Blogs from Work/Life English

Hate to Write? Two Simple Ways to Relieve the Pain

Look up “Learn to Write” online and you’ll be treated to handwriting models and steps in creating calligraphy—one letter or character at a time. T...

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How to Teach Writing by Using Letters, Numbers, Words, Phrases & Sentences

Just as in acquisition of other language skills, in writing (printing, cursive, typing, texting) it makes sense to start with the smallest pieces o...

Literacy though Advanced reading for ESL and English Improvement

How to Teach "Text Literacy" with Different Kinds of Printed Material

Usually, “literacy” means competency in reading & writing print matter. Even so, much of the reading people do in everyday life is either visua...

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How to Teach "Visual Literacy" with Images

Usually, “literacy” means competency in reading & writing print matter. "Visual literacy" means the ability to look at and understand types of ...

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Speaking: Oral Skills mistakes in American English

How to Teach/Learn Everyday and Challenging Kinds of Speech

Not so long ago, there were clear rules and directives for the teaching/learning of Oral Communication. These were designed for use in both casual...

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How to Achieve Communicative "Perfection:" Use Perfect Listening Comprehension & Perfectly Clear Speech

Frustrated with what passes for “communication” in today’s linguistically evolving world? What do these humorous attempts to get and give info make...

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"Get" What You Hear. Say What You Mean.

How to Teach (Yourself & Others): “Beyond the Basics” Features of Clear Speech Depending on its meaning focus, timing, pausing, and intonation,...

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Teaching American-English: How to Succeed with Syllables

Teaching (Yourself) American-English: How to Apply Syllable-Stress Patterns, Phrase Focus, and Sentence Rhythm for Clear Speech So in additio...

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Why Care About Consonants?

How to Teach (Yourself) How to Pronounce 24 American-English Consonant Sounds So what’s funny about consonants? There’s a plethora of tongue twist...

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How to Teach English Learners to Pronounce 16 American-English Vowel Sounds

Why does humor almost always come first in these blog posts? To help you, the reader, to relax about the “serious educational stuff” that follows....

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The Joys of Receptive Listening: Why We'd Much Rather Listen Than Talk

Think about it. Would you really rather talk than listen? Most people think or say they would. Much of the wisdom or humor about oral communicati...

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Listen Up! Why Listening is the Most Important English Language Skill

The most important language skill? Listening! The most challenging language skill? Listening! The most important language skill or ability for (...

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