Learning English

Session 1: Academic English

• Avoid contractions
• Avoid personal pronouns and use the passive more
• Use single words rather than multi-word verbs
• Don't use slang or colloquialisms
• As a very rough guide, longer words with a Latin or French origin are more formal

Structuring an essay

IntroductionLet me start by... I'll start by... First of all I'll... I'd lke to begin by... My aim/purpose today is...

Moving on Let me now turn to... Let's move on to... Turning to... I'd like now to... Next... Let's look now at...

Ordering informationFirstly... secondly... thirdly... lastlyFirst of all... then... next... after that... finallyTo start with... later... To finish

Giving examplesFor example...A good example of this is...To illustrate this point...This can be seen...

ConclusionBefore I finish I'd like to...Let's recap, shall we?I'd like to sum up now...Let me summarise briefly what I've said...If I can just sum up the main points...So, in conclusion/summary...

Session 2 

DIY (Do It Yourself)
Doing small jobs to improve your home, like painting

good with his hands
good at using his hands to do practical jobs

orbiting
moving around

gone on strike
stopped working (because of a disagreement with their employer)

Session 2

going ape
going crazy; getting angry

bracing themselves
preparing themselves (for something challenging or unpleasant)

iconic
very famous; representative

sponsorship
giving money to a person, organization or activity

prior to
before

endangered
in danger of becoming extinct

worthwhile
worth the money and effort

relish the idea
really like and look forward to

gruelling
very difficult and tiring and needing a lot of effort

camaraderie
friendship between members of a group

sporting
wearing

Boxing Day
in the UK, the day after Christmas Day is called Boxing Day

dip
quick swim

device
object or machine that does a specific thing

exertion
large physical effort

commitment
(here) promise to do something

chip in
contribute some money to pay for something

monkey business
unacceptable or dishonest behaviour

Session 4

to break new ground
to do something that hasn't been done before

a milestone
a significant and important achievement