On Tuesday, I went live on our FB page and talked about eight things you can do when your mind goes blank.
Continue reading “What to do when your mind goes blank”What to do when your mind goes blank
5 things you can do at home to improve your English
Watch Madam Azimah share five things you can do at home to improve your English. This is the replay of a Facebook Live session on our Facebook page.
Continue reading “5 things you can do at home to improve your English”Use these phrases to interrupt people (without feeling bad about it)
On Tuesday, I went live on our FB page to share more tips about getting your voice heard if you’re soft-spoken.
Continue reading “Use these phrases to interrupt people (without feeling bad about it)”Are you soft-spoken? 3 tips for being heard (even with a soft voice)
Many people have said that I’m soft-spoken (but those who know me well would probably say I’m not–especially my children).
Do people say that you’re soft-spoken? Do you have a gentle, quiet voice?
Being soft-spoken is not a bad thing. You’re probably a wonderful listener and people love talking to you.
But sometimes, we need to speak with a louder volume so that people can actually hear the important things we have to say.
Also, speaking with a louder voice can help us become more confident when we need to express our opinions.
If you’re soft-spoken, I want to share a few tips for getting your point across.
Continue reading “Are you soft-spoken? 3 tips for being heard (even with a soft voice)”Need to introduce yourself? Try these 7 steps.
If you’ve been following our stories on Instagram or Facebook, you may know that Madam Azimah has a new weekly segment on Manis FM, a radio channel for East Coast Malaysians.
The segment focuses on English for working professionals. Does that sound like you?
The first episode was released yesterday and it’s called 7 Steps to Effectively Introduce Yourself.
If you missed it (especially if you’re not living on the East Coast), we have good news. Madam Azimah has re-recorded the episode and added new examples for you.
It’s only 15 minutes–but it’s a good one.
You can listen to it here:
Using ‘more’ and ‘most’ with comparative and superlative adjectives.
The other day I was having a conversation with my husband. I can’t remember the actual words or the subject of the conversation, but I said something like this:
‘It’s more nicer this way.’
Then he corrected me, ‘It’s nicer this way.’
Did you spot the mistake?
Today I’m sharing a common mistake that even native English speakers make. It’s the use of ‘more + adjective’ in sentences.
(As mentioned above, even I make this mistake in speaking. My husband seems to enjoy correcting me because I teach English.)
Continue reading “Using ‘more’ and ‘most’ with comparative and superlative adjectives.”When to use “was” and “were”.
Last week, I published a fun quiz on our social media about the use of the verbs “was” and “were”.
Looking at the results, many who took part didn’t get the answers right, and we received comments from some followers who wanted to know more about this grammatical rule.
So I’m writing this today to explain to you the difference between the two verbs.
Continue reading “When to use “was” and “were”.”Don’t make this mistake I made.
A few months back, I had to do a live video for a group of students.
I had prepared everything that I was going to talk about–I wrote down the flow in my notebook and I had all my notes and points ready. I had also gone through everything that I was going to say.
After doing several live videos, I felt a bit more confident than usual.
I would usually rehearse for these sessions. I’d rehearse as if I were actually doing the session.
Continue reading “Don’t make this mistake I made.”The real meaning of ‘tentative’
Today, the My English Matters Team (me, Madam Azimah & Aisya) will be making our way for our quarterly meeting in KL.
It will be the first time I meet Madam Azimah in real life this year. She lives in Terengganu and Aisya and I are here in Klang Valley. We’ve been meeting virtually all this time, so I don’t feel like it’s been long!
Anyway, yesterday we were discussing the agenda for our meeting and one thing that came up was the word “tentative”.
We notice that a lot of Malaysians use the word “tentative” as a noun to mean “programme”, “agenda” or “itinerary” of an event. But that’s not the correct meaning.
“Tentative” means “not certain or fixed”. It’s actually an adjective.
Continue reading “The real meaning of ‘tentative’”“I am shy and always concerned about what other people think of me.”
Today at 12 noon, I went LIVE on our Facebook page. I answered a few questions that we received through email.
One of them is this:
“I am shy and always concerned about what other people think of me. How do I overcome this?”
Does that sound like you? You prefer to keep quiet because you’re afraid of making mistakes or sounding stupid.
If that sounds like you, watch the replay of the live session here.
