Uncategorized – Patrick Hayeck

Executive Communication Skills: How Leaders Speak with Clarity Under Pressure

Having worked as an executive communication coach for almost a decade, I have provided confidential and personalised coaching to executives operating in high-stakes settings, including parliamentary and senate hearings, regulatory meetings, boardroom discussions, media-facing situations, and complex stakeholder engagements. In these environments, communication is not simply about speaking “good English”. It is about sustaining clarity […]

Why Pronunciation Teaching in ELICOS Needs a Structural Shift — and How the ‘Speak English with Emotions’ Series Helps

If you speak with any ESL teacher long enough, a familiar pattern emerges:they know pronunciation matters, they want to teach it more confidently, yet they rarely feel equipped to do so. After seventeen years working in ELICOS as a pronunciation and fluency specialist — training hundreds of teachers in Australia and abroad, and developing several […]

How To Learn Effectively From English Teachers

You’re missing the point of having an English teacher Since you’re paying (not the English teachers but the school) tons of money to study English, you might as well learn a thing or two. I know this sounds mean but don’t let the teacher relax in the classroom. Use him or her to the max. […]

Pronunciation of Please

Pronunciation please, a simple and common word in the English language, could present several challenges to Spanish-speaking students, one of whom requested that I precisely explain the difference between the pronunciation of the light [l] and dark [l] as well as other pronunciation problems found in word [please]. There was my answer: The [l] in […]

International Students: First Test of Maturity

International students: The Thing Is… International students do not all behave…well internationally. Get out of your comfort zone boys! and girls! Lest I get accused of sexism. You are not in…your country anymore, lest I’m accused of being a racist for naming a certain nationality. What the…ffff….heck do you think you’re doing? Lest I get […]

Building Your English Vocabulary: One Magical Tip

Building your English vocabulary is essential to improving your fluency. That is a fact. If you do not know words, you cannot say much. The more words you know, the less time you need to think of what to say in a conversation. When you have a small or limited vocabulary, you will have to […]

Pronunciation Nightmare For Vietnamese and Thai Students

Pronunciation Nightmare is obviously a pronunciation problem that is very tough to fix. Pronunciation Nightmare: details Vowel [ou] or /aʊ/ is called a diphthong because it consists of one vowel and one consonant. It’s very hard for Vietnamese and Thai learners especially when it falls behind /n/. It’s already difficult for Thai and Vietnamese learners […]

Migrants: Migrate, Integrate Or Vacate

Migrants are people who leave their countries to settle in another permanently. However, that is a one-dimensional definition that does not do justice to that unique and life-changing experience. I therefore feel compelled to share with you my migration experience and what it truly means to be a migrant. I should state from the get-go […]

Stop Consonants In Consonants Clusters

What Are Stop Consonants? Stop Consonants in English are /p/ /b/ /t/ /d/ /k/ /g/ and /ʔ/, which is a glottal stop. They are called Stop Consonants because they “stop” the airflow. The tongue usually does that. When we produce the /d/ or /t/, the tip comes in contact with the gum behind the upper […]

Pronouncing Consonants Clusters Gr and Cr

What Are Consonants clusters? Consonants clusters are a combination of 2 or more consonants such as gr and cr, but also fr, fl, gl, cl, pr, pl, spr, spl, ks, sk, ts, str etc. First of all though, do you even know what consonants are? Do you know what vowels are. If you don’t, read […]