We will be healthier! 💪🏻🍔🥒

This is yet another thing I hear as a reaction to the closure of McDonald's restaurants in Russia. And yet another thing I can't wrap my head around.

So McDonald's pauses operations for three months - and, supposedly, we will be a tad healthier. But then it will re-open - and, apparently, we will be less healthy again. And what exactly are we then - a spineless, weak-willed puppet whose fate is entirely at the mercy of the fast-food giant?

Personally, I will be equally healthy with or without McDonald's because I don't eat there - by choice.

We can talk about different ways the closure of McDonald's restaurants will affect different aspects of our lives. But health? Let's be honest - we will be healthier or less healthy not because the chain pauses or resumes operations, but because we make certain food choices. Or are we really a spineless, weak-willed puppet?❓

PS: I feel as if I am badmouthing McDonald's here. I'm not. I am making bigger points which are true for other fast food chains and life in general. McDonald's Cafes have really good coffee, btw! ☕️

Will Russian people keep taking IELTS?❓

In short, yes. IELTS is still available to us in nearby, visa-free countries. However, it will be extremely expensive and time-consuming to take it - you have to take several days off, buy tickets, and book accommodation.

Believe it or not, I see a silver lining here. I hope, maybe, this will make people take preparation more seriously. There is a whole cohort of people who take IELTS many times - by "many" I mean in the region of seven or ten. They are the people who need a certain score for each part - a high score - for emigration or studies. Why do they do that? Because it's cheap and easy, but preparing is long and hard.

In the past, when IELTS cost 20,000 RUB, many people in St Pete or Moscow could afford to take it every two-three months. So, there were people who instead of investing time into quality preparation, would do just that - take IELTS over and over again hoping for some lifehacks to work and for examiners to finally give them a higher score.

I specifically remember two students like that. They needed very high scores for emigration (getting 8 is no mean feat). Yet, they would come to class every week and answer "No" to all of my questions: "Did you watch that TED talk? Did you write that essay? Did you rewrite your old essay? Did you do anything in English at all?" But then they would ask their own question: "By the way, I read this lifehack on the internet. Would you say it's a good thing to do?" Since they could afford it, they simply kept taking IELTS - and not getting the scores they needed.

These students were by no means an exception. But the stakes have risen. Quality preparation has become more important. Relying on life hacks has become riskier. Is that a silver lining?❓

PS: You might also find this post interesting: "Should you stop or pause your IELTS preparation now?" https://vk.com/iralutse?w=wall-47977221_10603 🍒

We scratched our heads together and came up with a super-exciting project: Teachers Talk Teaching. 🎉🎉🎉

"Teachers Talk Teaching" is an ELT discussion club for teachers of English in English. There are so many contentious and underexplored topics in ELT. Why not discuss them in great company?

Is using L1 justified? Is translation a valid teaching technique? What is the teacher’s role in the 21 century? Is the lexical approach better than the communicative approach?

Aren't these great questions to know answers to? Know the answers you will as you'll listen to ELT podcasts, read ELT articles, and tap into each other's experience and expertise.

It’s perfect for you if:
✅ you are an English teacher (your credentials and experience don’t matter);
✅ you are C1 and above;
✅ you want to spend some quality time with your peers discussing professional topics on a serious level.

🙎‍♀️The club host is Irina Nosova:
- degree in teaching;
- 10 years of teaching experience;
- CELTA A (CES Edinburgh);
- DELTA M23 (IH London);
- CPE A.

Join to talk teaching until your tongue turns silver. Highly inspirational and CELTA/DELTA-friendly!

📅 Monday 15:00-16:30, Tuesday 14:00-15:30 MSK (two groups)
📝 Price: 5000 rub a month (4 sessions), drop-ins are 1300 rub per session
📝 Level: C1 and above

💌 Message me to sign up or ask questions. If the schedule is not convenient, message me too. We'll see what we can do.

Watch our live stream about using L1 https://www.instagram.com/p/Cb-HnoiBI8L/. Where do we stand on L1? Where do you stand on L1?

https://vk.com/iralutse?w=product-47977221_5359333

How can teachers make the most of IELTS writing sample answers? See some suggestions by the wonderful Natalya Skachkova in the attached post. 📊

At the end of the post, you'll find seven links to excellent IELTS writing answers written by me and by students. 📊

https://iraluts.blogspot.com/2022/04/how-to-work-with-ielts-writing-sample.html

🦋 Writing Incubator - where writing skills hatch 🦋

“Writing Incubator” is a series of workshops by stellar professionals who love writing. Please welcome our third workshop:

🦋 "Creative Writing: Let your characters speak from their hearts" by Elizaveta Zanozina

Imagine reading a book about a grumpy old lady who can find a flow in absolutely anything. So, one day she goes to the store and (surprise-surprise!) everything goes wrong. Would you rather know more about how she screams at the cashier (spoiler alert: loudly)? Or would you rather know what words she actually uses?

Most readers would prefer the latter, and rightly so, if you ask me or Mark Twain, for example, who once wrote, "Don’t say the old lady screamed, bring her on and let her scream."

Why so? Because dialogue is a powerful technique to build characters of your story, show who they truly are, and make them feel real.

If you are still not using this technique or struggling to make the most of it, join this workshop to learn more and take your stories to the next level.

In this workshop, you will:
- learn what a good dialogue looks (or rather sounds) like;
- explore the ways how to reveal your character through dialogue;
- practice writing dialogues on your own.

📅 17 April, Sunday, 11:00 am MSK, 80 minutes
💌 The workshop is free. Read the post below to find out more. See you there.

https://vk.com/iralutse?w=wall-47977221_10674

I want to share a simple exercise I concocted for my writing students and a moral. 🦋

Read three version of the same paragraph and answer one simple question to yourself: what country is this about?

1.
Frankly, I am one of those who prefer their warm beds to chancy adventures. However, being afraid of almost everything, starting with flying a plane and finishing with diseases, I could venture on studying in [_________]. I didn't have the cultural background and didn't speak the language. But I made a decision to immerse myself into a completely different life. Trying to be brave, I overcame all the difficulties such as the adjustment, the cultural shock and the language barrier.

2.
Frankly, I am one of those who prefer their warm beds to chancy adventures. However, being afraid of almost everything, starting with flying a plane and finishing with diseases, I could venture on studying in [_________]. I didn't have the cultural background, didn't speak the language, and couldn't use chopsticks. But I made a decision to immerse myself into a completely different life. Trying to be brave, I overcame all the difficulties such as the adjustment, the cultural shock and even the language barrier - turns out you can type the characters in Google translate and it works more or less ok.

3.
Frankly, I am one of those who prefer their warm beds to chancy adventures. However, being afraid of almost everything, starting with flying a plane and finishing with diseases, I could venture on studying in [_________]. I didn't have the cultural background, didn't speak the language, and couldn't use chopsticks. But I made a decision to immerse myself into a completely different life. Trying to be brave, I overcame all the difficulties such as the adjustment, the cultural shock and even the language barrier. Overcoming the language barrier wasn't too hard - in Beijing, younger people speak English and you can even see an occasional sign in English. Not in Xijiang Qianhu Miao though. But you know what - it turns out you can type the characters in Google translate and it works more or less ok.

The first paragraph was written by a student. The other two were written by me. The first paragraph is true for a hundred countries. The second one is definitely about an Asian country. The third paragraph is beyond doubt about China. 🇨🇳

I see a lot vague writing similar to that in paragraph one - all these books that are compelling ang gripping, all these places that are mind-blowing and breathtaking...

If your denoscription is true for almost anything, it's uninformative and unengaging. And if it is, it has little value to the reader - they might not even finish your piece or if they do, they certainly won't remember it.

Moral: Add details that are specific to the topic. This is as true for exams as it is for creative writing. 🦋

📊 Fake statistics: why it's ok to use them in Cambridge exams but not in IELTS 📊

A lot of people hear conflicting advice about statistics in writing tasks in tests. The rule of thumb is: feel free to make up statistics in Cambridge tests, but don't even think of doing that in IELTS. Why and why not? The answer is simple - the prompts in the former are based on made-up situations and the questions in the latter aren't. Now let's take a close look at those.

📊 Here is a typical C2 Proficiency prompt:
"You work for the tourist office in your area. Your manager has asked you to write a report in English on a park that is popular with tourists. You should briefly describe the facilities that are currently available to visitors. Your report should also recommend two or three improvements that would enhance the park further and explain why these would attract even more visitors."

The whole situation here is fake - you don't work for a tourist office and no manager asked you to write about a park. If the situation is made up, why shouldn't statistics be? Of course, you can go ahead and write that 90% of the visitors reported liking cycling lanes and that 65% expressed hope to see more playgrounds.

📊 Here is a typical IELTS essay topic:
"In many countries, people are earning more money today than in the past, so they are able to buy more things. Is this a positive or a negative development?"

This question, just like all IELTS questions, is based on real societal trends and changes. So, how can you convincingly argue an opinion on a real topic with the help of fake statistics? Your arguments will simply be unconvincing. In fact, even real statistics are unconvincing without the link to the source (which you never have in the exam room).

So, feel free to make up statistics in Cambridge tests, but don't even think of doing that in IELTS. There is no conflict here - the difference is rooted in the nature of the tasks. 📊

Isn't it better to start writing from Writing Task 2 in #IELTS? 📝📈

There are two writing tasks in IELTS and two opinions as to which it's better to start with in the exam. Some IELTS tutors recommend starting with Writing Task 2 because it is worth more marks.

I am not one of those tutors. I think it’s better to write Task 1 first - it is the first task for a reason. And the reason is it can serve as a warm-up for Task 2 or as a bridge between the long, tiresome Listening+Reading section and Task 2 (which is indeed worth more marks and is therefore important to get right).

My main recommendation though is try both approaches and choose the one that works for you. Different strategies work for different people.

Me - I would never write Task 2 before Task 1. What about you - which approach works best for you? What about other exams?❓

Are you sick and tired of writing for exams? Do you want to find your voice and share your message? Then this course - one of my favorite courses to teach - is exactly what you need. 🌻

"Write for real: Blogging in English" is a course for people who want to share their passions and want to write for real readers. 🌻

🌻 What will you write?
Social media posts and stories, something like this https://vk.com/iralutse?w=wall-47977221_10703 or this https://vk.com/iralutse?w=wall-47977221_7735 or this https://iraluts.blogspot.com/2021/03/at-risk-of-incurring-curse-from.html

🌻 How is this writing different from writing for exams?

Writing for exams is often artificial. You probably don’t care about the topic and only write because you have to. It's an annoying nuisance to get rid of on the way to a certificate. Your only reader is your teacher who doesn't care about the topic either and whose sole purpose for reading your answer is correcting your mistakes.

When you write for real readers, however, you need to keep them hooked and to make your writing enjoyable to read.

When you write for real readers, they will stop reading if:
- your writing is too wordy or verbose;
- you are writing to show off your idioms not to communicate a message;
- beat around the bush and don’t get to the point;
- you use fancy words but don’t give any real information;
- your piece is too formal, dry, and boring.

🌻 What will you learn to do in this course then?
- hook your reader and keep them engaged;
- communicate your idea effectively;
- write concisely and precisely;
- use stylistic devices;
- try out different types of posts
and more.

To hell with writing for exams - it’s time to find your voice and write for real!

💌 Find out more about the course in the product denoscription and message me to sign up.

https://vk.com/market-47977221?w=product-47977221_3696542%2Fquery

Perhaps, my richest course in lexis and speaking... Starting Season 4! 🖤

My "House of Cards" project is a speaking + lexis course based on this TV show and geared towards exam prep. All of us watch TV shows anyway, so why not make the best of the experience? 📺

Here is how it works:
- I prepare a worksheet with IELTS/GRE/CPE lexis and exercises for each episode;
- you watch, learn, check, and practice;
- we meet for an online speaking session to activate the lexis and discuss the episode (including IELTS/CPE speaking tasks).

You can combine the pleasure of watching a TV show, boosting your speaking skills, and preparing for exams! How cool is that? (Very cool!)

Ever since I first launched this project, I've been asked the same question over and over again: "Why did you choose House of Cards?"

Here are my five reasons:

1. Excellent language.
The noscript is a perfect mix of formal and not too formal vocabulary. The formal, fancy words will come in handy in exams, while the informal, everyday expressions will come in handy in casual communication.

2. Food for thought.
The show raises a lot of philosophical and profound topics like deception, promises, power, perseverance, decision-making, problem-solving, you name it.

3. Cliffhangers.
After each episode ends, you are irresistibly tempted to watch the next one. On the one hand, you run the risk of binge-watching. On the other hand, you can train your willpower.

4. Unequivocally fascinating relationship between the two main characters.
It’s definitely not the kind of relationship I see in real life or other shows a lot. Can’t say more due to spoiler risks.

5. Irrefutably brilliant acting by the two lead actors Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright.

Convinced? Intrigued? Tempted? Join the course! 📺

📅 Summer 2022: Thursday 10:00-11:30 msk (One season of this show is 13 episodes.)
🤘🏻 Level: C1++

💌 Message me to sign up or ask questions.

https://vk.com/market-47977221?w=product-47977221_3547885%2Fquery

A short but epic micro-course "Teaching IELTS writing" - just two sessions 💃💃

💃 Session 1: Writing Task 1
- The panoply of types
- What to teach for each
- Assessment criteria
- Sample answers for different scores (including answers written by me)

💃 Session 2: Writing Task 2
- Garden-variety essay questions
- Understanding the topic
- The structure of any essay
- Assessment criteria
- Sample answers for different scores (including answers written by me)

💃 A little bit about IELTS and me:
- IELTS prep experience: over 10 years;
- IELTS taken: three times (academic);
- Scores: 8.5, 8.5, and finally 9;
- Writing score: 8.5 (two times!);
- I don't have any lifehacks, but I do have a profound understanding of the exam (and hundreds of checked essays).

Price: 2500 ₽ for both sessions or 1500 ₽ for one session.
Time: Monday, 14:00-15:30 MSK
Dates: Monday 27 June, Monday 4 July

‼️ There will be no recordings, but you will get pdfs of the presentations and sample answers.

💌 Pm me to sign up.
https://vk.com/market-47977221?w=product-47977221_5648169%2Fquery

One thing we work on in my "Write for Real: Blogging in English" course is writing concisely. 📝

I want to share some wordy examples from my student's answer and suggested rewrites.

1️⃣ "Write with a profi. I could spend ages writing on my own and producing bad and poor pieces."

We have two words here that mean the same thing: bad and poor pieces. Let's delete one immediately. And here is what we get: "Write with a profi. I could spend ages writing on my own and producing poor pieces." No meaning is lost.

2️⃣ "... professional coaches who guide us with tools and techniques to develop strategies for improving our writing."

This part has too many verbs and nouns. Let's delete some and also group verbs with verbs and nouns with nouns. And here is what we get: "... professional coaches who help us improve our writing with special techniques and strategies." No meaning is lost. Clarity is enhanced.

3️⃣ "It would be disingenuous to suggest that there is only cohesion that can make or break a story."

"There is" weakens the sentence as it distract the attention from "cohesion." Let's make "cohesion" the subject. And here is what we get: "It would be disingenuous to suggest that only cohesion can make or break a story." No meaning is lost. Focus is enhanced.

💜 By writing concisely, you not only make your piece shorter - you also enhance clarity and focus. Isn't this what we want?

Breaking news about IELTS: the writing section will now be at the start of the exam (about time!)! 🥳🥳🥳

Source: https://blog.myieltsclassroom.com/ielts-test-format-change-2022/
(I can't recommend Shelly and her podcast enough - make sure to subscribe! 💜💜💜)

A glimpse of what we did in "Write for Real: Blogging in English" today. 🌼🌼🌼

We talked about the importance of precision in writing. Take this sentence: "I recently moved into this apartment." The idea "recently" is not very precise - everyone will imagine a different "recently." Now let's try to change it for something more precise and see how it can make a difference to the accompanying ideas.

1. "I moved into this apartment two days ago."
= my apartment is probably a mess; there are unpacked boxes everywhere; my fridge might be empty as I don't know where good grocery stores are and/or I didn't have time to go; I haven't even seen my neighbors.

2. "I moved into this apartment a month ago."
= there might be a couple of boxes unpacked, but on the whole, the apartment must look like an ordinary apartment; I know where grocery stores are, but I might not know where some less important stores are; I might not know some bus routes; I must have seen my neighbors by now.

"Recently" has none of these supporting ideas because it's not precise - and this is just one word. Imagine a whole text of words which have or don't have any supporting ideas. With the help of more precise choices, you can communicate exactly what you want to communicate.

https://vk.com/market-47977221?w=product-47977221_3696542%2Fquery

Writing helps people process events and feelings.

Written by a student who wanted to remain anonymous, this piece helped them process some of their memories. I loved it so much I thought it deserved a much wider readership than just me. 💜

https://iraluts.blogspot.com/2022/06/metal-crosses-that-will-never-be-found.html

A glimpse of what popped up in my "Writing Through Reading" class today. 🌼🌼🌼

There are mistakes that are good mistakes - because they teach you. I want to share an example of one good mistake a student made. Can you spot it?

"This inevitably leads to adding to the footprint and begets the waste. The latter is, undoubtedly, textiles which environmental footprint is exacerbated considerably by intersecting with other polluting industries."

And the answer is: it must be "The latter is, undoubtedly, textiles WHOSE environmental footprint is exacerbated considerably by intersecting with other polluting industries." Yes, whose. "Whose" is used as a possessive relative pronoun for both animate and inanimate objects. Be brutally honest, did you know that? Anyway, you do now.

Find out more here: https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/whose-used-for-inanimate-objects#:~:text=Which%20and%20that%2C%20the%20relative,beginning%20of%20a%20question%3A%20while%20%22

A glimpse of what we did in my "Writing Through Reading" class last week. 🌸🌸🌸

We talked about the difference between coherence and cohesion (there seems to be little else I talk about in my sad life). Look at these two paragraphs - which is lacking in each?

1️⃣ The fashion industry is the second most polluting industry. This means that zippers cannot be recycled and are therefore a significant contributor to reduced biodiversity. Additionally, significant amounts of microplastics are believed to be poisonous to baby seals.

2️⃣ The fashion industry is the second most polluting industry. Greenhouse gases and chemical dyes pollute the earth. When clothes are washed, they emit significant amounts of microplastics into the ocean. Marine life dies. Unsold clothing items create a lot of garbage.

Answer: The first one lacks coherence. The second one lacks cohesion.

Then I asked my students to rewrite the second paragraph, adding cohesion. Here are two rewrites:

1️⃣ "The fashion industry is the second most polluting industry. Thus, greenhouse gases and chemical dyes pollute the earth. For instance, when clothes are washed, they emit significant amounts of microplastics into the ocean, consequently, marine life dies. Moreover, unsold clothing items create a lot of garbage."

This was written by a student who joined the group one class ago. What do you notice about this cohesion? It's the same, it's faulty, it's mechanical.

2️⃣ "The fashion industry is the second most polluting industry, which damages the environment in multiple ways. One of the most noticeable impacts is the emission of greenhouse gases and disposal of chemical dyes, both of which pollute the earth. Additionally, when clothes are washed, they emit significant amounts of microplastics into the ocean, thus having a detrimental effect on marine life. Another damaging factor is the garbage created by unsold clothing items."

This was written by a student who is a member of two of my writing groups. Cohesion is natural an unnoticeable. 💙

If you have trouble distinguishing between - or building - coherence and cohesion, make sure to read my huge but useful post:
https://iraluts.blogspot.com/2021/10/enough-has-been-said-about-cohesion.html

A good question from my "Writing through Reading" group. 🌼🌼🌼

It's about comma splice - the thing I talk about when I don't talk about cohesion.

Here is a sentence from my student's essay: "There is a possibility that people will need to colonize other planets and, consequently, that some funds have to be invested in this research now." Isn't there a comma splice here? "Consequently" is used in the middle of the sentence.

No, no comma splice. We have the conjunction "and" to join the sentences! Adverbs (like "consequently") indeed don't join sentences. But conjunctions do. This would be a comma splice: "There is a possibility that people will need to colonize other planets, consequently, that some funds have to be invested in this research now." But the original sentence isn't.

🌼 My long-read about comma splice: https://iraluts.blogspot.com/2021/09/comma-splice-must-read-for-thus-and.html

🌼 My student's IELTS essay: https://iraluts.blogspot.com/2021/04/ielts-writing-task-2-researching.html

A glimpse of what popped up in my "C2 Proficiency Writing" class yesterday. 🌼🌼🌼

And what popped up is, of course, coherence and cohesion. Look at the beginning of the paragraph. What do you think will come next?

📝 "However, I would not go so far as to say that memories are the determinant part of life. One important issue is that what one remembers can change under the influence of various factors, like personality itself. "

What should come next is how personality can be a factor that influences what one can remember. Now look at the student's paragraph. Is there coherence in what she wrote?

📝 "However, I would not go so far as to say that memories are the determinant part of life. One important issue is that what one remembers can change under the influence of various factors, like personality itself. Even siblings can recall events differently. For example, I would compare our family trip to the sea with a breath of fresh air, while my brother - with eating a rotten fish."

The correct answer is no. What we expect is the explanation how personality can be a factor that influences what one can remember, but what we get is the differences in the memories of the writer and her brother. Look at my re-write:

📝 "However, I would not go so far as to say that memories are the determinant part of life. One important issue is that what one remembers can change under the influence of various factors, like personality itself. Even siblings can recall the same event differently. For example, while an optimistic and upbeat person might compare a family trip to the sea with a breath of fresh air, a more pessimistic and grumpier one - with eating rotten fish. This happens because people's personality can cause them to focus on different aspects of the experience - and thus to remember them better."

OK, now we see how personality might affect memories because "optimistic/upbeat/pessimistic/grumpy" describe personality + we have a clear explanation.

If you haven't read my huge post about coherence and cohesion, make sure to read it by clicking the link:
https://iraluts.blogspot.com/2021/10/enough-has-been-said-about-cohesion.html

Why are IELTS writing tasks so unnatural? 📈

They are aren't - they are exactly what you will be doing when if you study abroad. This is something I talked about with my student Nikita when we met two days ago. He is now doing a Master's Degree at The Technical University of Munich and he got admitted all on his own - without any agencies or consultants.

Two years ago we recorded an interview - an insightful one - about his application process. Here are some questions we talked about:

- Tell us a bit about your academic background. What degree did you get in Russia and what degree are you getting now?
- Is it possible to apply for a master's degree that is not directly related to you bachelor's degree?
- What if there is a gap of several years between getting your bachelor's degree and your application?
- How long did it take you from the very first step to arriving in Germany?
- What was your very first step?
- How did you look for programs?
- How many programs would you say you should apply for? How many did you apply for?
- What are some things you should pay attention to when you check university websites?
- What's the next step after choosing your programs and checking the requirements?
- How long did it take you to prepare for IELTS? Your IELTS score is 7.5. What scores do universities normally require?
- What kind of paperwork is involved?
- Writing a motivation letter. Will the same one work for all your program choices? How long did it take you to write your motivation letters?
- Is it a good idea to google how to write a motivation letter? Why not? What should it include? How important is it?
- Is education free in Germany? Did you apply for scholarships? Did you get them?
- What else do you need to take into account in terms of finances?
- Are you happy? Have you realized your dream?

My main takeaway: be logical, plan everything, don't doubt. 💜

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93IC2DL5r4o

The last run of my short but epic mini-course "Teaching IELTS writing" in the near future. It's just two sessions - all you need to know to take your first steps in IELTS teaching. 💃💃

💃 Session 1: Writing Task 1
- The panoply of types
- What to teach for each
- Assessment criteria
- Sample answers for different scores (including answers written by me)

💃 Session 2: Writing Task 2
- Garden-variety essay questions
- The structure of any essay
- Understanding and developing the topic
- Assessment criteria
- Common mistakes
- Sample answers for different scores (including answers written by me)

Find out more and see feedback in the product denoscription below:
https://vk.com/market-47977221?w=product-47977221_5648169%2Fquery