New! free daily idiom email program for ESL students

New! free daily idiom email program for ESL students

The Critical Reader is excited to announce the sometime in the next few weeks (exact date TBA), we will be launching a free daily email idiom program for English learners.

If you would like to sign up, please enter your email in the form below. (Note that you must use the form to register; comments for this post have been disabled.) 

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The focus will be on words and phrases that can be used in IELTS Writing and Speaking, but the content will also be broadly relevant to other popular tests, including TOEFL, PTE, and (especially) CELPIP. And if you’re just looking to improve your English in general, you’re of course welcome to join as well.

Every day, members will receive an email with a new expression + definition, along with a sample sentence clearly illustrating its use. Both informal and formal language will be covered and labelled appropriately.

This program does not focus on the clichés commonly taught in ESL classes or on social media (e.g., A piece of cakeonce in a blue moon) but rather on common, contemporary phrases and collocations that can help your speaking or writing sound more natural.

In addition, if there are any expressions you find particularly confusing or would like to have a better understanding of how to use, please feel free to let us know, and we will do our best to incorporate them into the program.

IELTS vs. CELPIP Writing: a comparison

IELTS vs. CELPIP Writing: a comparison

I’ve recently encountered a number of essays that were written for the CELPIP but that seemed to have been produced by candidates who appeared to have switched from the IELTS (GT) and were still writing essays geared more to that test, or to have been advised by people who did not fully understand how the two tests differ.

To be sure, there is significant overlap between IELTS and CELPIP writing, particularly in terms of Task 1 (formal, semi-formal, or informal letter in both cases; approximately 20 minutes for IELTS, 27 minutes for CELPIP). However, there are real differences when it comes to Task 2. Candidates who are either trying to decide which exam to take, or switching from one to the other, must understand the expectations and criteria for each. (more…)