Let's talk about grammar because I believe most courses teach it backwards.

Here's the typical approach:

Here's the grammar rule.
Here are the exceptions.
Now do these exercises.
Good luck using it in real life!

And then you're left wondering why you freeze up in conversation, even though you ‘know’ the grammar.

There's a better way.

Let me show you an example from Week 3 of my B2 programme. This is from a podcast episode transcript:

"If stag parties had remained just boozy nights out, many people might not find them appealing today."

This is an example of a mixed conditional. But I don’t just teach you the rule. You experience it in the context of British culture. You use critical thinking to try to understand WHY someone would use this structure.

Your brain LOVES this.

It loves putting pieces together. When one part connects with another part, you get those ‘aha moments’ where things just make sense.

It's one thing to be told "use mixed conditionals to imagine past changes with present results." It's another thing to HEAR it first in an authentic conversation, understand it in context and THEN dive into how and why it works.

This is how my courses approach grammar:

It's a four-part system that makes grammar completely natural:

1. Experience it in context
You hear or read grammar structures in real conversations, podcasts and stories. Not isolated sentences. Real English from native speakers.

2. Learn it in depth
Then we break it down in dedicated grammar lessons. How does it work? When do native speakers use it? What's the difference between similar structures?

3. Practise with guidance
Interactive exercises with instant feedback. You're not alone in figuring it out. You get immediate correction and support.

4. Practise independently
Build your own sentences in our private course community. Chat with other students. Ask questions to teachers.

This is how grammar should be taught: experience it, learn it, practise it with guidance, practise it independently.

That's what makes it stick.

And that's why students in my courses don't just know grammar. They USE it confidently in conversations.

Lucy Bella Simkins

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