by Heather Chetwynd | Feb 11, 2021 | Language Training
Pluto the dog is a character that has become popular under Covid. I’ve always enjoyed the humour but this one – called “Losing your Marbles” – is wonderful for my line of work. He speaks in almost pure idioms throughout the 3-minute clip. Listen to...
by Heather Chetwynd | Dec 11, 2020 | Language Training
When I do a pronunciation assessment, I look at three key areas. The first two are the ones that come to mind when most people think about pronunciation. These are the individual sounds – also called “phonemes” or “segmentals” – the vowels and consonants....
by Heather Chetwynd | Sep 10, 2020 | Language Training
In my 20s, I learned to speak Spanish with a wave of refugees from South America. I just “hung out” and took a few lessons, sang in a small Latin folk band and eventually married a Chilean refugee. Because I had never properly studied Spanish or lived in a...
by Heather Chetwynd | Jun 4, 2020 | Language Training
The way we communicate and the way we learn are both inextricably linked to our brain and psychology. Our identity, beliefs, assumptions, emotional addictions, thinking patterns, etc. all contribute to our learning success. One example – over your life you...
by Recommendation of Heather Chetwynd | Jul 29, 2015 | Language Training
Vocal fry refers to what happens when the voice drops back into the throat so it sounds rough and deep. A very common behaviour, it is copied between peers, mostly unconsciously, a bit like using up-talk and fillers, for example, ‘like.’ The problem?...
by Recommendation of Heather Chetwynd | Apr 9, 2015 | Language Training
What is a grammar peeve? When we are ‘peeved’ about something, it means something really bothers or irritates us. We talk about ‘pet peeves’ which are things which really bother us in particular – it may be our spouse not putting the lid...
