Following are audio recordings of some of our roundtable discussions. Beneath each audio recording are language notes that Kenny sent in real time during the conversation. Many of the language notes are linked to outside resources for further exploration of Kenny’s language suggestions.
July 25, 2023
Managing Free Time
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April 14, 2023
Stop Remote Work Burnout
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Language Notes
- every other sth (idiom)
- I travel to Warsaw every other week.
- pave (v) / pavement (n.) / paved (adj.) / unpaved (adj.)
- Many of the roads in the forest are unpaved.
- pave the way (idiom)
- flood rhymes with mud
- blood rhymes with mud
- back-to-back meetings
- consecutive meetings
- X meetings in a row (idiom)
- downtime (n.)
- outgoing (adj.)
- reserved (adj.)
- gregarious (adj.)
- to be in your element / to be out of your element (idiom)
- a spontaneous (adj.) meeting
- an impromptu (adj.) meeting
- commute (v.) / a commute (n.)
- verb + boundaries (collocations)
- set boundaries
- establish boundaries
- maintain boundaries
- respect boundaries
- enforce boundaries
- intentional (adj.)
- headspace (n.)
- delineate (v.) the boundaries
- means of communication (collocation)
- FOMO : fear of missing out
- FOBO : fear of a better option
- FOLO : fear of logging off
- a learning curve (idiom)
- a steep (adj.) learning curve
- a standup meeting
- draining (adj.) / drain (v.) your energy
- pieces of advice
- Remember advice is an uncountable noun, so we can’t say
many advices. - We can say a lot of advice or many pieces of advice
- Remember advice is an uncountable noun, so we can’t say
March 28, 2023
Feedback
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Language Notes
- wing (v.) sth / wing (v.) it
- do or attempt something with little preparation in advance; improvise
- dismal (adj.)
- defensive (adj.)
- buy into (phr. v.) sth / buy-in (n.)
- a holdup (n.) / hold sth up (phr. v.)
- I was held up (delayed) by traffic.
- an arbitrary deadline (collocation)
- feedback (uncountable noun)
- constructive feedback (collocation)
- constructive criticism (collocation)
- to take an approach (collocation)
- I have taken that approach many times in the past.
- rationalize (v.) / justify (v.) / minimize (v.)
- meet a deadline / miss a deadline (collocations)
March 14, 2023
Embracing Emotions at Work
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Language Notes
- a bad hair day (idiom)
- My voice is hoarse. (adj.)
- a pickpocket (n.)
- equality (n.) / inequality (n.)
- a sigh (n.) / sigh (v.)
- inhale (v.) / exhale (v.)
- She doesn’t say exactly what it is.
- A common mistake is to say, “She doesn’t say exactly
what is it.” (Notice the incorrect order of the words.)- “What is it?” would be correct if we were asking a question.
- In question form the verb “is” comes before the subject “it”.
- The presence of the word “what” in the original sentence, causes many students to immediately think of question form. However, look more closely at the original sentence.
- She doesn’t say exactly what it is.
- Despite the presence of the word “what,” the original sentence is a statement, not a question.
- Here are some other examples:
- I know exactly what you mean. (Not …
what do you mean) - She didn’t say where she is going. (Not …
where is she going) - I would love to know when he will arrive. (Not …
when will he arrive)
- I know exactly what you mean. (Not …
- A common mistake is to say, “She doesn’t say exactly
- People are… (Remember that in English, the word “people” is plural.)
- Is it realistic / unrealistic to address …
- beyond my control (collocation)
March 7, 2023
Changing Careers
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Language Notes
- advice (uncountable noun)
- uncountable nouns are always singular
- We never use “a” or “an” with countable nouns
- If you want to speak about more than one, you have to use another word with the uncountable noun. This extra word is often called a “unit of measure.”
- several pieces of advice
- some words of advice
- Or you can use a different noun which is countable:
- several tips
- some pointers
- an intersection (n.)
- validate (v.) / validation (n.)
- The video validated my feelings.
- Sometimes we feel …
- When talking about things that are always true or generally true, we use present simple tense.
- Also, we almost never use continuous tenses with stative verbs (feel, think, prefer, etc.)
- Collocations with the noun “attention”
- pay attention to sth
- catch your attention
- grab your attention
- call your attention
- hold your attention
- sth rings true for sb
- grate on sb (idiom)
- colleagues who grate on you
- a toxic environment (collocation)
- a cushion (n.)
- a safety cushion (collocation)
- a financial cushion (collocation)
- shore sth up (phr. v.)
- a side hustle (slang)
- I just quit. (simple past tense)
- quit / quit / quit
- sink or swim (idiom)
- take stock of sth
- We can use this literally. For example, a store might take stock of what’s in the warehouse.
- We also use this figuratively. For example, you can take stock of what you’ve learned.
- on the go (idiom)
- We can use this with the verb to be. For example, during the week I am usually on the go.
- We can also do sth on the go. For example, I listen to podcasts every morning on the train. In this way, I can learn on the go.
- wise words (collocation)
- a stint (n.)
February 28, 2023
Faster Decisions
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Language Notes
- I was on the fence about whether to join or not. (idiom)
- a tough decision (collocation)
- a difficult decision (collocation)
- a double-edged sword (idiom)
- to outsource sth
- to draw a blank (idiom)
- earth-shattering
- a list of parameters
- an informed decision (collocation)
- a front-runner
- in theory / in practice
- We often use the language pair in theory / in practice when comparing how something seems as an idea vs. how it actually is in real life. For example,
- The government’s proposal to rebuild the education system sounds good in theory, but in practice it is likely to fail because the public expects instant results and will not be patient enough to follow through on the plan.
- We often use the language pair in theory / in practice when comparing how something seems as an idea vs. how it actually is in real life. For example,
- a rut
- You can talk until you’re blue in the face (idiom)
- to rationalize sth
- to overthink sth
- The perfect is the enemy of the good. (expression)
February 7, 2023
Recruitment Testing
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Language Notes
- heavy traffic (collocation)
- a speedy recovery (collocation)
- a flaw (n.)
- The test doesn’t allow for diversity. (phr. v.)
- ethnicity (n.)
- to break sth down (phr. v.)
- They break the traits down into a list.
- to embody (v.) sth
- Remember that in English, the word people is plural.
- People are complicated
- inherent characteristics (collocation)
- If you want to express partial agreement, you can use the following adverb phrases: to an extent / to a certain extent / to a degree / to a certain degree
- I agree to a certain extent, however there is one important point that I feel you might be overlooking.
- nepotism (n.)
- unbiased (adj.)
- a lack of bias
- an absence of bias
- free of bias
- The halo effect is an example of cognitive bias.
- When we need a plural form of a noun phrase, we often pluralize the first word (instead of pluralizing the entire phrase):
- point of view (singular) / points of view (plural) / not
point of views - brother-in-law (singular) / brothers-in-law (plural) / not
brother-in-laws
- point of view (singular) / points of view (plural) / not
- It’s not a bed of roses. (idiom)
- to question an assumption (collocation)
- to blindly accept sth (collocation)
- to be well suited for sth (collocation)
- an abrupt (adj.) change (collocation)
January 31, 2023
Tricks to Save Money
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Language Notes
I somewhat disagree
I agree / disagree to an extent / to a certain extent
indispensable (adj.)
down to earth (adj.)
upbringing (n.)
to bring a child up (phr. v.), to be brought up (phr. v.) (passive form)
on a daily / weekly / monthly / yearly basis, on an annual basis, on an hourly basis (collocations)
wages (n.) v. salary (n.)
to stick to sth (phr. v.) / to stick with sb or sth (phr. v.)
to follow through on sth (phr. v.)
when the rubber hits the road (idiom)
A/B testing (jargon)
be (stuck) in a rut (idiom) / break out of a rut (collocation)
the rat race (idiom)
advice (n.) (uncountable): Uncountable or noncount nouns are always singular and never take the article a/an. If you want to speak about more than one, you have to use a unit of measure, for example: pieces of advice or words of advice (collocations)
January 24, 2023
Building a Good Company
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Language Notes
Jargon is an uncountable noun. It is always singular.
break the mold (idiom)
irresponsible (adj.)
undependable (adj.)
unreliable (adj.)
keep an eye on sb (idiom)
autonomy (n.) vs. supervision (n.)
Why are you not here? or Why aren’t you here? (Question forms)
idealism (n.) / idealistic (adj.)
my hands are tied (idiom)
breathe down sb’s neck (idiom)
play a role (collocation)
play a part (collocation)
set limits (collocation)
set boundaries (collocation)
defeat the purpose (collocation)
sugarcoat (v.)
meet a deadline / miss a deadline (collocations)
He talks the talk, but he doesn’t walk the walk. (expression)
Do as I say, not as I do. (expression)
resist change (collocation)
embrace change (collocation)
stagnate (v.)
January 20, 2022
Working From Home
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January 13, 2022
Happy at Work
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No language notes available.
