Teacher Discussion Forums

Oh, and sorry, I forgot to say 'Hi Fluffy' (it'd been a while, and it's nice to get a welcoming "How's it going?" - thanks).

Oh, wait, hold on... I just realised my reasoning suggested that there ISN'T a gap. There's just a MOVE, right? Which = a pronoun = "the bread". So technically it is two sentences: The bread was good. I ate the bread. Then we substitue the 2nd bread for a pronoun. The bread was good. I ate which . W...

At first glance I thought it was one of those whacky lets-work-our-way-through-a-million-steps-to-prove-ourselves-right things or an overgeneralisation (like distancing with 'would' and friends); both of which I find unuseful . But actually, I can see Ss at least going "Oh, yeah..." with this, as lo...

I think I might choose 'an'.

But I'd do it because I don't want to convey any relevance to me, I think.
It feels like:
Elephants can be trained... = That's a useful piece of info.
An elephant can be trained... = Hey, isn't this a funny piece of trivia.

Then again...

Sorry, but as soon as I saw the 'gap' it screamed "Chomsky" at me, and I stopped reading.

So, um, was the answer to Fluffy's question about it stemming from Chomsky answered? I guess it did - but to save reading everything, would anyone mind confirming it?

Great article based on the Lexical Approach on the Teaching English site (the BBC/British Council one), that basically starts off: " Lexis = vocabulary + grammar " I haven't read it in detail yet, but from a quick skim it looks like it hints at some specific practical applications: http://www.teachi...

I would argue that most of us use it already. Going back to Fluffy's point about it being an 'approach' rather than a 'method', the Lexis Approach was more about changing the mindset of teachers (and publishers, etc) in general. The following is oversimplification, for certain, but such a simplifica...

Sorry, the past/present thing was just a coincidence. It's just that 'in' feels okay with the singular but doesn't feel okay with the plural.

Is it possibly a choice to put more emphasis on the temporariness of the situation?

Odd, though - it seems the writer should intend it to sound more permanent or long term, because that would support his argument for taking steps to solve the problem.

I feel more comfortable with:
"I felt nervous in the exam" than "I feel nervous in exams".

Either way, though, I believe I would be much more likely to use 'during'. Maybe I should record myself some time.

I wonder if it's the note taking itself that is important or if it is more importantly a tool to develop a specific type of listening skill. Sally's idea sounds great, but I think it's best because it helps Ss to think about why she takes notes on what she does rather than on how to do the notes the...

Count-less / non-count.

Did they use the wrong affix?

It looks to me like the student just interpreted the style used in the book incorrectly.

Rather than indicating another possible form, the [much] looks like a simple gloss to help readers with the meaning of 'by far'.

By logical comparison with similar 'fast' things, I feel that we should use 'can'. If I won the lottery, I would quit my job faster than... * a cheetah runs / a cheetah would run * it takes a door to slam shut / it would take a door to slam shut * Forrest Gump ran / Forrest Gump would have run I thi...

This is one of those sentences that makes me want to completely ignore 'the rules' because sometimes we just want to express ourselves as clearly as we possibly can. Without the comma the sentence seems more vague. Yes, logic and context make it clear, but it still feels vaguer. I like to be able to...