Presenting in English can be a challenging task for someone who is learning English. One way to make a successful presentation is to have a clear
I am in a catch-22 situation
This phrase comes from the famous book by Joseph Heller where somebody is put in an impossible situation that will turn out bad no matter what they do. Examples: It’s Catch-22. I don’t know whether to stay or go. It was a catch-22 situation. Have you been in a catch-22 situation?
Grammar learning for what?
Some of you might think learning grammar is very important for you to improve your English. Yes, that is true, it is very important.
But at the same time, we need to remember that there should be a purpose for why we learn some particular grammatical rules. We found a funny movie clip to show when we learn grammar, we need to know how we use the grammatical feature and in what way it can be used in a context. Enjoy and happy English learning!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAPWmZoOUow
How to tell a story in English
People love to hear a story. Stories have a magical power. You can do so formally but you can also tell a story in our daily conversation. Watch and learn how you might be able to tell a good story!
Good luck and happy English learning!
Try to ask questions!
Many English learners tend not to ask questions. Instead, they tend to quietly listen to what others speak. This creates an imbalance in which one speaker, often a native speaker, speaks and asks lots of questions and English learners tend to answer questions.
In order to change this balance, it is always good to try to ask questions. They do not have to be important or very good questions. Any questions will do!
A tip is to ask WH questions. WH questions are the questions which start What, where, who, when and why. For example:
What did you do over the weekend?
Where did you go?
Who did you go with?
When did you come back?
Why did you choose that place?
Good luck and happy English learning!
Small Talk is important!
Watch the video and learn why small talk is important! If you are interested in learning about it, go to Udemy for Small Talk in English!
Christmas in Japan and the UK
Watch and learn about the different ways to celebrate Christmas in Japan and the UK! Merry Christmas!
What is “small talk?”
Small Talk is literally a small talk in which people talk very briefly, usually for 1 to several minutes to talk about something not serious. For example, people can talk about:
- weather
- recent events
- sports
- family
We do not usually think “small talk” is very important but it does have a very important function as we engage in small talk with everyone, such as family, neighbors, colleagues, friends or even strangers.
It is vital for you to know how you can get better at “small talk” as it plays an important function in communicating with lots of people.
Good luck and happy English learning!
No chance < Fat chance < Slim chance
These phrases mean there is little or no possibility of something happening, although they have slightly different nuances.
- 0% chance = no chance
- 3% chance = fat chance
- 5% chance = slim chance
I went for a job interview today but I have fat chance of getting it; there was no chance I could get the job; there was only a slim chance I could get the job.
Do you think the rookie will make it this year? No chance!
We often talk about “probability” (= how much chance something is likely to happen). It is always good to have a variety of expressions to convey different meanings and nuances.
Good luck and Happy English Learning!
Welcome to Skill Academy!
Hi, welcome to SkillAcademy! We want to post useful English vocabulary and grammar to help you learn English.