Category Archives: Language & Terms

The expression home away from home means that the place you are describing is as comfortable as your own house, somewhere you can feel “at home,” and it is usually where you spend a lot of your time. You could … Continue reading →

We often get questions about slang words listeners see in the newspaper or (more likely) hear in movies, TV programs, and songs. The problem with slang is that it keeps changing. Words that were slang five years ago may no … Continue reading →

QUESTION: Keisuke from Japan wrote us an email and asked, “What does “fair enough” mean? I saw people saying it many times in movies but I didn’t understand exactly what it meant.” ANSWER: “Fair enough” is a response we give … Continue reading →

This is a video with a woman who imitates 21 different English accents, including British, Irish, Scottish, Australian, and American accents, as well as several European ESL accents. I think her performance is quite impressive. Notice how she changes her … Continue reading →

Many of you know that Voice of America has a “Special English” program that helps you improve your English by using a more limited vocabulary and slowing down the rate of speech (how fast someone talks). It is similar to … Continue reading →

I got an interesting question recently from a listener, Mauricio, about how the different English proficiency tests compare to one another. Mauricio took the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC), and wants to know what his approximate score would … Continue reading →

We’ve had a few listeners ask about the acronyms (abbreviations) ESL and EFL, so I thought I would talk about them briefly. Different countries and organizations use these terms differently, but I’ll tell you how they are generally used. First, … Continue reading →