After taking quite an intensive exam preparatory course that lasted only 6 weeks, Eleftheria decided to take the IELTS exam in the UK, in mid-November 2018.

​All she needed was an overall score of 7.00 and no individual scores below 6.5, but she went on to impress us all with her determination and diligence throughout the course, which has now paid off as she achieved an overall band score of 8.0.    

Congratulations on your astonishingly high performance in the IELTS exam, Eleftheria!

It was a pleasure teaching you. I hope it's all onwards and upwards from here!

I'm afraid that if you expect to become able to understand with great ease every single accent and every single native speaker solely by doing innumerable listening exercises and tests during your English course, you'll sooner or later be hugely disappointed.

It may sound a bit harsh, but it's true: you're not going to further improve your listening skills unless you start exposing yourself to more authentic material in English so as to get used to the many different accents, speech rates, intonations, etc.

1. There's no such thing as a free lunch.

= Nothing in life is free! One way or another, you’ll sooner or later have to pay for something that was, at first, given to you for free.

This saying seems to have been coined in response to the democratic stance of Henry Wallace, the US Vice President (1941 -1945). After World War II, he proposed providing "minimum standards of food, clothing and shelter" for people across the globe and added, "If we can afford spending tremendous sums of money to win the war, then we can afford investing whatever amount it takes to win the peace.”
His opponents were quick to argue that “one will always have to pay for a free lunch”, implying that Henry Wallace's intentions were far from charitable or unselfish.

This saying might be used by someone who has to work a lot to get what they want. 

2. Money makes the world go round. 

= Money is the only reason that the world keeps turning.

This phrase is from the world-famous musical Cabaret, written in the sixties. 

This saying might be used by someone who believes that trade or the stock market, for example, plays a vital role in everyday life.
 
3. Neither a borrower nor a lender be.

= Avoid borrowing money from other people or even lending it.​

This saying originates from Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare in 1602. In one of the acts in this play, Polonius advises his son, Laertes, before the latter sets out on a journey.

This saying might be given as a word of advice to a young person who lacks experience in managing their finances. 

Do you have these 3 expressions all mixed up in your head? Indeed, “have been to”, “have gone to” and “have been in” look very similar and can be easily confused, but, in fact, they differ greatly in terms of meaning. So, I’m afraid that if you don’t use them accurately, misunderstandings are bound to arise. Read on in order to learn how to use “have been to”, “have gone to”, and “have been in” correctly. 
​

1. HAVE BEEN TO 

"I have been to a place" = I went to a place and I have returned

Examples:

1. I have never been to Paris before. I'd very much like to visit it one day. 
   
2. Bill, who's a sales representative, has already been to New York twice this year on business. 
   
3. Jenny has never been to a rock concert. 

In this post we'll be introducing some basic vocabulary about Easter, especially the names of the days and period leading up to Easter Sunday. Let's begin, shall we?

The week leading up to Easter Sunday is called Holy Week.

Similarly, the days of the Holy Week are called Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday, etc., but they may also be called Great and Holy Monday, Great and Holy Tuesday, etc.

Holy Wednesday is also known as Spy Wednesday.
Holy Thursday is also known as Maundy Thursday.
Holy Friday is also known as Good Friday. 

What is Palm Sunday though?

Below is a list of ten phrases that are rather tricky to understand the first time you hear them or read them mainly because at first they give the impression of having a literal meaning. However, if you pay closer attention to the context, you will soon realise that they're, in fact, English idioms!

1. a wet blanket
if you call someone a wet blanket, you mean that they ruin other people's fun by being boring and miserable or by disapproving of their activities 

Example: 
- Oh gosh, I'd rather have stayed home. Why did we have to come here? It's so crowded and the music is almost deafening, I can't stand it.
- Oh, don't be such a wet blanket, Tom! Stop complaining, get yourself another drink, and try to have some fun. OK?

2. rain check
if you say you'll take a rain check on something, you mean that you cannot accept an invitation or offer now but you would like to do so at a later time

Example:
Do you mind if I take a rain check on that drink? I don't feel like going out tonight. 

3. a dark horse
a person who has interesting qualities or abilities that most people do not know about

Example:
The shy little girl turned out to be a dark horse in the dancing competition. No one knew she could dance so gracefully. 

It may also mean "a secretive person".

Example:
You're such a dark horse! Why didn't you tell me you'd got promoted?

1. "Speaking of / Talking of ..." 
a fixed expression that is used for starting a new topic and linking it to the present one

Example:
"I totally agree. The Mediterranean diet is undoubtedly the healthiest diet in the world as it is abundant in fruits, vegetables, legumes, olive oil ... you can even eat sweets but in moderation. Speaking of food, what's for supper tonight?"

2. "When it comes to (sth / doing sth), ..."
when the specified matter is under consideration 

Example:
When it comes to combatting insomnia, a cup of chamomile tea is the best remedy.

3. "If worst comes to worst, ..." / "If the worst comes to the worst, ..."
in the worst-case scenario; in the worst possible circumstances

Example:
We should be able to catch the 9.30 train, but if worst comes to worst, we could get a taxi and still arrive at the airport on time.

If you’ re reading this, it means that you most probably have a somewhat strong  native accent when speaking in English and always, often, or occasionally (the frequency of the incident is irrelevant, at least in my book) find it difficult to make yourself understood by native English speakers solely because of your pronunciation and accent.

It is true that a non-native could have a very good command of the English language, impressively rich vocabulary and profound knowledge of the English grammar and never fail to apply it correctly both in written and verbal speech, and yet find themselves struggling when it comes to oral communication with native speakers.

At one time or another, a non-native speaker’s pronunciation or accent will impede effective communication in English …

The reason being that (a) they pronounce some words incorrectly, (b) their speech sounds ‘flat’ or fragmented and lacks a natural flow – in other words, their rhythm and intonation are quite poor, (c) they just talk with a very strong foreign accent, or (d) they have a combination of the aforementioned characteristics which only makes matters worse.

But don’t despair!

The good news is that, for you to be here, you have finally come to grips with this issue and you are minutes away from discovering the first building blocks of your improvement in that area.

It's that time of the year again, that week between Christmas and New Year's Day when everyone seems to have lost track of time, doesn't know what day it is, and is trying to assuage their guilt of over-indulgence by doing something perhaps more meaningful and beneficial for their future self, which is of course no other than making a list with their New Year's Resolutions, full of ambitious goals and exciting plans for the new year.

Indeed, all of us feel an almost instinctive urge to become the best version of ourselves the moment the clock strikes twelve signalling a new beginning and a clean slate.

“I envisage a business world where I wouldn’t have to use English”

In a dream world, business meetings in English would be a piece of cake, reports and emails would write themselves, and in presentations, words would just magically pour out of your mouth without your even breaking a sweat.
That thought sounds nice, but at the same time it calls for a reality check!

I hate to burst your bubble

In the real world, the clock is ticking, you have tens of deadlines to meet and zillion tasks to complete … in English. The moment you come in the office your boss asks you to write up a quarterly report. Next, you remind yourself that you must respond to all the emails of your foreign clients by noon at the latest, because at one o’clock you have a scheduled meeting with your supervisor who’s, by the way, from Manchester. In the meantime, you’ve started working on the agenda of next week’s web conference with your colleagues from the company branch abroad, only to realise that your laptop is not working properly. Guess what, you must now call the Technical Support staff based in the headquarters in Germany and try to explain the situation to them in English.

Phone calls, reports, emails, presentations, training sessions, and the list never ends; I want you to sit and contemplate for a minute the number of tasks and projects in which you’re required to speak or write in English at work. It’s incredible and scary at the same time, isn’t it?