Language
TAL explored
Here is the fundamental definition of Transferable Academic Language, or TAL for short, that I provided in the page : "... teaching transferable grammatical structures, phrases and usages which can be...
Language
qBank - basics & common flaws
. The qBank is a software system which enables you, quickly and easily, to compose grammar exercises and drills, targeted on specific language elements. . The exercises and drills can be made available...
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Blog
Launching the qBank Free
. I have been working very hard for the past four months or so, writing grammar exercises for the qBank. The what? I hear you say. Right ... the qBank feature is a data-base of question items for exercising...
Activities
Tenses compared
The average English B student knows about the basic structure of verbs in English, but may ... These limitations may not be very apparent. A capable student may speak and write quite fluently and effectively...
Blog
Brexit Free
. I won't attempt to express all the thoughts that have gone through my head in the last 36 hours or so, therapeutic as that would be. But given that the UK's decision - or do I mean 'decision' (sic)...
Language
Teaching thinking verbs
The perennial problem of vocabulary expansion is that lists don't work. What I mean is that making lists of 'useful' or 'valuable' words is helpful for defining what to teach, but giving those lists out...
Language
About probability
Probability - and its close relative, possibility - are fundamental areas of thinking. As such, they crop up in all areas of study, from Maths to the Arts. That statement immediately suggests that the...
Language
Modifiers - quality
Some modifiers tell us about the type or quality or nature of the ideas that they introduce. For instance, if we say that something is 'generally true', we mean something different than if we say that...
Language
Modifiers - degree
In order to help students to express any idea with a little more precision, it is useful for them to learn a wider range of modifiers, such as mainly, largely, fairly, (not) particularly, (not) completely...
Activities
Predicting the possible
Confident predictions ,,, A fortune-teller's mysterious predictions about a race... Andrew will come first if Ben comes third. If Ben comes third, Carlos will come second. Carlos won't come second if...