Do you want to calculate your IELTS scores in Bands?

Go to the link below and add your IELTS mock test scores to discover your overall band result.

http://ielts.calculator.free.fr/overall-band-score-calculator.html

Individual Students' Mock Test Results

BBCs pronunciation tips

Learn more about the weak vowel, elision, coalescence and assimilation in English pronunciation.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/progs/prog1.shtml

Connected Speech - Pronunciation practice

Watch the videos below and learn about how words change their pronunciation within spoken phrases.

Anglo-Link video playlist

Check out this link for language tips and practice at home.

Watch the videos and presentations on pronunciation and grammar on your own PC in the comfort of your own home. There are dozens of videos and grammar topics to choose from.

Click here to go to Anglo-Link's YouTube video playlist

BBC History Trails - Victorian Britain

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/trail/victorian_britain/women_home/ideals_womanhood_09.shtml

Year of the Women

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20794176

Infinitive versus gerund video clip

Watch the YouTube video clip by clicking the link below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PoPL-FLTkM

Verb + Infinitive Verb

Use the British Council link to practise using the inifinitive verb

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar/verbs/verbs-followed-infinitive

Choose activity

Infinitive Verbs

verbs followed by to + infinitive

 

1 Some verbs are followed by the to-infinitive:

I decided to go home as soon as possible.

We all wanted to have more English classes.

Common verbs followed by the to-infinitive are:

Verbs of thinking and feeling:

• choose
• decide
• expect
• forget
• hate
• hope
• intend
• learn
• like
• love
• mean
• plan
• prefer
• remember
• would like
• would love

Verbs of saying:

• agree
• promise
• refuse

Other common verbs are:

• arrange
• attempt
• fail
• help
• manage
• tend
• try
• want

2 Some verbs are followed by a noun and the to-infinitive:

She asked him to send her a text message.
He wanted all his friends to come to his party.

Common verbs with this pattern are:

Verbs of saying:

• advise
• ask
• encourage
• invite
• order
• persuade
• remind
• tell
• warn *

*Note: The verb warn is normally used with notThe police warned everyone not to drive too fast.

Verbs of wanting or liking:

• expect
• intend
• would
• prefer
• want
• would like

Other verbs with this pattern are:

• allow
• enable
• force
• get
• teach

3. Passive infinitive

Many of these verbs are sometimes followed by a passive infinitive
(to be + past participle):

I expected to be met when I arrived at the station.
They wanted to be told if anything happened.
I don’t like driving myself. I prefer to be driven.

Using the -ing form for verbs with noun-like properties

Practise the exercise in the following link to learn more about how and when to use the -ing form of the verb to talk about activites

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar/verbs-ing-forms

-ing forms

 

We can use the -ing form of the verb:

• as a noun:

I love swimming.
Swimming is very good for your health.
You can get fit by swimming regularly.

-ing nouns are nearly always uncount nouns

• as an adjective:

The main problem today is rising prices.
That programme was really boring.
He saw a woman lying on the floor.

Because the -ing noun or adjective is formed from a verb it can have any of the patterns which follow a verb, for example:

• ... an object:

I like playing tennis.
I saw a dog chasing a cat.

• ... or an adverbial:

You can earn a lot of money by working hard.
There were several people waiting for the bus.

• ... or a clause:

I heard someone saying that.

The -ing noun can be used:

• as the subject of a verb:

Learning English is not easy.

• as the object of a verb:

We enjoy learning English.

Common verbs followed by an -ing object are:

admit	like	hate	start	avoid
suggest	enjoy	dislike	begin	finish

• as the object of a preposition

Some people are not interested in learning English.

The -ing adjective can come:

• in front of a noun:

I read an interesting article in the newspaper today.
We saw a really exciting match on Sunday.

 The commonest –ing adjectives used in front of the noun are

amusing	interesting	worrying	shocking	disappointing
boring	surprising	exciting	terrifying	frightening
tiring	annoying

• after a noun:

Who is that man standing over there?
The boy talking to Angela is her younger brother.

• and especially after verbs like see, watch, hear, smell etc.

I heard someone playing the piano.
I can smell something burning.

Soldier Teachers

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/general/sixminute/2011/09/110915_6min_english_soldier_teacher_page.shtml

Military Experience makes good teachers

Read and listen to this interesting article about how a school intends to recruit ex-military personnel as teachers








click on the link below to learn more

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-14754069

Learn It - Say and Tell

say and tell in reported speech Maria from Italy writes:   When do I have to use say and when do I have to use tell in reported speech? Please help me to use them correctly.     Roger Woodham replies:     Say and tell are the two verbs most commonly used to report statements in English. We can use either say or tell to do this.   she told me… / she said…   The main difference is that when we use told we normally say who is spoken to, so we have to use it with a direct personal object. When we usesay, we don’t normally indicate who is spoken to, or, if we do, we must putto before the object. Compare the following:   He told me that he was going into hospital for a major operation. He said that he expected to be kept in for about six weeks.   Did you say anything to her? I told her nothing about it!   Note that when we are quoting direct speech, say is the more commonly used verb as say refers to any kind of speech. Tell is used only with the meaning of instruct or inform. Compare the following:   “You don’t look too happy,” I said. “I get really stressed at work,” she said. “Eat properly, exercise regularly and get eight hours’ sleep each night,” I said. “Eat properly, exercise regularly and get eight hours’ sleep each night,” I told her.   Note that we can use many other more informative reporting verbs, in addition to said, to report statements and in quoting direct speech:   The shoe shop manager explained / insisted that I couldn’t exchange the boots or get my money back as I’d had them for over a month. I had to admit that they no longer looked quite new.   “You don’t look very happy,” I remarked. “I get really stressed at work,” she confessed. “Eat sensibly, exercise regularly and sleep for eight hours each night,” I advised her.   If we use inform, warn or instruct, advise or teach as alternatives totell, we have to remember to use them with a direct personal object:   They informed me that they wouldn’t be sitting the IELTS test after all. I warned him that he would be disqualified if he cheated in the exam. She taught me everything I know.   told + object + infinitive   We can also use the object + infinitive pattern with told and other verbs suggesting commands or orders. We cannot use said in this way:   I warned her not to stay out after dark in this area as it isn’t safe. I told her to get a taxi from the station and not to walk.   told + object + about   Note that if we are reporting the topic and not what was actually said, we use this construction. Again, it is not possible with said:   They told me all about their holiday in Greece. I told them about how I got sunburnt in Portugal.   reporting questions   Note that we do not use say or tell to report questions. Instead we must use ask with if or whether to report yes/no questions and with the question word for all other types of questions. We normally, but not always, use ask with a direct personal object when reporting questions in this way:   She asked me if I was going to Dee’s party. I asked her whether Joan would be coming. She asked what clothes I would be wearing. I asked where I should meet her.   asked + object + to / about   Like told, we can use asked with to + infinitive or about + topic:   I asked them to turn down the volume on the CD player as I couldn’t concentrate on what I was reading. They asked me to move to another room.   I asked them about the holidays they had enjoyed in Greece and Portugal.

Listening Practice

Listen to this short audio extract about Ethical Shopping and try the exercise in the same web-link

Click here to go to the web-link

Passive
Practise passives with this British Council English Grammar on-line exercise

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/grammar-exercises/passives

Intensifiers
Practise making sentences using adjectives and intensifiers for more emphasis in spoken language

Click this link to learn more and try the exercises

Adjectives (gradable / non-gradable)

 

Gradable / Non-gradable adjectives

Adjectives can be either gradable or non-gradable

Gradable

Gradable adjectives are adjectives like ‘cold’ ‘hot’ and ‘frightened’. You can be very cold or a bit cold. Gradable adjectives show that something can have different degrees.

Non-gradable

Non-gradable adjectives are adjectives like ‘married’ or ‘wooden’. You can’t be very married or a bit married. Non-gradable adjectives do not have different degrees.

Adjectives like ‘terrifying’, ‘freezing’ ‘amazing’ are also non-gradable adjectives. They already contain the idea of ‘very’ in their definitions – ‘freezing’ means ‘very cold’ etc.

Using adverbs of degree

When we use adverbs of degree to modify adjectives we usually have to use different adverbs for gradable and non-gradable adjectives.

• NOT I’m completely hot.
• NOT It was very fantastic!

With gradable adjectives

• It’s a bit cold in here. Shall I turn the fire on?
• He’s very interested in history. Why don’t you buy him a history book?
• This exercise is really difficult. I don’t know any of the answers.
• I’m extremely tired. I’m going to bed.

The adverbs a bit, very, really, extremely and quite can all be used with gradable adjectives.

With non-gradable adjectives

• It’s absolutely freezing in here. Shall I turn the fire on?
• He’s completely fascinated by history. Why don’t you buy him a history book?
• This exercise is absolutely impossible.
• That film is really terrifying. Don’t go and see it on your own.

The adverbs absolutely and completely can be used with non-gradable adjectives.

Notice that really can be used with both gradable AND non-gradable adjectives.

Click this link to try the exercises