Photo by Jason Hafso on Unsplash July 1st is Canada Day. It is a federal statutory holiday that c...
Zach McLaughlin
In addition to Halifax, I also spent some time at a house in the countryside and visited several sm...
Zach McLaughlin
Photo: A beer flight with my ex-coworker at the Good Robot brewery in HalifaxI’ve just returned fro...
Zach McLaughlin
Quick tips: to be cool/down with something
I was listening to a song yesterday and heard a useful phrase that you’ll probably never find in a ...
Zach McLaughlin
Talking about fire in English: Part 2
In this brief follow-up to Part 1, I will introduce just a few more words for talking about fire in...
Zach McLaughlin
Talking about fire in English: Part 1
In my recent post titled Canada on fire, I mentioned that Canada has been experiencing unprecedente...
Zach McLaughlin
Photo: Toronto skyline (June 6th)Over the past week or so, there have been an exceptional number of...
Zach McLaughlin
Smile coach Keiko Kawano teaches students at a smile training course at Sokei Art School in Tokyo, ...
Zach McLaughlin
Quick tips: wanna, gonna, hafta, sorta, etc.
As most of you probably already know, sounds often blend together in spoken English. “Want to” soun...
Zach McLaughlin
Quick tips: how to say “nothing”
Did you know that there are actually many ways to say “nothing”? Some of the alternatives include z...
Zach McLaughlin
Photo byJen Theodore onUnsplash Have you ever heard of the Sunday scaries? It’s that feeling of an...
Zach McLaughlin
Do you have a collection? I’ve had many in my life! When I was young I collected everything from ro...
Zach McLaughlin
Photo by Mauro Tandoi on Unsplash I didn’t think I’d ever be a dad, but I kind of feel like one the...
Zach McLaughlin
I'm not really sure who my favourite music groups are these days, so I took a look at what I've lis...
Zach McLaughlin
Quick tips: play vs. go vs. do
This week’s column topic is What was your favourite outdoor activity in school?, so I’d like to tak...
Zach McLaughlin
What was your favourite outdoor activity in school?
To be honest, I can’t remember doing many outdoor activities when I was a student. In elementary sc...
Zach McLaughlin
LEGO: Toy? Model? Hobby? Investment?
As many of you already know, one of my favourite hobbies is building LEGO models. I’ve talked about...
Zach McLaughlin
Talking about birds in English
In a recent post, I mentioned that a pair of pigeons have made their nest on my balcony, so today I...
Zach McLaughlin
Although this week’s theme is your favourite book, it’s tough to choose just one book, so today I’l...
Zach McLaughlin
Photo by Sneha Cecil on Unsplash Two days ago, I heard a lot of cooing (the sound made by a pigeo...
Zach McLaughlin
“Rent” and “hire” are similar verbs that both involve the exchange of money for the temporary use o...
Zach McLaughlin
is still a long way off in Canada, but here’s how we’ll know when it arrives: The sun returns! Wint...
Zach McLaughlin
A huge blizzard is hitting Toronto tonight and we’re expecting up to 25 cm of snow. This is normal ...
Zach McLaughlin
Talking about allergies in English
As spring approaches in some parts of the world (not Canada!), I've noticed more and more people su...
Zach McLaughlin
Photo by Zach Vessels on Unsplash I came across an interesting CNN article this morning about how...
Zach McLaughlin
Quick tips: if worst comes to worst vs. if worse comes to worst
“If worst comes to worst” means “if the worst possibility occurs” or “if the situationdevelops in t...
Zach McLaughlin
Toronto has had a rather mild winter this year, but temperatures have been up and down. It could be...
Zach McLaughlin
Quick tips: should have vs. should of
While browsing comments and posts online, it’s common to come across a sentence like “I should of b...
Zach McLaughlin
Talking about death in English
Death is, of course, a very sensitive topic, and if it makes you uncomfortable, feel free to skip t...
Zach McLaughlin
When it comes to historical figures that I admire, one of the first names that comes to mind is Abr...
Zach McLaughlin