When you are at university you need to take notes in lectures. This is something you can practise online with video lectures (about your field of study or some elective courses you might take) so you develop the skills you need before you start university. In this post, I explain how to take lecture notes, … [Read more…]
One of my students asked a question to me today about what to say if a friend or colleague’s relative has passed away. Useful Language I’d recommend the following in spoken English: I’m so sorry. If there’s anything I can do, please let me know. If you are writing, something like this is appropriate: My … [Read more…]
Today’s post is a response to an email from a reader, Viettan, who is worried about their English when presenting in public. They are in charge. Agendas First, have a meeting agenda, which is a list of things to talk about. Try to keep to this.
Sometimes you need to use English for a problem. A lot of the time the problems you need to deal with are small. Unfortunately, sometimes they are large problems. When your problems are so large that you want to do something to solve them, you might need to use English. It is, for better or … [Read more…]
A few of my students have part-time jobs in cafés and restaurants. This post is for them and anyone else who needs to use English in restaurants. ‘May’ or ‘can’? Generally, when you are taking orders for people, use ‘may’; it’s more formal and customers should be respected. ‘Can’ is more informal and it’s not … [Read more…]
There are two common questions we ask friends and acquaintances about other people. “What’s she like?” “What does he look like?” In this post I’ll take a look at these questions and possible answers when talking about people and also things.
A lot of us have unreliable friends. Sometimes it makes us feel good to cover for them. Here’s a post to help you make excuses for them.
This week it’s Campus Week at Get Great English. I know the term hasn’t started yet but think of it as a little time to prepare before packing bags, unpacking, moving into halls of residence or a flat. Today’s post is about making friends. I’ve posted about this before but here are some more tips … [Read more…]
Yesterday I lost my mobile phone. I accidentally left it on the train and somebody took it. When I sent a message to it they threw my phone away. I reported it to the police and it reminded me that sometimes you might need to report lost property to the police.
Everybody needs to change a time to meet sometimes. In this post, I’ll show you some formal and informal ways to reschedule your plans.