Word Stress: Stress the Right Syllable
My first week in Sydney, I said reCORD when I meant the noun. My colleague said REcord and I thought he was pronouncing the same word. He was. In English, stress changes meaning — and…
Category: English Teaching
Inference in Reading: What the Text Doesn’t Say
When I read Dostoevsky as a teenager — secretly, since books were not encouraged at home — I had no one to explain the subtext. I had to infer. I had to read what was…
Formal Email Writing: Get It Right Every Time
I have sent thousands of emails — job applications, complaints, appeals, formal requests. Each one from a different country, in a different situation. The best advice I can give: a formal email is not a…
Speaking: Tell a Story in 60 Seconds
One of the most useful things you can do in English — in an interview, at a dinner, in a job — is tell a short, clear story. Not a long explanation. Not a list…
Listening Skills: Predict Before You Hear
My daughter is 18 months old. Before she can speak, she listens with her whole body — watching faces, anticipating sounds, filling in gaps. She does what every good listener does: she predicts. Teaching yourself…
Reading Skills: Skim First, Scan Second
When I was studying for my French C1 test, I had to read long articles in 40 minutes. There was no time to read every word. I learned to skim first — get the main…
Describing Places: The Language of Home and Belonging
I have called four places home: Chittagong, Sydney, Plessis-Trévise near Paris, and Réunion. Each one needed its own vocabulary. Réunion is not just 'nice' — it is lush, volcanic, remote, tropical, and for me, something…
False Friends Between English and French
When I was reaching French C1 level, English kept ambushing me. I told my neighbour I was embarrassed — and used the French word I thought matched. In French, embarrassé can mean 'bothered' or 'cluttered'.…
Work and Career Vocabulary: The Words You Need in an Interview
I have had job interviews on three continents — in English, in French, once in broken Creole in Réunion. The one thing that helped everywhere was knowing the right vocabulary: not just the buzzwords, but…
Words for Feelings: Beyond Happy and Sad
When I arrived in Sydney in 2005, I could say I was 'happy' or 'sad'. That was it. But feelings in English are precise — there is a difference between homesick and lonely, between overwhelmed…