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Jad Qandour

Jad teaches English at EF San Francisco. He loves putting on headphones and going on long (long!) walks, and one of his goals is to one day publish his own fiction.

All articles from Jad Qandour

4-part holiday season lesson plan: speaking and grammar
min read min

Get your class feeling the holiday cheer with this lesson combining a couple of Christmas themed activities with a New Year’s resolution wrap-up.1. Wa...

This is how advanced grammar changes language skills
5 min read 5 min

While it’s clear that language becomes more nuanced and complex as higher levels, it’s not always clear exactly how this is happening. As an instructo...

Grammar lesson plan: Modals of possibility, for levels C1+
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Modal verbs are are the bread and butter of every grammar class. Students encounter them at all levels, from foundation to proficiency. In C-level cla...

What are anaphoric and cataphoric references? (And how to teach them)
4 min read 4 min

What a mouthful! In short, anaphoric and cataphoric references are emphatic styles of sentence structure taught at C1 – C2 level. They are used to ins...

Grammar lesson plan: Reported speech, for levels C1+
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Though a fastidious grammar point, accurate use of reported speech is essential to daily life. C1 students will have a strong grasp of this form. Howe...

Grammar lesson plan: 3 activities to teach the passive voice
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There are tons of uses for the passive voice. But rather than reading 30 pages on the matter or listen to a lecturer profess its values, students need...

Grammar lesson plan: Prepositions
4 min read 4 min

This may seem like an easy topic. But don’t let the title fool you. Prepositions are a complex part of speech, and a teacher should have an arsenal of...

Grammar lesson plan: Narrative tenses
5 min read 5 min

We all tell stories. But non-native speakers can feel inhibited by the fear of making grammatical mistakes and as a result compromise their storytelli...

Grammar lesson plan: “I wish” and “If only”
4 min read 4 min

This lesson provides activities that help students express regrets, wishes, and complaints using “I wish,” and “If only”.  This is important stuff—pro...

Why I chose to teach English in San Francisco
min read min

When I first arrived in San Francisco, nearly a decade ago, I wandered around the Marina breathing in the brisk coastal air, hearing the ding-dings of...