Hi Reader, In last week’s podcast, I talked about two things: I shared what I learned from a CELPIP webinar on Speaking Task 4, and I talked about using French to boost your PR application. Speaking Task 4: Making Predictions You can safely use “going to” or “will” — both are accepted Starts at minute 1:41 You might just boost your score if you describe where people/objects are — clearly and confidently. Starts at minute: 3:10 Short, natural-sounding conclusions are enough (no need to overdo...

Hi Reader, I was scared, but I did it anyway. <-- here's the proof! I have never posted videos or pictures of myself on LinkedIn. Way to far out of my comfort zone. As an introvert(ish) person, it feels far safer to hide behind text based posts and emails like this one. But that changed yesterday. Why? Because it's what I'm challenging you to do pretty frequently in here and on my podcast: if you want to see your English and CELPIP skills get stronger, you must take more risks with your...

Hi Reader, “He who dares to teach must never cease to learn.”― Richard Henry Dana was an American librarian and museum director. This week I learned something from a CELPIP webinar about speaking task 4, where you make predictions about what you think will logically happen next in an image. Before the webinar, I was teaching students to try and not overly rely on 'going to' or 'will' in their answers. I felt that variety was important, and that you should work at also using modal verbs like...