English for Impact (S2S)

@englishforimpact's Quiz No. 64: different VS various

Oops, you did it again! Again and again I hear from you, guys, at S2S and individual classes: "I like different music," "I had different jobs." Well, this is wrong! Here is the catch:

🫧Different = not the same. You use it when you compare things: different to what??

Eg: "Italiant food is different fro Japanese food."
"My brother and I are different."
"Every country is different."

🫧Various = variety. You use it when you talk about many kinds of something.

Eg: "I own various clothes."
"We tried various solutions."
"We visited various countries during the trip."

Now, you're ready for 👇 the quizzzz

@englishforimpact's Quiz No. 63: "used to" VS "be used to ...ing"

Every time I get to type a new post on this structure I feel so guilty and embarassed: "I've talked about it too much already, no point in repeating it again" — I'm telling myself. Yet, every time this information is perceived as new. So, I embrace my role as a missionary of all "used" and continue my educational campaign :)

🫧Used to: talking about past habits you don't have anymore:

> I used to smoke in school, but I quit in the 10th grade.

🫧Be used to ...ing: talking about existing habits and feelings of normalcy. Simply put the verb "to be" in the tense you need and don't forget to add "...ing" to th everb after:

> I am used to having fresh juice in Vietnam.
> I was used to going to "Elektroteatr" in Moscow.
> Will I ever be used to living in emigration? We'll see.

Now, you're ready for the quizzzz👇

I came back from Cat Ba. My top 3 insights:

1. I take many comforts for granted, and don’t notice how much my life has changed.

As there were no Grab food delivery or taxi services on Cat Ba, I was left to negotiate for prices and walk on foot to get food. Just as I did in my uni, the difference is now it felt like such a tremendous errand to run.

2. Letting go of control pays off.

My anxious over-planning self was talking me into booking a boat tour around Cat Ba bay. Instead, I took a walk to the pier. As I was on the verge of heading back, I accepted a ride offer from a captain. As a result, I had a private ride with no crowds at a reasonable cost (no middleman) and lots of great pics.

3. The good and the ugly co-exist side by side. Complexity wins. What I take away from the trip is a conscious choice.

Often, my neuro system tries to make choices for me: either painting a rosy picture (stunning nature; cute locals) or drawing down a negativity spiral (tourist scamms; chaotic driving; the list goes on).

I enjoy having complex memories, not pigeonholing the trip.

❤️More personal stories, please
🪴I just want English, please

@englishforimpact's Quiz No 62: "Tend to" VS "Prone to"

I got it if you mix them up. It's normal, they're pretty similar.

🫧What Prone to/Tend to have in common:

They're both about something that happens regularly, often.

🫧So, what's the diffrence??

PRONE TO: a passive disposition.
You're prone to stress, colds, panick attacks. Something happens to you because you're prone to it.

TEND TO: an active position.
You tend to drink coffee, send voice messages, or have a nap after lunch. It's your choice: you do it, it doesn't happen to you.

Now, you're ready for the quizzz👇

@englishforimpact's Quiz No 61

When Russian speakers want to say they're trapped in a place with no easy way out, they usually say:

• I'm standing at the bus stop
• I'm standing in line
• I'm standing in the traffic jam

"Standing" is just about the physical action of standing though. As opposed to "sitting," or "lying."

To convey the idea of being trapped, it'd work out better to say:

• I'm stuck at the bus stop
• I'm stuck in line
• I'm stuck in the traffic jam

Now, you're ready for the quiizzzz 👇

What I Learned from Getting 1K on YouTube and Shutting Down and Offline Group in Da Nang

2 milestones are worth mentioning this September:
🫧I reached 1K subs on YouTube (celebratory short)
🫧I closed my offline English group in Da Nang

Here're my insights:

1) The joy of gain (YouTube) is much greater than the discomfort of a failed experiemnt. I guess I am one of those rare lucky people who derive more pleasure from wins. This helps me to be less risk averse & more entrepreneurial

2) What helped me to get over the closure is that I framed it as an experiemnt in the first place. When I was opening it in May I didn't tell myself that was going to be a top project. I told myself: "Let's play around and see"

3) The cause of the closure is that back in May I didn't have a defined portrait of my target audience. If you follow me attentively, you remember that last year I was focusing solely on S2S & PitchUP, and went back to teaching only in March. After such a gap in private practice, it took me a while to rediscover who my students are and are not. The Da Nang group helped to speed this discovery process a bunch.

Bonus insight: Classic & timeless. Do not mix the personal & the professional. I thought it would be fun to bring people offline together and make friends off screens, but that was confounding the oranges and the apples.

What's in it for you:

If ypu're starting out in a new place yourself, hope my post has helped you to be more daring. After all, starting and closing things doesn't hurt. What hurts is the regret of not even testing what's possible.

Let me know what other insights yoy want to learn from me in the comments 🪴

3 High Level Speaking Materials for S2S & 1 Demo

Approximately once every quarter I disclose a handful of speaking materials from the S2S community exclusively to subscribers of @englishforimpact.

This fall is no exception, and I am happy to share 3 speaking plans (in Notion) with you all. It was quite a pain to select 3 out of 12, as all of them have been truly outstanding. What helped me was shifting the selection criterion from "quality" to "variety."

So here are 3 Intermediate+ - Advanced plans shwcasing the range of topics and vocabulary that S2S users discuss weekly

🫧Denied the Stay after Paying $4,663
🫧How Polymarket Works
🫧AI Shock VS China Shock

⭐️ BTW, if you're available this upcoming Thursday (Sept, 17) at 11AM Moscow time, and willing to practice the 3d plan, I have a free trial S2S spot for you!

DM me @ybeymlina to get details and sign up for a demo 🪴

@englishforimpact's Quiz No. 60: Shouldn't VS Don't Have to

A mistake that 3 (!) students of mine have made this week: saying they "shouldn't" do something, while there was no negative advice, in fact.

Wow, let me simplify 🤓

🔠 When you say: "You shouldn't have all of the skills to get the job"

You actually say: It's a bad idea to have all of the skills

But you mean: It's great to have all of the skills, but not necessary

🔠 So you need to say instead: "You don't have to have all of the skills to get the job (only some)"

Now, you're ready for the quizzzzz 👇

High Achievers & Average Learners Use Language Functions Differently

R. Jakobson identified 6 functions of a human language.

2 of them are developed by pretty much all learners.
3 more - only by high achievers.

Swipe to check which functions you prioritize and which you neglect. Lmk in the comments!

@englishforimpact's Quiz No. 59: variable or versatile?

Variable/versatile confusion's popped up during an IELTS prep lesson this week. Let's get down to the bottom:

🫧Variable (adjective) = keeps changing

Variable weather
Variable speed
Variable prices

🫧Versatile (adjective) = many uses, many abilities of 1 thing

Versatile softwre
Versatile actor
Versatile knife

Now, you're ready for the quiz🪴

My students prepare for IELTS, but they get this on top

This year, I’ve prepared 4 students for IELTS, and I’m preparing 2 now.

Their results range from 6.5 till 8. When they come to me, they expect to boost English. However, by the time they take IELTS, they also get this:

🫧 The sense of control:

When you see a numerical breakdown of your 4 skills (2 receptive: reading, listening; 2 productive: writing, speaking), you can measure it. What’s more, what you can measure you can also control.

🫧 Diplomacy:

A big part of IELTS prep is PC (politically correct) speech:

ugly = not the most attractive
lazy = lacking motivation
stupid decision = not thoroughly thought out

A useful skill for work and business, motherfuckers!

🫧Thinking on their feet:

In speaking section, you must expect a cornucopia of questions, ranging from your favourite colour to birdwatching. Yes, birdwatching! 🐦 Moreover, you need to give cohesive well-framed answers, as if you’ve spent all of your waking hours thinking about god-damn birdwatching.

Once you have prepared for this shit, no small talk can scare you.

🫧 Precision:

In both writing and speaking, you must avoid words such as “stuff,” “like,” “people,” etc. You have to be specific to get a high band:

people > residents, account holders, tourists
stuff > equipment, tools, materials
something like that > and other methods of this kind

Speaking with precision wins you trust, promotions, clients. What a lucrative soft skill!

🪴 Have you ever taken any international standardized exams? What did it teach you besides the core subject?