About Tara

About Tara

Tara Benwell is the awards editor for EnglishClub.com and TEFL.net, and contributes monthly materials, articles, and tips for learners and teachers at both sites. MyEC is Tara's new classroom and she enjoys working with English learners from all over the world. Tara also connects with learners and teachers via EnglishClub.com's Facebook and twitter accounts.

What's New?

Tara is challenging English learners to Be Newscasters. Do you want to practise your speaking and pronunciation skills? Record EnglishClub.com's weekly news report in the Audio Speaking Group. Subscribe to Englishclub.com's podcast to receive the news each week.

Quick Picks:
How to Learn English Quickly
How to Learn English with Twitter
The Learning English Video Project

Tara's Monthly Writing Challenges:
Each month Tara posts a NEW writing challenge on her MyEC blog (below). Learners (and teachers) can contribute to the challenge by submitting thoughts, opinions, and ideas in the comment section. Though a new challenge is added every week, all challenges remain open. You don't need to join anything to contribute. Have fun!
Fiction
Tara's debut novel "The Proper Order of Things" is now available on Amazon. Listen to the first 2 chapters on iTunes. You can also read Tara's blog Beyond ELT (about writing, motherhood, and the creative life).

Tara Benwell's Blog

Writing Challenge: Correcting Commas

Posted on February 17, 2012 at 5:16pm6 Comments 8 Likes

What is the difference between a comma and a period? A comma is a pause. A period is a full stop.
In English, punctuation is important. If you care about your readers, learn how to usepunctuation properly. We all make mistakes…
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How to Have a Moderated Chat on MyEC

Posted on February 9, 2012 at 3:00pm20 Comments 12 Likes

I've spent a bit of time in the chat room over the last few days. I know that MyEC is a great social network for English learners and teachers, but I also know that we can do a better job of keeping our chat room focused on English learning. Many chatters have requestedmoderated chats. A moderated chat works best when a specific topic is chosen. For example, every Wednesday English language teachers participate in a moderated chat on Twitter called #ELTchat. We have a…
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Ignore Button in the MyEC Chat Room

Posted on February 3, 2012 at 2:48pm30 Comments 6 Likes

Do you all know about the NEW feature in the MyEC chat room? It's the "Ignore"button. 
To find this button, make sure you have popped out of chat first.This will make the chat room window bigger. …
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ESL Site of the Year Winner 2011 ~ PhraseMix

Posted on February 2, 2012 at 6:30pm7 Comments 7 Likes

We finally announced the 2011 ESL Site of the Year winner! Congratulations to PhraseMix! Please take a moment to check out this great site and congratulate Aaron. You can find PhraseMix on…
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Writing Challenge: Uncountable Nouns

Posted on January 24, 2012 at 9:30pm44 Comments 22 Likes

Welcome to the firstWriting Challenge of 2012! This year we will be focusing on some specific problems that I noticed in your writing in 2011. Each month I will challenge you to become an expert in a certain aspect of the English language.
This month we are going to work…
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Wordless Wednesday #23

Posted on January 11, 2012 at 5:00pm18 Comments 5 Likes

Winning caption by @Amirhosein: "The world is full of red lights which want to stop you, or maybe yellow ones which pause you for a while. But the truth is, there is always the green one." 
Image by @mk_elt via…
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Wordless Wednesday #22

Posted on December 28, 2011 at 2:30pm17 Comments 2 Likes

Winning Caption by Nadiyah: Welcome to Baby Traders! You order, We deliver
Image by @CliveSir via ELTPics.
You can create a…
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Writing Challenge #38: If Only

Posted on December 27, 2011 at 5:30pm17 Comments 11 Likes

Thank you to all of the MyEC members who have taken my Writing Challenges in 2011. I enjoy reading and correcting your writing. You inspire me! You should be very proud of what you have accomplished.
We are coming to the end of a year, and it's time to reflect on the past and prepare for the future. One word that helps us do this in English is the word "if". Do you know how to use this word properly?
Your Task
1. Review the structure of …
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