The Blog

The problem with language learning "levels"

Most language systems and books have different levels: Basic, Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, and so on.

I don't really believe in levels very much, because my experience is that people take very different paths to learn a language. One person might speak English like crazy after a few weeks...

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?

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

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...