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LanguageOctober 2, 2022October 2, 2022

Confusing English pronunciation: L vs. W

During my last trip to Bulgaria, I had a conversation with a person who was helping me with some paperwork. At one point, answering one of my questions, he told me that I could find more details about the topic we were discussing “on wine.” Although this sounded odd to me, I immediately knew that […]

LanguageJune 5, 2022October 2, 2022

Devoicing final consonants

When I was a teenager, I loved hanging out with one of my friends after school. Once when we were in her room discussing movies, actors, life, and other things teenagers talk about, she told me that she really liked Brad Pitt. At the time he was just becoming famous and I still didn’t know […]

MotivationApril 17, 2022June 23, 2022

Bias against foreign accent and how to handle it

When I first came to the US at the age of 25, I couldn’t wait to learn English. I didn’t doubt my abilities because I had already learned Polish in my early 20s and knew that English grammar was easier. I imagined that when I learn grammar and enough vocabulary, I would be a confident […]

MotivationApril 3, 2022December 18, 2023

Fear of speaking English and what to do about it

One day during our vacation in Cancun, Mexico, my husband and I went to a grocery store and asked one of the workers for something we couldn’t find. We didn’t speak Spanish, but we tried our best to communicate what we wanted using hand gestures and a few Spanish words. But she was so terrified […]

LanguageMarch 6, 2022August 3, 2022

Embarrassed due to a mispronounced word?

Not long ago, one of my students shared with me a funny, but slightly embarrassing story regarding mispronunciation. She wanted to thank the technician who was fixing something in her house. But instead of “thank you for your patience,” what came out of her mouth was “thank you for your passion.” The guy looked perplexed […]

My storyDecember 12, 2021August 3, 2022

New country, new me

I still remember March 27, 2002. It was late and I was tired from the long flight from Europe to the United States. But I was so excited. This was a new start for me, an experience I had been anticipating. A big adjustment to my new life, to the language and culture was ahead […]

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