Rapid English Vocab Building in 3 Easy Steps!
Hi guys! In today’s article we’re going to focus on English vocabulary building the smart way. The English Harmony Way, to be more specific! You see, the reason why I’m touching upon the subject of vocabulary building is simple enough. I’m getting quite a few e-mails on a daily basis along with questions disguised as YouTube comments in relation to building English vocabulary and new words. “What’s the best way to learn new English vocabulary?” “One English word has up to 50 different meanings, do I have to learn them all at once?” “I’m trying to do spoken English self-practice as advised by you, Robby, but there are many English words I don’t know…” Now, despite me having published quite a few blog posts and videos about vocabulary building over the last couple of years, it’s never hurt anybody to repeat and reiterate the main points from time to time. As a matter of fact, it’s only a positive for the simple reason that repetition is the most efficient – if not the ONLY! – way that we humans learn anything! So, here are the 3 steps for building your English vocabulary in the most effective manner possible! (more…)
English Idiomatic Expression: “For Some Reason Or Another”
What Typing Has in Common With Spoken English Performance
English Phrasal Verb “To Pull Off”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j33HVSejemE “To pull off” is a very handy, informal way of saying “to manage to do something”. Let’s say, for argument’s sake, you’re witnessing an incredible feet being accomplished. Let’s imagine that you’re working out in a gym with your friend and he does a 150 pound bench press which is totally off the charts! Now, the natural question you want to ask your friend is the following: “Hey dude, that was crazy, how did you pull it off?!” This phrasal verb can also be used when someone is engaged in some risky undertaking and their venture ends with success; basically what I’m talking about here is doing something risky and managing to do it without getting caught. (more…)
You Don’t Have to Spend a Lot of Time on Reading English Fiction in Order to Read LOADS!
Sometimes it feels as if I’m literally devouring my books instead of reading them – currently I’m already on my fourth GONE series book called PLAGUE but it only seems like yesterday when I was reading LIES which is the third book in the series. And please note that you wouldn’t normally see me lounging on a couch in my living room and reading; I’m not using public transport to commute to work every day either which would be a perfect time for reading (I use car instead). Also please bear in mind that I spend pretty much my entire free time on writing articles, recording videos and providing customer support to my English Harmony and Fluency Gym customers, so quite naturally it all begs the simple question: Where do I find enough time to read all those English fiction books if I’m so busy? This year, for example, I’ve already read the MAZE RUNNER series followed by a couple individual books and now I’m more than halfway through the GONE series. Now, do you want to be privy to the information on how to manage to read a lot of English fiction while actually spending very little extra time on it? Then keep reading this article and you’ll find out EXACTLY how I manage to pull it off! (more…)
Don’t Learn Some Obscure English Words that Even Native Speakers DON’T KNOW!
Don’t Even TRY Watching Common English Mistakes Videos on YouTube!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FJKUd0m-D0 I was browsing YouTube the other day, and I came across some video where an English teacher talks about common English errors made by foreign English speakers. It wasn’t that teacher’s only video – not by a long shot. As a matter of fact, there were LOADS of videos of this nature on that particular YouTube channel – let alone other channels where different teachers are talking about pretty much the same things: Most commonly made English mistakes; Things not to say when speaking in English; English mistakes made by Spanish people; English mistakes made by Russians… … and so on and so forth. And you know what? I think this illustrates a terrible trend in the English teaching community! :mad: Everyone is focused on the aspect of making mistakes. Mistakes this, mistakes that, you can’t say this, you can’t say that… The only thing that these videos achieve is the following: THEY FREAK ENGLISH STUDENTS OUT! (more…)
English Idiomatic Expression: “More often than not”
Funny English Phrases: Animal Related Idioms
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRezZtTzAXs Hello my friends! :grin: This Funny English Phrase video is my contribution to the YearOfEnglish.com project, and in case you haven’t noticed it yet, I’m publishing a video dedicated to YearOfEnglish.com audience once every three weeks. This time around, let’s learn some animal related English idiomatic expressions and conversational phrases. You’re more than welcome to watch the video above where I’m doing a little role play portraying two people at the same time. And, in case you need it, here’s the video script in written format: (more…)
A Quote From “Lies” That Made Me Realize Something…
How I Made a Nonsensical English Mistake 3 Times in a Row!
English Idiomatic Expression: “For the simple reason that…”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVgYNGlcpgY There are many ways you can make yourself sound smarter and give other people the impression that you know exactly what you’re talking about. You can dedicate an enormous amount of time learning sophisticated English vocabulary and then try to use it in your daily conversations. You can do loads of reading and research into a wide variety of subjects so that a few years down the line you can become a really erudite person. Or, you can learn the most commonly used English idiomatic expressions which will add substance to your English speech and make you sound smarter even on occasions when you’re not saying anything of a particular importance! Let’s take, for example, the following sentence: (more…)
Don’t Force Your English When You Speak!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnVmR-ZSDRw Hello my friends foreign English speakers! Are you familiar with the following feeling: The more English I learn, the less I know… It can also be described the following way: I know so many fancy English vocabulary words, but when I’m speaking, I forget them all!... This feeling is more common than you may think, and you’re definitely not alone in this misery. Personally I was feeling the same way for years, and even now when I’ve discovered the “SECRET” (it’s not really that big of a secret!) for dealing with the aforementioned problem, I sometimes feel this way. But guess what makes me feel that way? It’s the fact that I start FORCING myself to recall specific vocabulary, specific phrases :!: The moment you do that – your fluency’s gone out the window! Want to found out more about the said phenomenon? Then watch the video above! Thanks for tuning in, Robby ;-)
6 Types of Foreign English Speakers: Which One Are YOU?
English Idiomatic Expression: “Couldn’t Put My Finger On It”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lD5vuw0kXKU Hello my fellow foreign English speaker! Today’s English idiomatic expression is a real idiom which means you actually have to know what it means or else you won’t know how to use it and you’ll have a hard time understanding what another English speaker means when they say things like “Yes, there’s something weird about the place but I can’t really put my finger on it…” Well… It’s not that it would be impossible to infer the meaning of this expression out of the context alone – in fact, I’ve always been encouraging you guys to acquire new vocabulary and phraseology contextually. It’s just that this particular expression is figurative speech and you have to imagine performing the actual activity – putting your finger onto something – in order to fully understand why this phrase is used. (more…)
7 Reasons Why Having Been Born a Foreigner Is One of the Best Things That Ever Happened to You!
“Maze Runner” Series Review: Main Plot & Why I’m So Excited About It!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ed5gD3-Fp5U It happened during the Christmas Holiday Season last year. My daughter gave me a book called “The Maze Runner” because I’d kept asking her for some new book to read. She wasn’t all that excited about that book herself, but I decided to give it a go and see if I find it of any interest. Not that I would have forced myself to finish off that book had it turned out to be a totally nonsensical piece of fiction; I’d never do it for the simple reason that I value my time and I would only ever read books I’m truly drawn in by. Eventually it turned out that “The Maze Runner” is one of the best books I’ve ever read in my life, and I’m really glad I didn’t put this particular book back onto my daughter’s bookshelf just because she wasn’t particularly fond of it herself! (more…)
Just a Handful of English Phrases Will Enable You to Speak so Much More Fluently (Article #2)!
Click HERE to read the FIRST article made up of English phrases! Hi guys! Did you know you don’t need to learn MASSIVE amount of specific vocabulary in order to be able to discuss various subjects with ease? You need to focus on acquiring idiomatic expressions and phrases instead, and they will enable you to talk about a wide variety of topics! As far as specific vocab is concerned – well, sure enough, you can’t do without it! But the thing is – you can get by using only a handful of industry terms while letting the idiomatic expressions make up most of your speech. Now, I’m going to pick a random subject – Forex trading – and let’s see what the specific vocab vs idiomatic expression ratio is in the written piece I’m going to create! ;-) (more…)
Why I Love “GONE” Series & Why It’s the Perfect English Fiction for Foreign English Speakers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0VtnoBbUGU Currently I’m on the second GONE series book called HUNGER and I have to tell you, my fellow foreign English speaker, that these books are simply amazing! It’s typical dystopian fiction – except for the fact that it’s set in these days as opposed to the future – and it depicts life without adults. Anyone over the age of 15 has simply gone, and kids are left to their own devices to figure out what’s happening and also to figure out how to run the society where there aren’t any services available – such as medical, food production & distribution and so on. Now, remember your own childhood. You surely wished at some stage that you’d be left alone to do as you wish and no adult would tell you what to do? Well, GONE series is a perfect way of re-living that fantasy! You’ll be able to experience all the joys and also downsides of what such an adult-free life would bring through the main characters of the books – Sam, Astrid, Edilio and plenty of other mutants and also normal children. (more…)
English Idiomatic Expression: “To be more specific”
When You Improve Your Spoken English, You Improve Your Entire Life Along With It!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQFBCNTiP3E You’re working on your spoken English improvement day in, day out. You’re acquiring new English phraseology and vocabulary, you’re engaging in regular spoken English self-practice, you’re seizing every opportunity to speak with other English speakers. Slowly but surely, your ability to speak in English becomes more pronounced, and you’re capable of verbalizing your thoughts with an ever increasing proficiency. Those aren’t the only changes taking place though. Your constant striving for betterment and improvement brings other changes along. You’re becoming more informed, you’re broadening your horizons and you’re becoming more intelligent. You’re becoming better at organizing your life in other areas – not just English fluency improvement – and that has a positive effect on your life quality and as a result you become more successful in everything you do! Do you think it’s not true? Well, watch the video above to hear everything I have to say in this regard! Chat soon, Robby ;-)
English Idiomatic Expression: “You better make sure to”
Who’s Your English Good Luck Charm?
Are there certain English speaking people who you seem to be unable to speak with fluently? Does it feel like those people are actually triggering the ‘writing mode’ of your mind whereby you start stuttering and preparing your speech in your head prior to speaking out loud thus making it totally unnatural? Well, it’s nothing unusual! It’s happened to me on countless occasions, and even though now I’m over the very severe ‘writing mode’ symptoms, I would experience moments when I can’t speak at 100% of my ability with a particular person. Sometimes, however, quite the opposite happens, and my English fluency literally opens up when speaking with a particular person. It’s as if THAT PERSON IS MY GOOD LUCK CHARM and my English fluency issues simply can’t do me any harm because I’m protected by that person! I know it sounds far-fetched, and I fully understand that in real terms there’s nothing to prevent me from speaking fluently with any English speaking person in the world. When I speak, it’s ME who speaks after all, so why would another person’s presence have such a massive positive or negative effect on my fluency, isn’t that right? In real life, however, people you communicate with DO play quite a significant role in the way you can perform in terms of using the right means of expression and also your overall fluency. Some have a negative, but some have a very positive effect on your spoken English – just like my mortgage advisor, for example! (more…)
English Fluency Improvement Requires a Proper ROUTINE – Just Like Your Workouts in a Gym!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGfqQWWkOsw Hello my friends! ;-) I’m back with another video dedicated to the YearOfEnglish.com audience, and this time around I’m going to focus on the importance of ROUTINE when it comes to your spoken English improvement. And to be honest with you, my friends, routine determines success in any aspect of your life. Are you really good in your job and your work colleagues value your expertise and they know they can always rely upon you? Well, it’s only because you’ve been doing certain things ROUTINELY and as a result you’ve become very good at them! Are you very knowledgeable in terms of computer hardware and all your friends are always seeking your help whenever they have their PCs or laptops playing up? Well, guess what – it’s your computer related ROUTINE over the years that has made you so good at it! And if you’re mad into fitness related activities and you can proudly claim to have a 10% body fat level and you’re staying fit all year round – isn’t it your workout and nutrition related ROUTINE that had enabled you to achieve such amazing results? Of course it is :!: (more…)
We’re All Capable of Correcting Our English Speech Ourselves!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RrJefZhX8g One of the biggest misconceptions I’ve ever come across over the years is the following: You can’t engage in spoken English self-practice because there’s no-one to correct your mistakes! I’ve received feedback of such nature from quite a few of my fellow foreign English speakers, and it clearly goes to show that the average foreigner is so afraid of making mistakes and letting them go unnoticed, that they’d rather remain unable to speak fluently! In today’s video I’ve debunked this myth, and here’s exactly what you’ll find out if you watch the video above: (more…)
English Idiomatic Expression: “There’s one thing I can say for sure”
33 Word Shortenings Any Foreign English Speaker Should Know!
VOCAB – this is a short version of ‘vocabulary’ and while it’s not something you’ll be using on a very regular basis, it’s always good to know that you can say things like: “I want to build my English vocab” or “I just added another useful English phrase to my vocab!” LIMO – short for ‘limousine’. Next time around when you see one, you can nudge your friend and tell him – “Hey man, look at that cool limo!” CELEB – I’m pretty sure you knew this one, but I had to put it on the list to make it complete! It’s obviously short for ‘celebrity’ and I wouldn’t be surprised if 20 years down the line people wouldn’t remember the original word at all! PIC – this is a very handy way of referring to a picture or a photograph. “Hold on a sec, I’ll take a pic and then we’re good to go!” SEC – this is how you can shorten the word ‘second’. As a matter of fact, I used this word in the sample sentence above, and here’s a couple more sample phrases: “Wait a sec!” or “Be back in a sec!” DECAF – this is a short version of ‘decaffeinated coffee’ and it will definitely come in handy when putting in an order in a coffee shop late in the evening – “I’d like a large decaf latte, please!” DETOX – this is a popular word in terms of dieting, and it refers to detoxification whereby you get your body rid of all sorts of toxins. ‘A detox diet’, for example, is a diet consisting mostly of juices, fresh salads and veggies and helps you get much healthier within a matter of days! (more…)