Resources: Notes on Life and Language in the United States

One of the most important tasks where you will need your English in New York is finding an apartment. In the last New York English lesson you learned which neighborhoods are up-and-coming. Now that you have some neighborhoods in mind that you want to check out, you will learn some vocabulary words and expressions that you can use to communicate with the landlord, the broker or your potential roommates. Try the quiz below to test your vocabulary for apartment hunting. Choose the correct words to fill in the blanks in this typical telephone conversation between a landlord and an apartment hunter.

There are some common English mistakes that many people make when they are learning English. Some of the mistakes are common for native English speakers too! In today's video, I will talk about some of the common mistakes and help you to understand them so that you will be able to use them correctly in your daily English conversations. Please watch the video first, then take the quiz to see how much you learned! Good luck and enjoy!

Why do we use so many English idioms that are related to the weather in the United States? In an earlier blog post about English conversation practice, we learned how to make small talk and we said that the weather is one of the most common topics for making small talk in English with American people. We love to talk about the weather here in the United States! So, naturally, we have a lot of idioms that are related to the weather. Why are English idioms important for you, as an English student? In your home country, you probably focused on grammar and vocabulary but those are only a few of the tools that you will need to speak with local people in the United States. It is important to understand and know how to use idioms and common expressions. They are fun to learn as well! So, today we will learn a few new idioms that you can use in your everyday conversations in English.

Have you ever tried climbing a mountain in the rain? While I was working as an English tutor in Japan, I climbed Mt. Fuji on a rainy day in July with two other teachers. Today I want to share my Mt. Fuji story. The story contains English phrases, phrasal verbs and expressions that are commonly used in the United States. Your job is to choose the correct English phrases to complete the story. Good luck!

To be successful in the United States, you must understand not only the English language but English and American culture.

If you are doing business, taking a class, preparing for a test or just visiting Boston or New York, you will notice that the American culture is reflected in the English language.

One important aspect of communicating with American people is giving feedback or offering criticism.

Different cultures voice criticism in different ways. It is important to know yourself.

How do you express criticism in your home culture?

When you don't agree with someone or you see a problem with their work, how do you tell them? Do you come out and say it directly?

Do you use non-verbal communication and express your feedback indirectly so that you will not offend them?

Welcome to today's English vocabulary lesson. In this video lesson, you will learn 6 common English expressions in 3 minutes. In English, we use expressions like "fall for" "cut down on" and "live up to" in our daily conversations often. You probably didn't study these expressions in your home country and now that you are here in the United States and you are hearing these expressions, perhaps you don't know how to use them or what they mean. It's time to learn to speak English like a native speaker. Take 3 minutes to watch this video and add 6 new English expressions to your English vocabulary. Do you have 3 minutes? Let's get started!

Welcome to our vocabulary workshop on confusing words in English! Today we would like to help you with 12 vocabulary words that can be confusing for native speakers as well as English language learners. Do you know the difference between advice and advise? plane and plain? led and lead? If not, this video quiz is for you!