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(Level B2 and above: origins and meaning of the term “gaslight”)
Gaslighting is denying reality, with the intention to make another person doubt themselves. It is a form of manipulation that often occurs in abusive relationships. The term is often treated as a modern buzzword, although it has appeared in decades of psychoanalytical studies.
(Level C1 and above: All about that famous song, A Whiter Shade of Pale) (March 2022)
1967 was a good year for office equipment and a wonderful year for music.
The first electronic handheld calculator went on sale and the Beatles released the album Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
(Level C1 and above: The fall of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson)
Goodbye, Boris. It was short and not sweet. It was tumultuous and riddled with lies and hypocrisy, which was what we expected from you. You were Boris. True to nature.
(Level B2 and above: Wordle, the new word game)
There’s a new word game in town. It’s the infectious phenomenon called Wordle, a web-based game developed by Josh Wardle. Twitter has identified it as the first major viral trend of 2022. Wordle is unlike most modern-day website games. It makes you think.
(Level B2 and above: Latin words commonly used in the English language, with exemples)
Many Latin words are used in their original form in many languages, including English. Here are some that are used quite commonly in the English language.
Level C1 and above
Novax Djokovic is in “detention” in a nondescript hotel in Melbourne, Australia, while squads of lawyers decide if his pandemic papers are valid for him to play in the Australia Open. Djokovic shares his immigration detention hotel, with real victims, who really have been crucified by populism… The world’s number one has been in hotel detention for a less than a week. Many of the guests on adjoining floors have been in detention for about nine years.
Level C1 and above
December 2021. You may have missed its real significance. Perhaps you were distracted by Christmas, a rolling pandemic and a seemingly endless loop that went something like this: reserve (flights, holidays, tests, Christmas parties), cancel (flights, holidays, tests, Christmas parties) and haggle, plead, beg (reimbursements).
If you had both feet on the ground, you’d know that December 2021 was in fact the month of the millipede (mille-pattes).
Level C1 and above
The third smallest sovereign nation in the world, after the Vatican and Monaco, is the tiny island of Nauru. The 21 square kilometre island was once a lush tropical paradise. Today, the island is sick and its people are sick. Paradise lost.
This far-flung speck in the Pacific Ocean has a tale to tell about the rapacious nature of the modern human.
Level C1 and above
Question: What did Groucho Marx and Winston Churchill have in common, apart from their love of cigars?
Answer: They were both brilliant with words and wordplay (jeu de mots) and remain today, the great princes of paraprosdokians.
Level C1 and above
The USA starts its craziest long weekend today.
Thanksgiving Day is today, Thursday, followed by Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Of course, there is a story behind each day, that over the years has been shaped to fit to the appetites of modern life, which could be best described as gluttony and consumerism.
(Level A2 and above: past simple and past continuous)
Mr. Bernstein is a brilliant pianist. Last night, while he was eating in a restaurant with his wife, somebody came into his house and destroyed his very expensive grand piano with a chainsaw (tronçonneuse). The piano was completely demolished, a total mess.
On se sent fier aujourd’hui. Vachement content même.
Cet article que vous êtes en train de lire est le 100ème à être publié sur notre blog Et Maintenant in English.
(Level A2 and above)
There are 12 phrasal verbs in this story. Find out what they mean and why they are so important. Learn them and use them. And yes, we know, they are not the easiest part of the English language.
Level A2 and above
There are lots of expressions in English that involve fish (poisson). They are informal expressions.
But they can be used to make your conversations more colorful and interesting.
Level C1 and above
The Cosmic Medical Centre was busy, but Humanity had to wait just five minutes before the nurse called them.
“Humanity? Earth, isn’t it? This way please.”
(Level A2 and above: Idioms and phrases related to sugar and honey – with songs)
Sprinkling (saupoudrer) some sugar on your English is a piece of cake. It can put the icing (glaçage) on the cake. And it’s as easy as pie. For example, you can call your loved ones “honey” or “sweetie” or “sugar”. You can say “isn’t it/he/she sweet?” or, “it was so sweet of you to do that” (sweet: sucré, doux, adorable).
Level B2 and above
Empathy is a beautiful thing. It is about recognising another and thereby sharing someone’s experience. And we all do it to a greater or lesser extent; it is part of our nature. But can we learn empathy?
Level B2 and above
“Time” is one of the most-used words in the English language. We talk about time all the time. You can lose time, find time, save time, spend time, make time, take time, give time, call time and run out of time.
Level C1 and above
(Coffee break June 16, Villa La Grange, Geneva. Time: 14.56pm – 15.09pm. Present: Russian president Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden)
Level C1 and above
I like La Marseillaise, the French national anthem (hymne nationale). It’s inspiring and exhilarating. But then, I found a translation. I now sympathise with French footballers and others who seem to be tongue-tied when it thunders, pre-match or pre-ceremony, over the loudspeakers.
Level B1 and above
A survey in 2016 found that that the average British person says ‘sorry’ about eight times per day. Not that the British have more to apologise for than others. Besides, ‘sorry’ is not just about good manners which require you to apologise when you have done something wrong. In fact, the British say ‘sorry’ even when they are not at fault.
Level B2 and above
French comedian and actor Gad Elmaleh calls it the great existentialist question.
It’s a question that has traumatised millions of French people learning to speak English
Level B2 and above
(COVID nightmare. A true story. Level B2- C2)
The worst night of his holiday in Africa, Roberto recalls, was the night the doctor came to his bungalow.
Level B1 and above
It pays to reflect on one’s sins (péchés) every now and then. Are you envious? If so, you are a sinner and you are suffering from one of the seven capital sins, according to Christian theology.
Christian theology has dictated the lives of millions of people for centuries, and it does not allow for grey areas; you are either a sinner or you are not. Since none of us is perfect, we are all sinners.
Level C1 and above
I have an odd relationship with the French public radio station France Culture. I am a little obsessed, not by their sage voices, but by their jingles, those short fragments of music that introduce different programmes.
Level B1 and above - Phrasal verbs and expressions with ‘make’.
Bernie Madoff, the Manhattan Ponzi czar, died this week. Question: How could you invest your millions in a man called Madoff?
Sometimes a name can tell you a lot about a person.
Level B1 and above
Have you ever been to a dinner party where someone mentions the Euro Millions? I bet you a lottery ticket that you have.
- First and second conditionals in English, with exercises
Level C1 and above
England’s national flower is the red Tudor rose. But the prickly truth is that the English owe much of their wealth to another flower; the poppy.
The British empire was bankrolled by the highly addictive drug opium, the milky fluid of the flower of the breadseed poppy (papaver somniferum).
Level C1 and above
Australia is grappling with a run of misogyny and violence against women which has shocked the nation and will cause irreparable damage to the country’s reputation.
Level B2 and above
Food. Glorious food. It’s one of our great pleasures and an eternal subject of conversation. Many English words that concern cooking and eating come from the kitchens of France. Terms such as cuisine, omelette, entrée, sauté, au gratin, cordon bleu, toast, vinaigrette, paté… have slipped seamlessly into English like an oyster down a diner’s throat. I could go on, but I may start dribbling on my keyboard.
Level C1 and above
It was a film you either loved or hated.
Holy Motors (2012), from French director Leos Carax divided the critics. But almost all were in awe of the performance of French actor Denis Lavant as the chameleonic Mr Oscar. This month, the esteemed film critic of The New Yorker Richard Brody, published an article titled the Best Movies Performances Of The Century So Far. Brody ranked Lavant’s Mr Oscar as the fourth greatest performance of the century so far.
Level B1 and above
In the wake of St. Valentine’s Day, I feel like talking about love.
Do you remember the last time you fell in love?
Did you fancy him from the first moment? Were you infatuated with her? Was it love at first sight on both sides? Or was it unrequited?
Level C1 and above
When photographer Letizia Battaglia first began taking pictures of the carnage of the mafia in Palermo in southern Italy in the 80s, she would often arrive on a murder scene at the same time as an elderly photographer in suit and tie.
This gentleman travelled with a prickly pear cactus (cactus de figue de barbarie) in a pot in his car. After inspecting the murder scene, he would return to his car, retrieve the cactus, and place it near the body. And then take his photograph.
Level A2 and above
To and for are two innocent-looking words, but for French speakers, they are not so simple. They can be quite confusing. When do you use to and when do you use for in a sentence?
Level C1 and above
Roger Federer might be thankful for his slower than expected comeback after two surgeries on his right knee last year.
Level B2 and above
Sometimes in life, if you are lucky, a door opens and instinctively you know this is the way. Call it what you like, an epiphany or a calling. The big question is, are you going to follow this path? Are you a believer?
Nicolas (Nico) Meury’s calling was loud and clear, and it had an island beat. He was just 11 years old, a Swiss schoolboy living in Commugny.
Level B1 and above
The World Happiness Report is a survey of the state of global happiness that ranks 156 countries by how happy their citizens think they are.
- With vocabulary and expressions related to happiness, and exercise.
Level B1 and above
Change is good, change is hard, change is progress. Change is life. Changes demands letting go of the old, stepping outside one’s comfort zone, sacrificing safety, and facing an uncertain future. Even if we want to resist it, change is inevitable.
Level C1 and above
It isn’t easy changing the way we speak. We may learn a second language, but we acquire our mother-tongue or first language intuitively by imitating our parents, carers and later our peers. Changing ingrained and unconscious habits such as sexist or man-centred or racist language needs discipline and awareness.
Level B2 and above
What is a narcissist?
Thanks to the stable genius Donald Trump we now have a pretty good idea. We have all been able to view narcissism in action on a daily basis.
Level B2 and above
Switzerland has a terrible legacy. It is where witch hunts began and where the last woman was beheaded for sorcery in Europe.
Level B1 and above
Small talk, also known as light conversation or social English, is the ground on which great relationships are built.
Small talk might seem trivial or banal, yet it plays a vital role in social and professional interactions. It often revolves around the weather, sport, the weekend, the news, family and friends, past and future social or corporate events.
Level B2 and above
Long live the graffitist/provocateur/collective known as Banksy. Here are 10 of his famous works with music and video.
Level C1 and above
European Union citizens living in or visiting New York will be airlifted out of the city, starting from midnight tonight.
Level B2 and above - Social English in the time of the pandemic
Social English or small talk is the stuff that glues us together as humans, whether we are friends, colleagues or even strangers.
The Great Pandemic has changed our lives and with that, the coded meaning of small talk.
Level B1 and above
Chances are, one of you is going to Mars.
Several public space agencies – NASA, ESA, Roscosmos, ISRO and the CNSA – and private organisations – SpaceX, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing – are researching the Mars mission project. The consensus is that we will be able to colonise Mars in the 2030s or 2040s.
Level B2 and above
Gossip is informal conversation about other people’s private affairs. It’s like the news, but on a micro-level; news about your friends, your friends’ friends, your family, celebrities, your colleagues and bosses. Unfortunately, it can also be unkind and not true. Gossiping and lying can often go hand in hand.
Level B2 and above
Every day, we unknowingly organise our lives around a handful of ancient gods of war, thunder, wisdom, motherhood and various celestial bodies. Origins of the days of the weeks.
Level B2 and above - (reading and vocabulary related to Machiavelli and politics)
Is it better for a ruler, or a president, or a prince, to be feared or to be loved?
According to Machiavelli, it is better to be feared than loved; a ruler must not only care about reputation, but also must be willing to act unscrupulously at the right times. A loved ruler maintains authority by obligation while a feared leader rules by fear of punishment.
Level C1 and above
Think of Roger and you might think of tennis shots that defy geometry and a Swiss role model admired worldwide. That’s if you live in Switzerland.- With videos.
Level C1 and above
Meet Parler. It’s a new social network in the USA that wants you to speak freely. Channel your inner racist and your best hate speech.
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All our blogs are written by our trainers.
Director and senior trainer Garry Littman
Trainer, Benedicte Gravrand
Academic Director and senior trainer David Creber