Even before or after class, there are many opportunities for us to increase our English skills. How many of these daily activities are you doing? Try one or two and notice how much quicker your English improves! 1. Change your phone and social media accounts to English. How many times a day do you access sites...
The business world is full of idioms to describe finance. Rather than saying “the company is having financial problems” or “the company is not making money,” the business world uses inventive idioms to express financial woe. The following list includes some of the many sayings for money problems in English. Hopefully you will only use these...
San Diego and San Francisco both have impressive metro and bus systems . . . but do you know the correct phrasal verbs for buses, trains, metros, and subways? Get on, get off, get in: we agree with our students when they say that there are way too many phrasal verbs for public transportation! Not to...
English learners often feel frustrated with the Passive Voice because it has so many forms. Rather than looking at each form, we suggest learning the forms based on context: what can we use each type of the Passive Voice to express? Today on the CISL Blog, we are looking at three forms of the Passive that...
The Internet is a wonderful place for ESL students. Those who are looking for intriguing listening activities have access to countless videos, podcasts, and lessons. The website TED is a particularly excellent resource for speeches on many topics, but one that really sticks out for us is Amy Cuddy’s talk titled “Your Body Language Shapes...
From the happy people to the stunning beaches to the incredible mountains, deserts, vineyards, and forests, we know one thing: California is a place of beauty. Along with the Hollywood sign and the Golden Gate Bride, there is one thing that is an icon of California: its flag. The flag is of interest to many because...
Are you interested in improving your English outside of the CISL classroom? Listen to Serial, the most downloaded podcast to date! This podcast, which is about a real-life crime committed in 1999 in the United States, is an excellent (and fascinating) way to practice your English listening skills. Read our overview of the podcast to...
At CISL, we believe that the language learning process continues long after your trip to San Francisco or San Diego. Perhaps this is why so many of our students return for another round of English classes! But in between your first and your second (or third, or fourth) trip to California to learn English, there...
For CISL’s Grammar Lesson of the Month, we are focusing on a topic that causes a lot of students confusion: the subjunctive! Have you mastered the subjunctive? Read on, and you will . . . What is the subjunctive? To understand the subjunctive, we begin by looking at these sentences: I suggest that he read...
If you are taking the TOEFL exam soon, we recommend that you spend as much time as possible listening to English speeches, shows, and presentations. A good way to improve your English listening skills is to listen to a wide variety of topics: the TOEFL listening is always presented within an academic setting, but the...
