http://www.usingenglish.com/diary/ Keep up to date with the latest news and information about UsingEnglish.com including new content, features and updates. en Copyright 2008 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 23:55:32 +0000 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification intransitive, separable and inseparable phrasal verbs. This quiz type complements our existing quizzes on phrasal verbs and other grammar topics.  We hope you enjoy them.  :-) ]]> http://www.usingenglish.com/diary/2008/02/29/new_phrasal_verbs_quizzes_intransitive_separable_a.html http://www.usingenglish.com/diary/2008/02/29/new_phrasal_verbs_quizzes_intransitive_separable_a.html Site Content Fri, 29 Feb 2008 23:55:32 +0000 The Site Diary has been quiet for some time now, but there has been a lot of work going on behind the scenes to improve UsingEnglish.com and to build a base for the future. Here I will attempt to catalogue the key developments that have been made to the site over the last few months, and explain what they may mean for the future.

]]> http://www.usingenglish.com/diary/2008/01/31/rollout_rollup.html http://www.usingenglish.com/diary/2008/01/31/rollout_rollup.html Site Content articles audio contributors pdf profiles Thu, 31 Jan 2008 21:26:21 +0000 UsingEnglish.com helps the fight against spam by using Captchas on many of the forms we have on-site. As of today, we've started used a superb new service that not only fights spam, but helps digitise old books at the same time.

]]> http://www.usingenglish.com/diary/2007/10/18/usingenglishcom_adopts_recaptcha.html http://www.usingenglish.com/diary/2007/10/18/usingenglishcom_adopts_recaptcha.html General captcha Thu, 18 Oct 2007 22:42:08 +0000 Our new Idioms News Feed allows you to keep updated and ensure you are instantly alerted of all the latest idiom definitions added to UsingEnglish.com.

]]> http://www.usingenglish.com/diary/2007/07/22/new_idioms_web_feed.html http://www.usingenglish.com/diary/2007/07/22/new_idioms_web_feed.html Site Content Sun, 22 Jul 2007 19:38:02 +0000 Just a quick note to say that our Advanced Text Analyser now includes a Graded Text analysis section. You can now compare your text to the BNC and GSL word lists and discover more about the reading level of the text. More information about this will follow shortly.

]]> http://www.usingenglish.com/diary/2007/06/30/new_graded_text_analysis.html http://www.usingenglish.com/diary/2007/06/30/new_graded_text_analysis.html Site Content text analyser text statistics Sat, 30 Jun 2007 15:58:51 +0000 We have now made it easy for you to new add idioms to our Idioms Dictionary. Use our simple online form to make your suggestions.

]]> http://www.usingenglish.com/diary/2007/05/04/submit_an_idiom.html http://www.usingenglish.com/diary/2007/05/04/submit_an_idiom.html Site Content Fri, 04 May 2007 22:23:29 +0000 We've made some changes to the Teacher Handouts section which we hope will make it easier to print and use these materials in class.

]]> http://www.usingenglish.com/diary/2007/04/29/updated_teacher_handouts.html http://www.usingenglish.com/diary/2007/04/29/updated_teacher_handouts.html Site Content handouts teachers Sun, 29 Apr 2007 14:56:35 +0000 The new Reading Comprehension section has just had a bit of a face-lift. We have now reorganised how the section is presented and made it easier for you to test yourself on specific types of exams.

]]> http://www.usingenglish.com/diary/2007/04/07/updated_reading_comprehension.html http://www.usingenglish.com/diary/2007/04/07/updated_reading_comprehension.html Site Content comprehension reading Sat, 07 Apr 2007 21:21:17 +0000 We've just updated our free Irregular Verb List software to include the complete list of all 618 verbs contained on-site.

]]> http://www.usingenglish.com/diary/2007/03/31/updated_irregular_verbs_download.html http://www.usingenglish.com/diary/2007/03/31/updated_irregular_verbs_download.html Site Content irregular verbs Sat, 31 Mar 2007 16:14:34 +0000 We have been hard at work making improvements to the Advanced Text Analyser we have here at UE. The new version of the advanced analyser is finally here!

]]> http://www.usingenglish.com/diary/2007/01/31/advanced_text_analyser_new_and_improved.html http://www.usingenglish.com/diary/2007/01/31/advanced_text_analyser_new_and_improved.html Site Content text analyser text statistics Wed, 31 Jan 2007 15:52:24 +0000 Just a quick note to say that we've just added a new area to our Members' Area. It shows statistics about what our members have been looking at, allowing you to see the most popular Members' Area content.

]]> http://www.usingenglish.com/diary/2006/12/03/whats_hot_for_members.html http://www.usingenglish.com/diary/2006/12/03/whats_hot_for_members.html Site Content members statistics Sun, 03 Dec 2006 21:48:08 +0000 The recent upgrade to our servers is complete, and it was completed (technically) without a hitch. However, there were some problems with some people who were using our forum at the time losing posts. Thankfully this was a temporary problem and the forum is running well again now.

]]> http://www.usingenglish.com/diary/2006/11/29/upgrade_complete.html http://www.usingenglish.com/diary/2006/11/29/upgrade_complete.html General upgrades Wed, 29 Nov 2006 09:58:06 +0000 If all goes to plan, we will be upgrading our server to a new and more powerful machine this evening. Our hosts have agreed to perform the upgrade and 03:00 tonight (I'm guessing that is GMT). We do not expect the site to go offline for very long, however we wanted to warn you in case you find that UsingEnglish.com is unavailable. If you do find that the site is unavailable at times tonight, please bear with us.

]]> http://www.usingenglish.com/diary/2006/11/26/server_upgrade_downtime_predicted.html http://www.usingenglish.com/diary/2006/11/26/server_upgrade_downtime_predicted.html General downtime upgrades Sun, 26 Nov 2006 12:55:08 +0000 We have just released a brand new Reading Comprehension section. This area contains a selection of text-based reading comprehension exercises, many of which are based on ESL examination questions including Cambridge ESOL, TOEFL, IELTS and other major exams.

]]> http://www.usingenglish.com/diary/2006/11/10/new_testing_section_reading_comprehension.html http://www.usingenglish.com/diary/2006/11/10/new_testing_section_reading_comprehension.html Site Content comprehension efl esl esol exams ielts testing Fri, 10 Nov 2006 12:10:13 +0000 We have made a number of improvements to UsingEnglish.com over the last few weeks, some of which have gone unannounced. This is a summary of the main areas which we've added to or updated recently.

]]> http://www.usingenglish.com/diary/2006/08/22/new_site_updates_for_the_new_academic_year.html http://www.usingenglish.com/diary/2006/08/22/new_site_updates_for_the_new_academic_year.html Site Content esl teacher upgrades Tue, 22 Aug 2006 19:41:59 +0000