One of the big challenges most language learners will face to go from intermediate to advanced level is fixing the “little mistakes”. Incorrect word order, wrong preposition, mispronounced vowel, the list could be very long. It’s just details, or rather: … Continue reading Signaling all the mistakes
Learning to introduce ourselves is an all-time classic that I do cherish. It’s actually one of the first things I do when I start learning a new language, and one of the first challenges I give to my students. Almost … Continue reading Shortcut for beginners
Learning vocabulary is a big part of learning a new language. Don’t get me wrong when I say that teachers shouldn’t waste time with vocabulary during language courses. I don’t mean that we don’t need vocabulary to speak a language, … Continue reading How to successfully deal with vocabulary?
I know by experience that many students start with a bad representation of what they should do during their classes. In fact, there’s a common misconception about language learning, that it’s mostly about memorising vocabulary and expressions. Surely this is … Continue reading Wasting students’ time?
Listening to music can have many benefits to help you learn a language. If you find some music to your taste in the language you’re learning (let’s consider it’s French for this article, but it could be anything), you’ll have … Continue reading Learn better with some music
Now I rarely start a course before having sent these two videos to the new students. This little and quick observation exercise makes a tremendous difference later during the work on pronunciation, and you’ll guess why in a moment. I … Continue reading Have you seen their lips?
By now you might have noticed that you can switch to mirror versions of this site with the top menu, and that 4 different languages are available. It’s also sometimes possible to use the lateral menu to see the current … Continue reading A multilingual website?
Talking with a colleague recently, I’ve been asked my opinion about having students write texts during the classes. I’ve never had students for whom writing was more important than speaking. If that was the case, I might have to work differently. … Continue reading Writing texts during the class
Recently, Anthony Ash asked me how do I plan my lessons or my course. Well, I try as much as possible to arrive in my classes without any set idea of what we’re going to do. Is that set in … Continue reading Have you prepared your course?
