Speaking Fluency — Buying Time Strategies
From Sourov's world: Job interviews in French in La Réunion were terrifying. I needed 3 seconds to translate my thoughts from English or Bengali into French before I could speak. In French I used Euh...…
Tag: speaking
How to Tell a Story in English — Keep People Listening
💬 True story: I once described arriving in Sydney — airport, 3 am, no money, no phone signal — to a group of A2 students. They listened for ten minutes straight. No grammar was corrected.…
Small Talk in English — What to Say When You Don’t Know What to Say
💬 My first week in France: I was waiting for a meeting to start. Eight French colleagues. Silence. In Australia, we'd have talked about sport, weather, weekend plans. I had none of those reference points.…
Giving Your Opinion in English — Phrases Beyond ‘I Think’
💬 Cambridge speaking exams test this: Simply saying "I think..." every time makes your language sound flat. Examiners — and real people — want variety. Here are the phrases that move you from B1 to…
How to Agree and Disagree Politely in English
💬 The politeness problem: In a staff meeting in Sydney, someone proposed an idea I thought was terrible. I said: "That's wrong." Silence. Frowns. I was right about the idea. I was wrong about how…
The Language of Apology: Saying Sorry Professionally
In hospitality, apologies are currency. A well-timed, sincere apology saves a table. A badly phrased one makes it worse. I've said 'I'm sorry, sir, that shouldn't have happened' a hundred times. But I've also heard…
Academic Discussion Language: Agreeing, Disagreeing, Hedging
At the immigration office in France, I once politely disagreed with an official — in French — and managed to change a decision. The key was not what I said but how I said it.…
Body Language and Communication: What You Say Without Words
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…
Intonation: Use Your Voice to Mean More
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…
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…