Let’s face it: English is difficult. One word can have many different meanings, but limited collocations. You can play squash, you can eat squash, or you can squash a bug. Someone might bug you, bugs might bite you, a stomach bug might make you sick, the FBI might install bugs […]
Internet and Text Slang When it comes to slang and texting, less is more. Text abbreviations like OMG are a type of shorthand used to save time and space when we communicate online. Like most slang, they are also cool 😎. Most abbreviations are created by using the first letter […]
Blood, sweat, and tears 피 땀 눈물 Meaning and Use Blood, sweat, and tears means a lot of effort and hard work. We use it to talk about things that are very difficult to do. Blood, sweat, and tears represent the suffering and work that go into doing something difficult. […]
Phrasal verbs for travel There are thousands of phrasal verbs. Knowing where to begin can be overwhelming! When you are traveling, you are likely to hear these 10 common phrasal verbs used. They are presented here in context because learning new words and expressions in context is the best way to remember […]
Dating & Love Vocabulary and Expressions Learning vocabulary in context increases your ability to remember words. Learning words in context will help you remember them better than memorizing random lists of words. Those lists of TOEIC words might help you ace the test, but they won’t become part of your working […]
Learning English expressions is a great way to increase your vocabulary. If you want to speak English like a native speaker or understand native spoken English, there are many common expressions and idioms that you can learn. Here are several timeless expressions from this week on Twitter. If you haven’t […]
Food: It’s Delicious! People love eating. Food is a part of everyone’s life. We eat to survive and give our bodies the energy it needs. We eat to socialize and to celebrate, and we eat for the pure pleasure of it. Many people love talking about food, taking pictures of […]
Sentence Frames to Create Follow-up Questions In How to Ask Interesting Questions, I explained 3 types of questions you can use to begin a conversation. Now, let’s look at 5 ways to ask more interesting follow-up questions. Combined with SSNQs (Short Simple Natural Questions), these will add to your ability to engage […]
Moving Beyond the Basics When your English reaches a certain level (If you can read and understanding this sentence, you are at the right level!), you can begin to improve your conversation skills by learning how to ask questions that require more thought to answer. Critical questions are thought-provoking questions […]
3 Tips to Help you Enjoy English Tip 1: Get daily enjoyable input. Notice that enjoyable is emphasized. If you are going to increase your English fluency, wouldn’t it be great to have fun doing it? Be curious (eager to know or learn something). Look for materials that capture your […]
Follow-up Questions: The Glue that Holds Conversations Together A conversation in English consists of a few basic parts. To begin a conversation you need to either make a statement or ask a question. Examples of statements: I had the worst day today. Today was a really great day. I watched […]
Practice Listening to Understand Native Speakers Do you struggle to understand native English speakers? Improving your ability to understand spoken English takes practice. As babies we spend about 2 years listening to our native language before speaking it. While we make some sounds and are often able to say about […]