Just woke up to see the world blanketed in snow. Although there have been a few attempts already, this is the first time it has properly settled. Although it looks nicer, this now means getting properly dressed before leaving the house (even I admit a shirt and light jacket aren’t best for walking in now [...]

As I previously mentioned, I now have a second job helping Kazakhs and Russians that want to improve their English through conversation with a bona fide UK citizen I will try and keep the details anonymous, as I’m not sure that the people would want their names etc. publicly posted. Today was the first [...]

Thanks to our friend Walton, I started a new job this week, teaching English to Russians and Kazakhs that want to improve their language skills.
Before people start spitting coke/tea/coffee all over their monitors, I should point out that I am really just there to provide conversational practice, rather than drill the intricacies of grammar rules [...]

OK, this is one of the last posts I will make whilst in Kazakhstan, so I intend to use it to catch up with a few articles, videos and sites I have been meaning to post about in the last few weeks. Otherwise I will return in a little under a month, and forget all [...]

We went out tonight with Walton, as a belated birthday celebration for him. (I will post up some pictures when I get round to emptying the memory card again, hopefully tomorrow). One topic of conversation was the difference between UK English spelling, and how the Americans can not spell properly. OK, to be fair, I [...]

As Walton, the author of the English Advantage blog, is now back in Kazakhstan, posts have resumed over there. He created a post on Slang used in American schools that I found useful, so check it, and the rest of the blog, out when you get a moment. If you happen to be based in [...]

As I recently posted (over at Help Requested), I had a problem with my Blogspot/Blogger blog’s interface being entirely in Russian. I could not find the link to change the language anywhere… However, as Google own blogger, I decided to try entering the system through google.com, and seeing what could be done via this alternative [...]

So, as promised, here are further details of the rest of Wednesday’s charity event to raise funds for the Kazakh Paralympics team, organized by BG Kazakhstan…
Mira volunteered for a dance competition, where random pairs coupled up to dance to some music. Nothing too unusual so far, however every minute or so, the track was changed [...]

Rather than relying on my alcohol fuzzed mind to recall the events of the evening, I actually made notes on my phone as the evening carried on, so I am hoping most of this is relatively accurate.
As I previously mentioned, we arrived and found ourselves a table. After quite a long wait, we eventually managed [...]

Whilst doing some research, I came across the following Wiki entry (disputed pronunciation) that details common mis/alternative pronunciation of English words. I hope you are reading this Oleg Anyway, we were never taught the International Phonetic Alphabet at school (for example, ?d??.g?.ba?t is one possible pronunciation of the word gigabyte), so I ended up [...]

Researchers from St Andrews University, in Scotland, believe they have identified intelligent communication modification habits by Orangutans. Although great apes have already been shown to be capable of using sign language to communicate with humans, the researchers have proven that Orangutans will modify their signals if the human involved does not appear to understand.
This approach [...]

Today is Irina’s last day of holiday, so we went to town and sorted a few things before she had to go back to the office routine.
Not exactly a thrilling end of the relaxing times for her, but we looked into getting an air conditioner unit installed, which should make a big difference at the [...]

Whilst double checking how to spell ‘Baiterek’ I came across some 3D models of buildings around that area. I will have to install the Google Sketchup application I downloaded a while back, but it will be worth it to see just what sort of level of detail there is in these models.
The page can be [...]

Recently, a poll that has been published by a research group (YouGov) in Britain, has announced that podcast, blog, and wiki are amongst the most frustrating words to have emerged from the Internet!
A lot of these words leave me wondering just why they apparently annoy so many, however, number #2 on the list is blogosphere, [...]

I recently have received a lot of spammy comments on this blog, particularly on my sponsored posts.
Anything that is an advert for another company is not approved on sponsored posts - otherwise I won’t get paid.
However for both reasons of courtesy, and an attempt to increase my income, I e-mail each company to inform them [...]

The UK Travel Agent Thomas Cook has sent out a memo to staff in Bangor, dictating that any business related conversations should only be carried out in English. The Welsh Language Board have stated they are disappointed with the company, and the Commission for Racial Equality in Wales are investigating the situation, asking Thomas Cook [...]

I am still taking Russian lessons once or twice a week, and we are currently studying how to tell the time in Russian. It gets a little confusing, with different endings on words, and a different way of expressing the time. For example, we would call 10:05 five past ten in English, but in Russian, [...]

If you are based in or around Astana, Kazakhstan, and want to learn English, you should definitely pay visit to English Advantage’s site and their blog.

You will also find their site & blog very useful if you wish to attend a university over in America, or simply wish to learn more about the academic system [...]

Ira’s Dad has returned from China, and we went to see him and mum-in-law this evening. As well a nice silk duvet, Igor (Lorsha’s Dad) bought me a little electronic translator.
The model is REC-3510V. Just as soon as I figure out how to change the MENU language from Chinese to English, it will be even [...]