English Explored & Explained
A monthly round up of English tips and the latest news from Red Brick Language School
For most of us business meetings are a fact of life, whether you like them or not.
Your performance in meetings can play a significant role on how far you progress in your career.
Business meetings can be stressful when conducted in your first language: making small talk and navigating office politics can be tricky at the best of times.
If you have to do this in English when it’s not your first language, it becomes even more challenging.
That’s why Bernie has created a series offering tips on how to perform successfully in business meetings conducted in English.
In the first part of the series you’ll learn how to prepare for an important meeting and some key language to use to help you succeed.
You can get Bernie’s Pro Tips for Succeeding in Business Meetings here (it’s free)
In Europe it’s that time of year again - back to school! The shops are filled with school uniforms and stationary in preparation for the new academic year.
But what is the use of gorgeous stationery if you don’t approach your studying efficiently.
So many students quickly lose motivation and one of the reasons for this is they either don’t set any learning goals or they set the wrong ones.
Setting the right learning goals is key to being a successful language learner. But how do you do that?
In combination with our latest blog post in the series of ‘How to Learn Vocabulary and Make it Stick’ we thought it wold be a good idea to explore how to set effective
vocabulary learning goals.
i. Know where you’re at!
In order to set appropriate learning goals it’s probably a good idea to establish your current level in terms of vocabulary.
This really simple vocab test will give you a good idea. To get the most out of it you need to be 100% honest - if you can’t define the word, you don’t know it.
The results may surprise you, in my experience most students fall within the approximate vocabulary range for their CEFR level.
Active vocabulary refers to the words you are able to use while communicating and passive vocabulary refers to the words you can understand. Everybody has an active and passive vocabulary whether you’re a native speaker or not.
According to the CEFR: European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment the typical vocabulary ranges for higher levels are:
Upper-intermediate (B2):
active 1,500 - 3,000
passive vocabulary 6,000 - 11,000
Advanced (C1)
active 3,000 - 5,500
passive 6,000 -11,000
Proficient (C2)
active 5,500 - 11,000
passive 11,000 - 20,000
If you’re significantly below the range for your level, well, at least we’ve diagnosed the problem! In this case you should focus on and dedicate more time to acquiring vocabulary.
A good starting point is the New General Service List (NGSL), a list of high frequency words carefully selected from the Cambridge English Corpus to help students and teachers of English identify the most useful vocabulary.
My advice would be:
download the list (it’s a spreadsheet, so you can save it and edit as you see fit)
Identify words you can’t easily define - ignore the first 700 words, as you’ll definitely know them.
eliminate any of the unknown words you don’t think you’ll need
Create thematic lists of the remaining words
Prioritise the lists for your needs
Prioritise the words on the these lists
Start learning those words - create word families (e.g. compete - competitor, competition, competitive, competitively, uncompetitive) find out which words they collocate with etc. (e.g., highly competitiveI)
You might also be interested in the Business Service List (BSL), the interface is less user-friendly, the words are much more challenging and lack definitions - but keep an eye on the website because this is in the pipeline, you’ll be able to find it under the BSL Tools section.
ii. Set SMART goals
SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Ambitious, Relevant and Time Bound (ie. they have a deadline)
Here are some examples of SMART vocabulary learning goals:
Spend 10 minutes every day during my commute reviewing vocabulary.
Research the vocabulary I need to write an essay about the climate emergency and use Quizlet to create flashcards by next Wednesday.
Learn how to describe a technical process I do at work in 4 weeks.
Practice writing sentences with 10 words I need to review three days this week.
Do at least one crossword every week for the next 6 weeks.
Go online and do some word formation exercises for 15 minutes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Create your own! Get learning! Get SMART!
Bernie made some great recommendations for vocabulary in the section above and in her latest blog post, but here are some suggestions if you would like to work on other areas of English.
To practise your grammar
A good idea might be a mix of grammar practice websites and authentic English websites. English Club and English Page both have lots of practice for grammar, particularly the tenses.
After you have finished practising on the grammar sites above, you could head to a website such as Novara Media or Positive News to read an article and try to see the grammatical structure in context. If you don’t like keeping up with the news, head to any website in English. If you’re a football fan, why not read about that in English and see if you can spot examples of what you have just studied.
To practise pronunciation
YouTube can be a great place to find pronunciation videos - look out for future content from us on our YouTube channel very soon too! For now, Tim's Pronunciation Workshop from BBC Learning English is a great place to start. You can also find some great tips and advice in my free guide to how to fit pronunciation practice into a busy schedule. Get the free download here.
To practise listening
BBC 6 Minute English is a wonderful resource, tried and tested by many of our students. We particularly like this resource as there is a question that gives you a reason for listening and you can also listen with the transcript if you find this useful too. This is great for focused listening practice.
You can also easily fit listening practice in your day by listening to songs in English on your way to work or university, find a podcast that you love or watch Netflix programmes in English with original audio. All of these will help your listening practice.
To practise reading
I always tell students that this depends on what they need to practise their reading skills for. Often it is for taking an exam, you can find IELTS tests on the British Council website. For Cambridge exams (First, Advanced, Proficiency) , you can go to their website for practice.
If you are hoping to improve your general reading skills, my advice is to make sure that it’s enjoyable! The more you enjoy it, the more motivated you will be. If you have read Harry Potter in your first language and loved it, why not read it in English too? Or maybe look at getting a graded reader from Book Depository. Graded readers are simplified depending on your level, the idea is that you should understand the majority of the text.
To practise writing
Again this depends on why you would like to improve your writing. You can find practice writing for exams using the links in the reading section above. Another good exam practice site is EngExam.
If you would like to improve your writing for another reason, support this by reading as much as you can in English, you will notice vocabulary and grammar in context and this will subconsciously help you in your writing. Then use a SMART goal to commit to writing. A good SMART goal for writing might be, write about my day at work in my journal for 10 minutes three times a week. To support this writing I will read websites in English on my way to work three times a week.
To practise speaking
Similar to writing, listening will help you to improve your speaking. If you would like to improve your speaking for work, why not find an episode of Dragon's Den or The Apprentice to pick up some language? You could also try free4talk, which is a free online space for you to practice your English in.
Overall, our advice is to make this study as relevant to your learning goals as you can. Can you find websites and blogs relating to your career or studies maybe or look for like-minded people to practise with. Maybe your favourite colleague is also studying English too, why not set a joint SMART goal to have lunch together once a week and only speak English.
There are lots more ideas on our website’s resources page too, which can help you focus on the areas of English that you feel need most improvement.
We hope this is a very successful year ahead for your learning goals!
As always, we’ve been busy on Quora exploring and explaining different aspects of English.
You can find us on our Quora Space - we Explore and Explain English to learners from all over the world, post study tips and you can ask us any of your English related questions. We hope to see you there!
Here are some of the highlights from August:
What’s the difference between ‘to ask’ and ‘to demand’?
According to the Cambridge Dictionary
‘ask’ means ‘to put a question to someone, or to request an answer from someone’
‘demand’ means ‘to ask for something forcefully, in a way that shows you do not expect to be refused’.
So the difference between the two is a matter of force and expectation. Demand is a stronger verb.
Here are some examples that should highlight the difference:
I'M THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THIS STATE. I DEMAND TO KNOW WHY I WASN'T TOLD THAT THE FBI WAS SENDING UNDERCOVER AGENTS INTO… (Example from the TV show ‘Criminal Minds’)
capital letters in direct speech are used to show when someone is shouting -
he’s using his authority, his choice of language i.e., demand to know, and the volume of his voice to show that he expects an answer
Louis XIV could demand money for his wars, William III had to ask for it. (Example from the TV documentary ‘A History of Britain’)
Louis XIV was in a strong position, he could demand and expect to get the money
William was in a weaker position, he couldn’t demand it, he didn’t have the authority and/or power
Hundreds took to the streets of Warsaw on Saturday to demand help for the migrants… (Example from ph.news.yahoo.com’)
When people protest or demonstrate they make demands, they don’t ask the government nicely, hoping for help.
We can also use ask and demand as reporting verbs - these can indicate the manner in which we think someone has spoken.
See the differences here:
🙂 The little boy asked for ice-cream.
🙁 The little boy demanded an ice-cream.
🙂 My boss asked for an update on the project.
🙁 My boss demanded an update on the project.
What’s the meaning of the phrase to ‘pick and choose’?
To pick and choose is an idiom
It can mean any of the following:
to be selective
to select carefully from a number of options
to select and combine various options as you desire
Here are some examples from a couple of English corpora (examples of spoken and written sentences of English used in real life)
You can't pick and choose your favorite parts of people like that. You have to accept them for who they are. (The TV Corpus, TV show: Cougar Town)
Yvonne. This is not the time to pick and choose what you want to talk about. If you know something... just say it. (The TV Corpus, TV show: Vegas)
If I were you, I'd pick and choose my battles. Since when did wearing knee-highs become a battle? Today is not… (The TV Corpus, TV Show: Pretty Little Liars)
The deal is full fucking disclosure, not pick and choose what you say! (The TV Corpus, TV Show: Homeland)
Landlords and letting agents already pick and choose who to let to. Throw benefit cuts into the mix, along with… (The News on the Web Corpus: The Independent)
We are thrilled to announce that we are launching our first courses in October!
Bernie is launching her Speaking for Business course and Lucy is launching her Pronunciation for Fluency course.
It’s been a long road of learning all about website design, marketing, social media and finance for us, so we are very excited to get back to doing what we love the most, which is teaching English!
Speaking for Business with Bernie will help you communicate more effectively in business contexts.
If you get stressed out and anxious about communicating in English in the workplace, e.g., in business meetings, on the telephone, in daily business interactions etc., this course is for you.
There is no fixed content, what you study depends on your needs and the needs of your classmates.
Bernie will assess your English language needs in business contexts and select the most appropriate materials for you and your classmates.
This is a Task Based Learning class with a Flipped Classroom.
Before each class you will:
explore the area of business relevant to the weekly task
learn key language
watch, listen or read materials relevant to the weekly task/topic
share your knowledge, ideas and opinions with your classmates
receive support and feedback
In each class you will:
work through a relevant business related task
have lots of opportunities to express your ideas
focus on key language and/or communication techniques
practise and develop skills relevant to the business world
receive support and feedback
If you want to communicate more effectively at work, find out more about Speaking for Business.
So what can you expect to learn on Lucy’s Pronunciation for Fluency course?
During the ten-week course, you’ll practise various aspects of connected speech that make fast speech easier to understand and produce including:
sounds we add in (intrusion)
sounds we take out (assimilation and elision)
how to join words (catenation)
the stress and rhythm of natural English
strong and weak forms of auxiliary verbs
the pronunciation of phrasal verbs.
You will focus on both listening and recognising these features of connected speech and also how to produce these sounds. This means you will find fast speech easier to understand and to be understood! There will also be authentic real life speaking tasks to provide plenty of opportunity to practise your pronunciation and develop your speaking skills.
Join the waiting list HERE to be among the first to hear about our exclusive early-bird discounts.
Or feel free to contact us on hello@redbrick.coop if you have any questions about either course.
As we mentioned in June's newsletter, Lucy has started teaching a weekly pronunciation class with English dot Community! We are excited to announce that for a limited time, you can access this class for free! Her classes are relaxed, focusing on a particular sound or area of connected speech, followed by an authentic speaking task giving you plenty of chance to practise and for Lucy to give you plenty of feedback! If you are level B2+, please email lucy@redbrick.coop for a link to access her class, alternatively, you can DM us on our Instagram or head to English dot Community's instagram.