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...
by Recommendation of Heather Chetwynd | Mar 18, 2015 | Language Training
According to recent research, employers and newcomers value language and communication skills completely differently. Whereas 95% of employers consider these skills to be very important, only 27% of newcomers do. This is a huge difference which points to a major...
by Recommendation of Heather Chetwynd | Mar 10, 2015 | Language Training
Word fillers are meaningless words and sounds we add into our speech, usually when we are thinking or hesitating. These range from sounds such as um and uh to short phrases such as you know and sort of. While it is practically impossible for most of us to completely...
by Recommendation of Heather Chetwynd | Dec 17, 2014 | Language Training
English spelling is so crazy and I am constantly apologizing to my students for this. While there are reasons for why it turned out like this. there are ongoing attempts to standardize the spelling, none of which have worked to date. It seems now there is, once...