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The smartest greeting answers for English learners
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You probably think that by smart, I mean cool and humorous answers, no I don’t. By smart, I mean safe without being boring. When native speakers greet first, many learners stick to the same 1-syllable or 1-word come backs (answers). For example: How are you? fine. How’s it going? Good. How are you doing?…
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4 silly myths about learning English
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Silly myth 1: “If you live in an English speaking country for just 3 months, you can speak English like a native speaker.” Can’t tell you how many dreams I’ve seen get shattered and hearts broken. Many seem to believe that it is almost a certain fact if you manage to live in…
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Why speaking English with a good accent matters!
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It’s a confidence game that’s why. You can’t afford to sound weak, timid, confused, incoherent, nervous, anxious or funny (as in weird). You sound funny when you speak fluent yet not fully intelligible English. Some Indians are a good example of that. They speak fluently and confidently but boy do they sound hilarious or…
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Phonological awareness and phonics: Phon what?
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I have been getting many kindergarten teachers asking me about the difference between phonological awareness and phonics or between phonemic awareness and phonics. You’ve got to see how frustrated they look when asking “what the hell is the difference between phonological awareness and phonemic awareness?”. I know, I know. It’s confusing isn’t it? No…
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English for beginners: Baby language?
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Hello baby, hello my baby, hello hello my special baby, how are you this morning? How are you, how are you, how are you this morning? How are you beautiful? Hungry sweetie? Awww, poor baby, hungry hungry you are! Aren’t you? okay, let’s change your nappy first shall we? does that make you happy?…
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Why You Can’t Understand Native English!
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“Because I’m not a native speaker of English! Duhhh” many of you might think. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had advanced students coming up to me completely baffled. They have been learning English for years, yet they are still unable to understand native English speakers, especially on TV. Why especially on…
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8 Must-Know BE Phrasal verbs VII
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Apology for this belated post. The 7th must-know BE phrasal verb is “BE+ABOUT” . First of all, the most obvious and straightforward meaning of “about” is “regarding”. 7-Be about… A: I’ve just finished reading a very interesting book. B: Really? What is it about? = What is the story of the book? What is…
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How not to sound like a robot in English!
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This article will be helpful for those of you who believe you have a good command of the English language. You can speak fluently, you know the words, you know the grammar, you’re clear enough for most native speakers, however, you might get the feeling that you don’t sound interesting when you speak English.…
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Good English? Stuff it! Try Impressive English
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How’s your English? No bluffing! “My English is good” they say. Good English! Can’t tell you how frustrating for me to hear those words. What a vague answer! It’s like someone either really sucks at English or is trying to be modest about it. In whichever case, it infuriates me. It’s an “in-no-man’s-land” sort…