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. You can even kill time. 

- With phrases, reading, exercise, video, songs, quotes quiz and vocabulary quiz

Level C1 and above

Coffee break, June 16, 2021, Villa La Grange, Geneva.

• Vlad: Two sugars and a dash of almond milk isn’t it, Joe?
• Joe: Vlad, you’ve got your spies everywhere, haven’t you?

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…

Level B1 and above 

‘Sorry’ is not just about expressing remorse. It is also used to express sympathy, to acknowledge an unfortunate circumstance, or to show a non-confrontational stance, humility, to create trust, to get someone’s attention, and to require clarification.

- With expressions, quote quiz, vocabulary quiz, and songs.

Level B2 and above 

Old English learning books for the French speakers.

Level B2 and above 

The adventures of a traveller during the COVID pandemic: a true horror story.

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.

- With expressions, quotes quiz, vocabulary quiz, and songs.

Level C1 and above 

When I hear the different musical intros to France Culture programmes, I have a Pavlovian reaction.

- With music and videos

Level B1 and above 

Bernie Madoff, the Manhattan Ponzi czar, died this week. Question: How could you invest your millions in a man called Madoff? 

- Phrasal verbs and expressions with ‘make’.

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 

The British empire was bankrolled by the highly addictive drug opium.

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 

The word restaurant was originally the name of a soup... Thanks to the French revolution – restaurants, as we know them today – started to take off.

Level C1 and above 

Denis Lavant has one of French cinema’s most instantly recognisable faces – a real sacrée gueule.

Level B1 and above 

It’s St. Valentine’s Day. Time to talk about love. Do you remember the last time you fell in love?

- With expressions and vocabulary about love, with quotes, and songs.

Level C1 and above
Ms Battaglia’s stark black and white photos over the last 40 years have documented and denounced the atrocities of the mafia.

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?

- With exercises.

Level C1 and above 

Seventy-two players are now in full quarantine-lockdown in hotels rooms for 14 days, hitting balls against bedroom walls.

Level B2 and above

Today, Nico Meury, aged 28, is the CEO of independent Geneva recording studio and label, Evidence Music and is also the founder and partner in one of Europe’s hardest working reggae sound systems, Little Lion Sound.

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... Even if we want to resist it, change is inevitable.

- With grammar and vocabulary related to expressing change in English, quotes, and songs.

Level C1 and above 

The Oxford Dictionary changed the definition of “woman” in its dictionaries after a grassroots movement pointed out that the dictionary’s definitions saw women primarily “as sex objects, subordinate and/or an irritation to men”. 

- With exercise.

Level B2 and above 

Are you a narcissist if you post videos on Instagram of yourself every day? Not necessarily. 

- With vocabulary exercise, video and song.

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.

- With expressions, exercises, and videos.

Level B2 and above 

Who is the graffitist/provocateur/collective known as Banksy? Here are 10 of his famous works.

- With song, pictures 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 

The Great Pandemic has changed our lives and with that, the coded meaning of small talk. 

- With song

Level B1 and above 

Chances are, one of you is going to Mars.

- Comparatives and superlatives and exercise.

Level B2 and above 

Gossip is informal conversation about other people’s private affairs. It’s like the news, but on a micro-level.

- With vocabulary, expressions, quotes and exercises.

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 

Is it better for a ruler – or a president, or a prince –  to be feared or to be loved?

- With vocabulary, expressions, quotes, and exercises.

Level C1 and above 

If you live in the USA, there’s another Roger making headlines. He’s the antithesis of the Swiss Roger and all things wholesome. His name is Roger Stone. 

- 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.

Level A2 and above 

The verbs say and tell are very similar, but say is more about expressing something, and tell is more about informing or instructing someone. 

- With phrases, exercise and songs.

Level B1 and above 

Telephone conversations can be challenging, or even terrifying, if English is not your first or second language.

Level B2 and above 

Love it or hate it, football, especially English football, is often the stuff of fairy tales. Take Liverpool for example.

- With videos.

Level B1 and above 

There are a few expressions to liberate the Italian in you and make your English more visual, theatrical and powerful. 

- With vocabulary and expressions.

Level C1 and above 

We’ll Meet Again, sung by Vera Lynn, became an anthem of hope and resilience during the Second World War.

Level B2 and above 

Zombies are not your friends. They are the awakened dead who have an enormous appetite for human flesh – or human brains, depending on the story. 

- With vocabulary exercise. 

Level C1 and above.

You probably know the song, if you like your dogs with diamonds, know an astronaut called Major Tom, or like a little stardust…

Level B1 and above 

When we give our opinion, we must be careful that we do not sound too cold and insensitive. And we often also need to give more subtle and nuanced replies.

- With exercises.

Level B1 and above 

“You will meet a tall, dark, handsome stranger,” a fortune teller told me four months ago. This was a prediction – it was not an intention, a plan, a pre-arranged event, or a decision. 

- With grammar related to predictions, vocabulary, video, and exercises.

Level A2 and above 

Fun and funny are two different animals. Like alligators and crocodiles, they look alike and they can be easily confused. 

- With videos, expressions, songs and exercises.

Level B1 and above 

How well do you know your English prepositions? Here’s a little game for you. 

- With expressions and exercises.

Level B2 and above 

We live in challenging times. It is important, as the British say, that we Keep Calm and Carry On.

Level C1 and above 

Do you remember sport? It used to quite a big deal back in the pre-pandemic days, if I remember well.

Level B2 and above 

Watching The Matrix trilogy is always a pleasure. It’s the ultimate mind-stretching (or mind-expanding) work of science fiction. 

- With vocabulary, videos, and exercises. 

Level C1 and above 

The plague was caused by a bacterium later identified and named Yersinia pestis, after a Swiss man born in canton Vaud; a brilliant, obsessive and eccentric bacteriologist.

Level B2 and above 

“Both optimists and pessimists contribute to society,” wrote George Bernard Shaw. “The optimist invents the aeroplane, the pessimist the parachute.” 

- With vocabulary, quotes, and exercises. 

Level C1 and above 

I am not quite as thick-skinned as the American president. So, it was relatively easy to puncture my upper arm with the syringe needle. Injecting disinfectant, he said, will do the trick.