The More You Read, The Better You Write

A lot of IELTS candidates find Writing Task 2 is a huge challenge. Unless you’re so lucky that the topic falls right into your concern, it is somehow challenging for an economics student to write an essay about climate change. From my personal experience, the best tip I’ve learned so far that can help you improve your writing and also gain some knowledge is to read more.

When you first hear “read more”, you probably think of those National Geographic magazines that are full of concepts and principles you have never heard before; or those serious political issues in other countries that are so complicated and confusing to you, don’t worry, it’s definitely not what I mean here (unless you find it’s interesting the go ahead). What I’m encouraging you is to be more selective, starting with something really general and something which interests you; general in terms of topics (daily-life issues, healthy lifestyles, environmental issues) and in terms of analysis (compare and contrast, reasons-consequences, suggestions). You can read daily magazines and education websites, whereby the writing style is natural and interesting yet still provides general knowledge. Another good source of reference is the band 8 onwards essays that you can find easily on the Internet. The topics are more specific and the academic level is much higher.

After you have a good resource of information, the next thing you can gain from reading is the ideas for IELTS topics. You don’t have to memorize those terminologies or those highly academic vocabularies, what you should keep for yourself is the ideas. As you read, you may draw a simple mind map so you can go over easily later. For example, when I read about online-shopping. They discussed about its benefits and drawbacks, followed by examples and even their personal experiences. My mind map looks like this:

Practicing this not only helps you improve your summarizing skills, but also you gain lots of ideas to use for IELTS. Moreover, when you get used to this habit, it is way easier when it comes to the exam day, you have your ideas in your mind. All you have to do next is to put them together nicely, which I am going to cover in the next paragraph.

Coherence and cohesion is also one of the essential elements that builds up a good essay. By reading you can learn about how authors organize their ideas, how they use varied sentence structures, how they combine so naturally the spoken and academic languages. You will also see how the authors select examples, reasons and consequences to support their main idea. You may then highlight what you find interested in and practice using them in your own essay for several times. “Practice makes perfect”.

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Irregular Verb List and their Pronunciation

Irregular Verb List and 

Their Pronunciation

Here you are great content that will help you a Lot.

You can download and print the list as well as the MP3 file and listen to it whenever and wherever you want.

Good luck and Blessings to everyone👍👍

Download here

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THE IMPORTANCE OF COLLOCATIONS IN ENGLISH LEARNING

Collocations: What Are They & Why Are They Important?

The term “collocation“, despite what it might sound like in Spanish, is actually a very important concept in language learning.

What is a collocation?

A collocation is a combination of words that appear together relatively often in a particular language. Now, this might sound like an idiom or a phrasal verb. This is not necessarily true. Idioms and phrasal verbs are collocations, but not all collocations are idioms or phrasal verbs. The picture below shows common adjective-noun collocations with the word “food“:

As you can see, these collocations give “food” a clearer context, making it sound more specific and idiomatic.

Why are collocations important?

Collocations are important because they make your language sound natural. If you master collocations, your English will be more idiomatic, that is, more similar to the way it is spoken by native speakers. Let’s see the following examples:

• English: 

I try to make my bed every morning. (NOT
do my bed)

Parents usually tell stories to their children. (NOT
say stories)

Sean likes to surf the web before going to bed. (NOT
navigate the web)

 More examples in English include the following:

What is the problem with collocations?

Collocations are abstract, they normally have no explanation, and the list is endless. This can be confusing and frustrating for students. When writing, or when doing a Use of English task, many students ask why some of their answers where wrong. Unfortunately, many times the teacher will only be able to say “because that’s HOW IT IS USED“. It’s unfortunate, but it’s true.

How should students deal with collocations?

1. Treat English as a language in itself, and not as a translation of your own language. Don’t assume that because you say “navegar por internet” it will be “sail the internet” in English. Therefore, you should avoid translating word by word. If you do translate some expressions to study them, do so with the expression in a clear context that you will remember.
2. When you learn new expressions, always write them down as part of a sentence where it makes sense. There’s no point memorising that “get” is “conseguir” when you see this sentence “I got home quite late“, where “got” means “arrived”.
3. Learn language as chunks (in  Spanish, bloques de palabras). This means that you should focus on language as a sum of set phrases, rather than a sum of single words. This view is based on Lewis’ Lexical Approach. If you’d like to learn more about it, follow this link (English) or this one (Spanish).
4. Read and listen to as much English as you can! Exposure to the language in all its forms will inevitably help you pick different collocations without even realising.
5. When you learn a new grammar point, don’t focus on the rules. You should understand the rules, but you must focus on the sound of that grammatical structure. Repeat it and use it until it sounds natural and automatic. A clear example of this is how we use conditional sentences.
6. Learn from your mistakes. One wrong answer will teach you more than ten right ones. If you make a mistake, try to memorise what you did wrong so you don’t do it again.
7. Don’t despair! It’s normal to have problems with sounding natural in a foreign language. However, you must work hard and make the most of all the exercises you do. If you do, you’ll eventually see an improvement in your skills.
8. Use the dictionary. The more, the better. OZDIC is an extremely good collocations dictionary. After you do a piece of writing, read it and look for key words in OZDIC. You may be surprised by the range of collocations you can use!

TO SEE A VERY COMPLETE COLLOCATIONS LIST 

CLICK HERE

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Difference Between Job, Work, And Career

A lot of English learners confuse the words job, work, and career. Today, I’m going to teach you how to use each one correctly – as well as various collocations (typical phrases) in which you can use these words. To learn practical English for your job and career, check out the Business English Course.

JOB (Noun)

A job is a regular and official activity that you do, and receive money (a salary) for your activity. It is also called a profession or an occupation. You can have a full-time job (40 hours per week) or a part-time job (around 25 hours per week).

When someone is looking for a job, this is sometimes called the “job hunt” or “job search.” If you have a friend who’s looking for a job, you can ask them, “How’s the job hunt going?”

To find a job, you can check the job listings online or in the newspaper – these are small advertisements about job openings (job opportunities). The process of trying to get a specific job – when you send your resume or CV to a company – is called applying for a job.

If the company offers you the job and you say “yes,” then you have gotten the job!

To describe a person’s job, you can say it is:

• a demanding job (requires a lot of effort)
  “Being an emergency surgeon is a demanding job – you have to be on call 24 hours a day.”
• a fulfilling / rewarding job (it makes you feel good)
  “Working with refugee children was one of the most rewarding jobs I’ve had.”
• an entry-level job (a job that can be done by someone who is just beginning their career, which doesn’t require much experience or many skills)
  “Daniel got an entry-level job as an administrative assistant.”
• a dead-end job (a job that has no opportunities for advancement or promotions)
  “Being a truck driver is a dead-end job.”
• a high-powered job (a dynamic and important job)
  “After she published her book, she got a high-powered job as director of a national newspaper.”
• a lucrative job (a job where you earn a lot of money)
  “My mother wants me to marry a guy with a lucrative job – like a doctor or lawyer.”

The word job is a countable noun:

• Right after graduating from college, I worked two jobs so that I could pay off my student loans faster.
• Terry has had seven jobs in the past five years.

WORK (Noun AND Verb)

The word work is more general than “job” – whereas “job” is a specific occupation/profession, “work” refers to general efforts and activities done to accomplish a goal. “Work” can be done both inside an official job and outside a job!

• You can say you work at / for (a company): “I work at General Motors.”
• You can say you’re working on (a project / task): “I’m working on a market analysis” or “I’m working on improving customer satisfaction.”
• You can say you work with (people / objects): “I work with special needs children” or “I work with hazardous chemicals.”

The word work also refers to the context of your place of employment – so we can say:

“I start work at 7 AM.” (not “I start my job at 7 AM”)

“I finish / leave work at 4:30.” (not “I finish my job at 4:30”)
– An informal way to say “leave work” is “get off work” 

“We go to work by car.” (not “We go to our job by car”)

“I went to the bar with some friends from work.”

“I can’t access Facebook when I’m at work.” (not “at my job”)

“Work” is an uncountable noun, so it is not used in the plural:

• I have three works to do this week.
• I have three projects to do this week.
• I have three things / tasks to do this week.
• I have three assignments to do this week.

Exception: when talking about works of art / literature.

CAREER (Noun)

Your career is the total progression of your professional life. It can include many different jobs over the years.

You can have a career in (a field) – for example, a career in politics / journalism / teaching / finance

Here are a few more collocations with career:

• embark on a career = begin a career
• pursue a career = make an effort to have a career
• a promising career = a career with good future potential
• a varied career = a career with jobs in many different areas
• career prospects = career opportunities
• switch your career = change your career
• career takes off = when someone’s career starts to become very successful
• at the height / peak of your career = at the most successful point in your career
• ruin your career = when your career is destroyed

Now try the quiz on the difference between job, work, and career!

ANSWER THE QUIZ TO EVALAUTE YOUR UNDERSTANDING

GO TO QUIZ

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GRAMMARLY (CHROME EXTENSION) NO MORE MISTAKES ON YOUR PROYECTS

The Grammarly Chrome extension is a free text editor, spelling checker, and grammar checker that allows you to write mistake free messages in emails and on social media. Once the Chrome extension is installed, it checks your grammar and looks for misspelled words as you type your message. Grammarly provides real-time notification if it finds issues with your sentences or words. You can easily correct your mistakes with a single click of your mouse.

HOW TO INSTALL IT...

GO TO GRAMMARLY HERE

IF YOU HAVE A BLOG OR WEBSITE, GET HUNDREDS OF VISITS USING:

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SUBSCRIBE AND GET THE PICTURE DICTIONARY

Join my mailing list now and receive this Picture Dictionary with hundreds of vocabulary words and lots of sections

Subscribe NOW and get this PDF Picture Dictionary

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LYRICS TRAINING

Lyricstraining

https://es.lyricstraining.com/

Disfruta aprendiendo idiomas como nunca antes jugando con los vídeos musicales y rellenando las letras de tus canciones favoritas: Inglés, Español, Francés, ...

Enjoy learning languages and listening to your favorite songs. You can play with musical videos as you practice your language.

IT´S EXCELLENT!!!

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CHANGES IN MY BLOG

HELLO EVERYONE. I AM FINALLY MAKING CHANGES IN MY BLOG.

I WILL BE OFFERNING DIFFERENT TOOLS FOR YOU TO IMPROVE YOUR ENGLISH.

WAIT TO SEE ALL OF THEM. 👍👍👍

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REVIEW LEVEL 1

REVIEW LEVEL 1

1.- My Mother is_________.

a) from Mexican     b) France      c) from Mexico

2.- How many siblings do you have?

a) I had two       b) I am have 4       C) I have 3

3.- I´d like _____________ of juice.

a) a piece         b) a jar        c) a plate

4.- My book is  _________ the table.

a) on           b) at           c) in

5.- David _______ like vegetables.

a) isn´t           b) doesn´t      c) don’t

6.- Raul is ______ from his desk.

a) on          b) at          c) away

7.- I ________ at 5 am.

a) gets up         b) always get up     c) get up always

8.- What time _________?

a) it is                b) is              c) is it

9.- I like the jeans. Can I __________?

a) try             b) try them on          c) try on

10.- I _______ at home last night.

a) is            b) am           c) was

11.- What _______ your boyfriend want to do tonight?

a) doing             b) do            c) does

12.- Where are the watches? ______ on the table.

a) They                b) They is          c) They´re

13.- ________   I take your order?

a) Does               b) Is               c) Can

14.- My mother´s daughter is my ________.

a) sister            b) mother          c) brother

15.-  _____ you eat breakfast this morning at 6?

a) Can                b) Do              c) Did

16.- I´m calling to __________ my appointment.

a) date                     b) order             c) reschedule

17.- I´m pleased to ________ you Mr. Robinson.

a) hear              b) eat              c) meet

18.- How are you going to Cancun?  ________

a) bus         b) walk         c) by plane

19.- What ______ your brother   ______ like?

a) do/looks           b) does/look         c) did/looks

20.- Do you ________ t-shirts?

a) buys            b) sells           c) sell

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REVIEW LEVEL 3

REVIEW LEVEL 3

1.- HAVE YOU SEEN MY MOM?

a) NO, I DIDN´T   B) YES, I AM       C) NO, I HAVEN´T

2.- I HAVE WORKED AT BERLITZ ______________.

A) 2 YEARS                B) FOR 4 YEARS       C)  1 YEAR AGO

3.- THE FOOD WAS _____ TO EAT IT.

A) DELICIOUS          B) TOO HOT        C) UGLY

4.- MY MOM _______ ME _______ MY BEDROOM

A) ASK / WASH        B) HAD / ORDER     C) SEE / TO MAKE

5.- MY FRIEND TOLD _______ TLALPAN AV.

A) TAKE         B) ME TAKE        C) ME TO TAKE

6.- THE MOVIE I SAW YESTERDAY WAS __________

A) BORING     B) EXCITED        C) SADLY

7.- I HAVEN´T SEEN YOU FOR LONG TIME, _________?

A) HAVEN´T I      B) HAVE YOU       C) HAVE I

8.- WHAT HAVE YOU _______?

A) BEEN UP TO    B) GONE TO      C) BEEN GOING TO

9.- _______ YOU ______ BEEN TO EUROPE?

A) ARE / GONE      B) HAVE / EVER     C) WAS /  EVER

10.- I HAVE TO GO TO BLOCKBUSTER TO _____THIS MOVIE

A) WRITE DOWN     B) LOOK OVER      C) DROP OFF

11.- I NEED __________ OF THE PROJECT ASAP.

A) INFORM         B) A DEADLINE        C) AN UPDATE

12.- I RAN A RED LIGHT, SO THE POLICE_______

A) PULL ME OVER    B) PULLED ME OVER     C)PULL OVER

13.- I´VE HAD SOME PROBLEMS WITH THE PROJECT, I AM_____

A) BEHIND SCHEDULE  B) ON SCHEDULE   C) AHEAD OF SCHEDULE

14.- I LIKE ITALIANNIS, THE _____________  IS VERY RELAXING.

A) STAFF            B) FOOD           C) ATMOSPHERE

15.- I WILL TAKE A TRIP TO CANCUN. AT THE TRAVEL AGENCY I GOT SOME _________.

A)  FLYERS         B) TRIPS         C) BROCHURES

16.- LAST NIGHT I SPOKE TO A ________

A) FRIENDS OF MINE       B) MY FRIEND       C) FRIEND OF MINE

17.- A: I HAVE STUDIED SO MUCH RECENTLY.   B: _______

A) ME NEITHER       B) SO HAVE I        C) I HAVEN´T EITHER

18.- I DON´T LIKE THE FISH, IT´S ___________

A) OVERPRICED       B) UNDERPRICED     C) OVERCOOKED

19.- ROSE: WHERE DO YOU LIVE?    I: SHE _______ WHERE I LIVE.

A) TOLD ME         B) ASK       C) ASKED ME

20.- HOW ____ THE MOVIE YOU SAW LAST NIGHT?

A) IS                B) BEEN               C) WAS

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ASSISTANCE LEVEL 2, UNIT 9

DO YOU WANT TO PRACTICE CHAPTER  NINE?  

YOU CAN DO IT HERE.

POLITE QUESTIONS

Whenever you use an introductory phrase before a question, you must change the word order in the question. 
Introductions include:
Can you tell me...? Do you know...? I don’t know... I’m not sure...   I wonder...  I can’t remember...

What’s the time?  =>Can you tell me what the time is?
Where did he go? =>I don’t know where he went.

Form:
1) If the question has an auxiliary verb, swap the positions of the auxiliary verb and the subject. You can also do this in sentences with the verb to be.

Example:   When can you get here?    
Can is the auxiliary verb and you is the subject.  Swap their positions when you add an introduction.
Do you know when you can get here?

Other examples:
Where has he gone?      =>I don’t know where he has gone.
What are they doing?   =>I don’t know what they’re doing.
What time is it?    =>Have you any idea what time it is?

You cannot contract the verb if it is the last word in the sentence.
Do you know what time it’s?      =>Do you know what time it is?

2) If the question is in the present or past simple, remove do / does / did from the question. Change the verb ending so that the verb is in the correct tense.

Example:
Where did he go? =>Did you see where he went?
What time do you get up? =>Can you tell me what time you get up?
Where does she work? =>I wonder where she works.

3) If a question does not have a question word (Where, What, Why etc.) use if orwhether before the question.

Example:
Does he live here? =>Do you know if he lives here?
Are they coming to the party?    =>Do you know whether they are coming to the party?

POLITE QUESTIONS EXERCISE

INSTRUCTIONS: CHANGE THE FOLLOWING REGULAR QUESTIONS TO MORE

POLITE QUESTIONS.

EXAMPLE: Where is the nearest bank?     Can you tell me     ?
Why is that little baby crying?             Do you know?
Is there any water here?                       Could you tell me?
Is he coming tomorrow                  Do you know?
How many cars does she have?           Would you tell me?
Do they like swimming?                      Could you tell me?
What does she want?                           Can you explain to me ? 

POLITE QUESTIONS TEST

TAG QUESTIONS

Use question tags in two situations.
1) You are not sure if something is true, so you want to check. In this case, your voice should rise when you say the question tag.
                                                      ↗                                      
You’re not going now, are you?
                
2) You know something is true. You want to include/involve another person in the conversation. In this case, your voice should fall when you say the tag. It does not sound like a question.
                                                             ↘
He doesn’t live here now, does he?

Form:
Question tags are either:
1) positive statements with short, negative questions at the end.
These tags check something that you believe is true.
It’s Monday today, isn’t it?

2) negative statements with short, positive questions at the end.
These tags check something that you believe is false.
It’s not raining, is it?

Make question tags this way:

1) If there is an auxiliary verb or a modal verb, write it in the opposite form (positive or negative) at the end of the sentence. Then write the subject pronoun of the sentence.
Ian’s nice, isn’t he?
Laura hasn’t arrived yet, has she?
I can’t do anything to help, can I?
We won’t be late, will we?

Caution:
CAUTION: Use aren’t with I’m in questions tags.
I’m a bit careless, aren’t I?     NOT      I’m a bit careless, am not I?

2) In present and past simple sentences, use do, does or did in the question tag.
Brian and Cathy don’t eat meat, do they?
Your dad lives abroad, doesn’t he?
Your friends enjoyed themselves, didn’t they?

3) Use a positive question tag after never.
Miles never goes out, does he?

TAG QUESTIONS EXERCISE

COMPLETE THE QUESTIONS WITH THEIR CORRESPONDING TAG QUESTIONS. FOLLOW THE EXAMPLE.

EXAMPLE: She is collecting stickers, ?

1.    We often watch TV in the afternoon, ?

2.    You have a mountain bike, ?

3.    John and Max don't like mathematics, ?

4.    Peter played baseball yesterday, ?

5.    They are going home from school, ?

6.    Mary didn't do her homework last Monday, ?

7.    He can buy a new car, ?

8.    Kevin will come tonight, ?

9.    I am intelligent, ?

TAG QUESTIONS TEST

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