What You Say in English!

You may not know this, but today is my birthday! And as a special treat, I bring this full mock speaking for C1 Advanced with two incredible candidates: Sindo and Suzy. We recorded this a while back and I was planning never to post it, but Sindo contacted me to let me know that he'd passed the exam (now he can say he's got the advanced level, officially), which makes me very happy. All success sto...

Believe it or not, English only has, strictly speaking, two tenses: present and past. Of course, if we only consider the changes in the verb. But that doesn't mean we can't express different concepts to talk about the future. For such purpose, we can use different "tenses" (or verb forms) that can do the job as well as in your first language. I will try to dispel any confusions regarding the futur...

Due to all the downloads the previous episode got, I decided to cover an aspect of pronunciation that usually leads to confusion: word stress . Take out your notebooks because this will be a very eye-opening class that you may wish to revisit in the future. I speak about different aspects of word stress, how confusing it may be, and how we can better predict how words are said just by looking at h...

One aspect that complicates things whenever a non-native speaker of English and a native speaker of English communicate with each other is how the latter joins words together. This could be a problem for English learners, especially at the beginning of their learning journey. Today, I'm covering some of those problems, trying to explain what makes them difficult at times. It's not my intention tha...

After analyzing Penelope Cruz's incredible English, thus time, as suggested by a listener, I'm talking about what I think of Vanessa Paradis' English. She's a French singer and actor who started her career at 14/15 years old, and since then, she's done a lot of interesting things. I selected 4 clips that illustrate how much she has learned over the years. It is interesting to hear how she sounded...

This time, I'm offering the tools to understand words that may be confusing because of their meaning. Some people may use them interchangeably but not all the time. Something you need to bear in mind is that complete synonymy is almost impossible. For example, ' big ' and ' large ' are not really synonyms. You can speak of ' a big laugh ' but not of ' a large laugh '; likewise with ' high ' and '...

Cristian is a young man from Mexico City. He contacted me through the C1 Advanced - CAE (Certificate in advanced English) Facebook group. We had a nice conversation in which he answered personal questions that can help those who are preparing for part 1 of the Cambridge speaking exam. He demonstrated great skills to communicate complex ideas and use vocabulary that any advanced learner should be u...

This time I'm bringing another mock speaking for the C1 Advanced. Mónica and Daniela did very well, and I'm sure they'd make a pass in a real exam. Listen carefully, as these two girls produce some great language that you can recycle and make it your own. The visuals I've used for this test were: Part 2 (Cadidate 1): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1orusiw1EJ82L1bOieXuEuxkDKaUSBOeT/view?usp=sharin...

It's good to be back! In this first episode, I am answering all your questions regarding the Cambridge exams. What to do and not to do during the exam day. I decided to do it as a response to my collaboration with English teacher and YouTuber Ben Gill . You can visit his channel, To The Point - English with Ben , and get lots of incredible advice on how to prepare for your Cambridge exams. If you'...

After a 2-week pause due to problems with my voice, I'm back again with great news from takeIELTS.net . Also, while you listen to this mock, take note of the questions and answers provided because the report provided by takeIELTS.net will tell which answers were problematic or needed a bit of help. So, take this episode as a learning class and exercise your listening skills by taking notes. --- Se...

As an English teacher, I always like to choose positive role models for my students to feel inspired. This week, I have chosen an A-list Hollywood celebrity whose first language is not English. Not only is she an incredible professional, devoted to her craft, but she's also a charming person who's worked hard to gain the level of confidence that she's got in English. Listen to this episode to disc...

One area that is particularly difficult for many English learners is how to keep constant control of the tenses they use when speaking. They sure know how to form questions in the past, and how to answer written questions in controlled exercises. However, when they have to speak, it can be quite difficult to use the structures correctly. In this episode, I'll give you some tips on which 3 structur...

One problem that I encounter with candidates and students is the way they link ideas. Using linking expressions not only helps you with how you control grammatical structures, but also adds to how you organize your thought coherently. In this episode, I focus on some of the most common expressions and how they're used. Sometimes distinguishing between American English and British English. It is es...

This episode was done in collaboration with Angrej's IELTS Institute, a Language School in Ghanaur, Patiala. Please, if you're in India and need counseling and training in the IELTS exam, visit their website at https://angrejsieltsinstitute.com/. If you're not in the region, rest assured that you can also get online classes from any part of India. Today, we have three students who got feedback on...

This is the last installment in the series of 4 episodes on the Cambridge Speaking exams for B2 and C1. I hope you've enjoyed them and found them useful. Remember, I'm always here for any consultation you may have. My goal is that everyone who has a genuine desire to improve on their English can find in this podcast the motivation to continue improving. Next week, we'll go back to the IELTS speaki...

In part 3 of the speaking for Cambridge B2 and C1, candidates have to collaborate to answer a question. The most important element to consider is how well you interact with each other and what structures you use to encourage participation and how you can expand on what you partner says. You can download the visuals from here (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UaN2qfjN3fg_NdyVNyxpePMUwj-P6XHC/view?u...

Now it's the turn of part 2. As the one before, I'll concentrate in the B2 First and C1 Advanced exams. Listen carefully to my advice as these two levels, although similar in execution, differ in what specific language you're required to produce. Also, listen to what I say about the common pitfalls in which many candidates usually fall into. The visual material used can be found here: B2 First and...

Since many people liked the previous episode with a full speaking speaking for C1 Advanced, I've decided to explain, part by part, what you should do, and shouldn't do, in the speaking for Cambridge exams. I'll be focussing on B2 and C1 levels because they're the more demanded levels. In this episode, part (The Interview) is explained with 2 candidates for each level. So, take paper and pencil and...

This time, I'm bringing a full speaking mock exam I did with two of my students. If you wish to see the visuals I used for this episode, visit the following link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NA0EK08cHgW7Pi5-S6QLLm2LiKr5dcrb/view?usp=drivesdk Also, if you wish to see the video reaction, visit this other link: https://youtu.be/6r25KAye6xo Remember that you can also be part of this project and g...

This female speaker from North Africa is a very good example of an advanced level. She speaks naturally and confidently with only minor slips that even native speakers can have. Despite having a marked accent heavily influenced by her first language (Arabic), it is clear that she's a fluent speaker. I was very happy to have her on the show despite her reluctance. She was charming and very open to...

This is the final installment of the series of 4 episodes in which I try to explain what matters most in the speaking test of the IELTS exam. This time, I'm using recordings from test takers that have done my online version of the exam. They all represent different band scores and different features such as rhythm, intonation, individual sounds, stress and accent. For that, you'll need a copy of t...

This is part 3 of a series of 4 episodes in which I'll try to explain the marking criteria in the IELTS speaking exam. If you've been using the mock exams from TakeIELTS.net , you may have received some feedback from IELTS examiners that can catch off guard. So, to help you all understand what matters in each set of criteria, I'll give you very specific examples from real people that exemplify wha...

This is part 2 of a series of 4 episodes in which I'll try to explain the marking criteria in the IELTS speaking exam. If you've been using the mock exams from TakeIELTS.net , you may have received some feedback from IELTS examiners that can catch off guard. So, to help you all understand what matters in each set of criteria, I'll give you very specific examples from real people that exemplify wha...

This is part 1 of a series of 4 episodes in which I'll try to explain the marking criteria in the IELTS speaking exam. If you've been using the mock exams from TakeIELTS.net , you may have received some feedback from IELTS examiners that can catch off guard. So, to help you all understand what matters in each set of criteria, I'll give you very specific examples from real people that exemplify wha...

Another learner who tries a part 2 question from the IELTS speaking test. Hadj Amine contacted me because he wanted to take part and get his speaking analyzed. The question was: Describe your favorite TV program. You should say: the name of the program and where it is set what kind of program it is what it is about and explain why you enjoy it. Overall, he did very well. His strongest points inclu...