The Blog

Thoughts about learning foreign languages and news about PhraseMix.com

Where do I start?

A PhraseMix reader asked this question:

I feel a little lost. There are is too much information, and I am so excited to learn everything but I don't really know where to start. Wherever I look I find new links and pages and phrases. Any advice on how to start to learn the right way and not miss...

Never tell yourself that you "know" an English word or phrase.

Here's one secret of great language learners:

Never tell yourself that you "know" something. 

Do you know the word "Hello"?

When you first started learning English, one of the first words you probably learned was "Hello". It seems like such a simple word. But stop to think about how well...

How do YOU study a PhraseMix lesson?

How do you study English?

When you read a PhraseMix lesson, which part do you spend the most time reading and thinking about?

At the top of each lesson, I describe a specific situation and then give an example of something you can say, write, think, read, or hear. Below that, I break the example down into words and ...

How to improve your English listening comprehension

Listening

Why spoken English is difficult to understand

A lot of English learners have trouble understanding what native English speakers say.

One reason that real English is difficult to understand is that the English in classrooms and textbooks is very different from how people really speak. Some...

Use the site comments to increase your English learning.

I want to encourage more PhraseMix readers to use the comments feature of the site because I think you can get a lot out of it. Leaving a comment is helpful because:

  1. It gives you practice with writing in English.
  2. It lets me know when there are points that readers are unclear on.
  3. It provides...