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...
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...
When we compare a typical Australian accent and a Canadian accent, probably the main differences are in the vowels. And it seems the Australian vowels are more similar to each other than the Canadian ones. I have always found it interesting how babies are born with...
I often write about the connection between music and language skills. I believe that music plays a huge role in how we develop our communication skills. I have noticed that very few of my accent students have ever studied music which seems to indicate the...
Words matter a lot! You may have heard that communication is 55% body language, 38% tone of voice and 7% actual words. Well, this myth has been debunked! While body language and tone of voice continue to be important elements of effective communication, we know that...