MacMillan English Campus

On May 17th 1792, the New York Stock Exchange was born under a sycamore or buttonwood tree. Signed by 24 stock brokers, the Buttonwood Agreement promised only internal trading with no auctioneers, and a maximum commission price on any trade was agreed.

With the recent economic crisis being felt across the world,

Graded Readers are one of the most motivating ways of encouraging learners to practise their English – there’s no better way of persuading learners of whatever age that they need the language than making them want to turn the page because they have to know what happens next.

There’s a long history

Today is International Women’s Day, a day celebrated all around the world to celebrate and at the same time raise awareness of women’s issues, such as discrimination in the workplace, sexism and female health. The theme for International Women’s Day 2012 is ‘Connecting girls, inspiring futures’, and events are held in

I am a big fan of infographics and it has been a while since I have posted one. It’s time to catch up, below you can find an infographic on International cooking habits compared which shows some countries with the tastiest flavours in their cuisines.

It could be great for a discussion,

In a few short days, the biggest day of the romantic calendar will be with us. Whether Valentine’s day is a convenient reminder to pick up some flowers for your loved one or just a depressing reminder of singledom, it’s an opportunity to do something a bit different in the ELT

Earlier this week, the seven Republican candidates for the 2012 US presidential elections took to the stage in the North American City of Sin to debate the merits of their own political aims, and those of their partisan rivals. However, while the aim of the debate was to persuade the electorate

Storm season which is between August and October, when the Pacific Ocean warms up seems to be nearing its peak. Although, it is halfway through it has been an active season with up to 18 named storms. The latest one: Irene was the 9th named storm of the season, the first

Summer is the season of tightly packed festivals taking place across the UK. We have been through the traditionally muddy Glastonbury Festival and the vibrant Reading and Leeds Festival. Of course, there have been many more of them taking us on exciting cultural adventures throughout the last few months.

Read More

This week London celebrated it being one year until the start of the Olympic games.  With Olympic coverage being watched all over the world, the games can make an excellent basis for a classroom activity.  For authentic listening material you could try the following video which compiles clips of athletes talking

A few months ago we introduced you to the free version of Sounds: The Pronunciation App. You can find more about it in the post: What’s your phone got to do with Adrian Underhill? The app spread like wildfire, both teachers and students have been thrilled about the new

As Eva wrote last week, the English love to queue. A fortnight ago it was for Wimbledon; last week it was for the best-selling book and film franchise, Harry Potter. Last Thursday, London’s Trafalgar Square was awash with children and adults of all ages, queuing to see the première

Zoos are for children only? Rubbish. A recent late night at the London Zoo took me back in time to one of my favourite childhood activities, and reminded me of how entertaining it is to look at animals (and at adults looking at animals).

Why not get your students to

In Our Time is the title of the first collection of short stories published by the great American writer Ernest Hemingway. It is said that the title was named after the line in the Book of Common Prayer: “give us peace in our time”. In Our Time is also a live

Winnie the Pooh, the bear loved the world over, turns 90 this year which is a great excuse for a light-hearted lesson on Pooh, comics and children’s literature.  For a fun warm-up why not introduce them to the Pooh theme song.  Are you students brave enough to

This summer we have got an invasion of films based on comic books. First was Thor and we didn’t have to wait long for the new XMan. Next in line are Green Lantern and Captain America. Take some superpower back to class and get your students to transfer into super heroes