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Shadowing is an excellent way to improve your fluency in English. Shadowing (or Delivery Shadowing or English Shadowing) is when you listen to a fluent English speaker and copy what you hear. That's it! You don’t worry about grammar structures or vocabulary as you’re speaking. You just concentrate on how the language sounds and imitate
Read MoreA lot of my Workplace and Business Communication clients have difficulty with the pronunciation of /ed/ verb endings in English. It’s a problem that isn't limited to any particular language group and for many of my clients, the error is fossilized. I’m going to explore this pronunciation feature here but rather than merely repeating the rules, I...
Read MoreDo you notice anything strange about these four expressions? 🟠 Say the truth🟠 Do a mistake🟠 Say my opinion🟠 Give an exam They all have a verb + determiner + noun combination so they are grammatically correct. But a fluent English speaker would say they "sound wrong". This is probably the most frustrating feedback that an English learner can...
Read MoreI've always enjoyed writing. I come from an education system where learning to write was an important part of the curriculum and where writing, including creative writing, was taught daily. So writing has always been part of my life. However, I understand that many people don't like writing and the burden of having a writing section forced on...
Read MoreIf you're doing anything which requires learning a skill, it's important to understand how to work with your brain and not against it. There are many areas where this may be the case (like music and sport) but let's focus on improving your English as one particular skill. Improving your English proficiency involves a combination of knowing what...
Read MoreTOEFL 2026 is going to be very different from the current version of the exam. The changes that ETS has announced for TOEFL iBT share some features with other English proficiency tests such as Duolingo and IELTS so it’s definitely a nice upgrade. But before we consider difficulty, let’s take a quick look at the new exam
Read MoreTwo major changes occurred in the TOEFL world last week. ETS announced updates to the format of the TOEFL iBT exam and the NAPB revised the score requirements for pharmacists. These are both major developments and will affect many students. Let's break down what these changes mean in reality and how you might need to adapt your TOEFL studying to...
Read MoreIt’s perfectly natural to feel nervous the day before big exams. I’m sure you’ve taken many exams in your professional lives and you know that feeling only too well. If you’re getting ready for an English proficiency exam like TOEFL or IELTS, then how you prepare in the last couple of days before your exam can definitely affect the
Read MoreIf the ONLY time you speak out loud in English is when you practise TOEFL or IELTS speaking questions, then you need to rethink your practice strategy. Both the TOEFL and IELTS speaking tests require exam candidates to demonstrate automaticity in speaking. Automaticity, in this case, means that you can quickly find the words that you want to use...
Read MoreI see a lot of questions from students asking for resources about how to get ideas for writing task 2 in TOEFL, the academic discussion response. And there are indeed many resources devoted to this topic including the best Google searches and AI prompts to use. But I actually think this is the wrong approach. Let me
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