What do we mean by culture? My favorite definition of culture is provided by the Peace Corps. According to the Peace Corps, culture is a system of beliefs, values, and assumptions about life that guide behavior and are shared by a group of people. It includes customs, language, and material […]
Hello! 안녕하세요! Greetings earthlings! Living and working in Korea, I’ve noticed some differences in the way Koreans greet people. While 안녕하세요 is a standard greeting I can use and respond to in Korea, there are others that don’t translate well due to cultural differences. For example, when Koreans […]
What is the basic structure of a conversation? The basic structure of a conversation is simple. By applying the pattern below, you can begin to start speaking more and be a better listener. Once you learn this simple structure, you can adapt it for conversations with two or more people. […]
Rejoinders + Follow-up Questions While we love using emoticons to react when texting, when speaking face-to-face, we need to react with rejoinders like “Really?” and “That’s great!” Rejoinders are the emoticons of speaking. After greeting someone, a basic conversation in English has three main ingredients. The three ingredients are: A […]
What is small talk? Small talk is a type of polite conversation about unimportant or uncontroversial things. In English, small talk is used as a polite greeting, a conversation starter, or a way to start to get to know someone. Small talk is different in different cultures. Questions that are […]
In the last post, we looked at examples of how to ask about someone’s plans for the weekend and also how to respond. Now, let’s look at common questions people ask on a Monday or Tuesday and their reduced forms. How was your weekend? —-> Howuzyer weekend? […]
In Small Talk Explained, we learned how and why people use small talk. Now, we’ll look at some examples. Asking about someone’s weekend is a very common form of small talk. If you are meeting a friend, the same question could lead to a longer discussion. Sometimes, it might just […]