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English Test Blog

Expert guides, exam updates, and study strategies to help you improve your English and get certified. Browse hundreds of articles on vocabulary, grammar, idioms and CEFR levels (A1–C2), with new guides added regularly.

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English Writing

How to Write an Informal Email in English [2026]

How to write a natural informal email in English: the right greetings, openings, tone and sign-offs, with a full example and the phrases to use and avoid.

5 min readRead →

English Speaking

English for Business Meetings: Phrases That Work [2026]

The phrases for taking part in business meetings in English: opening, giving opinions, agreeing and disagreeing politely, interrupting, and summarising.

6 min readRead →

English Speaking

English for Phone Calls: The Phrases You Need [2026]

Phone calls are one of the hardest everyday tasks in a second language, because you lose the speaker's face and rely entirely on sound.

5 min readRead →

English Grammar

How to Improve Your English Grammar: A Practical Plan [2026]

A practical, realistic plan for improving your English grammar, from noticing patterns in real use to targeted practice and checking your progress.

6 min readRead →

English Vocabulary & Idioms

18 British Proverbs and Sayings, and Where They Come From

Eighteen proverbs and sayings that are distinctly British, each with a plain meaning, a natural example and a note on the history or region it comes from.

7 min readRead →

English Speaking

How to Make Suggestions in English

The natural phrases for making suggestions in English, from casual to formal, with examples and the small grammar points that make each one sound right.

5 min readRead →

English Vocabulary & Idioms

20 Common English Proverbs and What They Really Mean [2026]

Twenty common English proverbs used across the English-speaking world, each with a plain meaning and a natural example of how to use it in conversation.

6 min readRead →

English Reading

CEFR B2 Reading Practice: A Text with Questions [2026]

B2 reading practice with an original, workplace-style text, comprehension and inference questions with answers, plus the reading skills to build at B2 level.

6 min readRead →

English Reading

CEFR B1 Reading Practice: A Short Text with Questions [2026]

B1 reading practice with an original level-appropriate text, comprehension questions and answers, plus the reading skills to build at intermediate level.

5 min readRead →

English Writing

CEFR C1 Writing Prompts: Tasks and Model Answers [2026]

C1 writing prompts with model answers at an advanced level, covering essays, proposals and reviews, with the nuance, structure and register examiners expect.

7 min readRead →

English Writing

CEFR A2 Writing Prompts: Tasks and Model Answers [2026]

A2 writing prompts with short model answers at the right level, covering postcards, emails and simple descriptions, so you can practise everyday writing.

5 min readRead →

English Listening

CEFR C1 Listening: What to Practise and How [2026]

A C1 listening guide focused on complex language: parenthetical asides, hedging and discourse markers, with a worked transcript and where to find audio.

7 min readRead →

English Listening

CEFR B2 Listening: What to Practise and How [2026]

A B2 listening guide focused on fast natural speech: elision, assimilation and reduced forms, with a worked transcript, a self-check and where to find audio.

7 min readRead →

English Listening

CEFR A1 Listening: What to Practise and How [2026]

An A1 listening guide focused on what beginners really need: catching numbers, times, prices, spelled-out names and simple instructions, with worked examples.

6 min readRead →

English Writing

CEFR B2 Writing Prompts: Tasks and Model Answers [2026]

B2 writing prompts with model answers at the right level, covering opinion essays, formal emails and for-and-against tasks, with the structure examiners expect.

7 min readRead →

English Reading

CEFR A2 Reading Practice: A Short Text with Questions [2026]

A2 reading practice with a short, level-appropriate text, comprehension questions and answers, plus the reading skills to build at elementary level.

5 min readRead →

English Listening

CEFR B1 Listening: What to Practise and How [2026]

A practical B1 listening guide: the features of natural speech to train your ear on, a worked transcript with connected speech marked, and where to find audio.

7 min readRead →

English Vocabulary & Idioms

18 Nature Idioms in English and What They Really Mean [2026]

Eighteen nature idioms in real British English, each with a plain meaning and a natural example, plus the very British versions Americans phrase differently.

5 min readRead →

English Vocabulary & Idioms

18 Number Idioms in English and What They Really Mean [2026]

Eighteen idioms built on numbers in real British English, each with a plain meaning and a natural example, plus the very British ones Americans rarely use.

5 min readRead →

English Vocabulary & Idioms

18 Car Idioms in English and What They Really Mean [2026]

Car idioms are really about control, speed and effort, dressed up in the language of driving.

5 min readRead →

English Vocabulary & Idioms

18 School Idioms in English and What They Really Mean [2026]

Eighteen school and study idioms in real British English, each with a plain meaning and a natural example, plus the UK slang for studying and skipping class.

5 min readRead →

English Vocabulary & Idioms

18 Health Idioms in English and What They Really Mean [2026]

Eighteen health and illness idioms in real British English, each with a plain meaning and a natural example, plus the very British ways to say you feel unwell.

5 min readRead →

English Vocabulary & Idioms

18 Family Idioms in English and What They Really Mean [2026]

Eighteen family idioms in real British English, each with a plain meaning and a natural example, plus the UK versions that differ from American English.

5 min readRead →

English Vocabulary & Idioms

20 Travel Idioms in English and What They Really Mean [2026]

1. hit the road: to leave and begin a journey. It is getting late, so we should hit the road. 2. off the beaten track: away from busy, well-known places.

6 min readRead →

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