New Year. New habits. Language learning habits.
A habit is a routine or behaviour that we practise so often that it is almost subconscious. Habits can be good or bad. The amount of caffeine that I put away probably isn’t a...
Category: English resources
Christmas in the UK
In this article I use the present to write a story about the recent past. I’ve gone home for Christmas this year, to my small town outside London. My parents pick me up from...
Cockney Rhyming Slang
When I was a boy, I occasionally used a strange type of slang language despite not even realising when I was using it. This is because I might have told a friend to ‘use...
Things you can’t learn from a coursebook
A good coursebook can give a great framework to learning a second language. By following a programme, students can gradually build on what they know, to create a good base of a second language....
“Speak of the devil” and other common expressions
A year ago, I wrote an article about some expressions that are common in English-speaking countries. Today I will add to that list, with a few more idioms that I definitely use from...
How to choose what to read in English
A hundred years ago, choosing what to read wasn’t much of a problem. If you were lucky, you had more than one newspaper to choose from and could select books from the local...
The Present Perfect tense; the Argentinian problem
When I arrived in Argentina, my Spanish was already quite advanced, as I had lived in Spain for a year, and studied the language quite a lot. Of course, I noticed a lot...
Do’s and Don’ts of English learning with young children
The benefits of knowing a second language go far beyond those of communication. People who know more than one language have been shown to have better memories, better problem-solving skills, better attention-spans...
How is Mother’s day celebrated worldwide?
This is the second Mother’s Day I have spent in Argentina, and I am surprised at how widespread its popularity is. I have even seen shops promoting ‘mes de mama‘ (Mother’s month!)....
Monday to domingo; naming the days of the week
The seven-day week is so completely accepted by us that it is easy to forget that it is a human invention. It is thought that people began to use a set of...
