ieltscommunity1

Er, hello there!

As Yasmeen sadly comments, the fire seems to have faded and the magic has lost its lustre.

If you want to keep ieltsmagic alive, then you have to make an effort. Otherwise, let's concentrate on ieltswords, 'cos they're starting to get their act together.

Do let me know how you are all doing.

Good night you all

Tony as "blogmember"

Good evening everyone!

Where are you? What's happened to the energy and commitment? Where is Wael? [Has anyone read the "Where is Wally?" books?].

It's OK, I knew this would happen, some bloggers hardly contributed during the course, and so now . . . (Remember what you said, Rana? Please don't come to me in a panic just before you intend to take IELTS.)

Anyone who wants to join the new weblog www.ieltswords.blogspot.com can email me and I'll tell them the username and password for "blogmember" which is open to everyone.

The new class is settling down, there are some very smart cookies on board and we'll be picking up speed from now onwards.

Next Sunday, good ole Yasmeen is going to give my new class an IELTS 'pep talk' before she goes on leave. That lady is an absolute treasure, we've been so lucky to have her with us.

Bye for now.

I haven't forgotten you. The caravan has moved on and picked up new travellers. The destination remains the same.

ps my second daughter Dana arrives for an all too short stay this Saturday. She's the fifth year Medicine student at Imperial College London and is an amazing, beautiful personality. Who knows? She might even post a comment on the blog.

I really am going now, honestly! ;-)

Hello my first weblog!

I have been telling my new class to look at YOUR weblog and to learn from your experiences. Some have done so and found it useful. Thanks guys!

12 out of 15 in my new class (one guy missed the bus!) have joined the new weblog, but only 5 have made postings so far. Three people have not managed to log in and register (eh bien, plus ca change, c'est la meme chose, n'est-ce pas?).

Can you please encourage my new class to use this weblog to help them define their appoach to the IELTS exam? The new weblog started off as a kind of intellectual debating club (which is a very fine thing in itself) but it needs to more IELTS focussed. Sure, I can tell the class what to do and say on the blog, but anything that comes from you guys will carry more weight.

So how about some advice for the new group on:

www.ieltswords.blogspot.com

I'd be very grateful for any support from you guys!

All the very best for tomorrow Yasmeen, Wael, Haleemuddin and Mujtaba!

Tony

Good evening ladies and gentlemen!

And now for something completely different!

This is just to let you know that Miss Zeena Beale was born 11 years ago on April 15th.

She will be celebrating in style with four of her best friends by going bowling, having pizza, seeing a film and cruising a shopping mall - what more can a girl ask for? I'll be with my wife and Princess Zeena, of course and we intend to have a great time.

This rather self-indulgent message is just to remind you that life goes on - mock IELTS, prep IELTS or real IELTS notwithstanding. It will all pass and you will wonder why you got so uptight, nervous and overwhelmed by this blip on the great oscilloscope of life...
Keep smiling, thinking, focussing and believing in yourselves.

Good night and God bless you all!

Tony

Good evening ladies and gentlemen!

My friend Abdelrahman took the IELTS Academic version test on Saturday 9 April. He had attended the March IELTS preparation course at the BC with me.
His advice for the Academic readingmodule is as follows [some of which is relevant for General Training candidates too]:

1. Look very briefly at the texts in all THREE sections to start with. Section 3 might be more "accessible" for you than Sections 1 and 2, but you hadn't realised that or given yourself enough time for this third part which turned out not as difficult as SECTIONS one and two.
2. Do the quick overview of each passage to orientate yourself to the text's content, message and style.
3. Look at ALL the questions in the section, BEFORE you start answering them in sequence. If time is running short, then you will have realised that the final questions are perhaps easier than the earlier ones.
4. Keep your eye on the clock! Those minutes tick away and before you know it, time is running out and you might be tempted to panic.
5. DO NOT try under any circumstances to read the whole text in detail - it will be much too long and this approach is inefficient. Make sure you know what you're looking for and ZOOM in on the relevant part in the passage.
6. So, get those highlight pens colouring, put that thinking cap on your head and marshal your powers of understanding, deduction, inference, interpretation and paraphrasing for the toughest part of the IELTS exam. Most Native speakers would struggle in the Academic Reading, unless they have prepared themselves to read speedily, purposefully, intelligently and with great concentration.

Good luck Yasmeen, Wael, Haleemuddin and Mujtaba! We're all rooting for you!

Tony and the rest of the team

Hello campers!

I have already created a new blog for my next IELTS course, which starts on Sunday.
I'd love you to drop in and comment when it gets going.
It's a little sad that only Mohammed Saeed and Yasmeen seem to be making any effort to contribute to www.ieltsmagic.blogspot.com
The other 14 are probably viewing the blog but are too busy/shy/pre-ocupied/worried to have anything worthwhile to say... Ah well...
At this rate I wonder about a "running" blog to incorporate all my ex-IELTS students... Anyway, I'll probably look into such a weblog, which will be much more student-controlled and less teacher-driven. We shall see...

Bye for now

Antonius

Mohammed kindly asked me some questions, so here are some answers:

• Who has influenced you greatly? Personally and professionally? Personally, my wife Aida & professionally my first Director of Studies, Martin
• When did you first come to the middle east (tell us the story)? It was Morocco, the Near East(?) in 1977. A complete change of scenery and direction were called for and the Maghreb entranced me and Islam embraced me. It was a momentous period - I love that country.
• Where else have you been to in the arab world? After the UAE, nowhere else compares, so the rest of the Arab world awaits me.
• Why do you think it is not very difficult to get high bands in IELTS?My philosophy in life is to be positive, I never said IELTS was "easy" - on the contrary, it is a very demanding exam that "takes no prisoners"! I like simple, elegant English and clear thinking.
• What is your advice to our class?Be prepared to re-sit IELTS at least once. Don't give up! Use all the resources available to improve your command of English and your ability to use it accurately and effectively. You have to go into training for a marathon race - IELTS needs time and confidence for you to attack and beat it!
• How did you find our class? This class had strong personalities, some leaders and a lot of followers. Not everyone is a born leader, debater (just had to check the spelling on that - honestly!) or writer. It takes guts and practice. The weblog helped to create more cohesion in the class. There was a positive 'buzz' in the class, which helped my work. My next class will be different, my approach will alter accordingly. Unfortunately most classes are mixed in terms of ability, motivation and commitment available for this demanding course. Your feedback questionnaires were mostly positive, thank you! I shall have a longer look at them tomorrow and maybe pose you a few more questions...
• As for the reluctant bloggers: Rana, Fizal, Tony 'Don', Mohamed Saad, Masoud, Mujtaba and Mohamed Ataulah - let's hear from you, OK? What do you have to lose?

Good night, bloggers, I hope you go for the IELTS this month - don't dilly dally too long!

It was fun, it still is fun and it will be fun.

Tony

Hello bloggers!

How about this subject for debate tonight?

It's from the argument essays # 53:

"Should retirement be compulsory at 65 years of age?"

Let's have 5 people be prepared to speak FOR:

Fizal, Haleemuddin, Mohamed Attaulah, Mohamed Saad and Ekaterina

Then 5 people AGAINST:

Ahmed Heikal, Ehab, Waiel, Mujtaba and Masoud

Last week's debators - Tony, Yasmeen, Mahra and Moh'd Saeed decide WHO they want to hear - 2 / 3 (?) speakers from each side.

Be prepared to speak for TWO minutes MAXIMUM. I shall listen and summarize.

The non debators shall listen, make notes and decide which team made the better argument, giving their reasons.

OK, over to you!

All the best

Tony

Remember in the IELTS Speaking, you have only 60 seconds to prepare for your "long turn".

Yasmeen and Mohammed have been upgraded to blog administrators - they can now edit/remove posts and comments.
Do any other "contributors" who wish to contribute to the success of the blog also wish to be administrators?
As Napoleon said, "Every soldier has a Field Marshal's baton in his knapsack".

CU later

Tony

Hello everyone! My posting just disappeared into the ether and I hadn't saved it as draft or clipboarded it, ah well, here's a quick re-cap.

As you notice, I've left you to your own devices today and most of yesterday. Well done to the "famous five" who went down on Thursday and helped themselves.

Tomorrow you will:

• get back your marked / mistake highlighted work from Tuesday
• find 16 National Geographic magazines [cheers Ekaterina!]
• do a Listening exam and transfer your answers to the answer paper, then mark them before we analyse where you went right / wrong.
• after that I plan to get you to discuss some task 2 titles orally in groups before you write me a Task 2 essay of your choice. If you can't face that (Waiel) then maybe the Learning Zone can amuse you for 40 minutes or so...

So here is the promised model task 2 essay which took me 20 minutes to plan and write on paper, then 20 minutes to type / edit. It was an interesting exercise, I'm not sure how it can help you [please let me know!] Oh, by the way, I will give you a proper print out of this superbly crafted essay tomorrow as well.

The title was:

"Do we become used to bad news? Would it be better if more good news was reported?"

Model Essay: Argument Essay Topic # 40
Time spent planning: 5 minutes
Time spent writing: 15 minutes (to IELTS standard)
Time spent typing / editing: 20 minutes
Number of words: 387* [*Absolutely no comment from you, Mr AlBraiki!)

It has been suggested in some quarters that the news is always bad. People should have more good news. The issue is quite complex and in this essay, I will propose a balanced approach.

It cannot be denied that we tend to become bored with the same old news stories. Wars, famines and natural disasters bore us. The threat of terrorist outrages sends us surfing through the TV channels. We have a short span of attention and constantly seek fresh news stories. However, I do not accept the argument that we get ‘used to’ bad news. The implication of this statement is that we do not care about the suffering of other people. This is certainly not the case, in my opinion. I contend that we should be given a fair, objective news coverage that informs us of the real state of affairs in the world. We do not need to have news ‘dumbed down’. Who has the right to decide that ‘bad’ news is unpopular? It is an undeniable fact that we tend to lose interest in stories that regularly hit the headlines. Nevertheless, this is not to say that we should neglect ‘hard’ news in favour of ‘soft’ news.

Other people might argue that the world is a depressing place. We need to be cheered up and given more ‘good’ news stories. Such individuals want to be entertained and inspired by cheerful stories about human achievement. There is a place for such ‘Disney-style’ happy endings. Cases spring to mind such as the baby rescued after five days underground following an earthquake. We forget about the 1,000’s killed and massive destruction caused. Most news programmes on TV and in the newspapers like such ‘human interest’ stories. As I see it, there is no place for insisting on good news at the expense of reality. Just look at the US newspaper which printed only good news. Its first bad news story was to announce that it was going out of business!

In conclusion, therefore, I would like to stress that we are mature enough to handle good and bad news in equal measure. Too much of either extreme is not acceptable, in my opinion. I want the freedom to see, hear and read what is going on in the real world – either for the good or bad.

Good evening blog members and viewers!

The dust has settled after another long, bruising week battling the demon IELTS! By now you all know what you have let yourselves in for and what your respective strengths and weaknesses are. While not underestimating the enormity of the task ahead, I would urge you all to be positive and steadfast in your resolve to tackle IELTS head-on and give it your best shot.

There was no specific 'homework' as such this weekend. In your shoes I would be re-reading those notes I gave you, absorbing some of the tips and model answers from the course and test practice book, while listening to and reading as much authentic native speaker English as possible.

The Reading module alarms me - you ask me "What's the best way to deal with answering 40 questions of varied complexity on 3 sections in 60 minutes?" Besides "pray" what can you do?

• Do timed practice readings on IELTS type material.
• Get used to speed reading effectively under pressure.
• Study those questions extremely carefully - are you completely sure that you know what you are looking for in the text?
• Try to see how the question setter has re-worked the original text to see if have understood its meaning.
• Practice skimming through the passage to familiarise yourself with its content and argument, so that you can intensively read the key part of the text that will enable you to answer these tantalising questions.
• General Training readers for Sections 1 and 2: you have to deal with practical reading tasks that you will face in an English-speaking country - get those highlight pens working and be flexible in analysing the questions in detail after a quick glance through the given text(s). Make up time on these two sections 18 + 18 minutes to give yourselves enough time for the academic text in section 3.
• Transfer your answers to the answer paper carefully as you work through each section - don't throw away marks by answering True or False when it wants Yes or No. If you transfer hurriedly and answer the questions correctly but in the wrong order then who is to blame for a disastrous reading test?
• Concentrate, focus, marshal your vocabulary resources.
• DON'T PANIC - be logical and measured.

Ultimately, it is how you react and perform under intense pressure on one day in your life. Tomorrow is another day. Ask yourself -"was I really ready for IELTS?" "Had I studied consistently before the exam and invested time and effort in improving my core skills in English by reading a wide range of material: online web-based material, magazines, newspapers, novels?" IELTS practice reading tests are fine, but if you do not have that depth of vocabulary and sensitivity for the nuances of meaning, then you will struggle to perform to the level you need to score well in this very demanding part of the IELTS exam.

So, I wish you good night and courage for the ordeal(s) ahead - maybe some 'divine intervention' isn't such a bad thing after all!

I aim to plan, write and post a Task 2 essay from the "69 Arguments" sheet in a 20-25 minute spell at some stage over the weekend. I'll write it by hand within this 20-25 minute time frame and post you as to exactly how long the process took me.

OK campers, that's all from me for the time being.

Might see you on Thursday morning and then again I might not. The blog is yours 24/7 - so take that apple off the tree and eat it - it won't jump into your hand!

Good luck! Don't lose heart!

GOOD NIGHT

Tony

Hello bloggers!

I'm not sure what's happened but maybe some person is interfering with the blog.

All the posts seem to have disappeared or maybe it's my PC here at work.

Sorry about that, that's cyberspace for you!

Hope it's just a temporary hiccough.

All the posts are still on my archives, but not showing on the blog.

Strange, isn't it?

CU later

Tony

Hi bloggers

Ekaterina sent this essay intro this morning at 4.00 am - a very late owl! My edits are below:

It has been commonly considered that computer is the most progressive and useful technological invention of 20th century, which is widely applied in educational industry. Some people might hold the view that computers don’t facilitate and improve learning process and traditional teaching is the best approach to it. While others contend that computer-based learning soon will substitute conventional. I am of the opinion that integration of these both essential factors into each other is the way to make teaching more effective.

Tue Mar 29, 04:01:00 AM GST

It has been commonly considered that computers are the most progressive and useful technological invention of the 20th century in the field of education. Some people hold the view that computers do not facilitate and improve the learning process and traditional teaching is the best approach. While there are others who contend that computer-based learning will soon replace conventional teaching. I am of the opinion that the integration of these two essential factors is the way to make teaching more effective.

Tuesday 29 March 8.14am Tony's comments

HELLO this should allow comments

Tony

Sorry

Am trying to sort out the settings

This is a trial posting - it should allow comments

Tony

MMMMMMMM something odd here!

Your posting did not allow a comment.

Wonder why? before then you had an unauthorized comment - something to do with gmail?

As for your intro:

Computers have become a beneficial tool for teachers as well as students to facilitate a more effective and meaningful learning process. In this essay, I would like to analyse this state of affairs and explain why I feel that computers are a boon to the educational world.

How's that?

Tony Von Beale

Hi there!

Yasmeen's post had an unauthorized comment, so I deleted the post and have changed the settings to only "blog members" only being allowed to comment.

UNSCRUPULOUS PEOPLE SEEM ONLY TO KEEN TO MESS UP A WORTHY ENTERPRISE SUCH AS OURS.

Dunno why that became capitals - there must be a meaning!

Here's Yasmeen's post again!

Those who cant log on to Weblog
Hello everyone,I was just trying to log Mahra in the weblogger, but its not working at all. Since there is no link which is 'Create an account'. The only option given is to creat a new blog, which we dont want to do.I was talking to Mohammed right now trying to fix this problem, but it seems we dont have any option unfortunately. So we thought that we'll give our username and passwords to those who have not been able to join the weblog. It will save everyone the time and effort.But please those who do use our usernames, please put your names in the beginning or in the title so we know who it is from, otherwise it will create too much confusion for everyone else.Those who are facing this problem, please let us know. We'll give you our usernames.Thanks.

Here's hoping for genuine comments!

Many, many thanks for your unstinting help Yasmeen and that lovely smile that brightens up the class!

CU in 3 hours' time

Tony Le Beale

Morning bloggers!

The time settings have been corrected from my re-setting (the power of being an administrator!)

We've had 3 essay introductions, 13 to be posted.

EKATERINA, I will re-invite you this afternoon, email me at beale@eim.ae just to make sure I've got the right email. If you send me your email this morning, I'll try to re-invite you before I trek home at 2.00pm.

Keep going, don't lose heart, practise, practise, practise, read, read, read, listen, listen, listen, write, write, write, speak, speak, speak and so on! :-)

BFN

Tony

Oops there I go again - why did it post me five times?

Have you taken on board the task I posed?

I'd like an introduction - a knock out three sentence intro for that essay I made up on computers and learning.

CU later

BFN (any clues as to what this means?)

Tony

You can have the correct time by

change settings when logged into blogspot.com

choose formatting

select time zone

scroll down to UTC+4.00 Asia/Dubai

Click save settings

Click Republish blog

Simple as A B C

BFN

Tony

Hi folks, posted this last night, maybe you missed it.

No excuses now though!!

Rock on!

Tony

Sunday 9.17am

Writing Task to be posted by ALL members

Write folks, let's have some communal writing by everyone!

Imagine a task 2 esssay based on Monday's debate. Write me an introduction with your thesis and an eye-catching topic sentence.

Everyone posts. Everyone comments, OK?

Essay title:

Some researchers believe that computers do not necessarily aid learning. While they are useful, conventional teaching is more effective. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

I JUST want the introduction!!! That'll tell me all about the rest of the essay.


Anyone who doesn't post gets reported to Mr Williams, the Director of Studies at the British Council.

Good night!

Sweet dreams!!

Blog on bloggers. You have nothing to fear except fear!

Tony

# posted by Tony Beale @ 11:09 AM 2 comments

Hello bloggers!!!

Mohammed has set a fine example by putting his work on display for public scrutiny.

Come on guys, it's a wonderful way to learn!

CU soon

Tony

Hello bloggers!!!

Mohammed has set a fine example by putting his work on display for public scrutiny.

Come on guys, it's a wonderful way to learn!

CU soon

Tony

Dear ...........,

I would like to draw your attention TO some problems WHICH MEAN THAT, UNFORTUNATELY I will not be able to start my new job with you as A TV script writer and presenter.

I have just recieved (SPELLING)your letter in which you have told me that I should be in Abu Dhabi in three days to start working on 30th March. But, REGRETABLY, I have not settled my situation here in Egypt yet.
As you know, I still work for Al-Ahram newspaper. However, I have resigned (WRONG TENSE)last week but our chief-in-editor has not approved my resignation as he is in (WRONG PREP) a business trip in the UK and he will be back in ten days. Furthermore, I have not issued (ACTIVE OR PASSIVE?)some required documents from 'The Administration of Immigration and Passports'. Hopefully, these documents will be ready by next week.
Therefor (SPELLING), I think I can start my new job after (ARABIC ENGLISH)15 days. I hope you accept my excuses (WORD CHOICE). I promise to do my best to solve all these problems at the time mentioned above.

Thank you for your co-operation.

Yours faithfully,

Mohamed Saeed
4.18PM Tony

I'm not sure this is the best way.I'll try to post this feedback.

Hey posting is much better, now that my new PC is working!!!

I'd probably give this a band 6.0

What do others think?

COMMENTS / CORRECTIONS please!

Write folks, let's have some communal writing by everyone!

Imagine a task 2 esssay based on Monday's debate. Write me an introduction with your thesis and an eye-catching topic sentence.

Everyone posts. Everyone comments, OK?

Essay title:

Some researchers believe that computers do not necessarily aid learning. While they are useful, conventional teaching is more effective. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

I JUST want the introduction!!! That'll tell me all about the rest of the essay.


Anyone who doesn't post gets reported to Mr Williams, the Director of Studies at the British Council.

Good night!

Sweet dreams!!

Blog on bloggers. You have nothing to fear except fear!

Tony

Drats, just lost my posting, so here goes again!

I hope you are all well and enjoy the weekend (when it comes, even for Engineer Ehab - but I think he enjoys working 7 days a week). :-)

It's lovely to have Wednesday evenings free, isn't it?

Take a deep breath, stand back and think about what you have learned and all the tips / advice that has been flowing. Above all, practise, practise,practise, practise,practise, practise,practise, practise your English and NOT just IELTS testing material.

Zeena is here and sends you all this message:

"Good luck everyone! Believe in yourselves! You can do it! My dad might seem horrible and grumpy at times, but he's really a big softie inside!!"

So I'm blogging out and will comment on any postings over the next few days.

Stand by next week for some tasks to be completed on the blog.

Have a great weekend - that's an order - yellow card otherwise!

Tony and Zeena

5.58pm, Wednesday (The "day of Woden' a pagan Norse God)

Well my little IELTSers, it seems that when the going gets tough, the tough don't get going ...

What's wrong? Is IELTS getting to you? Sorry I can't give you the magic pill to make IELTS easy. It's hard work and gonna get harder, so be warned.

I expect you to follow up units in the coursebook "Insight into IELTS' under your own steam - that is, outside of class. We don't have the luxury of a semester lead-in to the IELTS while you do a pre-sessional course in an English-speaking country - alas! I expect you to be resourceful and conscientious in your self study. Just coming to class and sitting on the bus is not enough. You must know where you are going and what it takes to get there!

Make the most of your English language resources - your limitations in grammar and vocabulary will be cruelly exposed in the reading and writing modules - let alone the range of expressions in the listening. Even your speaking lacks spontaneity and flair, although I am very impressed with ANYONE doing such a demanding exam as IELTS in their second or third language. 30 odd years ago my French and German were superb and I could use these languages fluently even though I had never travelled outside the UK nor met a Frenchman or a German. Even now I can 'hold my own' very capably in these tongues (go on, try me!).

So, I might be a little late or slightly disorganised tonight as Princess Zeena is playing in a musical recital at her school and i HAVE to attend, or else the the consequences are very, very serious.

Well then, have a look at that KT article from the "Observer" newspaper - maybe one side can argue it's rubbish, while the others say it's true and to be taken seriously?

Either way, I'll be there and plan to give you a FULL SCALE Task 2 writing test from 9.05 to 09.45pm - so be warned!

I have a lot to get through with you this evening. I expect a lot from my students (ask my daughters! Zeena's three big sisters are stunningly beautiful, intelligent and unique!) Do I expect too much?

Reactions please!

Tony the torturer

4.28pm

OK folks, it's getting serious now!

SIX things I did NOT like about your task 2 writing and do not want to see repeated:

1. etc NO WAY! write . . . "and so on".

2. eg NO WAY! write "for example"

3. like (as conjunction / adverb) NO WAY ! write "such as"

4. too much NO WAY! write " a lot" / "a lot of"

5. ANY contractions are NOT acceptable to me in a formal essay, letter or report. I do NOT want to see "don't". I will NOT accept "won't". I am gunning for people who cannot see that using short forms looks TERRIBLE and causes mistakes and confusion.

6. Your punctuation is atrocious! Your sentences are too long. You forget Capital letters and there has been an outbreak of "commatitis"!! See Dr Wael for an explanation and a brilliant essay on the relationship between technology and traditional cultures.

So you have been warned!! Please, please, please, please do not just look at your "mark". ANALYSE your mistakes. Learn from them. It will benefit you in the long run!

We have a lot of work to do. Some mebers of the class are not pulling their weight or helping themselves.

As Shakespeare said, "I have to be cruel, to be kind."

Regards from your demanding, but best-intentioned

Tony

Tuesday, still-no-siesta , 4.39 pm

Hello campers!

Just a quick hello to say welcome to the second week and our permanent home in room 8!!! Just go up the stairs from Reception, turn right at the top and we are the second door on the left!

Hope your seatbelts are ready!! CU in just over two hours' time!

Tony

Just saying hello and sorry to people having problems with joining the team.

We aren't getting many posts (except for Yasmeen , bless her!). I hope you've been accessing this site anyway.

I'll ask my IT 'guru' - the Council's Director of Studies, Peter Williams, on how to overcome these technical teething troubles.

I'm getting a new PC over the weekend and hope to be on Broadband next week - the Information Superhighway beckons!

So over to you, my fellow bloggers as I have to spend some quality time with my little princess, Zeena and my wonderful wife, Aida, over the next few days.

I'll try my best to answer any queries / problems. I'm working on a handout to help you with speaking strategies and expressions to use in the Interview.

I will be looking at ieltsmagic.blogspot and will comment on any postings / work posted and so on between now and Saturday.

Whatever you do, relax and have fun with family and friends.

Next week we'll be in Room 8 (other side - first floor) and we'll start motoring.

Put your seatbelts on and enjoy the ride!

Take care

Tony

3.47pm, Wednesday 16 march

Hello bloggers!

I only have 8 members on my team - Rana you accepted but I can't see your name on the list, can you try again, please?

No news from Moh'd Attaullah; Masoud, Mahra, Haleemuddin, Mohammed Saad and Raed - why? Yellow cards to everyone!

Logical puzzle for tonight:

A man comes home from work. He's outside his front door. He hears his wife shout "George, don't shoot!" He hears two shots and rushes in to find his wife DEAD on the floor.
There are three people in the room - a doctor, an engineer and a teacher. IMMEDIATELY he says to the teacher, "You killed my wife!"

He's right.

It was the teacher.

HOW did the husband know?


I want you to K.I.S.S. for your IELTS writing, but I would like you to K.I.L.L. for your IELTS speaking.

Solutions most welcome . . .

To the yellow carded - email me at beale@eim.ae and we can try to sort out your problem, unless YOU are the problem!

Keep on truckin'

Tony

Tuesday 2.20pm