New Webinar: Secrets of Small Talk – Asking Questions 

I am teaching Secrets of Small Talk in a free online webinar this Thursday, December 08th, at 04.30pm CET (Central European Time). Webinars are great for online learning, and I hope to reach people from different countries and backgrounds to have a meaningful talk about communication. Your ability to talk to people about some general stuff, especially to strangers, is not always connected directly to your knowledge of structures and vocabulary of the language you are learning.

French field trip – Secrets of effective language learning 

We have just come back from our wonderful trip to France. It was two weeks of driving around the East and the South-Eastern part. For this particular trip, I had a special goal: to verify my French speaking skills in real-life context. 

How to use prepositions of time 

Prepositions cause us trouble in any language we are learning. English is no exception. From my point of view, they are tricky because we don’t look at them systematically. In this post, I am going to show you a systematic approach to learning English prepositions of time. This way, they will be no problem for you anymore.

Why can’t we learn a language? 

When I help people learn a language, we do not just learn words and structures. We spend quite a while discussing how this person forms a new linguistic reality in their mind. We pay a lot of attention to this process because it is the same important as vocabulary and grammar. People often underestimate learning skills, especially in language learning. They think we need to guarantee the input of information, and we will just start speaking one day. But it’s wrong. It’s not only about knowledge but also skills and correct mindset.

Why it is so hard to learn writing 

The webinar ‘Make your writing work for you’ has happened, and I am more than happy about it! I am delighted to have seen more than 20 people come, and the ones participating in the chat were so active. It was like a little miracle: see people learning in front of my eyes! I will never get tired of that.

A guide to effective writing in English 

We all have been there: sitting in front of an open…and absolutely blank… page. What are we afraid of when we start writing a new text? Why is it so hard for us to start? I think we are scared not to be able to communicate our message effectively. We take the effort to express what’s inside our mind, but will it be the same what we wanted to say from the beginning? Will people relate to that? Will we get the result we want: a sale, a connection, whatever? If you are not a native speaker and not proficient…

How to REALLY start speaking foreign languages 

Just sharing some experience and insights. When I talk to people about languages, they usually complain about how hard it is to start or develop speaking in a language they are learning. Well, it is not hard. I think, it is really a question of HOW MUCH TIME you do it. There is no technical secret to it. Yesterday, we with my student Sofia went to this Speak Easy Praha event. She needs more speaking practice, that’s why we have chosen one of those language exchange communities you can find in many cities these days. It is a series of socialising…

Mistakes in your English speaking which make your teacher cry 

What are the most irritating mistakes English learners make in their speaking? Learn from this blog post and speak better English.