English Reference

For teachers

Teaching guides by first language

Teach English to a class that shares a first language and the same mistakes keep surfacing — the shape of the errors is predictable, and it depends on the language the students are coming from. These guides introduce what to look out for: the head start each group arrives with, the traps their first language quietly sets, and the sounds and structures worth drilling. More languages are on the way.

  1. 1 English for Spanish speakers Cognates and the head start Spanish speakers arrive with, false friends, pronunciation, grammar interference, collocations, and idioms.
  2. 2 English for French speakers The Norman vocabulary French speakers arrive with, false friends, pronunciation, grammar interference, collocations, phrasal verbs, and idioms.
  3. 3 English for Portuguese speakers The shared Latin vocabulary, false friends, the pronunciation habits that carry across, grammar interference, collocations, phrasal verbs, and idioms. Brazilian Portuguese, with European Portuguese noted where it differs.

More language guides are in progress — Italian, Mandarin, and others.