ABA Journal The digital English academy

At first glance, this might seem very simple. Then, in just a moment, you realize that you don’t know which to choose. Is it at or in? Don’t worry! With a little study and some ...

What is WOTY you might ask. WOTY stands for "Word of the Year" and it is time for the Oxford Dictionary to look back on the year and decide which new words or phrases have become so popular that they deserve an award. 

From "selfie" to "chav", these words reflect the ethos, mood, or preoccupations of that particular year and have lasting potential as a word of cultural significance.

The following lesson is for intermediate students. If you are not sure of your English level, take our test!

You can find all this information, plus speaking, writing, vocabulary exercises and more on the ABA English Course Unit 82 -Boys.

One-Syllable Adjectives - Superlative form

Remember how comparative adjectives worked?

For example: 

long - longer

Well, with the superlatives, the endings are different.

The superlative form of one-syllable adjectives normally ends in "-est".

For example: 

long - longest

And before superlatives, we use the definite article "the".

Translate dannish idioms to english and practice your english comprehension.

Learn how to interrupt a meeting in formal and informal English for work.

Welcome to #MusicFriday!

Are you married? Single? In a relationship? Do you want to get married? We ask because the song we will learn today is all about a man asking his future father-in-law for permission to marry his daughter. It's so romantic!

But... he says no! The father-in-law says he will not give permission, so the singer (Nasri) tells him "I will marry her anyway!".

This song is the debut single of Canadian reggae fusion band Magic! Do you like it?

1. Read the lyrics
2. Understand the vocabulary
3. SING!

Learn how to use the question tags with the auxiliary verb "Do", for both positive and negative questions.

The japanese language is full of poetic idioms. Translate them into english and discover their meaning.

...ZZZZZzzzzz....

What? Oh sorry, we were just having a cat nap.

Have you ever heard someone use this expression? It means to have a short nap during the day.

It is not hard to understand where the expression comes from: in the early 1800s, people began using this term to describe short periods of sleep during the day that were similar to those cats have. Cats are notorious for sleeping up to 12 to 16 hours a day! Sometimes they sleep for several hours, but often they just doze in the sunlight for minutes at a time.

However, do you know the origin of napping? It all started in Ancient Egypt. The cat was a sacred animal at that time so the Pharaohs began to  emulate this animal's behaviour.

Beyoncé, the Queen of Pop and R&B.

She has been singing since she was a child and now, after recently having her own child, released her fifth album Beyoncé which immediately went to #1.

Today, we will be using her song XO to learn some new English vocabulary. Ready? This is what you have to do:

1. Read the lyrics
2. Understand the vocabulary
3. SING!

Translating idioms to english can be a great way to learn english and enrich your vocacbulary. Today we have a look at idioms from Finland.

When you’re alone, do you talk to yourself? I do. I will have whole conversations with myself while cooking, cleaning, or driving a car. I’m not embarassed about it, although I know I might look strange to other people who walk into the room (I try to do it only when nobody will hear or see me talking, but sometimes I get caught...).

I know I’m not the only one—it’s a funny habit, but it’s pretty common. For me, it helps me to think more clearly. If I think out loud, literally speaking my mind, then I can reason through a problem or situation more quickly and effectively. If I am silent, it’s a bit more difficult to think straight.

Even if you don’t have the same experience with talking out loud, it’s still a good idea to talk to yourself if you’re preparing for the TOEFL. That’s because a quarter of the test actually is talking to yourself. Well, technically, you speak into a microphone, but there is nobody listening as you talk, and nobody responds to you, so it’s very similar to talking to yourself. And in general, to improve your TOEFL scores, you will want to practice doing the tasks that the test requires of you.

At the ABA Book Club, each month we review and recommend a great book for you to practice reading in English.

Today, the ABA Book Club will be reviewing comedian Tina Fey's book Bossypants. It is, as you would expect from a comedian, very funny. Also, insightful and full of lessons learnt.

Tina Fey is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer. She has received many, many awards, including seven Emmy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards.

With Halloween just around the corner it’s a great time to learn some vocabulary used during this fun day.

Imagine someone does something you do not like. Saying “I don’t like it” or “I don’t like this” can sound a little bit childish. So today we will learn a couple of ways to say ...

Check out the list of the most common student writing fails and tell us which one you are guilty of committing the most often! Keep scrolling down and you will find 6 ways to reduce ...