AWL Exercises 2

The exercises below are intended to help students learn the second 30 words of the first sublist of the AWL Select the correct word from the highlighted options Pay attention to the advice in the pop up box if you answer incorrectly The scientists analysed the data very carefully before concluding what their findings individual … Read more

AWL Exercises 1

The exercises below are intended to help students learn the first 30 words of the first sublist of the AWL Select the correct word from the highlighted options Pay attention to the advice in the pop up box if you answer incorrectly The scientists consistently / analysed / benefit the data carefully. The UK is … Read more

Academic Vocabulary

Probably the biggest challenge for international students preparing for university education in English is the enormous amount of vocabulary that is necessary to learn. This challenge can be divided into two distinct problems: What vocabulary to prioritise in students’ learning? How to use the vocabulary correctly in speaking and writing? To answer the first question, … Read more

Repetitive Language

One very common problem that students (below band 6) encounter is a limited range of vocabulary. Even if the vocabulary is used relatively effectively and accurately, the limitations become obvious due to repetition. Here are some examples from student writing: Sample 1 In this first sample, the word country is used repetitively. There are two … Read more

Applying Corpus Tools to Academic English Instruction

Note: this is a copy of the post I wrote for CELFS at the University of Bristol, updated and edited to make the information available for my students in China. My research involved a very useful tool for teaching and learning academic vocabulary. In this blog post I will provide a ‘walkthrough’ example of how … Read more