English Is A Simple Language

Kindle Cover

My latest book is available now from Amazon.

What is it about, and who is it for?

I firmly believe that English is a simple language – so much so that I have written a whole book about the fundaments of English grammar, exploring what lies at the heart of the language.

The book goes through the different parts of the English verb system, looking at the difference between simple and continuous forms, and explaining how the perfect form really works.

We then consider the idea of distance, which explains the reasons for verb form changes in English. Have you ever wondered why Would you like a drink? is more polite than Will you have a drink? This book explains the logic behind the grammar.

Once we have looked at the verb forms and the modals that English has available to it, we then consider how conditionals are structured – they are more regular and understandable than you have been led to believe!

So, who is the book for?

It’s for everyone – it doesn’t matter if you are teaching English as a foreign language, or if you are a student looking to master what you think are deeply irregular sets of rules. This book will help everyone with an interest in the English language.

It’s available now in both the paperback and Kindle edition, via Amazon.

IATEFL Hungary – Towards Becoming an Autodidact

Title Screen - Becoming an Autodidact
My presentation at IATEFL Hungary 2019 in Budapest

This October I gave a workshop/talk at IATEFL Budapest on the idea of using etymology in the classroom to train our students in the ways of the autodidact. By giving them a toolkit based on this approach, we can help our students help themselves to the world of vocabulary, freeing us up to look at other areas in the classroom.

If you’d like a copy of the presentation, you can download it here. I want to take this opportunity to thank the International House World Organisation for their support – without them I wouldn’t have made it to Budapest to begin with!

Sixty-Six Little Lessons – A Resource Pack for EFL Teachers

Are you an English language teacher? Do you need a new resource to help you in individual and small group lessons?

‘Sixty-Six Little Lessons’ might be just the thing for you. It’s a resource designed by an EFL teacher for other EFL teachers – and I know it works well because I’ve used it extensively in my own lessons.

The idea is fairly simple. Each lesson begins with a picture description, and a few B1/B2-level questions. The next page then widens the topic, supplying B2-C2 level questions and some suggested language; then there is a speaking task, again with supporting language, and finally a homework task for students to look at.

Front cover, Sixty-Six Little Lessons
The front cover for the resource ‘Sixty-Six Little Lessons’

The front cover image for an example lesson

The second page of an example lesson.

The printed book is available online at Amazon (UK and US), and you can download the pdf along with the optional ppt slides from my Shop.