As our site grows every day we want to share some information with you on the way we are operating the project. We call this section «Business Blog» as it is similar to doing a log book where data is recorded in a chronological order. «Blogging» is gaining popularity with more and more people picking up the habit of publishing their experiences and thoughts on the Internet. Our Blog covers various topics — from TOEFL, TOEIC, MBA, GMAT, ESL/EFL test preperation to cultural traditions and current political events.
There will also be some Internet marketing terminology and if you have any questions regarding the information simply let us know.

The Business Blog is written by Torsten Daerr and edited by Alan Townend.

2004 — August 14
English-test.net now offers you even greater functionality: You can choose from three different test formats — first, there is the all-in-one mode, which means all 10 test questions are shown on one page. There is also the one-by-one mode and finally you can download each test as a PDF file. Obviously the all-in-one format has the advantage that you can answer each test question with only one click. If you choose the one-by-one mode, each test question opens in a new window, which allows you to concentrate better but it also means that you have to click once again after each of the ten questions. Now the all-in-one version allows you to ask for an explanation of any phrase or grammar rule contained in Alan's test.Take a look at this for example Idiom Explanation: Turned her back on me / English Teacher Explanations.

As you can see, you get an immediate response from Alan or one of his English trainers. This feature makes english-test.net absolutely unique as there is no other site that offers this variety of English grammar and vocabulary exercises with individual coaching. Any other EFL/ESL website provides only very limited access to free resources and you have to click through a maze of commercial links which try to sell you some rather boring and overpriced books, tapes or games.

2004 — August 10
Have you ever noticed that the number of words you can start a sentence with is quite limited, especially when it's the first sentence in an article or essay? For example, you use the definite article «the» followed by a noun that's the subject of the sentence. Or you can start with «there is/there are». Another option is a gerund such as «Starting a sentence can be a tricky task«. Of course you can also begin your article or essay with a question — be it an open or a closed one. Here is an example: «How many people in the world speak English today?» it's especially important when you keep a diary or a blog — the electronic version of it — because you have to decide what you want to write about as well as how you start each new entry. Sometimes I go back in the netlog to refresh my memory and get new ideas because in the course of each day a lot of information flows by and some of it might be useful to you. Speaking of useful information — Alan has written the August newsletter and as usual it's full of idioms and their origins. On top of that Alan relates some of his own stories and episodes. For instance he refers to the fact that he once spoke with a former Prime Minister of the UK and I wonder who that could have been...

2004 — August 08
From today on you can choose from 3 different test formats. As you know each of our tests contains 10 questions. Your can either get all 10 questions displayed on one page (this option is called «all-in-one») or you can select «one-by-one» which means that each test question is displayed on one single page. The third option for you is to download each test as a PDF document so can print off the tests and take them with you on the tram, to the beach or show them to your friends. If you have a fast and stable internet connection it's probably best to take the tests online because the computer will check your results and tell you how many questions you have answered correctly. The «all-in-one» tests have an additional feature that enables you to copy and paste every single test question into the forum. So, when you want to know why a particular answer is correct you simply click onto «Forum Support», copy the text that appears in the window beneath the test question, then click on the «New Topic» button in the forum and paste the text into the message window. This process might seem a complicated to you but it's really simple if you follow these steps and once you have seen how to do it it'll be a piece of cake. Here is an example: Break or cut? / English Teacher Explanation.

2004 — August 07
Everyone knows that McDonald's is one of largest corporations worldwide. Today there are more than 26,000 McDonald's restaurants in 119 countries around the world. Whenever I mention McDonald's in my English classes students usually tell me that they don't like McDonald's, because it's overpriced junk food. Yet, business is based on facts and the fact is that there are enough people in the world who are willing to spend millions of Dollars on McDonald's fast food. In 1997 the company opened its first restaurant in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. Ever since then they have been continually expanding their operations. Ukrainian business people watched with the great interest the steady growth of McDonald's in their country and they asked themselves whether traditional Ukrainian dishes could be served in McDonald's style. After extensive experimentation in their own kitchens they came to the conclusion that it should be done. So in May 2000 they opened the first restaurant of their chain called Shvydko which means fast. Within a year the chain grew to 8 outlets and they are now holding 15% of the Ukrainian fast food market of six thousand customers a day. This shows that Ukrainians are smart enough to combine American business models with their own national traditions...