The Sound of English

 Ever have to be part of a conversation in your second language?

The video below is more for new ESL instructors and native-English speakers. The next time you're trying to communicate with a non-native speaker of English, remember what you learn from the video below.

Business English: Talking About Work Experience

 In today's post, we'll be looking at the language and grammar tools needed to talk about your work experiences (past and present). We'll discuss what to do, and not do, at job interviews.

Read the short passage  below:

James' Work Experience

I've had many jobs in my working life. In high school, I worked as a kitchen assistant in an Italian restaurant.  I was a customer service representative at medium-sized retail finance company for three years. Now, I teach English. I've been teaching English since April 2000. 

Question: When did James start teaching English?

Business English: Fast Talkers On The Phone

Using the phone in a second language is very difficult, especially at work. Today, we'll look at how to handle fast talkers on the phone.

Fast Talkers

First, politely ask the caller to slow down.  Use indirect questions to help you with the problem (see post).

Situation 1: The Caller is talking too fast.


Excuse me. _______________________

a) Slow down. You're talking too fast.

b) Speak slowly!

c) Speak slowly, please.

d) Could you speak more slowly, please?

Think about the answer then click "read more" to learn the answer.

TOEIC Strategies: Short Conversations & Short Talks

In today's post, I will go over strategies for both short conversations (part 3) and short talks (part 4) of TOEIC's listening section.

TOEIC Strategies: Question/Response

The Question response section (part 2 of Listening) can be the most difficult part of TOEIC. The questions aren't written down, so you must listen carefully, then choose the correct option (a,b,c, or d). 

First, listen the question. What kind of the question is it?  There are 2 types of the question; yes/no questions and wh questions

 If the question begin with will,do,does,did,is,are,can,would, etc, the answer will usually be a "yes or no" type. 

If the question begin with wh word (what,where,when,why,who,how), the answer be longer. 

Be Careful

TOEIC has a lot of  "traps" like words with similar sounds, the same words. Also, there are types of answers you must listen for: Indirect and  negative responses. 

Indirect Answers. 

Example:

Man: Who didn't finish their dinner"

Woman: I wasn't hungry.

or

Woman: Have you invited anyone I know to the party?

Man: You know everyone on the guest list.

Negative Responses

Example:

Man1: So, which car do you like?

Man2: Well, not the one that looks like a taxi.

Woman1: What movies do you like?

Woman2: Anything that doesn't have snakes.

Remember: there's about 7 to 10 seconds between questions in the listening part of TOEIC. Answer quickly. 

You can practice the Question/Response section here.

" Whaddaya Say?" = What do you say?

If you'd like to work on both pronunciation, and listening for English at natural speed, "Whaddaya Say?" is a challenging, practical textbook. There is a listen and repeat section, listening questions, fill-in-the-blanks exercises, and conversation tasks in each unit. 

The listening sections are not easy, but, you will be able to understand English when it is spoken naturally. "Whaddaya Say?" can be ordered here.