Mr. Vig

THE NORTH SEA – Lucky me.

I got a free vacation this week.

No, I didn’t win a hot dog eating contest. My dad asked my to join him on a cruise around the British Isles. (for some reason in English, we say “the Caribbean Islands” and “the Fijian Islands” …but it”s “the British Isles.” Don’t ask me why.)  Read More >

2. Do English In Your Freetime

“But I’m busy!” That’s what all my students say. And then I say…

“Good! You don’t need a lot of time.” Read More >

1. Do English

How do you “do English”?

Well, here’s what NOT to do:  study, memorize, homework, grammar exercises… Read More >

BALTIMORE, USA – “Sorry for my English.”

Omer was two meters tall, from Turkey, and he was sitting next to me Saturday night.

We were in Tysons Corner, Virginia, just outside of DC, to hear a well-known author talk about what’s going on in the world. Read More >

BALTIMORE, USA – Game of Thrones.

Ever seen it?

It seems everyone in the office is watching the latest season. At least that’s what they’re talking about when I go to the kitchen to get some coffee.  Read More >

SOMEWHERE OUTSIDE WASHINGTON D.C. – 

Americans talk a lot.

The guy sitting in front of me is talking on his phone… Read More >

BALTIMORE, USA – I love flying. 

No email to check. Nothing to clean. And nowhere to be. In fact, nothing to do at all except read my book or write in my notebook. 

And if I get the window seat — perfect!  Read More >

BALTIMORE, USA – It was Halloween in Prague.

A friend knew a guy who knew a girl who was going to a party at someone’s apartment. 

So I invited myself and went. Read More >

BALTIMORE, USA – I called home Saturday and my nephew picked up the phone.

After catching up on the latest super hero movies, he told me about a cabin he had just discovered in the woods.

“But it was destroyed,” he said.

“Yeah I know,” I said. “Some hoodlums wrecked it before you were born.”

“What’s a hoodlum?” he asked.

Oh yeah, I thought. He’s only 11. His vocab size is probably about 12,000 words, while mine is around 30,000.

How do I know these fun facts?

I got them from the site testyourvocabulary.com 

The site also says that the average vocabulary size of non-native speakers is 4,500.

And what about you?

How many English words do you know?

You can get the answer in a few minutes.

Go to the site, take their free test, and you’ll soon have your number.

Then when you know your number, will you do me a favor and send it to me? You don’t even have to write anything. Just copy, paste and send.

I’m interested in how many words my readers know. (and if enough of you write me, I’ll average the numbers and share them)

Then tomorrow I’ll tell you how increasing your number is easier than you thought.

Here’s that link again: http://testyourvocab.com

As we say in English, let’s land the plane.

Remember my students at Lonza?

They said their problem was speaking.

But they also said they didn’t remember the name of their last teacher.

And THAT was their REAL problem — they weren’t interested in other people.

You see, when you’re interested in another person, you want to know more about him. And to know more about him you have to ask questions. Then a conversation starts. Then the person starts to like you because you’re interested in him. Then he becomes interested in you and asks you questions. Then you have a friend. And friends have lots of conversations. And when you have lots of conversations in English, your English naturally improves.

See how that works?