Last week a student asked me about the question part, or Q, of the SQ3R Reading Method (survey, question, read, recite, review) which explains the title of this blog post. There are other reading methods that have a similar breakdown of components with some kind of preview and questioning before you do the close reading and concluding activities. They all work equally well if used correctly and consistently.The primary purpose of questions is to prepare you to engage with the material.  In ...

Are learning styles a real thing or are they a myth?That is a good question, and you can get different answers depending on who you ask and how the question is interpreted.You have probably heard of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning styles.  Some lists include verbal, social, and solitary styles. Others include dozens of learning styles.You might even believe that you are a visual learner or a kinesthetic learner or an auditory learner and so on.  These labels and ideas have b...

Should You Be Passive?I am not getting into a philosophical debate here.  I am talking about the passive voice when writing – particularly academic writing.Many style books and courses – including my own, recommend using the active voice.  Some go beyond recommendation, almost dictating the active voice, especially for academic writing.As with almost all English writing rules and conventions, there are lots of exceptions. The passive voice has its uses. You do not need...

I am sure you have heard the following expression, “Variety is the spice of life.” In this blog, I am talking about using a variety of sentences to spice up your writing. I have made several blogs and videos about using a variety of sentences, so why another one?

Now that all students have been forced back online for a while due to Covid, I thought it would be a good time to blog about some of the resources I use for tutoring my online students.  I have talked about some of these tools in previous blogs or videos, so you might want to check those out as well.I should note that some of these are very useful for in-person or printed material as well.When tutoring online, I want to talk to my students, see my students, and be able to work together with...

I want to wish everyone a very Happy New Year. Let’s hope that 2021 brings a lot more favourable memories and experiences.With that in mind, I am producing some new lessons for those who are interested in improving their listening, reading, speaking, and writing skills.These lessons will help ESL, EFL, and other English learners who want to improve one or all of these skills.  The texts I will be using are suitable for young adult and adult learners who have an average understand...

I often hear some version of the following question:“How do I study with a short attention span?”Sometimes, it is no longer a question but a statement:“I can’t study because I have a short attention span.”(I can’t study because I have ADD.  I can’t study because I have ADHD.  I can’t study because I have ___________.)This is worrying because it becomes part of a student’s identity.  Once you begin to believe you can’t, yo...

When helping students with argument paragraphs, essays, or other writing, I often need to point out mistakes in pronoun agreement.When proofreading and editing your written work, check to make sure that your pronouns agree with their antecedents.The antecedent is simply the word or words (often a noun or noun phrase) that the pronoun is referring to (the word that comes before).In the following sentences, the pronouns “he” and “his” stand in for the noun “Tom.&rdquo...

How can I be interested in class? Every teacher has heard this question over and over. Students often ask this question, and it came up again recently on Quora.At first glance, it might not seem like a serious question; however, people do struggle to get or maintain their interest levels sometimes. Here are a few tips to help.PrepareYes, it makes a difference!  If you are ready for the class, you are far more likely to be engaged when you get there.  You will have some i...

No! Not those kinds of clauses!I am often mentioning independent and dependent clauses when I discuss writing, especially when talking about sentence structure.What is the difference between an independent clause and a dependent clause?One way to think of these clauses is to relate the words independent and dependent to something more familiar.An independent person is someone who can manage his or her own affairs without much assistance. (Hey, we all need help once in a while.)A dependent person...