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 ...
Read More »Useful Study Techniques
Hey ABA family! Are you always trying to figure out what the best way to study is but never really sure what the answer is? Don’t panic! Today we are going to look at some ...
Read More »Do Mixed Conditionals mix you up?
Hey ABA Friends, Today we are going to look at mixed conditionals. In English there are two types of mixed conditional:
Read More »Syllable Stress in Nouns and Verbs
Hey ABA family! Today we are going to concentrate on an important pronunciation topic: where we put the stress on words where the noun and verb have the same spelling. Podcast: Play in new window ...
Read More »Gerunds- When and Why?
Hello ABA family! In English, one of the most common problems and often quite a tricky one for foreign language speakers learning English, is the use of the gerund. There are many rules which can ...
Read More »English Language Day – Let’s Celebrate!
Hey ABA family! Happy English Language Day! Wait, what’s that you say? You didn’t know English Language Day existed…? It sure does! In 2010 the United Nations officially declared the 23rd April the day where this ...
Read More »Non-American accents: are they a good choice for the exam?
The TOEFL is a very North American exam. The test is sponsored by ETS, a California-based test prep organization. And the exam is pretty much universally accepted by schools in the USA and Canada. Moreover, ...
Read More »Grammar Constructions with “Wish”
Hello, ABA Community! How’s it going? How many times have you said to yourself “I wish I had studied English at school!” or “I wish I knew how to speak English well”? These sentences include ...
Read More »Repeating Yourself in TOEFL Speaking
Hello everyone! Recently, I was reviewing a student’s recorded response to a TOEFL Independent Speaking task. The question prompt asked for a spoken opinion about cell phones. While talking about mobile technology, the student mispronounced ...
Read More »Australian Idioms – Better than a poke in the eye with a burnt stick
The Australian idiom "better than a poke in the eye with a burnt stick" means that something is better than nothing.
Read More »14 Expressions – Love is in the Air! – Part 2
Hello ABA Family! Here are 14 expressions for those of you in love with someone, with life or even with English! If you haven’t read the first part, you can find it here! 1.To have ...
Read More »Do You Need to Think in English on the TOEFL?
Howdy! Several years ago, I was talking with a young ESL student of mine in South Korea. She excitedly told me that she had just had a dream that was all in English. I remember feeling ...
Read More »The Easter Bunny and Easter Eggs: Pagan Customs?
Hello there! Holy Week, just like Christmas, is an important religious holiday in countries with Catholic customs. But how do we celebrate this tradition in Anglo-Saxon countries like the UK or the United States where Christian ...
Read More »Learn English with Songs – Sorry by Justin Bieber
Hello ABA Friends! Put your dancing shoes on, it’s another “Learn English with Songs” lesson and our teacher today is Justin Bieber! His album Purpose sold 522,000 copies in its first week of release in ...
Read More »Phrasal Verbs: To Split, or Not to Split?
Phrasal verbs are a challenge and a mystery to so many English learners. It really is strange the way that a verb and preposition can be combined to make a meaning that’s nothing like meaning of ...
Read More »International Women’s Day: Building a gender-equal world
International Women’s Day (IWD) is held annually on March 8 to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women – while also marking a call to action for accelerating gender equality. The IWD ...
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