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One-to-One Lessons in London Specialising in Speech and Listening Skills
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Online Resources: Free English Usage, Vocabulary and Grammar Exercises and Tests
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englishforjapanese.com
language learning study solutions
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Quick Listening Practice
For listening practice, visit my companion site, englishspeaker.com. here.
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study skills discussion
how to learn English,
studying English as a second language
teaching English as a second language
01 On having an ear for the language
Good listening - having an ear for the language - is basic to effective language learning.
02 Language as an operating system
Arguing that language learning is a combination of acoustics and neurology.
03 Thinking about remembering
Learning a language is unconscious and therefore mainly "uncontrollable".
04 On not learning English by watching TV
Some teachers advise students to watch television in order to improve their fluency. Such advice is wrong, according to this argument.
05 British English and American English
The few differences between educated American and educated British English are just not worth bothering about.
06 The good example of Joseph Korzeniowski
Did you know that Britain's second greatest novelist was a bloody foreigner who didn't speak a word of English until he was 21?
07 The need for repetition and review
To give the brain opportunity to do its job, the language student, especially the part-time student, should organise his studies so that there is plenty of opportunity for repetition and review. This page will open in a separate window.
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lessons in London
student needs
lesson aims
support: CD systems
location
tutorial fees
study tips in Japanese
If you have any questions about tutorials, or wish to have more information, please email me, Dr Pater Cant.
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self-assessment tests
listening: self-assessment quiz
Poor listening skills cause a number of
problems. Do you have any of them, and
how serious are they? Print out the form
and check your score.
self-assessment tests of English language level
The four tests will give you an estimate of your fluency. Refer to the "ladder of test levels" for a description of the level you have reached.
For a printer-friendly version of these four
tests in pdf format, click here.
01 beginner: level 1-3
02 intermediate: level 4-5
03 upper intermediate-advanced: level 6-7
04 advanced: levels 8-9
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REVIEW EXERCISES WITH ANSWERS
prepositions
Prepositions have no clear set of rules for their use and meaning. As a result, students find it difficult to select the correct preposition to complete a phrase. The only answer is to learn and use the complete phrase.
Repeat the exercises until the complete phrases are fixed in your mind and you have no problem remembering and using them.
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REVIEW EXERCISES WITH ANSWERS
elementary usage review
If you make many mistakes in these easy exercises, repeat them until you can get them completely right. Read them aloud. Bookmark the page and do the exercises at intervals: if you make many mistakes, every day; if you make few mistakes or none but wish to refresh your memory, once every month or so.
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vocabulary and idiom
These vocabulary exercises are for advanced students. They deal with words used in idioms, and with the use of words that are similar if not synonymous.
01 advanced
02 advanced
03 advanced
04 advanced
05 advanced
06 advanced
07 advanced
08 advanced
09 advanced
10 advanced
11 advanced
12 advanced
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verbal phrases and idiom
If you learn a word, you should be able to use it in many different situations. These exercises give practice in the variety of ways a certain word can be used.
01 boil
02 burst
03 count
04 draw
05 fall
06 go on
07 house
08 know
09 set up
10 tell
11 write
12
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Cambridge examinations practice exercises
First Certificate:
Study exercises for ESL improvement based on paper one, reading comprehension, and on paper three, English in Use, of Cambridge First Certificate in English (FCE)
Advanced English:
Study exercises for ESL improvement based on paper one, reading comprehension, and paper three, English in Use, of Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English (CAE)
Cambridge Examinations: Practice Papers
These practice tests will give you the opportunity to assess your ability to pass before you pay the examination fee.
First Certificate
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verb form and use
When speaking, one of the most common mistakes that students make (even at advanced level) is to forget the final "s" of the third person of the present simple tense:"It seems easy." "He starts work early." "She drinks coffee."
It is a mistake that must not be made. The first exercises here are simple drills in the use of this final "s". Read them aloud, rapidly, several times. Repeat at intervals.
01 simple present
02 simple present have-be
03 drill: third person
04 elementary present
05 intermediate present
07 elementary past
08 continuous and simple
09 irregular past
10 irregular past
11 irregular past
14 past tense review
15 past tense review
19 present perfect
20 present/past perfect
23 conditional review
24 conditional
25 conditional
28 use of gerund
29 gerund
30 gerund and infinitive
31 gerund and infinitive
32 gerund and infinitive
33 gerund and infinitive
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error correction
practice for FCE level
01 Learning by transfusion
02 A policewoman's job
03 Terrorists in training
04 Animal doctor
05 1980: the unemployed
06 A Bad Divorce
07 Sex Discrimination
08 Mistaken Identity
09 Enterprise
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use of English review
After you have completed the exercise, try two or three times to tell the story from memory. Can be used for practice for Cambridge First Certificate, Use of English.
01 the king kong kar kompany
02 the Loch Ness monster
03 city living: rubber trees
04 a Scottish father
05 strange diet with recycling potential
06 teaching by example
07
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