SOME STEPS TO BETTER ENGLISH

Apple Pie a la mode*

Better speaking - just do it is a tag phrase popularized by Nike. The implication here is to start without hesitation. As you open your mouth and speak, you will build more confidence. You will make some mistakes but other English speakers will help you.

Plan to have regular conversations with native speakers either in person or on zoom. Ask questions, find topics related to your interests or business. Learn certain survival phrases for typical situations. When we are studying a language we typically start with "please, thank you and where is the bathroom?" That last one sometimes gets a chuckle.

Better hearing and understanding- listening to other native speakers is key. If watching a video, put the subtitles in English. Write down a few new words as you watch. YouTube is a great resource because you can watch it over and over if you miss something.

Better writing: We don't put as much emphasis here because we have tools in most software to help. Modern writers use AI and programs like Grammarly. We suggest finding synonyms for words you use a lot to grow your writing base.

American English can be challenging because we have adopted words from other countries. In the USA we say "I'm as American as apple pie." In the picture above we added a la mode. In French that literally means according to the fashion. Americans use it to mean with ice cream as that is the "fashion" we prefer. We use a lot of words that were adopted from the French, but you will find we melted many other cultures in as well. That is why our language rules have so many exceptions.

One of our biggest challenges when we teach ESL (English as a Second Language) is convincing our students they are doing well when we are not constantly correcting them. We also have more than one way to pronounce words that are acceptable. Europeans have difficulty understanding this because their speech is more precise.

Our teaching method is to use short stories to generate dialog. Sometimes we use a 2 minute video clip with a series of questions. There will be some new vocabulary. We also share some common USA English idioms and informal words you will often hear in regular conversation. One recent client said that he is understanding English TV programs much better since having these weekly conversations with us.

If you want to improve your English understanding and speaking please contact us. We have zoom students and a few who visit us in person. As mentioned in another blog, there is an added benefit of making new friends!