If I had a dollar for every time a student asks me if I think grammar or vocabulary is more important when learning English, I might be on a cruise to Ibiza right now instead of writing this post. As an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher, I’ve had many opportunities to consider this question over the years, and to change my mind several times. So when a new student asks me this question, they regret it soon after - or to be more specific, about 45 minutes later when I am still elucidating my response and they are nodding mechanically, casting furtive glances at the door. So in order t ..read more

They say nothing in life is certain except death and taxes. For everything else on the spectrum of probability, you can be certain there’s an English word for it. Alas, getting the word order of these words right in a sentence can be tricky. But never fear – we’ve got your back. Even if the tax man doesn’t. Definitely/Bound to I would say most of you definitely know the word ‘definitely’, but do you know how to use it correctly in a sentence? Can you identify the grammatical mistakes below? Definitely she will go to the party. He won’t definitely break the law. We will not definitely get a do ..read more

On the bumpy path to English proficiency, there are many hidden pits lying in wait to trip up the weary language traveller. (Hence the English word, ‘pitfall’). One of these is the different uses for ‘do’ and ‘make’, seemingly small and insignificant words that are in fact deadly, like poisonous insects that prey on unsuspecting learners on their hazardous voyage to English mastery. Okay, I may be exaggerating a tad, but these words frequently cause immense confusion when used in verb-noun collocations (a 'collocation' consists of two or more words that enjoy hanging out together).  See ..read more

Often my students ask me why English has notoriously difficult spelling, and naturally, my response to them is: it’s because of Vikings. You see, back in 1066, a French-speaking dude from Normandy invades England and, on setting down his beret in these fair green lands, sends word to his mates (presumably via a young lacky who had to endure weeks of stormy seas and possible scurvy because, unlucky for the messenger, WhatsApp hadn’t been invented yet). England’s surprise new leader tells them that, dudes, this place is pretty cool - you should all come and live here. (In French of course). And ..read more

 There’s an old poem that goes like this: Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard to give the poor dog a bone. When she came there, the cupboard was bare, and so the poor dog had none.  Don’t worry - it gets weirder. We can determine two things from these lines: firstly, there are some very strange poems out there, and secondly, one of the meanings of ‘bare’ is empty (unfortunately for the dog in this poem) or basic and simple (see the title of this post). Similarly, we can use this word to mean devoid of clothing; hence, we have ‘barefoot’, ‘bare-chested’, and so on. 'Bare' shoul ..read more

Smile! The 20th of March is the International Day of Happiness. In honour of this cheerful occasion, we’ll be looking at some common English words and expressions about happiness, which will hopefully leave you feeling like a ‘happy chappy’.   Up, Up and Away If you say you’re on cloud nine, it doesn’t just mean you’re just happy - it means you’re ecstatic, elated, or thrilled (all synonyms for very, very, very happy), or you could say, ‘blissfully happy’ (a common adverb-adjective collocation). Sarah was on cloud nine because it was her last working day before her holiday. Unfortunatel ..read more

English has its fair share of confusing words (that’s ‘fair’ as in reasonable, not ‘fare’ as in fee). This often has to do with the fact that many English words sound the same or have the same spelling, but have a different meaning. Another reason is because the words have a similar, but not equivalent, meaning, or entirely the opposite meaning. (I often joke with my students that we ran out of words and had to reuse the ones we had). But never fear, we’re here to guide you through this morass of linguistic confusion in our series about troublesome English words. Let’s start with this perturb ..read more

Love is in the air! And no, that doesn’t mean it’s a bug you can catch (although it is contagious, so beware). 'Love is in the air' is an expression used in English, especially in February when lovebirds everywhere celebrate Valentine’s Day and, by extension (especially when you forgot to buy a gift on the 14th), Valentine's Month. And no, ‘lovebirds’ aren’t birds in this context, although there is actually a species of parrot by that name (which conjures up an image of two such colourful creatures enjoying a tete-a-tete over fine wine at a romantic café). In this post, we’ll delve into some ..read more

Student Newsletter #3 ELC students share tips for Cape Town visitors   Welcome to Cape Town! In this newsletter, we're going to give you very good advice, which has been tried and tested by us, ELC students, to help you adapt to Cape Town and have the best time. Get out of your Comfort Zone We all come from different countries and varied cultures, and we understand that you need a bit of time to feel comfortable in a different country, so take your time to adjust but don’t forget to try new things and embrace the great experiences Cape Town has to offer, from shark-cage diving to cultural ..read more

Hello and welcome to our second ELC student newsletter. In this issue, we would like to share some of the insights we have gained from living and studying English in this incredible African metropolis. We hope you enjoy it! Why visit Cape Town? Cape Town is a beautiful city and hosts many tourists every year from different places around the world with different cultures. That’s why we can call Cape Town the centre of Africa. Where else can you start a trip from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean, or ascend one of the world’s seven natural wonders? (See a pic of Table Mountain below). Annually ..read more