Stay in Touch with English in Chester

Understanding a Bar Chart

21 June 2009

Most of the exams are over but students are still studying for the IELTS exam so I thought we might look at a bar chart today to see what sort of language is used to describe the information given.

The above chart show the results of a survey carried out in Chester in March 2007. The numbers on the left show how many hours per week teenagers spent doing the following activities: going to pubs/discos, watching television, shopping, doing homework, doing sport, watching DVDs and bowling.

Sentence Completion

12 June 2009

The new office us looking wonderful and so tidy that you wouldn't recognise it. Mathew is taking 16 lucky students for a weekend to Edinburgh and I am sure they will have a marvellous time. I'll tell you next time how they got on.

Summer is rapidly approaching and the school is getting busier again but the weather has been awful this week so no barbeques yet.

Let's do some sentence matching this week. The first exercise is lower level and the second exercise is higher level.

Different ways of using GET

22 May 2009

Well, here in Chester things are happening all the time. The main office is being re-decorated and the computer room is having extra software added so it can double up as a language lab, so when you come in the summer everything will look so smart you will hardly recognise the place. All the summer teachers are looking forward to returning and there are lots of new teachers too so we hope that the summer will be busy and enjoyable.

I was thinking the other day about the word GET and all the different meanings it has in English so it might be an idea to look at some of them today. It is the kind of word you will see and hear everywhere and it can mean so many different things.

Expressions about Happiness and Sadness

21 May 2009

Stay in Touch is now back after a short break! New lessons will be posted here twice a month, and you can subscribe to our RSS feed or email notifications by using the links at the bottom of this page.

Today are are looking at expressions we use to talk about happiness and sadness. For example, you might have thought it was the end of the world that Stay in Touch had not been updated for a few months, but you are now over the moon that it has returned!

Confusing Words

23 January 2009

Happy New Year to all of you and I hope it is a very successful one for everybody. The pound is lower against the euro so there is no excuse for not returning to Chester for another English course.

Some changes in the school, as you probably know Nigel Paramor has taken over as principal from Richard Day and in January Jo Whittick became Academic Manager as Harriet retired as Academic Principal. But don't worry, the school is just the same as before, the teachers are just as excellent as always, the office just as helpful and we guarantee that you will have a wonderful time if you decide to return to the school. Stay in Touch will remain the same as Harriet will be coming into school to devise the lessons.

I thought we might look at what are often called Confusing Words. These are words which look the same as another word but have a totally different meaning.

Christmas at English in Chester

19 December 2008

We have just had the Christmas party here at school with some magnificent singing, plays, quizzes and fun. I thought you might like to read this wonderful poem written by Khalid and his friends in the Upper Intermediate Group.

Go to the East or the West
English in Chester is the best

It's a place that we cherish a lot
English isn't all that it's got
There might be clouds at the start of your day
You'll pass the Cross on your way
See the EIC sign on the door
And the lovely old tiles on the floor

If you walk in there you might
Notice the office right there on your right
Push the door, walk in and say "Hi"
To Leander, Sam, Jo and that guy
They call Mathew who is a big lord
But with him you'll never be bored

Go upstairs to the 1st Floor
And walk in the common room door
A room where we can sit and drink tea
Watching teachers watching T.V
In the coffee room can be found
People from all around

And if you fancy a laugh
Go to the room that is marked
"STAFF"
There's a man in there, I think he's from Jersey
And a lady who lives near the Mersey
There's Martin, Jo, Kerry and Jen
David, Laura, Sophie and Glenn
Harriet, Richard and Nigel that run
The school where we learn and have fun
'till we go to our homestay at night
Or the pub if the mood is all right

Our host families are lovely not rude
Everything is nice 'cept the food
No, the food is good too, I just jest

Go to the East or the West
English in Chester is the best!

Cambridge Exam Practice - KET

21 November 2008

Only one month to the winter solstice, which is the shortest day of the year here in the northern hemisphere. The Christmas lights are on in Chester and it looks very pretty, the shops are busy, in spite of the credit crunch and it is quite cold. Apparently we are going to have snow this week end so everyone is wearing woolly hats and scarves. If you don't like the cold weather the good news is that it is only six months till mid-summer.

Lots of people are doing the Cambridge exams next month so I thought we might have a quick look at some exercises for each of the main exams. Here's a KET Conversation exercise.

Cambridge Exam Practice - PET

21 November 2008

Cambridge Exam Practice - FCE

21 November 2008

Cambridge Exam Practice - CAE

21 November 2008

Cambridge Exam Practice - CPE

21 November 2008

Common mistakes in spelling and phrasal verbs

24 October 2008

I thought we might look at the spelling of some common English words today. I've been doing some marking and found lots of simple spelling mistakes as well as people just using the wrong word.

Words and Prepositions

17 October 2008

The days are getting shorter, woolly hats are beginning to appear on heads and yesterday someone left a pair of gloves in the computer room. It must be autumn! It is the time of year when people really settle down and focus on their work as the weather makes it less inviting to out in the evenings. Of course a lot of people stay at home to watch "X Factor" on the television but others want to improve their English and ask about prepositions and phrasal verbs. Both are quite challenging so let's take a quick look at prepositions first and then some phrasal verbs later.

Differences between British English and American English

12 September 2008

The summer we never had is coming to an end and the autumn is definitely on the way. Ramadan started last week and it is earlier than usual this year so it is harder for the Muslim students to fast during daylight hours because the days are still relatively long. They seem to be doing very well though and not feeling too tired and falling asleep during the afternoon lessons.

I was listening to a TOEIC test the other day and thought that we'd never covered any of the differences between British English and American English. So, I thought that today we might think about some of the words and expressions which are used differently on the other side of the Atlantic.

In England the postman brings you your letters, while in America they wait for the mailman to come. (Perhaps we should be more politically correct and talk about post-person and mail-person? What do you think?) In Britain you buy sweets when you want to cheer yourself up but in America you go to get some candy.

Staying in Touch

22 August 2008

The trouble about the summer is that people come and people go and time passes so quickly that no sooner have people got to know each other than it is time to go home again. We have a lot of tears on a Friday when it is time to say goodbye, but the important thing is to keep in touch with the friends you have made at English in Chester. So today we are looking at expressions to do with staying in touch.

Over and Under

8 August 2008

Here we are in the middle of the summer and still the weather is bad. But the good thing is everyone seems happy and the excursions are very popular. There have been a great many events happening in Liverpool, everything from music, theatre, exhibitions and the tall ships race. This is because Liverpool is the European Capital of Culture this year so there have been even more things taking than usual.

I thought we might look at expressions with over and under this week. The teachers all think they are overworked and the hot weather is long overdue. I am busy trying to stop the underage students going to the pubs and buying alcohol and cigarettes.

We put over when we want to express the meaning of too much and under when we want to express the meaning of too few.

Euphemisms

25 July 2008

Well summer is well and truly arrived in Chester and as you can imagine the weather has been fairly miserable. Today however the sun is shining and no one can quite believe it. I expect that many people will be hoping that it will continue to be nice this evening so that they can have a barbeque at last!

We are very busy as you can imagine and the nicest thing of all is that we have so many returning students. It is always nice to see familiar faces round the school again and people do really seem happy to be back in Chester.

I thought we might look at euphemisms this week. The dictionary definition for euphemism is this: "a word or expression we use when we want to talk about something unpleasant or something which we find embarrassing and we try not to mention the word itself".

Confusing Words

20 June 2008

Well, the football is going strong and Mathew is relieved that England aren't playing as he really wants Spain to win. We are at the beginning of the summer so obviously the weather is bad and poor old Sam and Leander are so busy they don't know where to start. I am sure everything will be fine in the end and all the students will be on placed with families and will be at school on time on Monday.

I thought it was time we looked at some words which people often confuse, like say and tell, remember and remind.

Expressions with Make and Do

6 June 2008

It's exam time and everyone is feeling a little apprehensive and nervous. The thing to remember is that you can only do your best and that it will all soon be over! Let's have a look at expressions with Make and Do today.

Comparatives

23 May 2008

The weather is getting better and the school is getting busier.

I Thought we might look at comparatives today as there are some quite tricky ones! You know what comparatives are. We use them a lot when we are talking about differences between people, places, books music and so on. Here is an example:

"I can't believe John is Peter's brother. He is so much taller."

The most important thing to remember when thinking about comparatives is that usually we put ...er after the adjective to make the comparative (as in taller) and ...est to make the superlative as in this sentence: "He is the tallest person I have ever seen". Of course there are some adjectives which are different - if there are two or more syllables we can't use that rule so we have to use more and most instead. And there is a spelling rule which you have to try to work out for yourself when you see the first exercise!

Social English

9 May 2008

At last summer has arrived in Chester. The gardens are looking lovely, the swans are swimming lazily on the River Dee, the May races are on so the city is very crowded and everyone is happy. All the teachers are relieved that today is Friday and we can all go home and have a barbeque in the garden.

Let's have a look at some Social English today.

Expressions with Pay

25 April 2008

This week we're looking at expressions with pay.

Compound Nouns

12 April 2008

Here we are in what is supposed to be spring and it is COLD! COLD! COLD! So we'll have some good news to cheer everyone up: Sophie got married and is very happy and many congratulations to her. Harriet is off on holiday on Monday and we have a saying in English: "While the cat's away, the mice will play". I bet you can all guess what it means.

I thought we might look at compound nouns this week. Sometimes in English it is possible to join together two words to make one noun, for example birthday and cake can become birthday cake. These combinations are very important if you want to increase your vocabulary and make your English sound natural.

Expressions with Get

21 March 2008

Today is Good Friday which means that it is a holiday here in England and people are relaxing at home, working in their gardens or visiting their friends. On Sunday people will give each other chocolate eggs and a lot of us will eat too much chocolate and feel quite ill afterwards. Still, the fact that it is Easter does mean that the worst of the winter is behind us and that we can look forward to the spring and summer. On the 30th March the clocks go forward one hour and it really is still light quite late in the evenings. It will continue to get a little lighter every day until the 21st June, which is the summer solstice. After that it very gradually gets darker a little earlier every day until December the 21st which we call the shortest day. But now we can really look forward to the lighter mornings and evenings and if the weather is good it will be lovely.

I thought we might try get to grips with GET today. To get to grips with something means to start solving the problem and there are lots of different expressions with the word get.

Types of Films

7 March 2008

It is nearly Easter and the spring flowers are out so Chester is looking very beautiful but there are EXAMS so a lot of students are working extremely hard and trying to remember the meaning of phrasal verbs and the spelling of difficult words like kitchen and necessary. Good luck to them all and to everyone who is doing exams this month.

There has been a lot in the news recently about film awards, and so I though we should clarify the different types of films which exist so that you have the right words when you are talking about the kind of films you like and don't like.

Everyday Expressions

22 February 2008

It has been a cold week here in Chester but we have been so busy that we haven't had time to worry about the weather. Many of the students have enjoyed watching the football and Mathew was very happy about Liverpool's result in the Champion League. He came to school the next day wearing his Liverpool shirt and wasn't at all unhappy that Manchester only drew with Lyons!

Did you know that 2008 is a leap year? February has 29 days and on the 29th day a girl is allowed to ask a man to marry her! So this is your chance to propose to the man of your dreams!

I thought we might look at some everyday expressions this week. We'll start with some really easy ones but the second exercise is much more difficult!

Wishes & Regrets

8 February 2008

Happy New Year Everyone! I hope 2008 will bring you all health, happiness and lots of opportunities to practise your English.

I am really sorry that you have had to wait so long for your lesson but last week was the first week back at school and was very busy, and we have also a technical hitch with the website! However, things are getting back to normal now. Everyone had a good holiday, and did a lot of eating and drinking and some of you saw John and Mat in Tokyo, which was nice. They both came back with terrible colds and flu and John was off for three days but he says it was worth it! It must have been good!

January is always a nice month as it is the start of a new year and you can decide to turn over a new leaf. This means that you decide to be a better person and no longer do bad things like eat too much chocolate, not do your homework etc. So I thought it would be a good thing to look at wishes and regrets today. We wish things were different and we regret things we did in the past. So I can say "I wish I had written a letter to you last week". What sort of things do you wish and what do you regret?

Look at this table. It will help to explain the tenses we use in this week's exercise.

Sentence	Time	Tense
I wish I spoke Arabic (I am sorry that I don't speak Arabic)	Now	I wish (present) I spoke (past)
I wish I were/was somewhere warm and sunny (I am sorry that I am not somewhere warm and sunny)	Now	I wish (present) I was/were (past)
I wish/If only he didn't smoke (I am sorry that he smokes)	Now	I wish (present) he didn't smoke (past)
I wish he had a car (I am sorry he hasn't got a car)	Now	I wish (present) he had (past)
I wish/If only he would stop chewing gum (we use would* to talk about things we would like people to (not)do)* (I want him to stop chewing gum)	Now	I wish (present) he would (past)
I wish this car would start (I want this car to start)	Now	I wish (present) would start (past)
I wish I hadn't said that (I am sorry that I said that)	Past	I wish (present) I hadn't said (past perfect)
I wish I had gone to bed earlier last night (I am sorry I went to bed late last night)	Past	I wish (present) I hadn't gone (past perfect)

Expressions with Lose

7 December 2007

It is almost the end of term and there are exams this week so everyone is looking tired and a little anxious. We had the Christmas party on Wednesday evening which was great fun. The staff are having their Christmas dinner this evening and everyone is looking forward to that. Then on the 14th the school will be closed for three weeks but don't worry... there will be a new Stay in Touch lesson on the 21st December so we won't wish any one a Happy Christmas yet! And of course you will be getting details of the 2008 competition for former students very soon. The prize being a FREE two week course at English in Chester!

It is always a good thing to increase your vocabulary so we will look at expressions with lose today.

Add a word to make a word!

23 November 2007

Well, Chester is looking really lovely today, it's a clear frosty day with bright sunshine, blue sky and is very cold. The Christmas lights are all up and the tree at the Cross is looking very attractive. Late shopping every Thursday and you can get to Liverpool and back for one pound. For those who like Christmas it's great, for others it's a nightmare!

I thought we might try a new type of exercise today...

Prefixes

9 November 2007

Greetings from Chester, today it is bright and sunny but very windy and when you go across the road to number 2 Stanley Place from the main school, you run the risk of being blown away. We are definitely into winter now, the days are getting shorter and it is becoming very difficult to get up in the mornings as it is so dark. Also exams are looming so everyone is working hard and doing all their homework.

Lots of people need to increase their vocabulary and what better way than looking at prefixes? (That's the small words like dis, mis, en and un which you can put in front of other words to change their meaning.)

Expressions with Keep & Hold

26 October 2007

The days are getting shorter, the mornings are quite dark and Chester is getting ready for Christmas. Too early for most of us because it is still only October and a long time before we want to start thinking about Christmas! The clocks go back this week end so we can all have an extra hour in bed on Sunday morning.

We are looking at expressions with keep and hold this week.

Expressions with Bones, Arms, Legs & Shoulders

3 October 2007

The heating has been turned on, the leaves are beginning to change colour and autumn has definitely arrived in Chester. Students are beginning to wear hats, scarves and gloves and no-one is having lunch in the garden, it's too cold. Soon it will be Christmas and 2008. How time flies!

Did you enjoy the exercise on idioms last time? I thought we might do some more today with different parts of the body this time; bones, arms, legs, shoulders. My favourite one is in this sentence: "I've got a bone to pick with you". It means that you have done or said something which has made me angry or upset and I want to discuss it with you.

Body Idioms & Expressions with Foot, Heel and Toe

21 September 2007

It is raining in Chester today and the summer has really ended. So we are all beginning to think about settling down to some really hard work and to start thinking about which exams to take in December. The school is a little quieter and there aren't so many people waiting in the computer room to send e-mails to friends and family at home. Angela is still with us and we have a Danish work experience student, Mia, in the office with Sam, Leander, Mathew, Hannah and Karen.

Natalia, who won the Stay in Touch competition this year, starts her two week course on Monday and we are all looking forward to seeing her again. Just think - it could be you next year if you enter and win the 2007 competition, which will be on the website in December. So keep working on your English!

Let's look at idioms to do with the body today. In English we have all kinds of idioms using fingers, hands, bones, toes and we use these all the time.

Expressions with See

31 August 2007

Well, August is coming to an end and we are getting much quieter now. Do you know the saying: "While the cat�s away the mice will play"? Well, that's what is happening at the moment as Harriet is away and all the teachers are having a fantastic time without her!

I thought we might look at expressions with see today.

Word Building Part 2

17 August 2007

What's happening at English in Chester?

Well, we are still quite busy, the pub tours are going strong and more than fifty people went to the barbeque last night. There was a very popular trip to see Manchester United being beaten by Inter Milan and everyone was pleased to see that there was a message for all the students from Chester up on the screen.

Andy finishes at the end of the month and is being replaced by Leander, who some of you will already have met as she has been in the office since early July. Stephanie, who has been working on the excursions programme this summer, returns to Switzerland this week but Angela will be with us until Christmas.

It is time to look at word building again. There's lots to practise this week so we've split it into two lessons.

This is the second lesson - try the first lesson!

Word Building Part 1

17 August 2007

What's happening at English in Chester?

Well, we are still quite busy, the pub tours are going strong and more than fifty people went to the barbeque last night. There was a very popular trip to see Manchester United being beaten by Inter Milan and everyone was pleased to see that there was a message for all the students from Chester up on the screen.

Andy finishes at the end of the month and is being replaced by Leander, who some of you will already have met as she has been in the office since early July. Stephanie, who has been working on the excursions programme this summer, returns to Switzerland this week but Angela will be with us until Christmas.

It is time to look at word building again. We'll start with some easy ones! There's lots to practise this week so we've split it into two lessons.

This is the first lesson - try the second lesson!

Prepositional Phrases

27 July 2007

The good news is that although many parts of Britain are suffering from floods and water shortages, Chester is still as dry and beautiful as ever. Today the sun is shining and we are going to have a barbeques for everyone working in the school to celebrate the successful British Council inspection and the fact that we are halfway through the summer. The school is very busy but yesterday more than 60 of the students went with Mathew, Andy, Leander, Stephanie and Angela to a Pop Idol concert and all had a very good time. This week end looks quite promising weather wise so perhaps it will give people a chance to dry off a little and start clearing up the chaos the floods have left behind.

I though we might look at prepositional phrases again this week as we are all in good spirits because it isn't raining and it is Friday.

Collocations

13 July 2007

Well, here in Britain we are still waiting for the summer to arrive. The shops are full of summer clothes which nobody has bought as it has been too wet and cold for t-shirts. Not many people have been able to have barbeques yet. Still, there is still August to go and perhaps we will have an Indian summer in the autumn.

I thought we might look at collocations this week. Collocations are words which often go together such as a green apple, a hard-working student, a brilliant day, a fast runner.

Everyday Expressions & Responses

22 June 2007

Well the summer solstice came and went and still it is raining in Chester. The sky is grey and the flowers are all drowning but never mind. The weekend is here and who knows? The sun may well come out and shine again.

Let's look at some everyday expressions and responses today.

Prepositions

8 June 2007

Another lovely day, Beckham back in England's football team, no wonder everyone is feeling happy. The only trouble is that exams are looming (meaning appearing fast, usually unpleasant) so people here at English in Chester are all feeling a little anxious.

Just in case any of you are doing English exams soon, I thought it would be a good idea to look at words and prepositions this week. Tricky things prepositions, they need to be learnt as a chunk of language and not just individually.

Word Building

25 May 2007

It is a bank holiday again this week end so everyone is hoping that the weather will be good so they can get into the garden, plant out the flowers and have a barbeque. Mathew, David and Martin are all very upset about Liverpool not winning the match on Wednesday, but all the rest of us are fine.

I thought we might look at word building this week because when you know one word in English it is often easy to make several new words from that one root word. For example, if you take the word KIND, which is an adjective; (she's such a kind person), you can also make the noun kindness, the adverb kindly,, the opposite unkind, unkindly etc.

Linking Words

4 May 2007

We are getting ready for the summer and the British Council Inspection and the new self access centre is about to be opened so are all very busy. Hope you are all enjoying the time of year, lots of people have told me that May is their very favourite month so enjoy it everyone.

Time to look at linking words again, these are very important both for written and spoken English.

Superlatives & Comparatives

20 April 2007

I know you all complain that the British always talk about the weather but I have to tell you that it has been lovely here in the north west of England the past week or so.

Patsy went to Spain for a few days and it wasn't nearly as warm there as it was here. Jo came back from Wales with a wonderful tan and we had to switch the heating off.

I thought it would be good to look at some superlatives and comparatives this week.

So, Such and Such A & Competition Winner

5 April 2007

Tomorrow, Friday, is a bank holiday here in Britain so we are updating Stay in Touch a day early.

It is time to announce the winner of the 2007 competition and I am pleased to say that Natalia Belonozhko won it with this entry:

Enormously enchanting
Northern network
Gathers generations of
Lucky language learners
Involved in
Serious studying, sightseeing, socialising and
Hilarious holiday highlights.

International
Newcomers

Communicate confidently in
Hostpitable host homes,
Encouraged by enthusiastic
Supportive school staff.
Tremendously terrific
Experience, everybody eager to
Repeat!

Although we had some other very good entries I think you all have to agree that Natalia's efforts were superlative so many congratulations to her. I hope that she will enjoy another two weeks at English in Chester sometime in the autumn or winter. I would also like to mention Heinz Bollinger whose entry was second to Natalia's.

I thought we might look at so and such today. We usually use so with an adjective and such or such a with a noun.

Pull Expressions

27 March 2007

Now is your very last chance to enter the competition. The judges are looking at the entries next week and it is a close call. Get yours in by Wednesday 4th April and you may still win a TWO WEEK COURSE at your favourite language school!

Enter the Competition!

Chester is looking very beautiful and spring-like, the daffodils are out and all the trees are in flower. But they say we will have artic weather at the week end. Do other people talk about the weather as much as the British do?

Let's have some nice expressions with "pull" today!

Phrasal Verbs

16 February 2007

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day and that you received lots of cards, flowers and of course chocolates!

Here in Chester we have had lots of snow but this week the daffodils are beginning to appear by the canal and there are crocuses in people's gardens. Spring may well be on its way.

We still need lots more entries for the competition. Well done to those of you who have sent your entries in but there must be many more of you who would like to come back to Chester for a FREE two week course. We have extended the deadline to make sure that everyone who wants to enter has time to do it. You must get your entries in by April 4th. Go on, have a go, you might easily be the winner and be able to return to Chester to visit your favourite language school.

Enter the Competition!

Tuesday 20th February is Pancake Day so I hope you all get your frying pan out and make a few pancakes. I expect Jo's class will be making theirs in the kitchen downstairs as usual.

I thought we'd have another look at phrasal verbs this week as this is an area people still have problems with! The first ten are easy; the next eight get more difficult!

Prepositions

2 February 2007

We still need lots more entries for the 2007 Competition so please keep sending them in. This is your opportunity to not only win a FREE two-week English course but also show us how good your English is!

I've been marking some assignments recently and think that everyone could benefit from a little more practice in using prepositions.

Everyday Expressions & Competition

22 January 2007

This is the first Stay in Touch this year so I hope you all had a wonderful time at the New year and I hope that 2007 will bring you all the health, happiness and prosperity you could ever wish for.

Everyone at English in Chester is happy to be back at work after the holiday. Sophie has safely returned from her trip to Australia as has Dom, Martin had a good time skiing and Harriet went to Seville. Richard, Hannah and Nick are still in Barbados and we are all very jealous that they are enjoying the sun while Chester is wet, windy and very dark.

Competition - Win a FREE 2-week English course!

The competition is now closed. Look out for our next Stay in Touch competition in 2008!

The New Year is always a time to get to know people and to make new friends so I thought we would start off 2007 with some everyday expressions in English. The first exercise is easier and the second exercise is more difficult.

Christmas Words & Customs

15 December 2006

School finishes today for three weeks and there is a party going on in the common room as I type this. It is fun and games all round but also quite sad as many students leave this weekend, and after being here for a long time. Chester looks very pretty in the dark with all the Christmas lights on and people are generally all in a happy mood.

We wish you all the very best for the New Year and hope that 2007 will bring you all health and happiness.

Phrasal Verbs & Word Building

1 December 2006

Well, it is December and as you can imagine all the shops are covered in decorations, the lights are flashing on the Christmas tree by the cross in the centre of Chester and people seem to be obsessed with buying presents. But more importantly it is exam time so I thought we'd better look at two things this week: phrasal verbs and word building.

Informal & Slang English

17 November 2006

I can't believe how quickly times is going, it seems like the summer was still with us last week but now I realise that Christmas is just around the corner. They switched the lights on in Chester this week and everything is looking very festive and nice.

Another reason why Chester is in the news at the moment is that the new James Bond film, Casino Royale, stars the Chester born actor Daniel Craig. So not only can you learn the best English in Chester, but you might also catch a glimpse of the fantastic agent 007!

Mathew is working hard in Prague, Andy and Sam are busy downstairs and the staff room is not nearly as crowded as it has been. There are far fewer students around but everyone is working really hard.

In September we had a look at some really informal English or rather slang and I thought we might have another look this week. This is the kind of language you can use to your friends and people you know very well but not your headmaster or boss!

Suffixes

3 November 2006

What news from English in Chester this Friday? Well, our website won the England's Northwest Tourism Website of the Year 2006 award so congratulations to Nick and all of you who starred in the video clip. The next event takes place in London in April next year.

Mathew has gone to Prague for six weeks to take past in a teaching course, no doubt those of you in that city will be hearing from him as I am sure he has all your phone numbers. He is busy learning Czech and is now able to order a large beer. Andy will be running his Wednesday evenings on his own again and we have a snooker table up in room 4. The clocks went back on Saturday/Sunday so it is getting darker earlier.

It was Halloween this Tuesday and bonfire night on the 5th November which is when the people in England celebrate the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. This is to remember an attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London and kill the English king. They weren't successful but ever since that time we have celebrated on the night of the 5th with bonfires in our gardens and fireworks. There are also big public displays in places like the race course and all the main parks.

We looked at prefixes in September so I thought it might be a good idea to see what we can do with suffixes this time.

Spotting Mistakes

20 October 2006

Autumn is coming to Chester and the leaves are changing colour. It is getting darker in the mornings and the clocks go back on the 29th of October so I guess we have to accept that winter is coming and there is nothing we can do about it.

Marion Brader the winner of last year's competition has just completed her course and she had a really good time. The next competition is early in January so start revising your English now, the prize is a FREE two week course for the lucky person who completes the best entry form!

I thought we might try a Spot the Mistake exercise this week to see how good you all are at recognising what is right and what is wrong in a sentence.

Take & Make

29 September 2006

Another lovely week with perfect autumn weather, the leaves are changing colour so things are beginning to look very pretty here in Chester.

We aren't quite as busy as we have been all summer but the pub tours are still as popular as ever and Andy and Mat are still feeling very tired on a Thursday morning. It is lucky that Sam is in again on Monday to keep them under control. She has been on holiday for two weeks and has had a well deserved rest in Norfolk.

I thought we might look at take and make this week because this is an area lots of people have difficulties with.

Informal English

14 September 2006

Another two weeks gone by and it's Friday again. There's a saying in English, Thank God it's Friday and I expect you have the same sentiment yourselves.

It might be a good idea to look at some really informal English this week because we had a student last month who wanted to know some slang words to teach her pupils. The following words/phrases are not real slang but quite informal language, so don't say it to the boss!

Emotion Expressions

24 August 2006

Have you looked at our updated website yet? There is a wonderful video which will remind you all of how fantastic life in Chester was and make you wish you were back here with us again! There are some good shots of the school, the river and the city centre all basking in the hot sunshine. Unfortunately the summer has finished now and it is rain, rain every day.

We are still quite busy but not quite as full as we have been and at least it is now possible to buy a cup of coffee in the coffee room without having to queue!

Now that stay in touch only goes out once every fortnight we'll have to make it much harder to make sure that everyone keeps working at their English.

Prepositions

11 August 2006

There is now a new way of accessing Stay in Touch. Instead of having it sent as an e-mail every week you can go to www.english-in-chester.co.uk/stayintouch.

The lessons will go out every two weeks instead of once a week and the website experts are looking at improving the format and the set up. The technology behind this is, as you probably all know, well beyond me but I hope you will all continue looking at the tasks and improving your English.

Lots of people are still having problems with prepositions and I thought we might look at some of the more common ones this week.

Phrasal Verbs

10 August 2006

Another busy week gone by and the sun is still shining. Amazing for England.

Phrasal verbs with look this week.

Food & Drink

10 August 2006

Mathew did so well while I was away that I'm tempted to let him carry on forever, but the office is getting very busy and today we have all the speaking and listening exams in addition to everything else, so you can imagine.

My holiday seems a long time ago but the weather here in Chester is wonderful and everyone is happy and looking forward to the week end and the football starting.

We have a huge new flat screen in the common room and I think many of the students will be watching the matches there. Let's hope it all goes well and that the best team wins!

Phrases & Nouns

10 August 2006

The summer is getting into full swing here in Chester and the races started on Wednesday so the city is very busy and very lively! We have been having some lovely weather and the school is getting busier all the time.

Colour Idioms

10 August 2006

Monday is a bank holiday here in Britain and everyone is hoping that the weather will be good so we can work in our gardens, go for walks or just enjoy the fact that spring is here at last.

Prepositions

10 August 2006

Well, the weather may be marginally better than it has been but it still isn't very warm and everyone (not just the British) is beginning to complain and to ask where the spring has gone to. However, the daffodils are out and Chester is looking very pretty, if you can see it for the rain.

You'll be really pleased to hear that the new computers are almost ready to be installed in the new computer room, and no-one will have to fight to use computers ever again.