Many native speakers pronounce the word Toronto as tərɑnoʊ (Torono), dropping the second “t” sound.  Other native speakers will pronounce the word as tərɑntoʊ, keeping the second “t” sound. Notice that in both pronunciations, the first “o” is reduced to the schwa sound /ə/.   When the word Toronto is followed by another word, as in the …

Phrasal verbs are extremely common in English. Phrasal verbs are verbs that are made up of a verb and a particle (a preposition OR an adverb) or a verb and two particles (an adverb AND a preposition). To improve your vocabulary, it’s important to use phrasal verbs in your speaking and writing.  To do this, write …

By Christopher Rixon – September 11, 2023  One of the most challenging IELTS writing components to master is Grammatical Range and Accuracy. This is a measurement of your ability to use a wide range of grammatical structures without making a lot of errors. In this blog post, we’ll explore how you can demonstrate your proficiency in …

Finding an English tutor that is right for you can sometimes be challenging. Here are a few important things to look for: Make sure they’re flexible Ask yourself: Is the tutor flexible when it comes to rescheduling lessons? English lessons frequently have to be rescheduled due to work commitments. Some English tutors are more tolerant of …

The pronunciation of English vowel sounds in words like ‘dinner’, ‘river’, ‘image’ or ‘decision’ can be tricky to pronounce correctly. This is because the /ɪ/ sound doesn’t exist in most other languages. By comparing the /iy/ sound in ‘seat’, with the /ɪ/ sound in ‘sit’, speakers of any language can gain a greater understanding of how …