Advanced English Listening
Find out the 5 areas of English pronunciation that help you get to advanced English listening level.
How To Improve Your English Listening
Listening is one of the most difficult skills in English. Sometimes English is difficult to understand because people use words and phrases you don’t know, and other times it can be difficult because people speak fast and change the sounds of the words. But listening is also an area which you can improve in just… Read More
The 3 Career Documents You Need To Get A Great Job
When you’re applying for a new job in an English-speaking company or country, you’re likely to need three things. All of these things can be prepared in advance, and they will help you in different ways so that you can get your dream job! Your CV A lot of people wait until they are applying… Read More
How To Keep An English Success Diary
If you have a big English goal like “become a fluent English speaker”, write down all your successes and achievements.When you do this, you can see that you’re making progress. It’s motivating to see where you started, the challenges you faced, and the successes that made you feel good. Here’s how you can keep an… Read More
How To Use AI To Develop Your English
AI (Artificial Intelligence) is a fantastic way to improve your English quickly and easily. The advantage of AI is that it can get you information immediately, so you don’t need to spend a lot of time searching through the internet or books. Find out how you can get started with a popular AI tool, and… Read More
Why Pronunciation Makes Us Anxious
Why does pronunciation – and English pronunciation – make us feel anxious? Why do we feel more vulnerable when we speak, compared to when we write, for example? My story of “pronunciation shame” This is a story of my experience as an Italian learner. The company where I worked was designing an Italian course for… Read More
How To Understand Discussions In English
It’s difficult to understand discussions where there are lots of people (often from different countries) and where there’s a lot of background noise. Here are some things that can help you understand more of what you hear – so that you can take part in discussions more easily. Understanding fast English In faster discussions, words… Read More
My Top 3 Podcast Episodes
In April 2022 I started my podcast SmartEnglishCoach especially for people at an advanced level of English. The podcast episodes are about 10 minutes long, and they’re short coaching sessions to help with English fluency and confidence. There’s a new episode every week. So far, we’ve looked at mindset, strategy and learning tips. But what… Read More
How To Speak More Confidently In Zoom Meetings
One thing that’s changed our work lives for ever is online meetings. They have some advantages (you can work from home) but also some disadvantages. It’s sometimes difficult to find the right time to speak when you can’t see everyone in the room, for example. In this post, there are a few techniques to help… Read More
What English Native Speakers Really Mean
Native speakers don’t always say what they mean. Sometimes this is because they want to be polite, and sometimes it’s because they don’t want to admit that they’re wrong, or that they don’t know something. Instead of using a direct phrase, they say something that seems politer. Unfortunately, these phrases can be the opposite of… Read More