Blog - My English Matters

4th April 20196th April 2019

Let’s talk about grammar again…

Two weeks ago, I wrote an email to our subscribers about speaking up at work even if you think you have poor grammar.

We received so many replies from that email. So today, I’m writing about grammar again.

But this is not a lesson about grammar. This is a post to help change your mindset around it.

Grammar is important when you’re writing professional emails, letters to clients or copy for marketing materials such as websites and leaflets.

But when it comes to everyday speaking situations, it’s okay to have imperfect grammar.

Continue reading “Let’s talk about grammar again…”

28th March 20194th April 2019

“Double check” or “double confirm”?

How often do you come across the phrase “double confirm”? After we had our dinner last night, I asked my husband whether he had any ideas of what I could write about for this week’s post.

He answered, “Write about the use of “double confirm” and why it’s wrong.”

“Do a lot of people actually say that? I don’t remember many people using it back in my former job,” I replied.

“Ever since my colleague mentioned it, I’ve been seeing it everywhere,” he said.

Thanks for the suggestion, hubs.

Continue reading ““Double check” or “double confirm”?”

21st March 20194th April 2019

Are you afraid of speaking because you have bad grammar? This is for you.

Today’s post is a short one. I want to talk about one common struggle among our students. Grammar.

We hear it many times.

“My problem is grammar.”
“I have bad grammar.”
“I’m afraid people will laugh at me because I have poor grammar.”

And I went to tell you it’s completely normal to not have perfect grammar. Even people whose first language is English struggle with this.

Continue reading “Are you afraid of speaking because you have bad grammar? This is for you.”

14th March 20193rd April 2019

How to improve your vocabulary

Today I want to talk about something many of our students talk about–vocabulary. They struggle with finding the right words to say when they need to speak.

But before I start this post, let me give a huge shout-out to the participants of last weekend’s Presentation Skills Workshop!

All of the participants were amazing and I felt like a proud mama bear at the end of the day, seeing all the transformation and accomplishments.

Here’s a photo of last weekend’s event with our students:

Back to our post!

I’d like to share a tip that I hope would be helpful for improving your vocabulary.

Continue reading “How to improve your vocabulary”

7th March 20193rd April 2019

How to say “sorry” to your boss

How do we say sorry and sound like we mean it? We want the other person to know that we genuinely regret the mistake. This shows honesty and integrity.

Besides creating content for My English Matters, I also have a part-time job translating and subtitling for a broadcasting company.

The other day, I made a mistake. I was supposed to submit a task last Saturday, but I thought the deadline was Sunday!

My supervisor emailed me about this. She’s a great supervisor, she didn’t sound angry in the email (I think) but I felt terrible about making the mistake. So I replied the email with an apology.

If you’re like any normal person, it’s likely you’ve made mistakes in the past and will do so in the future.

Continue reading “How to say “sorry” to your boss”

28th February 20193rd April 2019

How to Better Prepare for Presentations

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of teaching students of my former university. Another word for former university is alma mater. (I’ve always wanted to use that word. It sounds fancy.)

The workshop was titled Communication Skills for the Workplace, where I taught them the basics of writing effective emails, speaking tips and presentation skills.

One of the things the students were taught was visualisation, and how it’s helpful for any situation–whether it’s for a presentation, a performance or just about anything you’re about to face that’s difficult.

Continue reading “How to Better Prepare for Presentations”

21st February 20193rd April 2019

The difference between “deadline” and “dateline”

Do you ever get mixed up between the words “deadline” and “dateline”?

Getting them confused with one another is very common. After all, they do sound very similar. However, their meanings couldn’t be any more different.

To find out how “deadline” and “dateline” differ, watch this video we made for you!

After you’ve watched the video, we want to hear from you. The team at My English Matters are planning to create more videos on the blog over the coming months.

So tell us, what topics do you want us to talk about?

Whether it’s about writing, speaking, presenting, building confidence or anything else you want to learn! We’ll review all your suggestions to plan for our video content.

Leave a comment below or write to us! We look forward to hearing from you!

14th February 20193rd April 2019

How to say “I don’t know” to your boss

Today I want to talk about saying the three words a lot of us are ashamed of saying at work, which is: “I don’t know.”

I remember back in my corporate days, I was a young, enthusiastic management trainee, wanting to impress and prove myself.

One day, the boss asked me a difficult question. I didn’t want to say that I didn’t know because I was afraid of coming across as incompetent or stupid.

Continue reading “How to say “I don’t know” to your boss”

31st January 201914th February 2019

No time to learn English?

I’ve recently changed to a new mobile phone (after several months of using a phone that wasn’t functioning too well). The phone displays the total time I’m looking at my screen every day. So far I’m averaging one hour and 50 minutes of screen time per day! Continue reading “No time to learn English?”

24th January 201930th January 2019

Improve your speaking skills with podcasts

I’ve just returned from a trip overseas with my family earlier this week. After a couple of days adjusting back to our local timezone, I’m now catching up on all the tasks that have been piling up over my break.

On my last day of the trip, I received an email about the release of a podcast that I’m featured in. I was interviewed by Hafizah, the host of her own podcast show called Stand Tall, Girl. In the episode, I talk about our work at My English Matters, I share a few tips to help people improve their English, and we discuss the importance of speaking up even when we’re afraid of making mistakes.