About.com

Which Test Should I Take?

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:04:50 +0000

Many English learners will eventually take one of the following tests: TOEFL, TOEIC, IETLS or Cambridge FCE / Proficiency. These tests are needed for a number of purposes qualifying English skills for university admission, job requirements, etc. Which test you choose depends on your needs. Here in the USA, the two most common tests are the TOEFL and the IELTS. This guide to making the decision between IELTS or TOEFL will help you understand the differences. Make sure make a wise choice before you take a test to ensure that your qualification will meet your needs.

Are the Bags in the Boot?

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:20:46 +0000

If you speak American English, you might find the question strange. British English speakers, however, recognize the question right away (translation for American English: Are the bags in the trunk?) The differences between British and American English can be confusing, but aren't that many. It's mainly a matter of pronunciation and a number of different nouns and verbal expressions. If you'd like to "translate" between British and American English, you can use this cross reference tool.

Patterns in English

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 12:15:08 +0000

The English language follows six specific sentence patterns in construction.

Understanding these six patterns will help you move on to more advanced sentence writing that is used for text organization when writing essays, business reports, or other important documents.

Tricky Punctuation

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 11:40:19 +0000

Using a period at the end of a sentence and a question mark at the end of a question are easy. However, there are a number of other types of punctuation that are a little more confusing. Learn how to use quotation marks in your writing with direct speech or literary quotations. How to use an apostrophe can be confusing based on whether you're showing possession with a singular or plural noun. Finally, commas can also be used in a variety of ways.

How Reading Can Improve Your English

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 12:32:21 +0000

Reading can improve your English in a variety of way. You can certainly learn a lot of new vocabulary through reading, as well as improve your fluency, but you can also use these suggested exercises:

Reading Tips to Improve Your Conversation Skills
Reading Tips to Improve Your Pronunciation
Reading Tips to Improve Your Vocabulary
Reading Tips to Improve Your Conversational Skills
Reading Tips to Improve Your Grammar
Reading Tips to Improve Your Listening Skills

Teaching Pronouns

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 08:43:29 +0000

Pronouns can be a little confusing for beginning level students. However, learning pronouns can also be of great help for students learning sentence structure. This guide on how to teach pronouns provides a step-by-step approach to teaching subject, object and possessive pronouns, as well as possessive adjectives. By focusing on structure, as well as the individual forms, you'll provide students with helpful insights and make similar pronoun forms easier to learn.

Content and Function Words

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 13:39:13 +0000

There are a few ways to break down words in English. You can break them down into parts of speech, but also into what are known as content and function words. Use the guide to help you learn the distinction between these two types of words as they play a crucial role in both understanding and pronunciation. Once you've learned to recognize these words, apply your knowledge by learning how to improve your pronunciation through word stress and intonation using content words.

Test Your Knowledge - Find the Mistake

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 12:12:30 +0000

A popular type of quiz is "find the mistake" - read each sentence or section and find the mistake in the form tested. You can find the mistake for articles, find the mistake for prepositions, and more. Teachers can use the printable quizzes section of the site to print these and more quizzes for in-class use.

What would you do if ...?

Thu, 30 May 2013 12:34:05 +0000

A question that begins with the phrase: What would you do if ...? asks you to imagine a situation. Imagining a situation takes uses the unreal or second conditional form. There are a number of conditional forms in English.

We have lunch if he comes to town. - Always true
If he telephones me this afternoon, I will explain the situation. - True from a specific situation
If she knew the answer, she would tell you. - Imaginary situation in the present (not true)
Tom would have bought the car if he had had the money. - Imaginary situation in the past (not true)

To get an overview of the conjugation of these sentences use these conditional tables. Teachers can use this guide on how to teach conditionals for suggestions, lesson plans, and activities.

What's a Phrasal Verb?

Tue, 28 May 2013 11:50:39 +0000

Phrasal verbs are verbs made up of a verb and a particle - usually a preposition, or two. Most phrasal verbs are two word phrasal verbs such as turn up, and get over. Some phrasal verbs are three words such as look forward to, and get along with. You can learn more about phrasal verbs and find a wide variety of instructional and quiz phrasal verb resources on the site to explore these commonly used verbs in English.