Multiple options to improve your English and communication skills.
Recommended Courses
I've been going through Espresso English's materials and I think it's complementary to what I offer. I've included a quick screenshot example.
I also have a free sample lesson on idioms you can view on the link below. It includes a quiz as well.
https://www.espressoenglish.net/english-idioms-course-lesson-1/
If you are looking for more courses, you can use the link below to view the entire library.
https://www.espressoenglish.
Recommended Readings
I Hear You: The Surprisingly Simple Skill Behind Extraordinary Relationships
Highlights:
Quickly resolve, or even prevent arguments
Help others become open to your point of view
Give advice and feedback that sticks
My Thoughts:
This is a great entry level book on, interesting enough, active listing skills. This may not directly help with understanding English, but this is an excellent way of building relationships, as well as dealing with disagreements. There is a case study in the book where he is talking to an employee about a project and he uses a variety of vocabulary to understand without agreeing – this was a HUGE lesson for me.
How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships
![How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships by [Lowndes, Leil]](1558058136254.jpg)
Highlights:
14 ways to master small talk, "big talk," and body language.
14 ways to walk and talk like a VIP or celebrity.
7 ways to establish deep subliminal rapport with anyone.
My Thoughts:
This is kind of an intensive book, I had to go through it multiple times, and honestly, I don’t remember most of the content per se.
I know it like, intuitively, but I wouldn’t be able to provide all 92 tips if you asked me. My favorite was “Cherry Picking” – which is a tip on how to keep conversations going, as well as identifying topics that others love to talk about.
Primed to Perform: How to Build the Highest Performing Cultures Through the Science of Total Motivation
![Primed to Perform: How to Build the Highest Performing Cultures Through the Science of Total Motivation by [Doshi, Neel, McGregor, Lindsay]](1558058136302.jpg)
Highlights:
Total Motivation – Explains the six pieces of Motivation.
Culture – Differences between good and outstanding companies.
Psychology – Multiple Case Studies to demonstrate results
My Thoughts:
I found this book through a C level executive, so that should you a lot already. The book is focused on company culture and is aimed towards executives, but I found this incredibly useful for my own personal development as well as for understanding things like why people behave in certain ways.
Fluent in 3 Months: How Anyone at Any Age Can Learn to Speak Any Language from Anywhere in the World
Highlights:
Inspirational – There is a huge focus on mindset shifts and dealing with confidence issues.
Eye-Opening – Multiple Case Studies reveal some really harsh truths about language.
My Thoughts:
So this book is about motivation and inspiration, as well as specific tactics regarding learning specific languages. The writer is a polyglot; he speaks over ten languages. This can really help improve your confidence in my opinion.
What Smart Students Know: Maximum Grades, Optimum Learning, Minimum Time
Highlights:
Formulas to Enhance Your Writing
Test Preparation and Strategy: Dealing with Anxiety, Soliciting Feedback, Maximize Grades
How to Ask Better Questions to Improve Your Understanding
My Thoughts:
This book provides mindset shifts as well as tactics and strategies on how to get the most out of learning new information. One of the most important things you will learn is how to weed out bad information, so you are not wasting time focusing on material that is either blatantly wrong and/or useless to you.Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
Highlights:
Improve Performance
Time Management
Focus and Strategy
My Thoughts:
I got good positive feedback in a previous role I had based on my ability to focus on the project where he felt most consultants would have struggled due to the sheer boredom and simplicity of the assignment. When it comes to making 6-figures and beyond, sometimes we have to take on responsibilities we don't enjoy as part of the job.
Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
Highlights:
Learning about Vulnerability
Dealing with the fear “Not wanting to reveal your flaws”
My Thoughts:
One of my favorite books. Brene does a great job of talking about self-worth and the importance of accepting yourself. This is great for people who struggle with significant levels of anxiety.
https://amzn.to/2YHqtFt
Recommended TV Shows and Movies
TV Shows
So I was looking online for a few recommendations, and a few things came up repeatedly. I’ll list them below. How you find these shows…probably on YouTube for free, followed by Netflix or Hulu.
Classical and heavily recommended
Friends
This show is kind of outdated in my opinion and not very modern. However, the thing that came up was that this was great for learning common idioms and double entendres. Just be wary it’s almost 15 years old, but from what I remember, most of the content is still relative today. The major concern is the lack of social media. It’s last season ended in 2004, way before Instagram and Snapchat, and Tinder.
Sex and the City
Again, pretty outdated, and again most of the content is still relative today. Despite the title, this is actually pretty mild in my opinion compared to many of the mainstream content.
Modern
Fresh off the Boat
Blackish
Modern Family
Parenthood – much more serious, it’s a not sitcom like the others.
Work-Related/More Serious
Suits - Lawyers
White Collar - FBI
Law and Order – Detectives + Lawyers
Additional Articles regarding TV Shows:
https://www.fluentu.com/blog/english/learn-english-american-sitcoms/
https://www.studyinternational.com/news/5-popular-tv-shows-learn-english/
https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-of-the-best-TV-shows-for-improving-ones-English
Movies
So I was looking online for a few recommendations, and a few things came up repeatedly. I’ll list them below. How you find these shows…probably on YouTube for free, followed by Netflix or Hulu.
Heavily Recommended
The King’s Speech
So I personally haven’t seen this still, but I will make time for it in the near future. I saw bits and pieces here and there. This is British English, however, I think the content and theme are still important, and it came up in multiple lists. Focus on pronunciation.
Toy Story
This is a classic movie for kids, but the content is still very meaningful for adults. I’m not sure why it kept coming up but I thought I’d share it.
The Social Network
This is a semi-fictional documentary about how Facebook started.
Modern
Any movie from Marvel Studios like Iron Man, The Avengers, Captain America, etc.
Sing – this is a musical, it’s a lot of fun but relatively modern.
Jurassic Word (Chris Pratt)
The Holiday
Work-Related/More Serious
The Wolf of Wall Street
Inception
Additional Articles regarding Movies:
https://www.fluentu.com/blog/english/learn-english-movies-films-modern-american-classics/
https://www.gonaturalenglish.com/top-10-movies-learning-english/
https://englishstudio.com/blog/best-films-learning-english/
https://www.ef.com/wwen/blog/language/10-movies-to-learn-english-with/Recommended Websites, YouTube Videos & Apps
Grammar Book: This website has quizzes and plenty of examples of all the grammar rules for Amerian English
You can also buy the book on Amazon. Grammarly: This is both a Chrome Extension and an App for your mobile device that works automatically and enhanced spellcheck. There is a free version and paid upgrade, but the free version is sufficient in my opinion, but it does not catch every single error.
Ask Teacher Will: I've been watching his YouTube channel for a while and he has creative ways of teaching.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyIJsU_lRHORLj7WtoOdk7g
Blackboard English: This channel some cool videos like explaining the vocabulary from Harry Potter.https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6-A95sqPBKlPSTdTxTiX3Q
Go Natural English: This channel has videos all over the place and has a variety of topics to review.https://www.youtube.com/user/GoNaturalEnglish
A quick note: I need to tell you that some of these links are affiliate links – basically, if you buy something through the link, I get a commission from Amazon.I’m legally required to tell you this – because sometimes people try to promote products that are not a good fit for the customer.
It’s no extra cost to you, and again, I’ve read every single resource here and I am confident you will find them useful if you choose to use them, but no pressure – none of these are required.
