The Blog

The "lean-back" language learning experience

The new Phrase Mixer review tool that I released last week represents an important new direction for PhraseMix Premium. It's the "lean-back" language learning experience.

"Lean-back experience" is a term that I learned at my day job at a large magazine publishing company. A few years ago,...

How many lessons do you study per day?

A reader sent me an email asking me how many PhraseMix lessons he should study per day.

Personally, I would try to learn 2 new phrases per day. I would not only read the lessons, but try to search for other examples of each of the phrases on the Internet and on YouTube.

I would also spend 10-15...

How can you find English speakers to talk with?

One complaint I often hear from English learners is that it's hard to find people to practice with.

I agree that it can be hard. You have to change your habits to put yourself in new situations where you get more English practice. It takes a little bit of bravery. You have to be willing to speak...

The reason that PhraseMix works

What is PhraseMix about?

Whenever I meet someone new and introduce myself, I have to explain what PhraseMix is. To be honest, it's always a little bit difficult. I say something like this:

I run a website for people who are learning English as a second language. I write lessons each day and post...

The hard parts of understanding English conversation

This week, I met up with the blogger Adir Ferreira from Transparent Language Brazil. He was on his first trip to the U.S. and came to New York for a few days.

In our conversation, Adir mentioned that this was his first immersion experience in English. Although he had studied English for...