In the fields of computational linguistics an n-gram is a sequence of items from a corpus of language. An n-gram could be any combination of letters, phonemes, syllables or words, etc. Looking at n-grams is useful to help work out how language works and is used...
The ICAL TEFL Grammar Guide is a huge selection of articles which are all about English Grammar. They have been especially written for TEFL teachers and students and are presented in a user-friendly format. The main areas are: Language Functions Parts Of Speech...
In 1953 the General Service List was published. This was a list of about 2,000 most commonly used words in English. For many years this was used as a basis for materials writing. This list was useful in learning because anyone who knew all the words on the list would...
ESOL is an acronym meaning English to Speakers of Other Languages. It is all about people who do not have English as a mother tongue, learning English. A more common term to ESOL is ESL which means English as a Second Language and refers to people learning English to...
A linking verb links the subject of the sentence to more information about that subject (the predicate). A linking verb is also known as a copula (plural copulas or copulae.) In English most verbs describe an action. For example: Sofia directs her new film The verb...
If only teaching were all about teaching and not about keeping order in the classroom or, as it's sometimes known, Classroom Management. A major part of teaching has nothing really to do with imparting information and helping your students learn. Instead it's all...
Chalkface is a term believed to have been coined by Professor Ted Wragg in the Times Education Supplement in the 1980s. It is a reflection of coalface, the toughest point in coal mining where coal is hewn from rock. Like the coalface, the chalkface is where the real,...
It's your first minute in front of a new class. You have a room of expectant faces looking up at you waiting. First impressions count. If you stand there and falter the class will know what they're dealing with. If you allow little Jimmy to answer his mobile phone...
Going on an adventure teaching abroad takes some planning. If you plan properly and go through the 5 steps listed below your time overseas is likely to go more smoothly and you’ll be able to make more of the opportunities that come your way. Welcome to guest blogger...
What is the difference between Accent, Dialect and Language? This article looks at the differences between the three terms. People often confuse them and there is a certain degree of overlap (even linguists don't always agree on what the difference is between them)...
