November has flown by in a whirlwind of lessons, content creation, and one rather exciting bit of news!
Where We’ve Been
This month we became co-owners of Long Lands Common, a 30-acre community woodland project near Harrogate and Knaresborough. The site sits on a plateau between the two towns and will be transformed into a diverse habitat featuring native tree planting, wildflower meadows, marshy areas, and even a ‘Tree Cathedral’ pathway. It’s a long-term investment in local conservation and biodiversity, and we’re thrilled to be involved in something that will benefit the community for generations to come.
Beyond that, it’s been our usual round-the-world online lessons – helping students from multiple continents prepare for their IELTS exams. There’s something wonderful about starting the day with a student in Asia and ending it with someone in Africa, all without leaving the office.
Website and Social Media News
LinkedIn has been busy this month. My most-viewed post explored why I don’t work with everyone who approaches me – sometimes a student needs foundational English work before IELTS preparation, and sometimes an education agent’s communication style tells me we won’t work well together. The post resonated with over 500 impressions and sparked 21 comments about how others navigate saying no to potential clients.
I also wrote about the reality that IELTS requirements often hide in unexpected places – internal promotions, job offers, professional registrations – and by the time you discover you need a score, you’re already facing a deadline. The post about ‘Nadia’, who had six weeks to prepare after a job offer arrived, generated the most engagement with 28 comments and plenty of discussion about hidden requirements.
Other posts tackled why ‘perfect’ homework won’t help you pass IELTS (I need to see your mistakes to fix them) and the surprising difficulty of IELTS General Training – which many native speakers fail because ‘natural’ English doesn’t always showcase the lexical and grammatical range the test requires.
Over on Twitter/X, I’ve continued curating vocabulary-rich articles across diverse topics: hobbies and free time (cultivate, authenticity, social cachet); human-animal relationships and cat domestication (domestication, archaeologic evidence); solo dining and social trends (stigma, demographic shift, self-care); UNESCO Cities of Gastronomy and food heritage (heritage, endurance, restoration); home interiors (focal point, makeover, colour drenching); and diet and nutrition (bioavailable, nutrient absorption, antioxidants). Each post connects students with contextually rich, real-world vocabulary perfect for Speaking and Writing tasks.
On the blog, I published two new model answer posts this month. The first tackles a classic IELTS Academic Task 2 question: should governments tax unhealthy foods? It’s a topic that appears regularly because it touches on universal concerns about public health, personal freedom, and government intervention. The second post covers Task 1 line graphs, using population changes in four major cities to demonstrate how to describe trends accurately and select the right vocabulary. Both posts give you a full model answer to study, along with the thinking behind the structure and language choices.
Where Our Students Come From
Here are some of the places our students came from this month: London, England (yes, we teach native speakers too!); Taiwan; Hong Kong; Shanghai, China; Manila; Hanoi; the Philippines; Johannesburg, South Africa; Zimbabwe; and Saudi Arabia.
Student Spotlight: Abdul Baset’s Breakthrough
This month, I’m celebrating Abdul Baset, who jumped from Band 6 to Band 7 after working together on his writing and reading skills.
Abdul came to us because he was stuck. His previous attempts had plateaued at Band 6, and he knew something needed to change. Over about 20 lessons, our teachers worked to tackle his weak areas – particularly grammar and essay structure. These weren’t ordinary lessons; we identified patterns in his mistakes and built systematic approaches to fix them.
Here’s what Abdul had to say:
“To be honest with you guys, it was not ordinary lessons, because my teacher made a team with me to overcome all my weakness areas such as grammar and of course structuring of my writing. And this is what made my lessons more efficient. So I highly recommend taking lessons with Marieta who helped me to score band 7 instead of 6 in my last exam.”
A full band improvement is significant – it can mean the difference between rejection and acceptance for visa applications, university admissions, or professional registration. Congratulations, Abdul!
Is Abdul’s goal your goal? Would you like to achieve his level of success? We can help! Take a look at ourcoaching options and get in touch!
When Can You Book An IELTS Lesson?
Our lessons are currently taking place from 9.00 am to 6.30 pm London time.
Using our online booking system, you can choose a time for our lessons that suits your busy schedule.
Please contact us early – don’t leave it too late. It takes time to master new skills and contacting us a few days before your exam is leaving it too late!
We are also in high demand – and our schedule can sometimes be filled weeks in advance.
If you want to keep abreast of the latest developments, follow our blog, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts for up-to-the-minute news.
That’s all for November!