American English Language School

At American English Language School, we emphasize practicing English conversations. That is why we maintain smaller classes for students to have as many chances to speak as possible. On the other hand, a big part of having a conversation is listening. If you cannot comprehend what someone is saying to you, you will have no idea what to respond or you may respond incorrectly. Speaking is found the most challenging by many students, so they tend to focus on that. However, you won't be able to improve your speaking skills without working on your listening skills. Here are a few tips and tricks to help you improve your listening.   First, a crucial part of improving your listening skills is to listen attentively. You need to make sure you are focused; You won't be able to improve by just playing something in the background and not paying attention to it. After you have your material to help you practice, listen to it repeatedly. You should try to find materials that have tran...

When you are learning English, you will face plenty of challenges. In our previous blogs, we have gone over a few challenges already, such as what homographs are , common English mistakes people make when learning English, and how to keep up your motivation when learning English .   Today we will focus on another topic: writing. Read on to find some useful tips to help you to improve your writing.   Tip #1: Expand your vocabulary In order to improve your English, it is a good idea to expand your vocabulary. A good writer is able to express themself clearly and effectively. To do this,you should use strong vocabulary, especially when writing for academic purposes. Readers don't want to hear the same words over and over again, so having a variety of words and terms in your writing helps to make your writing more engaging and pleasant to read. For example, don't just say you were happy, tell them you were jubilant, overjoyed, or elated!   Tip #2: Read! Read! Rea...

  Learning English is an exciting experience, but it can be overwhelming as well. It takes a lot of practice and dedication. At American English Language School, many students who join our ESL program have already studied English. However, many students tell us that they do not get a lot of opportunities to speak. We always encourage our students to use English outside of the classroom to get as much practice as possible while studying in America, but a common problem is students don't have someone to talk to in English. If you would like to get extra English practice, here are few options: Social media: Social media is a great way to connect with others. You can chat with friends, old and new. You can try to use some of the slang words we went over in a previous blog. If you don't have someone with who you can practice English, join a group! Facebook has countless groups online where you can find other people learning English and wanting to practice more. There are also ...

Searching for a job is always a stressful task. But then, you get that email or phone call – they’re interested. They ask you to come in for an interview. For most people, the interview is even more stressful than the job search. And if you are not a native speaker, this can seem even more daunting because the interview will be in English. So, to help put you at ease, here are some tips to help you nail your next interview!   The first thing you need to do is introduce yourself and shake the interviewer's hand. You can add a "Nice to meet you" and be sure to smile when you are greeting them.   The person, or people, interviewing you will ask questions to get to know you and see if you will be a good fit for their company. They will most likely start the interview by asking you to tell them about yourself. When you hear this question, you don't want to tell them your whole life story. You also don't want to tell them too much personal information about your...

Learning English can be difficult because of the grammar rules, vocabulary, and making sure that you are pronouncing the words correctly. Another challenge that students face is slang words and phrases. Slang is a type of language that consists of words and phrases that are regarded as very informal, are more common in speech than writing, and are typically restricted to a particular context or group of people. While you are watching television, listening to songs, or speaking to native English speakers, you will hear plenty of slang words that can seem confusing. To help you improve your English, here are a few common American slang terms that you should know and try out for yourself: TBH This is an acronym that means 'to be honest.' It is used to express honesty and is mostly used on social media. You can use TBH to encourage someone and give a positive comment or reveal a secret to someone.   Bail You use bail to mean you are canceling plans with someone. For ...

Are you trying to learn English but are having trouble getting started? A great way to learn English is to take an English course in the United States, but unfortunately, right now, it may be hard to enroll in an English course overseas. Luckily, there are many great alternatives to help you learn English from the comfort of your own home! A major resource you can use to learn English is the internet. There are so many great sites to help you learn new vocabulary and grammar rules. If you want to practice your English with others, there are countless groups on social media for English learners. You can just search through different groups until you find one that is right for you. It is a great way to learn while making friends with other people who are going through the same experience as you. Besides social media, here are our top three websites we recommend for English learners. One great website to use for grammar is Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) . This site has helpful ma...

When learning English, or any subject, there is never only one way to learn. Everyone has a unique way of absorbing information. Being able to understand what type of learner you are can help you tremendously when you are learning English by helping you understand yourself better and finding techniques to help you improve the rate of your learning, which will help you to enjoy your English learning experiences. Read on to learn more about the different learning styles and which tips will work best for you! Visual Learner If you like to look at pictures and use lists to organize your thoughts, you are a visual learner. Visual learners remember what they see the most. They usually see words as pictures or other objects. If you are a visual learner, it is a good idea to color-code your notes with different colored pens. The best ways to help you when learning English are drawing pictures of vocabulary words, using flashcards, and watching videos. Auditory Learner If you like lis...