📊🗣️ CEFR TEST LIMITATIONS: WHAT THE LEVELS CAN’T MEASURE 🧠
CEFR and standardized English test limitations are real, and one of my best students proves it. Every new student of mine takes the Preply CEFR test. I want a baseline, and a score gives us a starting point. Still, CEFR test limitations are real, and a number never tells the whole story. 📝 A2 on […]
📚🍻BOOKS ‘n BEER: GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS
🏢 GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS 💼 This week in Books ‘n Beer, we discussed Glengarry Glen Ross, both the play and the 1992 movie. Honestly, it is fantastic! I give it five out of five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and two thumbs up! 👍👍 What Is Glengarry Glen Ross About? David Mamet wrote Glengarry Glen Ross in 1983. […]
🗣️ WORKING ON MY BRAZILIAN ACCENT! 🙂🎤✨
In classes, I sometimes use accents to help students practice listening to different people from around the world. I do it with respect, NOT to make fun of people! It is good learning and also fun. I have several accents that I have learned over the years: British, Spanish, German, Italian, Indian, Russian, French, and […]
🗣️PRACTICING PRONUNCIATION USING PASSWORDS B7k#L2m$Q9x!R4t@P8w
Below is a new activity I recently created. Using passwords for pronunciation practice. The long password below is quite a challenge. Try it. Use the ‘Name’ and ‘Pronunciation Tip’ columns for help. Do you think someone could understand you as pronounced all these symbols over a phone or in person??? 😉 🔐 The Long Password: […]
⚾ THE L.A. DODGERS: TEACHING ENGLISH ONE INNING AT A TIME🧢
Sometimes the best lesson plan isn’t a traditional lesson plan at all — it’s baseball. ⚾ One of my students recently moved to Los Angeles from Japan, and like a lot of newcomers, he’s still finding his footing in a new city, a new culture, and a new language. But he found something that made […]
⛪CHURCH SERVICES DURING CLASS???🙏👼
For the first time ever, I did a bit of a church service in class the other day. I have a student that moved to a new country and town for her job. She went to church and did not understand the English. So, I made a dialogue with AI and we actually read the […]
💼TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF: Still the king of interview questions🤴
If I had to bet on one question showing up in a job interview, it would still be this one. “Tell me about yourself.” These are simple words, but they still trip up more candidates than almost anything else. That includes plenty of native English speakers, not just ESL learners. Why is it a problem? […]
🗣️💬 YOUR TEACHER DOESN’T NEED YOUR LANGUAGE — THEY NEED SKILL! 🎯✨
It has always been a funny thing to me. Many students think their English teacher should also speak their native language. They say it’s just in case they need help understanding something. This makes sense — but it’s actually a kind of trap. 🪤 Here is the truth: when a student reaches A2 level or […]
💼STUDENT WORKING UNDER AN O-1 VISA🏆
I am proud to say that I have a student working under an O-1 Visa! She started a company here in the USA and she is writing a book about it! (I am now supporting her English fluency journey.👍🏼) What is an ‘O-1’ VISA?: The O-1 visa is a nonimmigrant work visa for individuals with […]
🏁FORD DEFEATS FERRARI IN THE AUGUST ESL CHALLENGE!🏎️🏎️🏆
Team Ford defeated Team Ferrari in the August ESL Challenge 1185 to 1035! CONGRATULATIONS, TEAM FORD! (Just like the movie 😉) Students competed by answering questions on the following English tests. 🌍 IELTS — International English Language Testing System, TOEFL — Test of English as a Foreign Language 💼 TOEIC — Test of English for […]
🌍🌎Europe to USA: One Student’s Leap into 2028
Some stories I get to tell as a teacher fill me with pure pride, and this is one of them. One of my students — a woman with more than twenty years of hard-earned career experience behind her — is packing up her whole life and family in Europe to start over in the United […]
🏗️L-1B VISA APPROVED TODAY 🥳
A student’s L-1B Visa was approved today! 🙌🏼👍👍CONGRATS!
🎸🎶NEW GUITAR APP SUPPORTED BY Pete’s Lab
(MUSIC ENGLISH, BUSINESS ENGLISH (#2 STORY IN THE SERIES on PRACTICKAPP.COM) Fabiano’s Guitar App Pracktick — The Biggest and coolest Project in (Pete’s Lab) Music English History Pete’s student Fabiano — a guitarist and developer from Brazil — has built a real guitar practice app called Practick. And Pete has been supporting the English needs […]
🗣️STUDENT USES AI TO MONITOR SPEAKING SPEED🏎️
A student was recently using the Preply AI report to show his speaking speed had increased. The AI is improving and it’s good to see some students putting it to good use. 😉🫡😎
🏗️STUDENT PREPARING FOR L1-B VISA INTERVIEW
🎯 Business English — Visa Interview Prep! One of my students is preparing for a US L1-B Visa interview. We are practicing through real dialogues — questions, answers, professional vocabulary and confidence building. This is exactly what Business English is for. Good luck! 🍀🫡
🏢BUSINESS WORDS I LOVE! ‘PRACTICABLE’
I LOVE the word ‘practicable’. It is one of my favorite words. It is similar to ‘possible’ but more specific: Here’s the difference: Possible = something that CAN happen — it’s within the realm of reality. Practicable = something that can actually be DONE given real world constraints — time, resources, circumstances. Example: Something can […]
💻A REMINDER OF ENGLISH IN SOFTWARE!
Today, I was talking with my student who made the ‘Product Checker’ .( https://peteslab.com/student-creates-a-quality-test-tool/) He reminded me of the importance of English in his use of Python and SQL to make his Product checker. Below is a list of ten of the major software tools that are English-based. Top 10 technical fields/tools that are heavily […]
💼🛫STUDENT MOVING TO THE USA! 🎉
One of Pete’s students — a professional Engineer and Project Manager — has just received an exciting two year work assignment from her company. She will be living in the USA for two years! She has been studying with Pete since January 2025. She worked hard, stayed consistent and improved her English significantly. She started […]
💡📈STUDENT OPENS SPORTS CLOTHING STORE
BIG BUSINESS PROJECTS: Jose and his wife have opened up a sports clothing store this past week! While the store is run in his native language, he and I do dialogues, vocabulary and discussions about the store in ENGLISH to support the project. Jose claims that his English language learning of the past few years […]
👨🏼🔬STUDENT CREATES A QUALITY TEST TOOL📋
BIG BUSINESS PROJECTS: A student is currently working on a product quality testing tool for his company. It is expected to bring huge savings. While he is working on the project in his native language, we are busy doing mock presentations and Q&A dialogues in ENGLISH to support the project.
🗣️BUSINESS PRONUNCIATION/VOCABULARY
🤪BUSINESS PRONUNCIATION PRACTICE! (Two VERY tough words today. 😉 : overhead = OH – vur – hed / the regular costs of running a business, like rent, electricity, and salaries divestiture = dy – VES – tuh – chur / the act of selling off a part of a company, like a division or asset […]