by Recommendation of Heather Chetwynd | Jan 7, 2015 | Culture and Values
Cultural competence is becoming essential in the workplace, especially in a city as multicultural as Toronto is. This was driven home to me recently when I accompanied a friend of Ukrainian origin, who has cancer for the second time, to a doctor’s appointment to...
by Recommendation of Heather Chetwynd | Dec 17, 2014 | Language Training
In Canadian written English, it is important to learn how to be concise. This is a quality of well-written, refined writing and speaking, although it is not as important in casual speech. Being concise involves using specific vocabulary which more clearly states what...
by Recommendation of Heather Chetwynd | Dec 11, 2014 | Language Training
The following post contains a list of Latin phrases that we use in English. While some are less common, several really are part of everyday usage, such as carpe diem, in absentia, persona non grata and post mortem. English uses terms from many languages, including...
by Heather Chetwynd | Nov 26, 2014 | Accent Modification
What is the relationship between spelling and pronunciation? I recently saw an article about the pronunciation of the word PHO, a popular Vietnamese noodle soup. Based on the spelling, most Canadians and Americans tend to pronounce the word as FOE (rhyming with the...
by Recommendation of Heather Chetwynd | Nov 26, 2014 | Culture and Values, Non Verbal Communication
Are how you stand and success related? The influence of posture, gestures and facial expressions is powerful and largely unconscious. This very fundamental form of communication goes back to our beginnings when language was non-existent. The oldest part of our brain...