Vicki Hollett

English quizzes and fixing common mistakes

Vicki — Fri, 19 Jul 2019 19:58:15 +0000

It’s always interesting to see what videos are popular on our YouTube channel and one that turned out to be a hit this year was a quiz. We ask questions about some tricky English and viewers have to choose a correct answer before the clock stops ticking.

We then explain what’s wrong and show examples of the correct English in action. We’ll also direct viewers to other videos if want more help.

We’ve just published the third video in what’s now become a series. In this one we look at:
– what means it vs. what does it mean?
– used to vs. in former times
– used to do vs. be used to doing and get used to doing
– good at vs good in
– actually vs. currently
– stop to do vs. stop doing

A performance review story – present perfect

Vicki — Fri, 05 Jul 2019 18:10:47 +0000

Performance reviews are a great context for looking at the present perfect. In our latest video English lesson we look at how to form it and when use it.

We go through the three uses of the present perfect:
1. Unfinished actions that started in the past and are still continuing
2. Life experiences that happened at an indefinite time
3. Past actions that are important now because they are news or because their results matter in the present.

But best of all we show it in action in a comedy sketch. This story is great for business English students.

3 common future forms: will, (be)going to and the present continuous

Vicki — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 19:20:19 +0000

We had a request from a viewer who said the thing he found trickiest in English was how we use will, (be) going to and the present continuous. They are tricky! Sometimes their uses overlap and sometimes they don’t. In this video Madame Victoire unlocks the mysteries of these three future forms.

How good is your British slang?

Vicki — Fri, 31 May 2019 19:19:36 +0000

Take the quiz and see how good your British slang is. Along the way we’ll explain the meanings of words and phrases like kerfuffle, go spare and butcher’s hook.

Is the word ‘literally’ overused?

Vicki — Fri, 17 May 2019 19:17:24 +0000

How many syllables does the word literally have? And do people use it too much? And what different meanings does it have?

We explored some of these questions in our latest video.

How to Disagree Like a Native

Vicki — Fri, 12 Apr 2019 19:05:24 +0000

Have you ever given your students a list of phrases to use to disagree and then winced when you heard them practising them?

Have you ever heard your students say ‘I disagree’ or ‘I don’t agree’ and thought, hmm, that sounds a bit too formal?

In this video we look at how we disagree in everyday conversation and look at some steps students can follow to sound more like a native English speaker.

Click here to see our video on 12 ways to agree in English

2019 SEVY awards – Congratulations English learners!

Vicki — Fri, 05 Apr 2019 19:43:43 +0000

Why do people learn English? Come and meet students from all over the world who are winners of this year’s SEVY awards.

Speaking in English is a challenge. You’re bound to think, ‘Am I making mistakes?’ or ‘Am I saying this right?’ Now imagine you’re not just talking to one or two people, but you’re talking to the world!

A few weeks ago we set our viewers a challenge. We asked them to record a video where they’re speaking in English and we’ve been blown away by the response.

So now we’re very proud to share their work and introduce you to some of the wonderful people who watch our channel, and to learn about why they’re learning English and their goals.

English vocabulary for talking about love

Vicki — Tue, 02 Apr 2019 17:27:33 +0000

Is it possible to fall in love in just one conversation? Maybe if you ask and answer the right questions.
In this video English lesson we ask and answer 11 English questions that can lead to love and explore some words of love and romance along the way.

You’ll learn English vocabulary for talking about love and relationships including:
– words for describing relationships:
compatible, close, treasured
– things lovers might do as they get closer such as:
to impress, to be compatible, to get along, to be trying to hard, to share, to reveal
– euphemisms for death and distress:
to lose someone, disturbing
– adjectives for describing physical appearance:
good-looking, beautiful, pretty, handsome, hot, fit
– adjectives for describing personal qualities:
loyal, sensitive

This lesson was inspired by some real psychological research into 36 questions that can make strangers connect, get close fast and even fall in love.

Here’s a link to the Arthur Aron et al study and a great article about it from the New York Times.

If you want to try out the 36 questions with a partner, here’s a website that makes it easy to go through the questions.

The second conditional in action – it’s story time!

Vicki — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 20:13:29 +0000

Our latest lesson looks at the second conditional and when we use it. We explore how the second conditional is different to the first and see lots of examples in action in a funny story.

Who, whose and who’s – an English grammar lesson

Vicki — Thu, 28 Mar 2019 00:45:33 +0000

In this video your students will learn how to use who, whose and who’s correctly and fix a common mistake.

We compare the pronoun who and its possessive form, whose, and show examples in action.
We look at:
how to use who and whose in questions
how to use who and whose in relative clauses
the difference between whose and who’s.

To make most nouns possessive in English, we add apostrophe ‘s’. However the pronoun who is different because its possessive form is whose.

To check they know whether to write whose or who’s, we finish with a whose who’s quiz.
Click here to see our video lesson on who and whom.