Being a native speaker ...

I often hear students and colleagues refer to native speakers of English as the ultimate authority, like, "I heard it from a native speaker" or "A native speaker told me this expression does not exist / is not correct."

But as demonstrated by comments on the post above, opinions of native speakers can vary - significantly so!

I am a native speaker of Russian. Until recently, the only version of the expression in the post above for me was: У него денег, как у дурака фантиков.

But recently I was listening to a podcast and heard: У него денег как у дурака махорки. Did it sound familiar? No. Did it sound native? Yes. Did I understand it? Yes.

And then subscribers offered even more variations of this phrase:
... как у Ротшильда
... как у Абрамовича
... как у короля
... как гуталина у Матроскина
... как у бояра
(And more).

I wouldn't ever use any of these. Yet, I would understand them.

The language native speakers use is defined by many factors: education, age, location, the formality of the situation. There is no universal native speaker.

And then there are exams. Let's say a native speaker IELTS examiner hears an unusual expression from you. What do they think?

Let's go back to Russian. "У него денег, как гуталина у Матроскина" still sounds native to me even though I have never heard it. But "У него денег как у короля" doesn't. Then again - that's just me, one person.

Anyways, being a native speaker is a very complex phenomenon. There are many factors and unknowns. Be careful with these snap judgements: "I heard it from a native speaker" or "A native speaker told me this expression does not exist / is not correct." This might not be the ultimate verdict.

🐸 And the final note: If you were reading carefully, you will have noticed that in some cases I used a comma before как and in some I didn't. Why? Simply because I don't know which is correct. I can google, of course, but I kept the inconsistency to prove a point. Native speakers can make mistakes too - stay tuned for the next post.

Ah, the good old comma splice 💔

Comma splice is one of the most common mistakes I have to correct. Here are some examples of comma splice. 

1️⃣ The figure increased at the beginning of the period, then it decreased gradually by the end.

2️⃣ This research needs to be done urgently, however, it requires a vast amount of money.

3️⃣ Universities give theoretical knowledge, therefore graduates suffer from a lack of real work experience.

This mistake is so common, I wrote a post with a meticulous explanation back in 2021 - and I still send the link to this post to my students to this day. Don't let the name fool you - the mistake is not a comma per se. So, head over to my post to read all about it: 

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

And sometimes students send me screenshots of websites or even English course books with this mistake. Yes, some native speakers make this mistake. And other native speakers write posts and textbook chapters explaining it. As demonstrated in my Telegram post above, sometimes native speakers don't know (or don't care). 

PS: I think "comma splice" is a misnomer. I would call the mistake "conjunction omission." What would you call it?

How do you write a social media post that sounds trendy? Use current language trends!

Here is my post from our "Writing Incubator" workshop yesterday by the wonderful Svetlana Kukharevich:

"OMG, fall is anooooying! I can no longer wear my fav tee... I have to unearth allllll my knits, hidden and properly forgotten at the back of the wardrobe. I have a fab scarf, tbh, though. It's just gorge! But the rain and the wind and the gloom. No, not my fav szn - and will never be. Noooo."

We have three language trends:

1️⃣ Elongation: anooooying, allllll, noooo

2️⃣ Clipping: fav tee, fab, gorge, szn

3️⃣ Nouning: knits

Three simple language trends - and you have a trendy post!

Use one of the techniques above to share your October mood in the comments. 🍁

And stay tuned for more workshops. Here is the schedule for the season:

https://m.vk.com/product-47977221_4475973

#IELTS Writing Task 2: recycling your arguments (wisely) 📝

If you've been following IELTS long enough (teaching, preparing, reading social media posts), you will have noticed that some IELTS essay topics look strikingly similar.

For example:

1️⃣ Some people believe that it is best to encourage children to have a healthy diet at school while others believe that parents should be the ones to teach children to have a healthy diet. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

2️⃣ Some believe that it is parents who should teach their children to recycle waste while others feel schools are more responsible. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

If you've written one essay, do you think you can use the same ideas in the other?

I think you can, but. (There is always a but.) You can use the same basic idea, but you need to "stuff" it with different lexis and examples.

As usual, let's compare.

1️⃣ Generalized ideas for any parents vs. schools topic

First, parents are a much bigger authority to children than teachers, so children are more likely to trust what their parents say or do. Besides, children spend significantly more time at home than at school, which means the daily habits of their family will overshadow those encouraged elsewhere. What is more, by the time children go to school, their habits are already largely formed, so it's unlikely that one class or one teacher will be able to instill new ones.

All of these are good ideas but they are too generalized. Let's make them more topic-specific.

2️⃣ Parents and a healthy diet

First, parents are a much bigger authority to children than teachers, so children are more likely to trust what their parents say or do. If, for example, parents consume coke or chips on a regular basis, repeatedly promulgating the idea that such simple pleasures in life won’t hurt, children will perceive such habits as normal. By the same token, if parents eschew unhealthy foods, promoting the idea that a person’s health is largely defined by the food they consume, children will too.

3️⃣ Parents and recycling

First, parents are a much bigger authority to children than teachers, so children are more likely to trust what their parents say or do. If, for example, parents do not separate garbage, repeatedly promulgating the idea that recycling is a scam because all garbage ends up in the same landfill, children will acquire the same attitude. If, on the other hand, parents make sure to look for a PET trash can in the city and never discard plastic bottles into general waste, children will do the same even without any lectures about the environment.

See? If you write enough IELTS essays, you will know that you can recycle many generalized arguments. Just make sure to make them specific to the IELTS topic in front of you.

#ieltswritingtask2

#IELTS Writing Task 1: laconic process denoscriptions 🧋

One thing that often happens with IELTS process denoscriptions is students write very short answers. In process denoscriptions - more than in other tasks probably - a low word count means low TA.

For example, for the process above, a student might write:

The carbonated water is sent into another tank to be mixed with coloring, syrup, and flavor. The resulting beverage is filtered and is afterwards poured into either bottles or cans. These are then packaged and dispatched to supermarkets.

And then the student ends up with an answer that is 130 words long...

It's important to think about what can be extended. In this case, we can extend the mixing stage. How? 🧋

I tell my students: Imagine you are talking to a very curious child. The child might ask: Where do the coloring and syrup come from? What mixes them? What’s a beater? How long?

Now look at my extended answer:

In the next phase, the carbonated water is turned into soda. For this, it is forced into a mixing tank, where coloring, syrup, and flavor are also added from special containers underneath. Inside the mixing tank is a beater – a device that whirls the contents around, turning them into a homogeneous blend. The resulting beverage is filtered and is afterwards poured into either bottles or cans. These are then packaged into boxes and dispatched to supermarkets.

See my full answer (along with one more process answer) here:

https://news.1rj.ru/str/irinalutsenko/551

#ieltswritingtask1

Giving feedback that empowers ❤️

Our "Writing Pedagogy" course with an American instructor is in full swing.

Today, we practiced giving empowering, but constructive feedback on #writing. The main principles are in the photo. And here are my attempts to turn ineffective comments into effective ones.

1️⃣

Original:

“The essay is fine, but your introduction is weak. You should start with a quote or a question to make it stronger.”

My rewrite:

"The essay is well-written - it has two solid arguments, and the ideas are well-supported. But the introduction is somewhat vague - it doesn't really tell me what the essay will be about. Can you think of a quote by someone famous on the topic? Or maybe you could phrase the thesis statement as a question. This way the readers will feel compelled to continue reading."

2️⃣

Original:

“This poem flows nicely overall, but I can’t really tell what it’s about. Maybe you need to rethink your whole theme or rewrite it with a clearer message.”

My rewrite:

"This poem flows nicely overall, but I am not sure I understand what it is about. Is it about death or divorce? What if you look at this theme from a different angle and write a couple of lines to test this out? I am looking forward to reading the experimental lines."

Do you see the principles at work? Any other possible rewrites? Share in the comments. ⬇️

IELTS Writing Task 1 overviews

The overview is the most crucial part of your writing task 1 answer.

Here are four overviews for the task in the picture. Which one is the best one? Why?

1️⃣
Overall, life expectancy varied significantly across the given countries: from 70 in Indonesia to 82 in Japan. Notably, Japan – the leading country – showed very small growth, yet Indonesia – the country with the shortest lifespan – showed the largest increase.

2️⃣
Overall, while life expectancy varied significantly across the given countries in 2008, it became longer in all over the 55 years. Notably, Japan – the leading country – showed very small growth, yet Indonesia – the country with the shortest lifespan – showed the largest increase.

3️⃣
Overall, life expectancy varied significantly across the given countries: from 70 in Indonesia to 82 in Japan. Notably, the extent of growth also varied, ranging between 3% in the United States and 15.7% in Indonesia.

4️⃣
Overall, the country with the shortest life expectancy showed the largest increase by 2008, while the country with the longest showed the second smallest. Notably, life expectancy became longer in all countries by 2008.

To help you feel more confident writing overviews, I've developed a workshop. ⬇️

Find out more here and dm me @iraluts 💌

My overview - and the whole answer - for the task above in the pdf in this Telegram post:
https://news.1rj.ru/str/irinalutsenko/551

In some #IELTS tasks, the overview will be the only challenging thing to write.

The task above is a case in point: it has fairly little information, and the information is fairly boring. But since the categories are so different, writing a concise overview might present a challenge.

Try your hand in the comments. 🐼

And I'll share mine in 24 hours. 🐸

Overall, California and Florida have a similar population profile, with lower proportions of younger people and higher incomes. One striking difference, however, is in the percentage of older people, which is significantly higher in the latter state. Utah stands out in that it shows figures on the extreme ends. In terms of age distribution, it has the largest percentage of the younger population and the smallest of the elderly. In terms of financial welfare, its residents earn the least, yet, at the same time, the fewest live below the poverty line.

And here is another #IELTS task (a recent exam!) in which only the overview might be difficult to write.

The task itself contains one potential trap though. Do you see it?

Anyways, try your hand in the
comments. Make sure to use the spoiler feature. 🐼

And I'll share my overview in 24 hours. 🐸

The number of beds decreased in the three countries with higher numbers initially (Canada, Australia, the UK) and increased in the two with lower numbers (Sweden and Mexico). As regards the wait time, by 2018, larger percentages of patients got their surgeries sooner in three countries: Australia, Sweden, and Mexico. Notably, the first two were in the lead in terms of lower wait times throughout the period.

#ieltswritingtask1

#IELTS Writing Task 1 overviews workshop 📊

The overview is the most important part of your IELTS Writing Task 1 answer.

How do you write a good one?

In this practical workshop, you will learn how to nail your overview for all types of IELTS Academic tasks:

- tasks with figures (with and without a time change);
- maps and floor plans;
- processes and how something works.

What will happen in this workshop?

- You will get my list of questions that help you choose the key features for each task type;
- We will look at my examples and discuss how I chose the key features;
- You'll write your own overviews - and compare them with mine afterwards.

The workshop is based on my extensive IELTS taking, teaching, and writing experience:
- IELTS 9 x2, Writing 8.5 x3
- IELTS prep experience: over 10 years
- Answers written: over 200

Important: This is not a webinar. This is a practical workshop where you are expected to write. Please join with your camera on and from a good work station.

📌 Price: 2500 RUB

📅 Fall 2025:
- Saturday, 1 November, 11-12:30 Moscow time

📍 Place: in real time on Zoom, camera must be on, some participation is expected

❗ You will get all the materials, but there will be no recordings!

Why don't I record my workshops?

I believe participation without recording ensures a safe space for attendees to participate openly and without fear of asking questions or making mistakes.

💌 @iraluts

🦋 CPE Writing: explain, evaluate, assess, discuss...

These are common instructions in CPE writing prompts. But do you know what they actually mean? If not, consider joining our "Writing Incubator" workshop this Sunday!

“Writing Incubator” is a series of workshops by stellar professionals who love writing. Please welcome our third workshop of the season: "Discourse patterns for CPE writing" by Alena Nikitina.

In this intensive 90-minute workshop, we will analyse the most frequently used rhetorical goals in CPE Writing Part 2 - explain, assess, evaluate - in order to explore the fundamental discourse patterns they correspond to.

Following the analytical component, participants will engage in guided practice which includes applying the features of the discourse patterns to sample tasks and student responses as well as writing their own paragraph on one of the given tasks.

📅 2 November, Sunday, 11:00 am MSK, Zoom

💌 The workshop is free. To get the link, message me @iraluts with a meaningful ending to this comment, "Wow, I can't miss this one! I'd love to join because ... ."

❗️ Please note that this is a workshop, not a webinar or a lecture. If you join, you have to write. "Ghosts" will be kicked out.

🦋 Writing Incubator - where writing skills hatch 🦋

And the #IELTS world exploded yesterday. And in this explosion, my third 9 was born. ⭐️

In case you don't know what I am talking about: many people got emails from IELTS yesterday about a technical issue that affected some test results over the last couple of years. Many listening and reading scores were increased, some by 1.5! My own reading score was increased from 8.5 to 9, which lead to an overall 9.

On the one hand, this makes IELTS look unprofessional and untrustworthy. But on the other, this move might actually be laudable: at least they came clean and tried to rectify the injustice. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion in the comments.

Speaking of rectifying the injustice...

Those affected were offered a free resit or a full refund. Which would you take? ❓