity's English. This time is Black Panther's Prince Namor, Tenoch Huerta. Personally, I don't know how long he's been learning English, but he behaved like a champion in this interview. You can listen to how he used natural fluency to overcome his lack of grammatical and phonological control. You too can deliver a successful interview for live...

This is yet another C2 Speaking mock with two great students: Francisco and Maria. They'll soon take their exams and wanted to do one last mock speaking with me before their big day. The questions and the visuals can be downloaded from here: Examiner's questions Candidate Visuals part 2 Candidate Visuals part 3 I'm sharing the examiner's questions, as I know there are other teachers who would like...

This idea of thinking of groups of words as one unit is nothing new, but it might help you think of different word categories (e.g., idioms, phrasal verbs, fixed phrases, binomials, among others) as having more things in common as you might have initially thought. They're Polywords . I've prepared some activities that can help you understand polywords better: Matching task Reading and Use of Engli...

This episode is devoted to explaining how students can ace the second part of the speaking test: The Long Turn. As I mention in the episode, you can prepare the way you wish to organize your discourse, but not what vocabulary or grammar you will use. You will listen to three students speaking about three sets of images. They all had time to prepare and even write down what they wanted to say. So,...

I met Ethan back when I worked for International House Madrid . He's the sort of person you'd love to work with: knowledgeable, experienced, and, most importantly, quite approachable whenever you had doubts about your teaching. Nowadays, he keeps quite busy writing materials for exam preparation, Teacher Training courses and is also quite active in delivering presentations at many teaching convent...

Today, I'm bringing some American expressions that have been used worldwide. And they come from the time when the United States of America became independent from Great Britain, and the original 13 colonies expanded to the west. As usual, the transcript can be downloaded from here . How do you like these minicasts? Send your opinions to podcast@languageteaching.es --- Send in a voice message: http...

Today's minicast is rather musical, because of the references I'm using, but all three idioms actually come from the sports world. As usual, I open with some real-life examples and tell you how you can use them in your everyday life and during speaking exams. The transcript can be downloaded from here .  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/whatyousayinenglish/message Support this p...

Who doesn't want more knowledge? Today I'm bringing three wonderful expressions with the word knowledge . One of them, knowledge is power , even has a funny story of a guy who misunderstood it until he was an adult. Read more about this by following this link . As always, this minicast has a transcript that you can download from here .  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/whatyousa...

A sword is a fantastic weapon. It can cause admiration and terrible fear in people. Maybe that's why we've coined so many expressions with it. Today, you'll learn three fantastic ways in which you can use it during speaking exams. As in the previous minicast, download the transcript from here . --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/whatyousayinenglish/message Support this podcast: https:/...

As promised, a series of minicasts with an English expression (or expressions) that you can use in your everyday life or during a speaking test. You can download the transcript here . --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/whatyousayinenglish/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/whatyousayinenglish/support

Inga, from Russia and Rebeca, from Spain, took part in this recorded mock exam with interesting things to analyze. They were both living in Oxford by the time they did this recording, and you can tell that they show a wide range of strong features in her speaking skills. Inga as Dphil student and Rebeca as part of the Bodleian libraries at the University of Oxford. Grab a notebook and make your no...

This is a full speaking mock for C1. Luca and Lorenzo did well enough to make a pass and listen to my advice so you can use the tips to ace your speaking exam. The visuals for this exam can be downloaded here . As I mentioned last week. I finally bring information about the courses I'm planning for August. To save a spot and read all the preliminary information, go to the following websites: C1 Ad...

This is the second part (and final) where I explain the remaining tenses of the whole "tense-aspect" system in English. Here you'll find the different uses of the perfect, progressive and perfect-progressive aspects. That would conclude the information about the "12 tenses" in English. These tenses are covered in the course of the different levels of the CEFR. Even at top levels, students need to...

I decided to get more technical and explain the tense-aspect system in English starting from its core meaning. It's not very complicated when you see what the present, past and future times have in common. You could say that meanings repeat but with minor modifications that make all the sense in the world if you see them from this perspective. I will cover the remaining points in the last episodes...

Manuel, a listener from Chile, sent me this incredible message. He was expecting me to give him extensive feedback, but his voice note was so good that I honestly had nothing to say. The only thing I could comment on was on the pronunciation of his "b" as opposed to a "v", which prompted me to talk about minimal pairs today. So, enjoy! And once again... Thanks for the message, Manuel. --- Send in...

This effect is well known to all of us who prepare for exams. Language exams, more than other types, seemed to be affected the most. That classic "study to pass the exam" attitude that tends to push students to memorize stuff which is usually forgotten once the exam is over. In this brief episode, I talk about its positive effects, its negative effects and what you can do, as a teacher and as a st...