Category Archives: Functional language

New e-book

Over 500 photocopiable pages on requests, offers, making arrangements, complimenting and about every other conceivable function, at just a penny a page. Details here and buy a copy here. Also ties that language in with things which are more likely … Continue reading

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New Teaching Negotiating e-book

Over 300 photocopiable pages on the most important tactics and language for the vital skill of negotiating, including much improved versions of some of my favourite activities ever and stacks of new materials: Teaching Negotiating: Interactive Classroom Activities – NEW … Continue reading

Posted in Business English and ESP, Language of negotiation, Photocopiable worksheets | Leave a comment

Englishlessonhandouts articles for teachers boxset

It’s been nearly a year, so I guess we will never see the long-awaited Season 2 of my series of englishlessonhandouts.com articles. However, I think Season 1 works as a standalone series, as it covers everything I had left to … Continue reading

Posted in Social English, Teaching one to one private classes | Leave a comment

2021-style invitations lesson

Of all the pre-COVID materials I’ve had to use in the last 15 months, probably the least successful was a lesson where students responded to almost all invitations with “I can’t because of coronavirus” and “Maybe when COVID is gone”. … Continue reading

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Teaching Social English Second Edition out now!

Before using my lockdown time to finish off some new books, I thought I’d fix some typos, add some newer worksheets and fix the so-called “invitations roleplays” that turned out to be nothing of the sort in my first book … Continue reading

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Teaching checking/ clarifying on and for Zoom

Even more than face to face, the classroom language most needed for online classes is definitely checking/ clarifying phrases like “Can you say that one more time (more slowly)?”, “Can you say that another way?”, “Did you say… (or…)?” and … Continue reading

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New Social English articles page

Teaching my first two Zoom lessons yesterday showed me that, as I suspected, students need even more help online than face to face when it comes to smoothly starting and ending conversations, small talk, conversational reactions, etc. Luckily, I’ve written … Continue reading

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27 small talk for specific language points activities (TEFLtastic classics Part 42)

There is perhaps no smoother introduction to and no more realistic way of practising language than a set of especially chosen small talk questions. These could be questions including the grammar etc that you want to practise, e.g. small talk … Continue reading

Posted in Photocopiable worksheets, Social English | Tagged | 2 Comments

The (mildly) autistic TEFL teacher

While adding two new articles and a list of useful phrases to my rapidly expanding small talk for EFL learners page, it suddenly struck me how ironic people who know me would find it that I’m teaching small talk, let … Continue reading

Posted in Social English, Speaking, Teaching English as a Foreign Language | 1 Comment

35 reasons to buy Teaching Social English

Reasons why you should shell out a couple of quid on my new e-book You want to start term with something which is fun and light but also useful outside the classroom Your students are going to meet you and … Continue reading

Posted in Photocopiable worksheets, Social English | 2 Comments