Beyond English · Mark Zolotar
English, examined in context.
Nine English articles by Mark Zolotar: essays on teaching, assessment, research and AI, with practical guides to English examinations.
Essays and teaching practice
Assessing Advanced Listening: Find the Problem Before Choosing the Practice
A teacher’s guide to investigating vocabulary, speech recognition and understanding an argument, with an original listening task and a practical assessment record.
Read article →I Generated 5,000 Pages of Curriculum Drafts. The Editing Was the Real Work.
Mark Zolotar reflects on a large AI-assisted curriculum project, the limits of output volume, and the human decisions needed to turn generated material into useful teaching.
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English and Academia: Access, Publication and Unequal Costs
What English makes possible in research, what it costs, and how to prepare papers, presentations and collaboration without overstating the evidence.
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English in Japan: What Rankings Can Tell Us
Read Japan’s 2025 EF EPI result with its sampling limits, distinguish curriculum goals from classroom evidence, and turn a broad concern into useful practice.
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Japan and Malaysia: What an English Ranking Cannot Explain
Compare the 2025 EF EPI results, examine the limits of policy evidence, and design opportunities to use English without reducing learners to national stereotypes.
Read article →Examination guides
What Is IELTS? Choose the Test, Then Build a Preparation Plan
Understand Academic and General Training, overall and individual skill scores, and the 2026 delivery update. Turn your destination’s requirements into a practical preparation plan.
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TOEFL iBT in 2026: Match Your Preparation to the Current Test
A practical guide to checking current TOEFL tasks, distinguishing iBT from ITP, and building preparation around the test you will actually take.
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What Is EIKEN? Grades, Test Formats and a Useful Study Plan
A guide to EIKEN’s grades, Pre-2 Plus, CSE scores and S-CBT. Understand what changes between grades and how to connect exam preparation with using English.
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Which English Test Should You Take? IELTS, TOEFL, TOEIC, EIKEN and More
Compare IELTS, TOEFL, Cambridge English, TOEIC, EIKEN, PTE, Versant, and the Duolingo English Test by purpose, format, and best fit.
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