St. Andrews’ Day is on 30th November. It is the official National Day in Scotland, UK, and in 2006 was designated an official bank holiday by the Scottish Parliament. St Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland, and also Greece, Russia and Romania. He was one of Jesus Christ’s Twelve Apostles and is thought to have… Continue reading UK Culture | online-english-lessons.eu

To mug up something (or mug something up) is to try and quickly learn the important information about something, for example before an exam or a meeting. British English, informal. Example of use: Amelia hasn’t done much studying so she is trying to mug up on the key points before her exam tomorrow. infinitive –… Continue reading Phrasal Verb: mug up

1. To set off is to start a journey. Examples of use: a) What time are we setting off? b) They set off for home. c) There are roadworks on the motorway so you’d better set off early. d) He set off from Paris last Sunday. e) We set off for London with only £20… Continue reading Travel | online-english-lessons.eu

I’m very happy to learn that this blog has been nominated in the Top 100 Language Learning Blogs competition run by bab.la and lexiophiles.com! If you like this blog and find it useful, please vote for us by clicking the button at the top of this post (or in the sidebar on the top left… Continue reading Top 100 Language Learning Blogs competition

It’s time for the 2011 Lexiophiles Top 100 Language Lovers blog competition, and I’m happy to say that this blog has been nominated once again in the Language Learning Blogs category. If you like this blog and find it useful, please vote To vote for your favourite, go to the Language Learning Blog page and… Continue reading Lexiophiles | online-english-lessons.eu

Open up means to start a new business. Example of use: Let’s go to that new cafe that’s opened up in Port Isaac. I’ve heard it’s very good. Open up also means to talk more frankly and honestly about your feelings and yourself. Example of use: Pierre opened up and told everyone at home what… Continue reading Phrasal Verb: open up

To tail back is to form a long line of slowly moving traffic or a traffic jam. British English. Example of use: The traffic quickly began to tail back after a lorry crashed in the rush hour. rush hour – a time of day when there is a lot of traffic; often when people are… Continue reading Phrasal Verb: tail back

a)  To work out something (or work something out) is to think about it and understand it, or to find the solution to a problem. Examples of use: 1. She worked out why her car was making a horrible noise. 2. He can’t work out why she doesn’t return his calls. 3. She can’t work… Continue reading Health | online-english-lessons.eu

St. Andrews’ Day is on 30th November. It is the official National Day in Scotland, UK, and in 2006 was designated an official bank holiday by the Scottish Parliament. St Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland, and also Greece, Russia and Romania. He was one of Jesus Christ’s Twelve Apostles and is thought to have… Continue reading Scotland | online-english-lessons.eu

A few days ago I wrote a short post about correcting errors in spoken English. This morning I received an email with a teacher’s thoughts on this subject which I have included here as a guest post. Khazin teaches English in Indonesia and we have had some very interesting chats by email and Skype. I… Continue reading Guest post – correcting errors in spoken English