Collins ELT

            
      Work on Your Idioms: digging below the surface
    
      Idioms can be a really fun part of language learning with their colourful imagery and quirky cultural connections. However, they can also be a real challenge for learners. There are such a variety of idioms in English and many are...
    
        4 min
      
        29/03/2022
      
      Independent Learning - More than meets the eye
    
      There is no doubt that independent learning is a tricky topic for EFL teachers. This approach of independent learning, where students take control of their own work and organise and manage their studies, is promoted widely in UK universities as a way to enable students to unlock...
    
        7 min
      
        02/02/2022
      
      Grammar or vocabulary? A blurry line
    
      This article has been written by Julie Moore, who is an ELT materials developer and lexicographer. Most language learning coursebooks include grammar activities and vocabulary activities. As teachers, we talk about ‘teaching grammar’ and ‘teaching vocabulary’. Grammar and vocabulary...
    
        6 min
      
        06/01/2022
      
      Collins Peapod Readers: Engaging young learners in online learning using readers
    
      Recently, I‘ve been looking at ways to support young learner engagement through the use of readers online. Readers can help you to reach out, motivate, connect with and stimulate your young learners and help them continue on their English language...
    
        4 min
      
        02/09/2021
      
      Collins Peapod Readers: Off to a budding start with Cambridge English Qualifications
    
      It seems to me that we often fall into the trap of viewing readers as an added extra in English language teaching, when in fact readers can offer so much more and be an integral part of a young learner’s...
    
        4 min
      
        02/09/2021
      
      COBUILD English Usage 4th Edition: Changes in vocabulary and grammar
    
      In the second of our blog posts about the new edition of COBUILD English Usage, Penny Hands details some of the findings that came out of the team’s research into the ways in which new words and uses are created.
    
        5 min
      
        02/09/2021
      
      COBUILD English Usage 4th Edition: updating the examples
    
      In the first of our blog posts about the new edition of COBUILD English Usage, Penny Hands details some of the changes she made to the examples to ensure they reflect changes in society, and ponders on how future-proof these...
    
        5 min
      
        02/09/2021
      
      Where to start when softening your English accent
    
      Changing an accent is not an overnight task and many people try and fail because they don’t know the best way to approach accent modification and become overwhelmed. The trouble is we talk all the time without even thinking about...
    
        2 min
      
        02/09/2021
      
      Tips on how to use Collins Work on Your Accent in the classroom
    
      Accents are muscular habits. As such, learning a new accent is like learning a gymnastic move, and any teacher should aim to balance the teaching need for muscular repetition with the learner’s need to feel they are making progress.
    
        3 min
      
        02/09/2021
      
      Problematic Sounds For Many Non-native Speakers
    
      One of the most challenging sounds for non-native speakers of English is actually the most common sound in the English language! That sound is The Schwa. The schwa is a very subtle, quiet sound – you may barely have noticed it,...
    
        2 min
      
        02/09/2021
      
      Why Accents Matter
    
      We love accents! We make our living helping people learn a variety of different accents, and we celebrate all the different accents that exist. We also know that accents are a big part of our identities and who we are...
    
        2 min
      
        02/09/2021
      
      COBUILD: The Evolving Corpus – How corpus use has changed over the years
    
      Size matters when it comes to corpora. At 220 million words of text, the corpus used to create the second edition of the COBUILD dictionary in 1995 was over ten times the size of the one used for the first...
    
        4 min
      
        02/09/2021