UsingEnglish.com

English Language Articles

Browse our library of articles with include advice, tutorials, tips and opinions about learning and using the English language. We have a wide range of articles covering topics including English grammar, examinations, learning English, spelling, punctuation and vocabulary.

Browse Articles by Category

Body Language and Gestures (5)
Business Communications (22)
Careers & Employment (1)
Cultural Training (1)
English Grammar (50)
English Language Examinations (47)
English Varieties & Dialects (8)
Functional Language (6)
General Articles (15)
Learning English (14)
Receptive Skills (27)
Social English / Socialising (1)
Speaking & Pronunciation (9)
Vocabulary (9)
Writing (20)
Young Learners (4)

Browse Articles by Topic

Adjectives and Adverbs (6), Aptis (2), BULATS (1), Cambridge First (formerly FCE) (1), Cambridge Proficiency (formerly CPE) (4), Conditionals (8), Conjunctions (2), Direct & Indirect Speech (1), Discourse (1), Emailing (10), Functional Language (2), General (17), IELTS (31), Learning and Teaching (30), Listening Skills (2), Modals (1), Opinions (1), Past Tenses (2), Phrasal Verbs (1), Prepositions (4), Present Perfect (1), Present Tenses (3), Presentation Skills (4), Pronunciation (6), Reading Skills (25), Social English (6), Spelling and Punctuation (6), Telephoning (10), TOEIC (9), Varieties and Dialects (8), Verbs and Tenses (10), Vocabulary (6), Writing (2), Young Learners (1)

Latest Articles & Notes

62 typical mistakes with IELTS letters

Common language, planning, paragraphing, editing, and task completion errors in IELTS GT Writing Task 1, and what to do instead.

How to make IELTS Listening easier for your students

17 ways to make IELTS Listening more manageable for students who are unfamiliar with and/ or struggle with the tasks

How to teach IELTS Listening Part Three

Category: General Articles Topic: General
Exam knowledge, tactics and language that candidates need to get a good score in IELTS Listening Section 3, including how to present and practice this part of the test

16 IELTS General Writing Task 1 formal letter model answers

Model formal IELTS letters for common task types of giving negative feedback, complaining, applying for jobs, writing to publications, sharing opinions, giving positive feedback, finding lost property and claiming on your insurance.

How to teach C2 Proficiency Speaking Part One

Teaching tips and classroom activities for Cambridge Proficiency Speaking Part 1

How to teach writing business reports

Category: Business Communications Topic: Writing
How to prepare for a lesson on presenting and practising writing reports at work.

6 fun writing business reports activities

Category: Business Communications Topic: Writing
Stimulating classroom practice of writing reports and the language of reports

How to teach meeting people

Category: General Articles Topic: Social English
Ways to teach the vitally important topic of meeting strangers and people you know

How to teach English for security guards

The most useful language for people who guard buildings and how to present and practise it.

How to teach English for the insurance industry

The most useful language and topics for insurance professionals, and some fun ways to practise them.

How to teach third person -s

Category: English Grammar Topic: Present Tenses
How to teach the third person singular of the Present Simple tense, including pronunciation and spelling of -s endings, and third person singular games

Fun writing group emails practice activities

Stimulating classroom practice of emails to more than one person, including group email games

How to teach writing group emails/ memos

Ways to teach students how to email groups of people such as the whole of their team or the whole company

Teaching emailing problems and solutions

Category: General Articles Topic: General
Common issues with teaching students how to email effectively in English, with possible ways of solving those problems.

How to teach Present Simple Passive

Category: General Articles Topic: General
am/ is/ are + past participle teaching tips, including how to get students to use and analyse the language, and problems that can occur when teach the passive voice of the Present Simple tense

How to add pronunciation to IELTS Listening classes

The most important pronunciation points for IELTS Listening with how to present and practise them, including IELTS Listening pronunciation games

Analysis of official IELTS Listening Part One tests

The most common kinds of tasks, situations and answers in official Cambridge IELTS Listening Part One practice tests, and variations over the years.

How to teach IELTS Listening Part Two map tasks

IELTS Listening Part Two matching places to locations tasks description, issues, teaching tips and classroom activities.

Analysis of official IELTS Listening map tasks

The most common kinds of map tasks in Cambridge IELTS Listening practice tests and variations over the years, with conclusions for learners and teachers.

Student questions in small classes problems and solutions

Category: General Articles Topic: General
How to deal with common issues with getting students to ask questions and answering them in classes of two to four students

How to teach the Present Simple of be

Category: English Grammar Topic: Present Tenses
How to teach am/ is/ are, with speaking games to practise "be"

(Really) teaching in free conversation classes

How to make sure that a class based on talking is more useful than just chatting

7 fun looking at both sides activities

Category: Functional Language Topic: Opinions
Stimulating activities on explaining advantages and disadvantages, including pros and cons games

Analysis of official IELTS General Writing Task 1 letter tasks

What candidates have to do in IELTS GT Writing Part 1, based on official practice tests.

Analysis of official IELTS Academic Writing Task 2 tasks

What is typical and less common in Writing Task 2 task in Cambridge IELTS 1 to 19, and what that means for learning and teaching IELTS Writing Task 2

Formal Letter Writing - Help with formal and business letter writing. A summary of writing rules including outlines for cover letters and letters of enquiry, and abbreviations used in letters.

Speaking Out - A collection of thoughts, comments and articles regarding some of the issues and discussion points that have been raised in our ESL Forum.

More English Articles

These articles are in PDF format for which you will need to download Adobe Reader.


Trustpilot