English conversation

Why learning this one English tense will make you sound like a pro

By: Stephanie Schottel on December 4, 2023

What is typically one of the first tenses taught in English classes but one of the last to be fully and correctly integrated into speaking and writing? It’s the often misunderstood (and sometimes dreaded) present perfect tense. From the perspective of an ESL teacher who speaks English as her native language, the correct use of […]

Win at Small Talk: Surviving the First 5 Minutes of a Virtual Meeting

By: Paola Pascual on March 24, 2022

Oh, virtual meetings! You encounter technical difficulties, the software might turn you into a potato, and the worst – you have to go through those first 5 awkward minutes waiting for everyone to join. Those first few minutes of a meeting are crucial for the rest of the event, but when it comes to online […]

Take vs Get (includes examples and exercises)

By: Paola Pascual on January 29, 2021

When you’re at the office, do you take a message or do you get a message? It depends. They’re both correct but mean completely different things. The use of take and get is confusing for many English learners, and our goal here is to clarify the difference between these two common verbs and offer some […]

5 Simple Rules for Mastering the Difference between Exact and Exactly

By: Stephanie Schottel on January 20, 2021

I love it when there are similarities between the English language and the native language of the student I am teaching. This happens sometimes with my German-speaking students. We are both excited because we know the word, grammar construction, or idiom that is being introduced is more likely to stick since it is the same […]

What Americans Really Mean When They Say Things Like “How Are You?”

By: Neya Abdi on January 18, 2021

You can have all the dictionaries, phrasebooks, and apps in the world and still have no clue what someone really means. Once you’ve mastered English grammar and vocabulary, the new challenge is understanding the coded meanings behind English expressions. Oftentimes, the meaning of certain expressions will change based on the context, tone, and culture. […]

It’s Never Too Late to Learn To Speak English Fluently

By: Gabriel Aubry on January 8, 2021

Whether you are a first-year college student or on the verge of retirement, there is never a bad time to learn to speak English fluently. While children can develop perfect accents quickly, they are outperformed by adults in every other aspect of second language acquisition.

Surviving Remote Meetings: How to Communicate Effectively in English

By: Tom Wells on June 2, 2020

We’ve all been there. Sat in a remote meeting and then it happens. You miss what a colleague just said, but all your colleagues are already nodding and moving on to the next point. Being misunderstood is a common problem for non-native English speakers, and the problem is even worse in remote meetings, as sound […]

Wie Sie bei englischsprachigen Terminen glänzen – 6 einfache Tipps

By: Frank Habbe on February 12, 2018

Sie sind perfekt für das Meeting mit ihren englischsprachigen Kollegen oder Geschäftspartnern vorbereitet, haben alle Fakten im Kopf und sind Ihre Präsentation ein Dutzend mal im Kopf durchgegangen – doch als Sie an der Reihe sind, ist Ihr Vertrauen in Ihre Sprachkenntnisse verschwunden? Sie kennen das? Dann ergeht es Ihnen wie vielen anderen. Kein Wunder, kommen doch […]

Wie Sie beim Small Talk mit Engländern und Amerikanern glänzen können

By: Frank Habbe on January 4, 2018

„How do you do?“ – wer wurde nicht schon auf diese und ähnliche Weise von einem englischen oder amerikanischen Gesprächspartner begrüßt? Die Antwort darauf fällt vielen jedoch schwer, da wir in Deutschland Begrüßungen dieser Art kaum gewohnt sind. Anstatt eines lockeren „I’m fine, how are you?“ tendieren wir eher dazu, die Frage viel zu ausführlich […]

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