Language to Connect

English for work and business

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  • Take a break

    How often do you get clients who are very eager to learn and feel ready to work 24/7? I am sure we all do at times.

    Why am I talking about it now? In my part of the world it’s summer now and, although many people are not travelling abroad and aren’t planning any long breaks, it’s absolutely vital that we all have some time to relax. It makes us more productive and helps us recharge our batteries.

    Knowing this I aim at helping my clients plan their learning journey in a most effective way. It’s not only about reaching the goals we outline. It’s also about suggesting having a break from active or intensive learning and blocking some time in your calendar for a walk or a day away from your gadgets. Wonder what happens after that? Give it a try. I’m sure you’ll like it.

    Learning a language, especially for business, is a process that has to be managed wisely and time for a break is essential.

    Stay well,

    Oksana

  • Fancy words I want to learn

    One of the most common requests I receive from potential learners is ‘Help me learn more words and phrases to take me to a higher level’. After this they usually start giving examples of ‘cool’ expressions, idioms or phrasal verbs that they see as their way forward and up to more confident and more rewarding communication with their international colleagues and partners.

    It’s curious, though, quite often they have no major problems getting their message across even at their current level. So the question that comes up is who will actually benefit from all those fancy new phrases you are going to use let’s say in your meetings.

    Agree, depending on your setting you may need to upgrade your vocabulary for various reasons. For instance, to understand your foreign colleagues. But just using more sophisticated expressions instead of their simpler and clearer ones, may give the opposite result.

    Learn English to connect and make communication more effective for everyone involved.    

    Take care,

    Oksana

  • Pronunciation is the key

    There have been many discussions recently about various accents of English and which accent is better to acquire if you’re learning English. Let me share some of my thoughts.

    I do agree with the idea that everybody has an accent and that accent is an essential part of our personality.

    In the modern world, the more accents of English you understand, the better equipped you are to do business with English-speaking people. Your ear can be trained to understand accents that you may be unfamiliar with.

    To be an effective international communicator your pronunciation should be intelligible to others.

    So remember to cherish your own identity and celebrate the diversity around!

    Stay safe and well,

    Oksana

  • All in the same boat

    I don’t know what kind of associations you have when you read this phrase, but to me it’s a very accurate description of what the world is going through at the moment. Today probably more than ever we see how much we are all interconnected and how much we all depend on each other.

    You can say, ‘What does it have to do with communication and learning English?’ It’s all the same in any meeting or any work-related conversation that you have. It may be a negotiation or a daily stand-up to update all the team members on what everyone is working on. If one person struggles with getting their message across, everyone suffers to some extent. So if you can help that struggling colleague by simply asking a clarification question or helping them out by rephrasing what they said to check understanding, you are helping everyone, including yourself.

    If only our international meetings were more like this, maybe we would have fewer ‘boats’ and more ‘cruise ships’ to enjoy the conversation and reach our common goals.

    Stay safe and keep helping each other,

    Oksana