Facts about English
Intermediate to higher level English (B1-C2)
To mark the start of 2014, here are some facts to know about English. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Intermediate
Speaking: Returning to your subject
Speaking: conversation
Intermediate to higher level English (B1-C2)
Having a conversation is unpredictable. Many things can happen that stop your saying what you want to say. Here are a few ways to help you return to your subject or story. Continue reading
Grammar: Starting a sentence
Grammar: it
Intermediate level English (B1-B2)
Very often you can use ‘It’ to start a sentence which does not have a ‘normal’ subject such as ‘He’, ‘We’, ‘The boy’, ‘Our country’ etc. Continue reading
Speaking and writing: Giving a presentation
Speaking and writing: giving a presentation
Intermediate to higher level (B1-C1)
Have you ever listened to a presentation and thought: ‘Why are they just reading what’s on the slide?’? Not only can this quickly send the listener to sleep but it’s also a waste of a great opportunity. Here are some tips for giving a presentation: Continue reading
Pronunciation: Stressing syllables
Pronunciation rule: stressing syllables
Lower to higher level (A1-C1)
English does not have pronunciation rules for everything but there are some rules about syllable stress that can help you. Continue reading
Vocabulary: Adjectives about being different
Adjectives
Intermediate to higher level (B1-C1)
We have a lot of words in English to say that something is different or not normal in some way. Continue reading
Speaking and grammar: How to make an offer
Speaking: making an offer
Intermediate to higher level (B1-C2)
You can make an offer in English in many different ways. Here are some examples:
- ‘Would you like a cup of tea?’ or more informally just ‘Like a cup of tea?’
- ‘Do you fancy a cup of tea?’ or just ‘Fancy a cup of tea?’
- ‘Do you want a cup of tea’ or just ‘Want a cup of tea?
Reading: A trip to Oxford
Outside the Sheldonian theatre
Reading: Oxford
Intermediate level (B1-B2)
Visitors to the city often ask, ‘Where is Oxford University?’ The answer is: ‘It’s all around you!’
The University is actually made up of 38 independent colleges.
Continue reading
Reading: How to cook English scones
Reading: scones
Intermediate to higher level (B1-C2)
Scones are a fun tea-time British treat.
You can make them in about 30 minutes
and eat with jam and cream.
My recipe (personally tested!) will make about 6 scones.
Pronunciation: Stressing and unstressing
Pronunciation: not stressing syllables
All levels
Effective English pronunciation is often about deciding which part of a word is important and which part or parts are not important. If a syllable is not important, we often change the standard vowel sound to something more relaxed. You should try to learn how to do this. Continue reading
Reading: British weather
Reading
Elementary to Intermediate (A2-B2)
Britain doesn’t have the best reputation for weather. In some ways this is unfair because people sometimes think London is frequently foggy when in fact London is very rarely like this. Of course 70 years ago people burned a lot of coal to keep themselves warm and this produced some terrible smogs in the big cities. Continue reading
Punctuation: – hyphens
Punctuation
Intermediate to advanced (B1-C1)
If you want to have really clear writing don’t forget to use hyphens (-). In English we can use them to show more clearly what we are trying to communicate. Continue reading
Reading and video: Special double-decker bus
Reading and video: exercising double-decker bus
Intermediate level (B1-B2)
A Czech artist has taken a classic British double-decker bus and made it do press-ups (you can also say ‘push-ups’) in time for the Olympics! Using hydraulics, huge red arms can lift up the bus. Continue reading
Grammar: If
Grammar: conditionals
Intermediate to advanced level (B1-C1)
In English there are many kinds of conditional combinations. All the sentences below are grammatically correct. Continue reading
Speaking: Congratulating a business colleague
Speaking: Business dialogue
Intermediate to advanced (B2-C2)
Imagine you have just come out of a business meeting where a close colleague (Harry) was very impressive. You decide to tell him what you think. Here is a possible English dialogue: Continue reading
Reading: England football managers
Intermediate to higher level (B1-C1)
There has been an interesting range of England managers over the years. Now, during the Euros we have Roy Hodgson. He wasn’t everyone’s first choice and he certainly doesn’t have the media-friendly personality of say a Mourinho but he is regarded as reliable, genuine and all-round nice bloke. We shall see in the coming days if his qualities are enough to get the England team through to the final stages of the competition. Continue reading
Speaking: Short responses
Speaking: Dialogue
Intermediate level (B1-B2)
Sometimes we feel we have to say something even if we are not really very interested. Using short responses is one way of doing this. The responses below are not very enthusiastic because person B doesn’t like tennis! Continue reading
Grammar: Talking about the present
Grammar: The present
Intermediate (B1-B2)
Read the conversation between friends Jane and Sam. Think about the verb forms used and what they mean. Continue reading
Reading: 10 miles south of Oxford
It takes about 20 minutes to drive from Oxford to a village called Little Wittenham. It’s a popular place for walking because you get great views from the top of the nearby hills (Round Hill and Castle Hill). The hills, which are usually known as the Clumps, have wild flowers on their slopes and beech trees at their tops. You can see birds such as skylarks, buzzards and red kites.
From the top of Round Hill you can see the river Thames as it meanders by the pretty village of Dorchester (you can see Dorchester Abbey in the photo). If you have time, it’s a good place to have a picnic before walking down the hills and exploring the woods below.
In Little Wittenham there is an organisation called Earth Trust which seeks to encourage sustainable living. At the moment Earth Trust has 1,200 acres of woodland, research plantation, meadow, wetland and farmland.
Reading: Queen Elizabeth – who and what is she?
Reading: Politics
Upper intermediate to advanced (B2-C2)
She is certainly well-known, or at least her image is. Her face is on stamps and the UK currency but most of the time she is only seen at royal visits or ceremonies. At the opening of Parliament the Queen reads a speech but this is written by the government. At Christmas she reads a message to the country but this is very formal and usually just a summary of some of the things that have happened in the year. Continue reading
Vocabulary and speaking: It’s hot but how hot?
Vocabulary and speaking
Pre-intermediate to upper intermediate level (A2-B2)
This week summer arrived. Now the temperature around Oxford is about 28 C. Of course you might not think that this is very hot but for most people here it’s hot enough. The maximum ever temperature in Oxford was 35 C. Continue reading
Cycling in Oxford
There are lots of cyclists in Oxford and usually they have to battle with the buses and cars that also use the streets. However today some of the country’s top cyclists came to Oxford to race.
St Giles in the city centre was closed to normal traffic and converted into a race track as you can see in the photograph.
Pronunciation: Linking English words – a Mini story
Pronunciation and listening: Word linking
Intermediate and higher level (B1-C2)
In normal conversation it is common for many words to be linked together. This can make listening to English a little difficult at the beginning. You can learn how to link words together. Practising linking English words will improve your listening and speaking. Continue reading
Reading: Art exhibitions
In May each year there are about 500 exhibitions of artists’ work in Oxfordshire. Most of the exhibitions are in the artists’ homes or studios. The kind of artwork ranges from painting and ceramics to furniture and jewellery. Continue reading
Reading: Air show
Yesterday I went to an air show near the town of Abingdon (8 miles south of Oxford). It’s a fun thing to do in the summer months.
There were aircraft on the ground and flying displays in the air. As well as the planes there were vintage cars, crafts and dancing. Near the end of the show we saw the Breitling Wingwalkers. Two biplanes gave us a 15-minute show with a woman doing acrobatics on the wings of each 
plane. Very impressive! You can see them in the first photograph.
Each year the Abingdon Air and Country Show raises money for charity. This year they are raising money for the local air ambulance (a helicopter).
Listen Air show
Vocabulary: Words that go together
Vocabulary
Upper intermediate to advanced level (B2/C1/C2)
In English many words have a special relationship with other words. For example verbs and nouns:
suggest an alternative
realise an ambition
make a change
pay one’s way
resolve a situation
live one’s dream Continue reading
Vocabulary: ‘Must not’ and ‘don’t have to’
Vocabulary: verbs ‘must’ and ‘have to’
Pre-intermediate level (A2/B1)
Here are some of the rules for the staff at 2 companies using ‘must not’ and ‘don’t have to’: Continue reading
Grammar: ‘Will’ and the future
Grammar: the future
Intermediate level (B1/B2)
Many English language learners think ‘will’ is the future tense and every time you talk about the future you need to use ‘will’. This seems to be taught in a lot of foreign schools. Continue reading
, ; : . ” ? Punctuation: who needs it?
Grammar: punctuation
Intermediate level (B2)
Commas, colons, full stops … It’s probably true to say that less punctuation is used today than in the past but this doesn’t mean punctuation isn’t needed. Punctuation is really important when it can change the meaning of a sentence. I found this example in Wikipedia: Continue reading
Vocabulary and listening: Relationships
Relationships vocabulary
Intermediate level English (B1)
Tom grew up in Brighton, not far from the sea. His parents met in March 1990 and after a short engagement they got married in July that year. Continue reading
Reading and listening: London marathon & F1
Reading and listening: London marathon and F1
Intermediate level (B1-B2)
Today it’s the London Marathon. Thousands of ordinary people will run past the famous sights of the capital such as the Cutty Sark, St Katharine Docks, St Paul’s Cathedral and the Houses of Parliament. Many will be raising money for their chosen charity in a carnival atmosphere. Also today is the Bahrain Grand Prix: exclusive, expensive and controversial. Quite a contrast!
Listen Two races
Pronunciation: Which sound is different?
Pronunciation: vowel sounds
Elementary to intermediate level English (A2/B2)
English pronunciation is not very phonetic so it is useful to remember groups of words that have similar sounds. On each line 3 words have the same vowel sound but 1 is different. Which one is it? Continue reading
Writing: Organisation is key
Writing: organising
Intermediate to higher level (B1-C1)
What is most important when you write? Is it grammar or vocabulary? In my opinion it is the organisation of sentences and paragraphs. Without a logical organisation, a piece of writing is often very difficult to read and understand. Continue reading
Listening and reading: Titanic and today
Listening and reading: passenger ships
Intermediate level (B1/B2)
It’s a 100 years since the Titanic disaster. At the time people said it couldn’t be sunk. In January this year 32 people died when the Costa Concordia hit rocks off the Italian coast. When I see the size of the latest cruise ships, I wonder if an even worse disaster is just around the corner.
Listen Titanic arrogance
About the Titanic:
- There were 2,224 passengers
- It was built in Northern Ireland
- The life boats were designed to ferry passengers to another ship (and go back again to pick up more people)
- 176 men had to fuel the steam engines with coal
- At the beginning of the voyage at Southampton, Titanic very nearly hit another ship. It missed by only about 1 metre!
- 97% of women travelling first class survived but 54% of women travelling third class died!
- If necessary Titanic could convert sea water into drinking water
- There was an on-board telephone system for the passengers
- It took 26 months to build
- Titanic was only about half full. Many people who planned to go on Titanic’s first (maiden) voyage decided to postpone their journey because there had been a coal strike and shipping schedules had been disrupted.
Here is a link to a website for all things Titanic
http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/
Vocabulary: You have to read this!
Pre-intermediate/Intermediate Level (A2/B1)
People can say ‘have to’ or ‘have got to’ but there are some differences in how we say them:
‘I have to’ but not ‘I’ve to’ BUT ‘I’ve got to’ is OK
In ‘I have to’, ‘have’ is pronounced ‘haf‘ Continue reading
Vocabulary: Do you ‘get’ it?
Intermediate level (B2)
‘Get’ is used all the time in everyday spoken English. You can get an email or get drunk or get married. Continue reading
Olympic test
I’m starting to hear more and more hype about the Olympics, most of it on TV and the radio. However when I read newspaper blogs most of the comments are negative, usually complaining about the cost. In July the Olympic torch will pass through Oxfordshire so I guess we’ll see how many people are really interested.
Listen Olympic test
Reading and listening: The boat race
Reading and listening
Intermediate level (B1-B2)
The annual Oxford and Cambridge boat race had to be stopped after an Australian protester swam in front of the boats. The race was restarted and Cambridge went on to win. What I don’t understand is why he needed to get so close to the boats and risk his life.
Listen Boat race
This famous university boat race started in 1829 after a challenge between 2 school friends. It takes place on the River Thames in West London every year. The course is 4.2 miles long – about 6.8 km. So far Cambridge have won 81 races and Oxford have only won 77. In 1877 it was a draw!
In its history there have been striking crew members and boats sinking so this years incident is just one of many.