In hospitality, a guest's body language told me more than their words. Arms crossed? Not happy yet. Leaning in? Interested and engaged. Looking around? Waiting for something. Understanding body language — and knowing how to…
English has about 20 vowel sounds but only 5 vowel letters. When I arrived in Sydney, I couldn't hear the difference between ship and sheep, or pull and pool. These are not the same words.…
At the casino, tone of voice was everything. The same sentence — 'Is there anything else I can do for you?' — meant entirely different things depending on how I said it. A falling tone…
When Vanessa and I first met, she spoke French fast and I spoke English fast — and neither of us could follow the other at full speed. Fast speech is not just quicker. The words…
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…
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…
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…
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'.…
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…
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…
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Sourov Deb EI · SIRET 106 764 061 00011 · Saint-Pierre, La Réunion