The Blog

How to improve your English listening comprehension

Why spoken English is difficult to understand

A lot of English learners have trouble understanding what native English speakers say.

One reason that real English is difficult to understand is that the English in classrooms and textbooks is very different from how people really speak. Some...

Use the site comments to increase your English learning.

I want to encourage more PhraseMix readers to use the comments feature of the site because I think you can get a lot out of it. Leaving a comment is helpful because:

1. It gives you practice with writing in English.
2. It lets me know when there are points that readers are unclear on.
3. It provides...

Look for common English metaphors to help you understand new phrases

In the last phrase this week, "The video's pretty choppy on my end," I explain that English speakers think of a telephone or online conversation as an imaginary string between two people. So you can talk about "my end" or "your end" of a conversation, just like you can talk about the two "ends"...

A Skype conversation: "flipping a coin"

Here's a Skype conversation I had this morning with an English learner:

Shinichi: Hi, can i ask you a question?
PhraseMix: Hi
PhraseMix: Good morning.
PhraseMix: Sure, ask away.
Shinichi: first question: how do you say コインをひっくり返すin english?
PhraseMix: "flip a coin" (but I had to look it up)
Shinichi:...

Learn proper English, and then make mistakes on purpose!

I have a confession to make: I love saying things the wrong way.

In the morning, when people at work say "How are you?" I usually answer "Wonderful!" instead of "Fine" or "Good". When I call an old friend, I don't say "Hey man, how's it going?". Instead I try to think of some new funny way to say...