The Oxford English Dictionary (or OED) is one of the major English language dictionaries. It is published by Oxford University Press (OUP). Apart from defining words, it also traces their history and is used not only by people wanting to learn word meaning but also by...
This page describes the typographical conventions we use in the Grammar Guide and generally on the ICAL TEFL site. Examples Examples are shown thus: This is a grammar example. Following common convention, ungrammatical sentences are marked with an asterisk: * This is...
This article details the spelling rules for turning singular nouns in plural nouns. Note, for a look at the general principles of singular and plural nouns, see Singular and Plural Nouns. Most nouns in English are regular. To make them plural we simply add -s to the...
Words in English are either Regular and Irregular. Regular means that when they change their form (for example, when they become plural) they follow the usual pattern. Irregular means, as you might expect, that they do not follow the usual pattern of most words....
Stress is used to talk about the emphasis given to certain sounds, words or phrases when we speak. In English there are basically 2 times we talk about stress: on words in an utterance; and on syllables in a word. Stress on Syllables Take the word, august, as an...
The Audio-Lingual Method is a method of teaching foreign languages popular in the mid 20th Century. It is similar to the Direct Method (and is in fact descended from it) in that the teacher presents the students with plenty of language practice and examples in English...
The Rosetta Stone is an ancient Egyptian inscribed stone from about 200 BCE. It was inscribed with a decree issued on behalf of King Ptolemy V. What is important to linguists is that the same decree appears in 3 different languages. The top is in Ancient Egyptian...
Cambridge Young Learners English Tests is touted as a series of fun, motivating English language tests, aimed at children in primary and lower-secondary education (age 7 - 12). They are run by UCLES. The examination has three different levels: Starters Exam (typically...
BULATS stands for Business Language Testing Service which is a commercial service run by Cambridge Assessment. It is essential a method of testing the English ability (as well as French, German & Spanish) of business people. After the test users are given a...
The Key English Test or KET is an international examination looking at beginners learning English. It is offered by Cambridge Assessment. There are 3 parts to the exam: Reading & Writing Listening Speaking The total time for the exam is 1hr 50mins and there are...
