With the General Election coming soon, we may have candidates knocking at our doors, eager to share their policies for the future. Even if we’re not yet eligible to vote, this is a perfect opportunity to learn more about how the UK works as a democracy and connect to our new community. Here’s a guide to the system and how we can get involved, even without a vote!

When you arrive in your new home in the UK, you might find not just one rubbish bin for disposing of household waste, but a whole array of them. Likewise, on the street or in a public venue, you might find several bins for different types of rubbish. Sorting rubbish for recycling has become commonplace in the UK in recent years, but knowing what type of rubbish to recycle and where to put it can be confusing, even for long-term residents.

“'Tis the Season to be Jolly! Fa la la la la, la la la la~” when this music fills the shops, we know it is that time of the year again! Christmas is the festival that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. It is also a time of great cultural and communal significance in the UK: a time for family gatherings, and also a time for people to take part in many iconic celebrations surrounding Christmas.

Last time we shared about how to immediately improve our writing by reducing the number of mistakes we might make. But we may not want to stop at writing correctly - we may also want to write in a lively and expressive way; to use new vocabulary, new expressions - and to truly speak our minds in English. In this issue, we will introduce some helpful habits to strengthen our writing skills, as well as the scope of vocabulary and topics at our disposal. Let’s have a look at them now!

Among different English language skills, writing may be the one skill that takes the longest time to perfect. After all, it is easier to miss pronunciation and grammar errors in conversations, but spelling or grammar mistakes tend to really stand out when people spot them in emails and documents.

This leaves some of us in a dilemma: we may feel that our writings are error-ridden, but we also cannot afford to wait till our writing is perfect before applying for jobs or making inquiries in writing. So in this issue we have decided to share some tips on how to immediately improve our writing.

Reading is the cornerstone of our English language skills. If your reading skill gets better, it is likely that your writing skills will improve, and your vocabulary and conversation topics in your spoken English will also expand. But there is no shortcut to improve one’s reading skills apart from reading often and reading a lot. So, what are the fun (and free) ways for us to read more? Let’s have a look at them now!

Mid-August is almost here - and for many children, it is almost time for the new school year! Apart from school places and school uniforms, how else can we prepare to help children thrive at their new schools, and to make sure that this will indeed be a happy new school year?

Today we will continue with the sharing for the more advanced English learners among us, and talk about how to practise our listening skills, and introduce some strategies and free resources! Let’s go!

Any language student will tell you that, in order to learn to listen well, you have to listen a lot first. In this sense, practising one’s English listening skills in the UK is very easy, as one can hear English being spoken everywhere.

In this article we will introduce some interesting resources and ways to practise speaking in English. The goal of this series? That no one will feel like they are performing an additional chore when practising English. Better still, hopefully no one will quite remember that they are practising English when they are doing these activities!

English is a very essential skill for people living in the UK. But for foreign speakers, it is also a skill that will take some time to acquire and to hone. Fortunately, for the eager English learners, there are many free or cheap resources easily accessible!

No matter how good your English is, communicating in the UK can still be a daunting prospect. After all, no amount of grammar exercises and oral practices can prepare us for variations in the regional accents and the English colloquial. But, even though it was not covered at school, we can still prepare ourselves in other fun and free ways.

The British people may be famous for their love of football and taking holidays. But there is one activity that a lot of Brits take part in. One that may not be immediately obvious, but is actually instrumental in shaping British life since the Middle Ages: volunteering.

It is a big thing to move into a new place, to have somewhere you can call “your home”. To help you understand what to expect and how to prepare for moving into and maintaining the new rental home, let’s look at some of the responsibilities, rights, and expectations for a tenant in the UK.

As the days grow shorter and the temperature drops lower, one thing will become a pressing concern for all of us very soon - how to cut your energy bills while staying warm?

Just like plants, we human beings also depend on sunlight for healthy living. Now that sunlight is getting shorted in supply, we need to put some effort into living happily and healthily.

So far this year, the inflation rate in the United Kingdom has exceeded 9%. The Bank of England even expected that the inflation rate in the UK may exceed 11% in October! That is why we have prepared some money-saving tips here. We hope this will help everyone!