When I was in my first semester in college, the professor in the English class I was taking, commented on my writing. He looked at my paper, then looked at me and told me that I would probably not get an A in his class. My sentences were “awkward,” according to him, because they didn’t […]
Do you feel your English is still not good enough?
How to speak up – even in “imperfect” English
My last flight from Europe back to the US went so smoothly that I was almost suspicious. “Could anything still go wrong?” I asked myself when the plane landed at the San Francisco airport. My husband and I spent the last five weeks in Europe, splitting our time between our two respective native countries Poland […]
What does it mean to be fluent in English?
Do you consider yourself fluent in English or are you waiting to reach this “perfect” level when you will no longer make any mistakes and speaking English will feel as natural as speaking your native language? What does it mean to be fluent in another language anyway? When I started college in the US, I […]
Bias against foreign accent and how to handle it
Fear of speaking English and what to do about it
The superpower of resilience
Some of you might not know, but I am a tennis lover. Although I don’t play tennis, I love watching it. There is nothing better than watching two world-class athletes being on the verge of their physical capabilities and not giving up. But a few days ago, during the Paribas Open tennis tournament, the former […]
To fake it till you make it or to be authentic?
When I was in elementary school, my physics teacher – a very good-hearted, but often contradicting herself – once looked at the class and said: “I’ve never told you, but let me repeat.” She proceeded to explain whatever she was trying to explain at the moment, but the rest of the class and I couldn’t […]
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 […]
