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For decades, TOEFL and IELTS were the only keys to unlocking a US university education. But in 2026, a new player has taken over: The Duolingo English Test (DET) .   As a teacher, I’m seeing more students choose the DET because it’s cheaper ($59 vs $250+), faster (results in 48 hours), and can be taken from home in Morocco or anywhere else.   Why US Universities Love the DET? Top-tier institutions like Princeton, Yale, and Stanford now accept Duolingo scores. Why? Because the test uses advanced AI to accurately measure real-world English proficiency, not just test-taking skills.   Top US Universities & Their DET Requirements Here is a breakdown of what some top schools are looking for in 2026:   University Recommended DET Score Princeton University 120+ Columbia University 125+ University of Pennsylvania 120+ New York University (NYU)...

I took my IELTS test today, and I wanted to share my experience with anyone who is currently preparing for the exam. Hopefully, my feedback will help you feel more confident and less nervous on test day.   Speaking : Stay Calm and Keep Talking First of all, try not to stress too much about the Speaking test. It was not as difficult as I expected. Of course, the experience can depend on the examiner, but the questions themselves were quite simple and familiar. I was asked about my name, where I live, what I like most about my apartment, animals, whether I had ever visited a zoo, and the most famous animal in Algeria, among other similar questions. For Part 2, try to speak for the full two minutes. The examiner will explain that you have two minutes to talk, so do not worry about going over the time. They will stop you when the two minutes are finished. The most important thing is to remain calm and speak naturally. Do not overthink the questions. If you make a small mistake, simply ...

Whether you’re watching the Premier League in a cafe in Casablanca or a pub in London, football has its own language. If you want to talk about the game like a native speaker, you need more than just "goal" and "foul."   As an English teacher with 17 years in the classroom, I’ve seen how sports can be one of the fastest ways to build speaking confidence. The context is exciting, the emotions are real, and the vocabulary is incredibly specific.   Here are the 50 essential phrases every football fan needs to master to join the conversation. Part 1: Match Day Basics 1        Kick-off: The exact moment the match starts. 2        The final whistle: The moment the referee ends the game. 3        Clean sheet: When a team successfully prevents the opponent from scoring any goals. 4        Stoppage time / Injury time: The extra minutes added at the end of each ha...

In IELTS Academic Writing Task 1, you have 20 minutes to describe a chart, graph, or table. Most students struggle not because they don't understand the data, but because they lack the specific vocabulary to describe trends accurately. After 17 years of teaching, I’ve distilled the "must-have" vocabulary and the structure that consistently earns Band 7+.   The 3-Part Structure for Task 1:   1        Introduction (1 sentence): Paraphrase the prompt. If the prompt says "The graph shows the number of people visiting Morocco," your introduction should say "The line graph illustrates the volume of tourists who traveled to Morocco between [Year] and [Year]." 2        Overview (2 sentences): This is the most important part. Identify the two most obvious trends. Do not use numbers here. Example: "Overall, the number of visitors increased significantly over the period, while the amount spent per visitor saw a sl...

Fluency at work isn't about knowing 20,000 words — it's about having the right phrases ready for the moments that matter: the meeting, the email, the client call. Below are twenty phrases I teach professionals worldwide, organized by the situation you'll actually face. Each one replaces a weaker alternative that non-native speakers tend to use.   Starting and leading meetings   1        "Let's kick things off." (replaces "I want to start...") 2        "The purpose of this meeting is..." — state it in one sentence. 3        "Let's move on to the next item on the agenda." 4        "I'd like to hand over to [name]." — the polite way to pass the floor. 5        "Let's wrap this up." — ending a meeting decisively.   Agreeing and disagreeing professionally   6        "I ...

If you speak Arabic and struggle with English, some of your mistakes aren't random — they're predictable. In seventeen years of teaching Arabic-speaking students, I've seen the same seven errors appear again and again, because they come from structural differences between the two languages. The good news: once you know what's coming, you can fix each one deliberately.   1. Dropping the verb "to be." Arabic allows "I happy" and "She at school" because the verb to be is often implied. English never does. Before any adjective or prepositional phrase, check for is/am/are/was/were. Fix: read your sentence aloud — if something feels "floating" without a verb, add it.   2. "I am agree" instead of "I agree." In Arabic, a state ("I am in agreement") is natural. In English, agree, disagree, understand, and know are verbs — no "am" allowed. Fix: memorize this list of state verbs that never ...

After seventeen years of teaching English — and hundreds of IELTS students — I can tell you the difference between a Band 6 essay and a Band 8 essay is rarely vocabulary. It's structure. Band 8 examiners are not looking for fancy words; they're looking for a response that answers the question completely, flows logically, and uses accurate grammar consistently.   Here is the exact four-paragraph structure I teach every student, and why each paragraph exists.   Paragraph 1 : The Introduction (2–3 sentences). Your only jobs here are to introduce the topic in your own words (paraphrase the question) and state your position clearly. Never copy the question wording — paraphrasing is a scored skill. End with a thesis that tells the examiner exactly what the essay will argue.   Paragraph 2: First Body Paragraph. Start with a topic sentence that states your first main idea. Follow it with one specific example — real, concrete, believable. Examiners reward developed...