Collins ELT

An Insight into Corpus: Identifying New Words and Meanings

An Insight into Corpus: Identifying New Words and Meanings

Neologisms and the constant evolution of language fascinates dictionary editors and users alike. For lexicographers, the use of corpora is essential to the way in which new words are identified, monitored and recorded. Let’s start with a little...

5 min

Are Print Primary Dictionaries Still Relevant for Young Learners?

Are Print Primary Dictionaries Still Relevant for Young Learners?

Today’s language learning environment offers a wealth of information for all ages and levels of learner, with everything available online at the click of a mouse. However, even for adults, this abundance of information can be overwhelming and difficult...

5 min

CEFR Labels: Do Words Have Levels?

CEFR Labels: Do Words Have Levels?

Since the CEFR was first published in 2001, a number of projects have sought to attach CEFR level labels to words to help teachers and syllabus designers align their vocabulary syllabus with the CEFR criteria. The new edition of the COBUILD...

6 min

Understanding academic grammar

Understanding academic grammar

For students new to dealing with academic texts in English, they can seem daunting; full of long words and long complex sentences. Are academics just trying to show off how clever they are and confuse their poor readers? Well, maybe...

6 min

Tense vs aspect

Tense vs aspect

Tense and aspect are often labelled as the same thing. It’s not uncommon to see the present progressive referred to as ‘the present progressive tense’ or will have + past participle referred to as ‘the future perfect tense’, for example. However, tense...

7 min

Grammar and register

Grammar and register

This article has been written by Julie Moore, who is an ELT materials developer and lexicographer. Our last post focused on the difference between a prescriptive and a descriptive approach to grammar. A descriptive grammar, such as the Collins COBUILD English Grammar, describes the language which people...

6 min

Who am I? A bio-mini-quiz to inspire your students

Who am I? A bio-mini-quiz to inspire your students

Are you looking for original ways to get your students to read? Here are 8 ‘Who am I?’ questions revealing interesting life-facts about some of the Amazing People featured in Collins Amazing People...

3 min