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Last April an unknown Scottish woman by the name of Susan Boyle became an overnight sensation when she performed on the Britain’s Got Talent show. The less-than-glamorous 48-year-old defied expectations when she performed a stunning rendition of ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ from Les Miserables. Fifty million YouTube hits later, and she became a worldwide celebrity. Joining the ranks of Tom Cruise, Naomi Campbell and Michael Jackson, she was even invited to the Oprah Winfrey show – with one caveat. Despite being a fellow English speaker, American television bosses decided to run her interview with subtitles because they feared many of their viewers would not understand her heavy Scottish accent. Continue reading →

We are all looking forward to our summer breaks. It’s a great moment to relax, disconnect from work, and spend more time with the family and friends – not to mention hit the beaches and the cultural circuit. But this summer break, when you are stepping away from your daily routines, why not take some time to reflect on them and think of some little changes that could make a positive impact on how you work and organise your time? Summer breaks don’t just have to be time away from the office. They can also be an opportunity to come back to the office fresh with new ideas and improvements to our routines. Continue reading →

You may remember last month’s buzzword ‘staycation’ – a vacation spent at home or very near home. Why not use your staycation as an opportunity to keep your English in shape? But wait, you say, I’m living in Spain and Portugal … how can I possibly practise my English when at home, and why would I want to study English on my holidays?

Who said anything about studying? (In fact, we won’t even mention learning.) Time off is for enjoying oneself and having fun, so why not try doing it in English?

Here are 3 simple ideas for keeping your English in shape while on holidays: Continue reading →

This May 27th the big final between FC Barcelona and Manchester United will take place in Rome. For many of us who live and work in Catalonia this is a very exciting time, and the energy is palpable: draped over many a balcony are the typical ‘blaugrana’ flags, and the newspapers and television stations update us regularly on the latest FC Barcelona developments.

Even though Europe stands united behind the flag of the European Union, its citizens still speak their own languages, watch different television shows, and read different newspapers. Football, the world’s most popular game, is something that many Europeans share in common. People from different backgrounds come together to watch the game – even though they might wish for different results.

Perhaps an effortless and enjoyable way to practise your English is to follow the Champion’s League in English. Here are a few English language websites about football (’soccer’ in American English) that you might find useful: soccernet.com, fourfourtwo.com, sportinglife.com, footballnewsblog.co.uk

VISCA BARÇA!

Since the late nineties some amazing communication systems have become part of our daily lives at work. Just imagine a day at work without consulting your email, using your mobile phone, or text chatting. The omnipresence of these new technologies has also coincided with an accelerated process towards globalisation. In the end this means we increasingly work with people from all over the world. Multicultural meetings – in person, or virtual – are simply a fact of life.

Many of the same rules still apply to holding an effective meeting, which we will quickly re-cap after this paragraph, but it is essential to take into account the new element of cultural diversity. Continue reading →

What are all those politicians, advertisers, newspapers, and television programs talking about? With the recent news that the English language will soon be reaching its 1 millionth word – with a new word created every 98 minutes – no wonder some of us are confused with all of these buzzwords.

Buzzwords – also known as neologisms – are new words that are common in certain environments. They are frequently used, yet they are often ambiguous, even to the people using them. Here is a quick quiz of some common buzzwords you may have heard recently. We will do our best to provide you the least ambiguous answer (even for us natives of the English language sometimes these terms are maddeningly vague):

Staycation
a) An altercation where each person stays still and stares menacingly at the other person
b) A new form of yoga involving cat-like poses
c) A vacation spent at home

Answer
Continue reading →

Nearly 40 years ago Earth Day started as a grassroots movement with the hippies. Now, four decades later, it has blossomed into a global cause. With issues such as global warming and renewable energy ever more present in our daily lives, Earth Day is an important moment to reflect on how we can help protect our unique planet.

We hope you will join us in making a commitment to a responsible lifestyle. Little things like recycling and moderate water consumption go a long way. Avoiding unnecessary trips in your car, installing energy efficient appliances in your home, and using solar and wind power not only save you money, they also put less of a strain on the environment.

Today, April 22nd, join billions of people in making a commitment to keeping our home beautiful and liveable.

It may come as some consolation that even among top-ranking politicians there can be some awkwardness when it comes to knowledge of other countries’ customs. Witness the recent encounters between the President of the United States and the Première Dame of France. When Carla Bruni leaned in for the customary kiss on the cheek, Obama instead stuck out his hand for a handshake. Only later during an evening dinner reception was the gaffe rectified, and they correctly performed the ‘kiss greeting’.

Also, in a reception with Queen Elizabeth II, First Lady Michelle Obama briefly put her hand on the Queen’s back, which is a big no-no according to standard protocol. One never touches the Queen of England — as tradition holds it, she’s the protector of the faith, as holy as the Pope himself. This incident echoed former Australian Prime minister John Howard, who put his arm around the Queen to direct her through a crowd. Needless to say, the British tabloid press was loving it all.

Continue reading →

If you limit your English exposure to your tight network of work colleagues, you are missing out. The truth is that in the last few years some powerful networking opportunities have sprung up on the internet, making it easier than ever to make your presence online, and to meet interesting new business partners. Making effective use of network contacts also allows you to manage your own career, get to know people with the right profile for contracting, ask for references, get clients, and, of course, promote your business.

But first, a word to the wise about professional social networking. It is in many respects like real-life networking, and that personal touch will always make you stand out. You don’t just go up to someone at a cocktail party and hand them a business card, hoping they’ll call you back. Chances are if you did that your business card would end up in the rubbish bin or as the paper for a makeshift grocery list. When you make your introductions to potential new business contacts, it always helps to let them know how you know them, and why joining networks would be mutually beneficial to both of you. Take the time to find out about the people you’re connecting with and find out what you have in common (sometimes it’s as simple as reading their profile and resume).

There are many social networking sites for professionals. Here are a few:

Continue reading →

It looks like our first contest has got off to a fine start. In case you didn’t catch it last time, to participate in the contest you need to share on the blog an embarrassing or funny story about a misunderstanding in English. We already have some fantastic entries, and Eric, for being the first person to send a story, has won 4 Telephone Coaching sessions. We liked his story so much we thought we’d share it here in this month’s newsletter:

20 years ago in a pizza restaurant in downtown London, a waitress served me a cold pizza.

With my best English, I asked her (intending to have the pizza warmed-up):

Could you please eat it?

She was stunned … especially since she didn’t realize that for me HEAT and EAT had the same pronunciation!

She ignored me of course and rather ashamed and disappointed I finished my cold pizza.

Hopefully this will inspire you to send your own story in. Remember, the best story will receive a 6-month subscription to The English Works Club – and the contest ends May 31st, so hurry up!