Anshan English

Scots is nearly as different from Scottish English as Scots is different from English English or British English. There is a small number of shared words but there are a lot of different words too. Scottish English is English. It is just as close to English as Scouse in Liverpool, Jordie in Newcastle, Estuary in Read More …

Don’t try to teach English. At least for teenage and above who are past foundation level. Teach something interesting – art, history, simple science, geography, natural history, environmental issues, sport, etc. The English learning will happen along the way. The idea is to spark a lively discussion where the students are the ones asking the Read More …

Keep away from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Too many foreigners live in the areas. This saturates the market meaning that you’ll end up with the dregs of the bad jobs on offer. Heading for a smaller, but not small, city means that you have less competition and so can acquire better quality positions. For Read More …

People are different people when using different languages. Studies show that people think differently, behave differently and even have different morals. One example is to compare now you feel when saying, “I love you,” with saying, “Wo ai ni” or the equivalent in your own tongue. In your native tongue, it feels much more personal Read More …

I have been teaching English in China for just over 6 years. However, I don’t teach English. Very little of my class time is spent on grammar. Punctuation and spelling don’t play big either. All of these things can be taught just as well, if not better, by a native Chinese teacher of English. They Read More …

It would be simple to point out that English is a very hard language to learn. Complex tenses, cases, irregular verbs, a huge vocabulary, spelling that truly is just random at times and obtuse at others, plus pronunciations that just don’t fit the Chinese tongue. English is a difficult language. However, China is awash with Read More …

It depends a bit on what the question was and whether you should reasonably be expected to know the answer in order to be competent or not. If the question is on topic, and you are often stumped, then it suggests that you didn’t prep sufficiently. If the question is off-topic, then it is quite Read More …

I would say there is no need for a foreign speaker to use foreign idioms. They’ll often get them wrong anyway and just confuse the conversation. Rather they can introduce their own native idioms into their speech, to give it colour and character. However, a foreigner listening to, or reading English, must know and understand the meaning Read More …

Both –ize and –ise are used by British people. Neither is correct, or incorrect. You’ll have some people say that one spelling is American and the other is British, but not true. The choise of –ize and –ise sometimes depends on the etymology – words with Greek routes are –ize where as Latin routes are  –ise. The Oxford English Dictionary standardised on –ize thus this Read More …

The answer is in the question. If it is superfluous, then you don’t need it. Concise writing is effective writing. When you add superfluous words, you create waffle. Use words when they are required to convey meaning. Omit words when the meaning can be conveyed without verbosity. Using a thesaurus allows you to be specific Read More …