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20/03/24 11:00-12:30 P 2.5

10/04/24 11:00-12:30 P 4

17/04/24 11.00-12.30 P 5.5

15/05/24 11.00-12.30 7

22/05/24 11.00 -12.30 8.5

30/05/24 11.00-12.00 9.5

05/06/24 11.00-12.30 11

10/06/24 10.00-11.30 12.5

14/06/24 4.00-5.00 14

28/06/24 11.00-12.00 15

03/07/24 11.00-12.00 16

04/07/24 14.30-15.30 17

09/07/24 14.00-15.00 18

18/07/24 14.30-15.30 19

23/07/24 14.30-15.30 20

25/07/24 14.30-15.30 21

20/08/24 14.30-16.00 22.5

22/08/24 14.30-16.00 24

27/08/24 11.00-12.30 25.5

27/08/24 14.00-15.30 27

28/08/24 11.00-12.30 28.5

28/08/24 14.00-15.30 30

TOEIC

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Getting to know you.

Needs and objectives

Padlet

Check level

Check dates

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Review of tenses

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ISpeakSpokeSpoken : Learn English Easily

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At ISpeakSpokeSpoken you’ll learn to speak English through practical, hands-on learning. Over 2,000 resources available free of charge.

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English Listening Lesson Library Online

ELLLO has over 3,000 free listening lessons for all levels! Most lessons have audio or video, a transcript, vocab support and interactive quizzes.

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ELLLO - English Listening Lesson Library Online

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ELLLO stands for English Listening Lesson Library Online and features natural English lessons that come with quizzes, vocabulary training, and free printable worksheets. ESL students and teachers can access over 2,000 free lessons that feature World English with speakers from over 100 countries.

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BBC Learning English - BBC Learning English - Homepage

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Grammar prepositions in at on,

Rountines, review time

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Look at these examples to see how we use at, in and on to talk about time.

Try this exercise to test your grammar.

Grammar test 1

Grammar A1-A2: Prepositions of time - 'at', 'in' and 'on': 1

Read the explanation to learn more.

Grammar explanation

We use the prepositions in, on or at to say when something happens.

We usually use at with clock times and mealtimes.

We also use at with some specific phrases such as at the weekend and at night.

We can also say on weekends or on the weekend. This is more common in American English.

We say at night when we mean all of the night. But we say in the night when we want to talk about a specific time during the night.

We use at with Christmas and other holidays that last several days.

We usually use in with parts of the day and longer periods of time such as months, seasons and years.

We usually use on with days and dates.

Do this exercise to test your grammar again.

Grammar test 2

Grammar A1-A2: Prepositions of time - 'at', 'in' and 'on': 2

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Do you know how and when to use at, in and on to talk about time? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

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Look at these examples to see how we use these prepositions.

Please put the book on the shelf.
They live in Helsinki.
You should keep milk in the fridge.
Mette is studying at the library.

Try this exercise to test your grammar.

Read the explanation to learn more.

Grammar explanation

We can use the prepositions in, on and at to say where things are. They go before nouns.

We use in to talk about a place that is inside a bigger space, such as a box, a house, a city or a country.

We also use in with other physical locations such as:

We use on to talk about location on a surface.

We also use on for some types of public transport.

We also use on for lines (including rivers, borders, streets, etc.) and islands.

We use at in many common phrases, especially when we are talking about a place for a specific activity.

We also use at for addresses or exact positions.

Do this exercise to test your grammar again.

Language level

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Prepositions of place - 'in', 'on', 'at'

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Do you know how to use in, on and at to talk about location? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

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People and places

Describing people

Linguahouse Old friends

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Redundant

I was made redundant.

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Word order in questions - Grammar chart

Questions in general

If we want to ask a question in English, the order is QWASM: Question word, Auxiliary verb, Subject, Main verb. In Yes-No questions (questions where the answer is yes or no), there is no Question Word.

Questions with be as the main verb

When be is the main verb, it is used as the Auxiliary in the question, and then we don't have a Main verb after the Subject.

Auxiliary verbs

In the position of Auxiliary, we can use be, do, have or any modal verb: can, could, will, would, should, etc.

Have is only an auxiliary verb in the form have got and in the present perfect.

For other uses of have, we need an auxiliary verb ( do, did) for questions.

Have got only has a present form. It does not have a past form.

Question words

how much

We can use how much to ask about the price of something.

how + adjective

We can use how + adjective (any adjective) as a question word.

We can use which + noun, and we can also use what + noun. We use which when there are a small number of possible answers. Look at the difference:

Which car do you like, the red or the blue? (there is a small number of possible answers)

'What car have you got?' 'A Mercedes.' (many possible answers)

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Asking questions in English - Question forms - Test-English

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Question forms. English grammar and exercises. If we want to ask a question in English, the order is QWASI: Question word, Auxiliary, Subject, Infinitive.

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Listen to the conversation between two old friends to practise and improve your listening skills.

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Listen to a radio interview about maintaining a good work-life balance to practise and improve your listening skills.

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Boosting Your English Listening Skills

Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab has been providing online English listening comprehension activities for ESL and EFL learners since 1998. Visit Randall's other Web sites at DailyESL.com, EZslang.com, and Trainyouraccent.com for more language practice.

General ESL Listening Quizzes

Activities focus on everyday English comprehension skills at three levels based on content, voices, vocabulary, and natural speed. A combination of adult, teenage, and children's voices are included.

Explore More English Listening Activities

Randall has created a variety of other ESL listening activities to improve your comprehension, speaking, vocabulary, and cultural awareness.

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Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab - English Listening

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Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab helps ESL and EFL learners improve their English listening comprehension skills through conversations.

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past simple / Present perfect  since / for

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past simple / Present perfect  since / for

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Modal verbs grammar

Onestop English finding a job + listening

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Welcome to LearnEnglishFeelGood.com! We've been your source for high-quality, free resources for students and teachers of English since 2006.

What would you like to do today?

All of the exercises on this site were developed by us based on our own personal approach to teaching ESL. Whether your level is beginner (A1-A2), intermediate (B1-B2), or advanced (C1-C2), you'll find what you need to help you speak and write better English.

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esl portal with english grammar and vocabulary tests

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plus many other esl resources (listening comprehension

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English grammar and vocabulary exercises, ESL resources / e-learning

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ESL portal with English grammar and vocabulary tests, plus many other ESL resources (listening comprehension, reading comprehension)

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Do you know how to use modal verbs to talk about permission and obligation? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

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Hello Jackie,

could you look at the rest of the exercise below?

Thank you in advance.

Have a good week end!

LISTENING

1/ 2.5 milion correct

2/ Answer: high street sales (?? but i don't think it's the real answer; i have some difficulties to understand a sentence so...)

3/ Answer is correct economy > stop having hobbies or stop doing usual things not essentials

4/ people have their haircut at home : correct answer

PROJECT

Dancing is your passion? ( would you like ) to discover the world and meet pop rock celebrities? ( Are you ) free and ready for irregular planning(s)? (T)his job is for you! (W)we propose (that you ) join our company for a 2 year(s) progam, during which you and other(s) dancers will accompany the most famous groups of the moment! (S)salary : 50000, and all inclusive advantage(s)! (E)experience required from another known company.(F) for more informations, contact us (by)calling (us on ) 01.0203.040.05

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everyday life : finding a job (completed)

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everyday life : finding a job (completed)

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N° 4 Can

N° 13 shall we go out tonight?

N° 22 have to take

N° 24 has to go tothe dentist (mother is 3rd person singular)

Well done Audrey !

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Wordwall - Create better lessons quicker

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blind carbon copy - area where the email address will NOT be visible to the main adressee, attachment - file which is included in an email, carbon copy - area where the email address who are not the main recipients , outlook/gmail - personal communication & scheduling system, signature - text/images which are placed at the end of the email message, to - area where the email address for the main recipient is entered, from - area where it shows the account from which the message is sent, recipient - the receiver of an email , electronic - the "e" in email ,

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blind carbon copy - area where the email address will NOT be visible to the main adressee, attachment - file which is included in an email.

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Wordwall - Create better lessons quicker

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Match up - Drag and drop each keyword next to its definition.

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E-mail style

E-mail symbols

E-mail vocabulary

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Consider these things when writing questions.

Subject questions

These questions are about the subject of a sentence:

Who takes you to school?

Where is your favourite place?

What annoys you the most?

When is convenient?

Do not add the auxiliary verb 'do' ('do', 'does', 'did'): Who takes you ...? not Who does take you ...?

Yes/no questions

These questions usually only need a short answer like 'yes'/'yes, of course' or 'no'/ 'no, I'm sorry'.

Are you ready?

Is that convenient?

Do you remember me?

Can you send me the report, please?

Use the auxiliary verb before the subject: Do you remember ...? not You do remember ...?

Object questions

These questions are about the object of a sentence:

Where do you want to meet?

Who did you invite to the meeting?

Why couldn't you go?

How much is this going to cost?

Remember to use an auxiliary verb ('do', 'did', 'have', 'can', etc.): Where do you want to meet? not Where you want to meet?

'Let me know'

When you ask about something in an email, you can use this phrase. It shows that you want to get an answer.

Are you coming to the party on Saturday? Could you let me know? Thanks...

I would like to attend the training next Tuesday. Please can you let me know the start time?

Language level

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Where can you practise the ways we ask questions in emails? Here, of course!

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Finish the e-mail exercises

Correct e-mail that Audrey will write informal.

British Council enquires exercise

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All EnglishClub worksheets are copyright-free.

PDF Worksheets

Syllables Worksheets
Activities that help learners recognize syllables and understand their role in pronunciation

Word Stress Worksheets
Games and other activities to help students with word stress

Minimal Pairs Worksheets
Each worksheet has five activities that encourage discrimination between minimal pairs.

Rhyming Words Worksheet
Pre-Intermediate PDF with answers

Short and Long oo Sounds
Intermediate PDF with answers

Printable Worksheets

Pronouncing -ed Worksheet
Printable webpage with answers

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All EnglishClub worksheets are copyright-free. Syllables Worksheets Activities that help learners recognize syllables and understand their role in pronunciation Word Stress Worksheets Games and other activities to help students with word stress Minimal Pairs Worksheets Each worksheet has five activities that encourage discrimination between minimal pairs.

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Pronociation practice

Tongue twisters

Present perfect 1

If time attending a job interview

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Pronunciation

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Ahh the beautiful French language... it conjures up images of romance, beauty and charm. As a Francophone in an English-speaking country, you've probably been complimented on your attractive accent countless times - it's commonly stereotyped as the world's sexiest, and the English love to try (and fail!) to imitate it. Of course there's nothing wrong with having an accent that people adore, but perhaps you want to break free and get your point across without being put into a romanticised French-speaking box? Or you're simply fed up of being asked to repeat yourself? Whilst there are difficulties for all English language learners no matter their mother tongue, it can be useful to understand the specific nuances. If you're a French speaker who struggles with English pronunciation, read this blog for some simple tips and tricks on how to improve your British accent whilst still allowing your beautiful identity and personality to shine through.

1. Stress the right syllables

The French and English systems of word stress and rhythm are very different, and this can lead to some challenges when you are a French speaker trying to speak English. If you are struggling to be understood when you speak English, try stressing the second syllable of words, rather than the first. To practice, have a go at putting emphasis on the capitalised bits of the following words: conver SAtion, ap PArently, i DEa, ne GOtiate, un FOR tunately.

Accent Reduction coach Kate Guest talks more about this in her latest video:

Kate is a self-confessed accent geek - why not Book A 1-hour Taster Session with her or one of our other coaches today?

2. Differentiate your vowels

For French speakers, some of the vowel sounds can be tricky. French speakers often think English speakers 'swallow' their words, and this can make you sound monotonous and uninspiring.

Here are some examples of where French only has one sound where English has two:

Leave vs Live

Pull vs Pool

Not vs Nut

Sit vs Seat

Look vs Luke

Bank vs Bank

Pat vs Pet

Slip vs Sleep

Paper vs Pepper

Mad vs Made

Try pronouncing these words and see if you can hear how each one is different.

Watch this video to find out more about how vowels can help you speak authentically:

3. Use inflection in questions

Another challenge for French speakers: questions! Words like 'do' have no equivalent in French, and this can make it tricky to form interrogatives as you would in your own language. Often, it is easier for French speakers to simply add a question mark to their sentence 'You are going to work today?' as opposed to 'Are you going to work today?'. In English, inflection (when you go up at the end of your sentences) is used for asking questions, rather than making a statement. This intonation is crucial if you want to deliver your message with conviction. Have a go at experimenting with different sentences, noticing the different in your intonation on a question versus a statement.

Check out our Accent Softening Course to learn more. accent softening

4. Practice your Rs and Hs

One of the major consonant changes that happens from French into English - the quality of the 'R' sound. In English, we pronounce the R sound when there is a vowel sound after it - as in 'really', 'carry', 'red', 'right'. If there's no vowel after it however ('learn', 'other', 'car') we don't pronounce it. This can't be said for French though! Believe it or not, the difference in R sounds is simply down to the position of your tongue. If French is your mother tongue, the R sound is formed at the back of the mouth, whereas in English, the tip of the tongue curls up in the mouth then releases forwards. Try practicing the 'r' sound in the mirror and notice what your tongue does. Another tricky sound for French speakers is the 'TH' - watch this video to help you master it.

Can we help you?

We'll be posting more language-specific content in the coming months so keep your eyes peeled - you can read our blog for Spanish speakers here!

If you'd like to find out more about what we do, Book a Free Discovery Call to find out how our courses could benefit you

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4 Pronunciation Tips To Soften A French Accent

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If you're a French speaker who struggles with English pronunciation, read this blog for some simple tips and tricks on how to soften your French accent.

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Hi Imelda

About your ad, i'll be so glad to give you info to visit my town.

(I've) attached a lot of ideas , so if you need help (in choosing

the places ) get in touch! If not, just send me your choices for booking .

Hope to hear from you soon.

Best regards

Audrey

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Finish enquiries e-mails

grammar adjectives and prepositions plus listening

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Explain her mistakes in the homework,

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Correct homework

Grammar Make or Do

Word wall make or do

Article Guardian weekly AI

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Correct The Guardian article

General English today

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2/b.

1-I hate to admit

2- what a coincidence

3- depressing

4- endless

5- union

6- strike

7- era

3/ Sentences true: 3; 6 ; 9

I purpose to tell you the rest during our call (for pronunciation ;-) )

4/ I'm note sure I understood correctly the part b/ Please find my answers below

-1/ AI has replaced the whole staff

-2/ A staff member wrote the blogspot

-3/ AI has already replaced humans for some jobs

-4/ Films studios didn't released AI written films

5/ 6/ 7/ i imagine it will be a discussion between us during our call > maybe better for me to pronounce and a good training to discuss with more vocabulary; i thought about this 3 questions, i'm ready :-)

See you later

Audrey

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Playing with words, same splelt word but different meanings

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What's the difference between these words.

General conversation cards.

Gerunds and infinitives

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Genially Flashlight Quiz Gerunds and Infinitives

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Explore this engaging Genial.ly grammar activity where students learn to differentiate between gerunds and infinitives. They'll complete sentences with the appropriate verb forms and discover hidden answers by dragging a light.

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20/06/24 Let's talk about it homework for Wednesday 26/06/24

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20/06/24 Let's talk about it homework for Wednesday 26/06/24

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Gerunds and infinitives Enghub

Past simple or present perfect Enghub

What's the difference between these words

Conversation cards

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03/07 > last exercice "present perfect or past simple"

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03/07 > last exercice "present perfect or past simple"

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02/07/24     I'm about to start training to become a 'quality assurance tester'. In short, the tester is a bug hunter > Before being delivered, software has to undergo a number of checks: that's the role of the tester. They ensure that an application meets the specifications, that it does not damage the information system, that it can be used on all types of hardware and in all situations...As software is usually written in English, I think it's useful to know a few things about it.

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02/07/24     I'm about to start training to become a 'quality assurance tester'. In short, the tester is a bug hunter > Before being delivered, software has to undergo a number of checks: that's the role of the tester. They ensure that an application meets the specifications, that it does not damage the information system, that it can be used on all types of hardware and in all situations...As software is usually written in English, I think it's useful to know a few things about it.

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In the object-oriented design method, the system is viewed as a collection of objects (i.e., entities). The state is distributed among the objects, and each object handles its state data. For example, in a Library Automation Software, each library representative may be a separate object with its data and functions to operate on these data. The tasks defined for one purpose cannot refer or change data of other objects. Objects have their internal data which represent their state. Similar objects create a class. In other words, each object is a member of some class. Classes may inherit features from the superclass.
The different terms related to object design are:

1. Objects: All entities involved in the solution design are known as objects. For example, person, banks, company, and users are considered as objects. Every entity has some attributes associated with it and has some methods to perform on the attributes.

2. Classes: A class is a generalized description of an object. An object is an instance of a class. A class defines all the attributes, which an object can have and methods, which represents the functionality of the object.

3. Messages: Objects communicate by message passing. Messages consist of the integrity of the target object, the name of the requested operation, and any other action needed to perform the function. Messages are often implemented as procedure or function calls.

4. Abstraction In object-oriented design, complexity is handled using abstraction. Abstraction is the removal of the irrelevant and the amplification of the essentials.

5. Encapsulation: Encapsulation is also called an information hiding concept. The data and operations are linked to a single unit. Encapsulation not only bundles essential information of an object together but also restricts access to the data and methods from the outside world.

6. Inheritance: OOD allows similar classes to stack up in a hierarchical manner where the lower or sub-classes can import, implement, and re-use allowed variables and functions from their immediate superclasses.This property of OOD is called an inheritance. This makes it easier to define a specific class and to create generalized classes from specific ones.

7. Polymorphism: OOD languages provide a mechanism where methods performing similar tasks but vary in arguments, can be assigned the same name. This is known as polymorphism, which allows a single interface is performing functions for different types. Depending upon how the service is invoked, the respective portion of the code gets executed.

Learn Latest Tutorials

Preparation

Trending Technologies

B.Tech / MCA

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Software Engineering | Object Oriented Design - javatpoint

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In the object-oriented design method, the system is viewed as a collection of objects (i.e., entities). The state is distributed among the objects, and each object handles its state data. For example, in a Library Automation Software, each library representative may be a separate object with its data and functions to operate on these data.

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Conversation

Talking about the home

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Finish the conversation questions about the house.Use the conversation cards

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Continue conversation English , talking about hobbies and free time.

Review tenses in the grammar section

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Review tense in grammar section

Talking about transport conversation

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Vocabulary exercises to help learn words for Olympic sports.

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The TOEIC® Listening and Reading test

The Listening and Reading test takes 2.5 hours and has two sections:

Where can I take the test?
The TOEIC Listening and Reading test is a paper and pencil test and can be taken in different centres

Who is it for?
The Test is used by organisations to determine whether an employee is suitable for a particular task. If you work or want to work for a large organisation, particularily in Asia, then the TOEIC test will be useful to you.

In some countries you can also take a Speaking and Writing exam along with the Reading and Listening.
What about scores?
The TOEIC Reading and Listening gives a score between 10 and 990:

905 - 990 International Proficiency

785 - 900 Working Proficiency Plus

605 - 780 Limited Working Proficiency

405 - 600 Elementary Proficiency Plus

255 - 400 Elementary Proficiency

185 - 250 Memorised Proficiency

10 - 180 No Useful Proficiency

Click here to see a table comparing the different exams related to their CEF level.

How much does it cost to take TOEIC Listening and Reading?
Fees are set by test centres. Expect to pay around $140 USD for each component (Listening and Reading / Speaking and Writing).

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toeic exam practice english language elt efl grammar writing structure teofl

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The TOEIC Listening and Reading test- about the Test of English for International Communication

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Test of English for International Communication - practice reading and listening tests

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Talking about sport

Olympic sports

Introduce toeic online practise

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TOEIC PRACTICE writing

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Online TOEIC® Test Free - TOEIC® Test Pro

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TOEIC® TEST PRO is designed to help you practice and improve your TOEIC® skills to well prepare for the exam. The app assists you in improving Online TOEIC® Test

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TOEIC writing and reading practice

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B1 Writing Exercises and Tests - Test-English

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Speaking practise British Council

Toeic practise speaking

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Speaking practice to help you learn useful language for everyday communication. Situations include responding to news, meeting face-to-face and asking a favour.

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Describing a photo or picture

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Here are our top tips for describing a photo or a picture in an exam.

Do:

Look at your picture carefully and take a few moments to think before you start talking.

Talk for all the time you are given. If you have one minute to do the task, use every second.

Practise the useful language below so you can explain which part of the picture you are talking about.

Don't:

Panic if you don't know the words for all the things in the picture. You don't need to know all the words for everything in the picture if you know what to say when you don't know an exact word.

Get distracted and start talking about something else. Focus on the photo or picture.

Panic if your mind goes blank. Take a deep breath, look at the picture and start again.

If you are asked to describe a photo or a picture in the exam, here is some language you can use:

What is in the picture?
In the picture I can see ...
There'The man is ...ing
The people are ...ing
It's raining. s / There are ...
There isn't a ... / There aren't any ... At the top/bottom of the picture ...
In the middle of the picture ...
On the left/right of the picture ...
next to
in front of
behind
near
on top of
under
Say what is happening with the present continuous
It looks like a ...
It might be a ...
He could be ...ing
Maybe it's a ...
Where in the picture?

If something isn't clear

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In some speaking exams you have to talk about photos or pictures. The video and tips below will help you to do really well in this type of speaking exam.

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Many, many students of English have problems when they have to describe a photo or a picture, and some of them need to do well in this activity for the FCE, TOEIC, PTE or other exams. So let's go!

There are four main steps to effectively describing a photo or picture in English.

1st SUMMARIZE:
Summarize the overall idea very simply.

2nd GENERAL DESCRIPTION:
Describe the main focus of the image properly.

3rd IMAGINE CONTEXT:
Speculate on a few (3-4) aspects of the picture.

4th PRECISE DESCRIPTION:
Give as many precise details in the little time left.

Notice how if you do this exercise correctly you will have had the opportunity to show your English in the best way possible.

This structure gives you a great chance to use a variety of language and not just adjectives and some action verbs but also speculating, comparison, location language etc etc!

Much better than a list of "There is..." and "There are..."!!

Here below I will go into more detail about how to succeed at each stage of the process, giving you some great tips and useful language!

1 Summarize the Picture

When the picture or photo is presented to you, especially if you are in an exam, you can start to panic! Your brain just goes blank!

<

to go blank:(here) to go empty, to have no thoughts!
One great way to avoid this panic is to arrive at the picture with a PLAN!
In the first section your objective is to summarize the picture giving a very general description - do not give much detail here - just stay calm and imagine that there is someone in the room who cannot see the picture at all.

How would you describe the picture?

- There are three people sitting at a table in a room talking and eating.
- There is a girl on a horse jumping in the air.
- There are lots of people in a street dancing to music.

What about this photo?
Pretty boring, right?

The idea here is just give a SUPER SIMPLE summary. I would not focus on any adjectives yet (if you say some that's ok!) but instead focus on

People,

General Location (inside, outside)

Other Main Objects

Activities

The order is probably not very important except for the actual subject of the photo - who should probably be mentioned first.

In exams there are almost always people, so expect a starting summarize sentence as follows:

People

There is a (boy, girl, couple, etc)

There are (4 [young], lots of, etc ) people

Activity + General Location (Specific Location + Main Verb)

They are inside/outside, ...

...in a kitchen, on a bicycle, at a table, in a queue, with dogs....

...sitting, standing, walking, talking to each other, smiling and laughing, playing rugby.

General Observation of Main Object

The room looks like a restaurant.

The car interior is made of brown leather.

The garden is decorated for a party.

The park looks very big.

If you feel that you cannot easily stay calm in order to stay focused on deciding what are the main features of a picture, one idea could be to half-close your eyes (called 'squinting').

This might help you not notice all the extra details and focus on the photo's main image.

Learning a Specific Starting Phrase.

If you don't feel very confident about the very first sentence, you could arrive with a specific phrase format.

Doing so also avoids the risk of a rather uncomfortable and unproductive few seconds of silence!

One possible initial sentence structures could be as follows:

There [is/are] SUBJECT verb+ing [object?] preposition + place/object.

For example:

There is a woman buying some food in a shop.
There are some children playing a game in a park.
There is a girl riding a horse in a forest.
There are three young people talking at a table.

Practice just using this formula with many pictures!!

If you do approach the starting sentence with a fixed format like this, then it will be much easier to stay calm, and even more importantly, you will have prepared yourself well for the next steps because you will have identified the main subjects of the photo already, and, your brain will have 'caught up' and be ready to start working.

to catch up :(here) to reduce the space or time lost and get back into the right situation

So, let's get back to our Boring Picture.

There is a man cutting (carving) some meat at a table.

Next we will move onto giving more information about that first phrase....

2 General Description

So now we move on to really describing the main subjects of the photo.

Again, imagine that you are describing the photo to someone who cannot see it.

For this again we are going to follow a structure - the classic structure from journalism, the 5 Wh- Questions:
[Just a note, there is also HOW, but this is less appropriate here because we don't know the full story and we can do supposition later with WHY.]
At this stage we can use the 5 Wh- Questions now for just VISIBLE description, and then re-use the 5 W's in stage 3 for making speculations, or for things we can imagine might be true.

It is not necessary to say something for each Wh- Question if you can't think of something. And it is also ok to say more than one phrase.

The focus here is to be able to give clear descriptions using the best adjectives and nouns that come into your mind!

So let's start!

The order does not really matter but WHO is probably the most natural to start with.

WHO - VISIBLE

How many people?

How old are they?

What are they wearing?

What are they each doing?

What emotions are they showing?

Next, we may naturally move onto WHERE

Is it inside or outside?

What type of building is it?

What type of nature is it?

Is it a house? A business?

Is it a garden or is it in the wild?

Now something about WHEN (that is visible)

Is it dark outside? But becoming light?

Is it light? But becoming dark?

What about the weather?

Is it sunny? Cold? Raining? Windy?

Now let's move onto WHAT.

This is about the BIG objects in the picture.

Even if the object is 'boring' say so. (They are sitting around a very ordinary wooden table).

Remember that you describing the photo as if to someone who cannot see it at all!

What big objects can you see?

How many are there?

Colours? Sizes?

Are they... / Is it.... Old? Expensive? Big?

If there are animals (or vehicles) what are they doing?

EXAM TIP - Extra language to add here:
Here especially, you may also want to use some of the 2D and 3D placement language that we will look later when we talk about precise details (part 4).

Another type of language you can use here, or in any part really, is to make a comparison to general knowledge. So you could say...

"They are sitting around a very ordinary wooden table, exactly like the ones you see in every school canteen"
"They are standing next to an old car, just like the ones in old black and white films"

Finally we might be able to say something about WHY. Remember this is supposed to be just for visible information here - not for any other reason than just to make sure you use a nice variety of language.

WHY is often less easier to see: but there are some possibilities, and normally you would explain further..

They are celebrating someone's birthday because I can see a "Happy Birthday" sign.
She is about to buy the newspaper because I can see her opening her wallet.

But don't worry about WHY too much because it is often something you just see immediately or not (but it is nice to remember because it brings you to the next section.... Suppositions and speculating!)

3 Speculating

Or in other words, What do you imagine is the context or wider situation for this photo!

By now in the exam you should be fairly comfortable with the picture.
But also possibly bored and feeling limited about what you can say!!
Students often complain that very little is 'happening' in the photo, but this is by design!

The exam is not trying to get you to list endless adjectives and nouns, instead you are forced to start using your 'imagination' and so more complicated language!

endless: without end, here: implying a boring or repetitive style

The most common types of language that we can start using here are the modals and expressions of probability but also conditionals could be inserted here! - basically some more advanced language to 'impress' the examiner!!

Once again we can use the 5 Wh-Questions but this time we will aim to go into less detail in each section but instead look to get some inspiration.

And we are going to combine the 5 Wh- with the VERB from Step 1 (Summarizing).

Here is what I mean, imagine the people are talking. So we can make the following questions:

WHAT are they TALKING about?

WHERE are they TALKING?

WHEN are they TALKING?

WHO are these people TALKING?

WHY are they TALKING? {Last!}

And in this section the answers are NOT about what we can see but what we cannot see, so answers could be....
WHAT?
I think they are talking about something serious because they look very focused.
WHERE?
It seems to be in a very modern building, like perhaps a school or a library.
WHEN?
I have a feeling that because of the sun outside they are maybe talking in their lunch break.
WHO?
They look very young and it looks like a school so they are probably students.

Finally, we can move onto WHY, and here we can probably most easily insert a conditional phrase!

We can use one of the first 4 Wh- questions suppositions to create a possible IF clause.

But the easiest Wh- to use is often the WHO. For example;

If they are students then they could be talking about their last lesson or some homework they have to do. Or maybe about something funny that had just happened*.
Or if you feel it is less likely that they are students:
And if they were students perhaps they could be talking about their last lesson or some homework they might have to do. Or maybe about something funny that might have just happened*.

* We will discuss this language and grammar in the next section.

Let us Analyze the Language in Part 3 Speculating.

Ways to introduce your interpretations

It looks like...

It seems that...

I think that...

It appears that...

I have a feeling that...

It is possible that...

I suppose...

I guess...

I am sure that...

Modals to express Probability and Possibility

General Possibility

They may be talking in the school canteen.
They might be classmates.
They could be waiting for someone else.

NB. Be careful about using can for possibility in this exercise, this is because can is generally not used in specific situations - we use it for general situations - and so we do not know enough about the people in the photo to talk about their general life.

[However it is possible if you talk about life in general. They look very bored, waiting for a bus can be very unexciting]

Possibility in the Past

This language can be used to great effect in the conditional phrase!

They might have just finished work.
She may have just asked how much it costs.
He could have just woken up

Adverbials of Probability

We can also use some adverbs of probability to our ideas.

The most common ones in general are:

But I think for the photo description the most common ones are the weaker phrases:

Perhaps and Maybe are normally used at the beginning of the clause.

If they are tired then perhaps they will go to bed
Maybe they are planning where to go next.

Adverbials of probability, just like normal adverbs, come before the main verb, except the verb To Be.

He could possibly be a doctor.
She probably wants to order some food.

Conditional Structures

It would be nice if you aim to naturally use a conditional sentence into your photo description.

Let's have a look at the two sentences I wrote earlier:

1 If they are students then they could be talking about their last lesson or some homework they have to do. Or maybe about something funny that had just happened*.
2 And if they were students perhaps they could be talking about their last lesson or some homework they might have to do. Or maybe about something funny that might have just happened*.

FIRST CLAUSE, the IF CLAUSE

I don't want to go too much into the grammar of conditionals, except to say that your grammar books are mostly wrong and make students think that conditionals are fixed long phrases.

They are not!

What if I simply remove the IF clause.

[Perhaps] They could be talking about their last lesson.

Using the IF clause just tells the listener WHY you are saying what you are saying.

I wrote two forms of IF clauses.

If they are students, [stronger]
If they were students, [weaker]

This only reflects your perspective.

If I win the lottery = super optimist [Present Tense]
If I won the lottery = normal pessimism for a lottery! [Past Tense]

This decision is only important because if you do use the weaker form then as in my example I continue to use weaker conclusions, eg

They could be is stronger than Perhaps they could be
They have to do is stronger than they might have to do

That had just happened is stronger than That might have just happened.

Once we establish the IF clause we can easily say three more clauses

A) Now activity clause

B) Future supposition

C) Past suppostion

2 A) THEN + ACTIVITY CLAUSE

This is the less impressive of the clauses but still nice

...[perhaps] they could be talking about their last lesson...
...maybe they are planning what to eat...

So it is a simple combination of modal of probability, or adverbial of probability, with the Present Continuous.

2 B) FUTURE SUPPOSITION

The structure that I like here is:

- [might] have to do later.
...perhaps they are practicing for a competition/match they have to do later...
---maybe they are discussing some work they have to do later...

2 C) PAST SUPPOSITION

The structure that I like here is:

- might have just [happened]

So for example...

...perhaps they are talking about the lesson they might have just had
...maybe she is practicing some skills she might have just learnt
...maybe she is paying for something she has just chosen

This section is by far the best way to impress the examiner!

It is really important to note how this phase of the description would be very hard to do without passing through parts 1 and 2 - but that also parts 1 and 2 will help immensely in you finding let's say the 3 champagne phrases to say!

Students are quite rightly told to not learn phrases by heart but here you are NOT learning phrases by heart. There is a difference.

If you learn the phrase: In the picture there are 4 people having a ball! But they are NOT having a ball then the examiner might smell a rat!

If you learn to say, as I recommend:

And then practice that structure, then maybe if you do say

Then the examiner will not feel it has been repeated because it genuinely describes the picture.

This idea of learning some structures is actually how we might well learn language, they are called Lexical Chunks.

So, let's get back to our Boring Picture.... what can we say here with the 5 Wh- Questions?

[who] The man is middle-aged, and he is wearing a black jumper and a colourful apron with red polka dots! He has a large orange knife and he looks like he is concentrating. I think he is preparing dinner for a lot of guests!
[where] It looks like he is inside a home, maybe in the dining room.
[when] I can see some light outside, it looks very sunny, so maybe it is a big lunch.
[what] The table looks very interesting because there are lots of plates and there is also an enormous cooked bird, I think it is a turkey or a very large chicken! It looks like it was cooked in the oven, because it is brown and it is sitting in aluminium foil. It looks very nice!
[why] Perhaps it is Christmas or Thanksgiving because I have seen people eat food like this at those times of the year.

So the key verb here is 'PREPARING'...(be careful not to repeat yourself, skip a section if you have said something about it already).

[what] I think he is preparing a big meal for a special occasion but he is not dressed formally so perhaps it is just his family and close friends.
[where] The man looks very relaxed and casual and I think he is at home.

And if we try to use a conditional structure or two;

If the man is cutting the meat then perhaps he has just taken it out of the oven, so it is very hot and probably smells fantastic!
Perhaps all the guests might have just sat down and are looking at him while he prepares the food.

Phase 4: PRECISE DESCRIPTION: Give as many precise details in the little time left.

We now move onto the final part of the description. The main job is done and you have had a chance to use some 'champagne' language.

Now we can use some more types of language. Location language and Precise vocabulary.

Firstly, location language:

Two Dimensional Placements

At the top/bottom of the picture ...

In the middle/centre of the picture ...

On the left/right of the picture ...

On the left hand side / left hand part

In the lower/upper part of the picture

In the top right (hand) corner

In the top left (hand) corner

In the bottom left (hand) corner, bottom right

On right/left edge of the picture

At the very top/bottom of the picture

On the very left/right of the photo

At the dead/very centre of the photo

Three Dimensional Placements

In the foreground/background you can see ...

Towards the back of the picture

Towards the front of the picture

At the back

At the front

In the front part of the picture

In the back part of the picture

Behind/In front of ... you can see ...

Between ... there is ...

in front of

next to

behind

near

on top of

under

to the left of

to the right of

There are many great expressions for locating objects, you will not need all of them but memorizing some can be very useful.

Again imagine that you are describing the picture to someone who cannot see it, and so placing the object you are about to describe can be very useful indeed!

Precise Vocabulary

The second main language area in this section is using as much precise vocabulary as you can.

The objective here is to give an indication to the examiner of the range of your vocabulary.

The basic sentence structure here can be repeated:

[Location] there (is/are) [adjective] [object].
At the back of the picture there is a wooden gate.
On the right of the picture there is a large crowd of people.
Behind the people talking there is an elegant clock.

Key vocabulary here would include adjectives that describe visible characteristics.

BONUS LANGUAGE

Sometimes there are features of a picture which are unclear.

This could be because they are out of focus, or they are very small, or they are so big we can only see some of it.

Some good phrases here include:

And using there is/ there are:

It looks like there is...

There seems to be

There appears to be

There is something which looks like a..

So if we combine describing something unclear with precise description we could say:

[Location] [Language of uncertainty + there ] [adjective] [object].
On the right hand side of the photo it looks like there is a very large tree.
At the very back of the photo there is something which looks like a red car.

In this section try and use as many precise words that are suitable for the picture, if you do not know the correct word for something you have two options.

You could ignore it and say something you do know.

Or, you could use descriptive language based on the visual features or it's function.

How to Describe something you don't know the precise word for

Sometimes we can't think of a precise word for something, don't panic!

The exam is a speaking and communication exercise, NOT a vocabulary test.

So the trick is to communicate the object or action a little bit less precisely.

the trick :(here) the little idea or action that solves a problem

This is actually a major activity in language speaking even amongst natives who don't know or can't remember the word for something!

So relax, and in fact you may even score more points!!!

So imagine there is a music concert flyer on the wall.

You could describe it as 'a piece of paper with information about a music concert'

Or functionally you could say, 'one of those things they give you to promote a concert"

or as something that is similar, 'it's like an advertising leaflet but for a music concert" another example....

Ok so now you have a general structure for how to approach describing the picture,

Now let's quickly look at some additional problems:

Further Questions

#1 What to do if you can't think of anything

This is a real problem and my advice is simply not let it happen!!!

The best, and possibly only, way to avoid this problem is to avoid thinking!!!

To avoid thinking you must arrive with a plan and know the plan.

So you learn and practice the structures in this article, or you create similar phrases with your teacher.

And then you arrive at the exam knowing that you just have to go A, B, C, D.

Apart from the initial summary all the other phrases and steps can be skipped or they can be done in a different order, so don't panic if you jump sections in the exam.

However, do not arrive with no structure. Arrive with a structure as a back-up plan and then choose to follow it or not.

Limit the energy thinking, maximise the energy for talking!!

#2 What to do if you don't know the word and it is IMPORTANT for this picture!!

Ok, so in the section above we talked about describing something without knowing what the precise word is.

But what if the main subject of a picture is a word that you don't remember, or you just can't remember?

The very first thing to remember is that this is a speaking exam, not a vocabulary test.

It is not fantastic, but it is still not a complete disaster. So don't panic.

Can't remember the word 'elephant'? Say 'animal' or "big animal" or better "huge mammal".

Can't remember the word 'rugby'" Say 'sport' or 'team sport' or 'a sport a bit like football'

Can't remember the word 'market'" Say 'outdoor shops', 'small open shops', 'shops in the street'

Obviously the teacher will not be particularly impressed with your vocabulary, but they will be impressed with your communication. And that is the skill being tested!

#3 What if there are no people in the photo?

Occasionally there are photos with no people.

Imagine a book and a table.

Now just treat the book as the subject.

"In the picture there is a book lying on a wooden table."

Now describe the book. Closed or open, new or old, big or small etc.

For some more champagne language imagine the person who organized this or these objects.

Perhaps someone put the book here for someone else.
If the book was left here by accident, then maybe someone will have to come back and get it.

So treat the inanimate object as a subject and then for the more complicated non-visual section imagine the person or people who created the scene.

If the scene is a natural scene, then imagine someone arriving here. What have they just done, what are they doing, what might they have to do next?

Here are some links that could be of interest!

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Many, many students of English have problems when they have to describe a photo or a picture, and some of them need to do well in this activity for the FCE, TOEIC, PTE or other exams. So let's go! There are four main steps to effectively describing a photo or picture in English.

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Toeic practice

Speaking , describing a photo.......

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Toeic practice

Grammar

Speaking

Mini tests