How to overcome fear of speaking English in public

How to overcome fear of speaking English in public

It has often been said that English in Spain is poorly taught and, although this is relative, what is a fact is that it is more difficult for us Spaniards to venture into public speaking in English. We may know all the grammatical rules, we can write an email perfectly and we watch as many movies as possible in the original version, but we still find it hard to lose our fear of speaking in public. If you identify with this and want to learn how to speak in English in public without nerves, you’ve come to the right place.

Tips for learning to speak in public in English

people speaking in english

Sign up for conversation classes

You may think there’s no point in joining an English language school if you already know all the theory, but here’s the good news!
There are conversation classes that focus on speaking. In them, you will improve your pronunciation and improve your listening skills.
After a while, you will notice that you speak much more fluently, without translating in your head and, most importantly, they will help you lose your fear!

Imitates native people

If you’ve ever had a thorn in your side about being an actor, now is your time to make it happen.
A good trick to become fluent in English is to imitate native English speakers. You can watch celebrity interviews or movies and try to act as if you were that person. Can’t think of anything to start with?
Pick up your favorite series!
And if you’re thinking that most of the series you watch are American and you’re interested in a British accent, the entire cast of Harry Potter is English.
No more excuses!

Think about how the English speak Spanish

Comparisons are odious and we don’t think it’s right to generalize, but for British and other native English speakers it is very difficult to conjugate verbs well in Spanish, and most have only studied the language for a couple of years. You’ve probably been familiar with English for a longer time! Don’t worry if you still don’t pronounce a word as if you were born in London, you’ll have time for that and we assure you that native speakers will understand what you mean anyway.

How to lose the fear of speaking English in public?

If after doing all these things you still feel paralyzed when speaking in front of strangers, the best advice we can give you to learn how to speak in public without nerves is to relax.
You don’t have to be afraid of making a mistake, because it’s okay if you do!
From FunTalk we encourage you to start practicing.
We are a language center in Barcelona specialized in teaching through fun.
We have classes for both adults and children and, if you are too embarrassed to join one of our courses, we also offer private classes for all ages and all levels.
What are you waiting for? Contact us!

Best readings to improve your English reading skills

Best readings to improve your English reading skills

Reading in English is a fundamental skill for those who want to improve their level of English.
Not only is it an effective way to increase vocabulary, but it is also a way to improve reading comprehension and grammar in this language.
In this post we present you a list of the best classic books in English to practice your reading and improve your English level Are you interested?
Let’s get to it!

Best books to read in English

woman reading in English Let’s get straight to the point and without beating around the bush!
Here’s a list of what we consider to be some of the best classic books in English to improve your reading.
Don’t worry, you won’t get spoilers with this section.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

This classic novel of love and comedy of 19th century English society is a perfect choice for those seeking improve their vocabulary and understanding of the Victorian era.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

This novel of love and passion, set in the desolate and wild region of Yorkshire, is a masterpiece of English literature that will allow you to improve your understanding of English narrative.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

This American classic from the 1920s is a modern literary masterpiece
1920s is a masterpiece of modern literature and an excellent choice for those looking for a improve your reading of American English. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Set in the 1930s in the southern United States, it is a work of great social significance that will allow you to improve your understanding of American dialects and culture.

1984 by George Orwell

This classic of dystopian science fiction is a masterpiece of modern literature and an excellent choice for those who are looking for improve their understanding of English literature.

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

This is an iconic novel in American literature that follows the adventures of Holden Caulfield in New York and is a masterpiece for those looking to improve their American English reading.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

This is a gothic horror novel and is an excellent choice for those who are looking for improve their understanding of the English narrative.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

This classic work of science fiction is an excellent choice for those looking to improve their 19th century English reading and better understand the universal themes of humanity. Each book on this list will provide you with a unique opportunity to improve your English reading and immerse yourself in the richness and depth of classic English literature.
Now you have no excuse for not improving your English, as this is a method to do it in a progressive and enjoyable way. Although if you want to improve your English and take a leap in your knowledge of this language we recommend you one thing: contact us.
Funtalk is a language school in Barcelona.
We will be happy to help you with your doubts in English.
So far this post!
We hope you liked it, we hope you found it useful and enjoyable. See you next time!

Tricks to improve English easily in everyday life

Tricks to improve English easily in everyday life

English is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world and is essential in many professional fields.
It is very useful for traveling and communicating with people from different countries, as it is the most widely spoken.
Although it may seem intimidating to those less familiar, improving your level of English does not have to be a difficult or shocking task.
With a few tricks and daily practices, you can improve your English level and feel more confident speaking and writing in this language.
In this post, we will share with you some tips and tricks to improve your English easily on a daily basis.

What can I do to improve my English easily?

English lessons

Practicing English regularly

The first tip for improving your English is to practice it regularly.
Just like any other skill, English requires constant practice to be mastered. No matter how much time you have to practice each day, the important thing is to do it consistently. You can start with small daily goals, such as spending 10 minutes a day reading in English, listening to podcasts or watching videos in English. The important thing is to be consistent and establish a daily habit that will help you improve your English skills.
In addition, you can look for activities that you enjoy and that are done in English, such as sports, dance classes, online games, among others, so that you can practice the language in a more fun and interesting way .

Learning new vocabulary

Vocabulary is one of the key components to improving your English.
Learning new words and expressions will help you communicate more effectively and better understand what you read or hear in English.
To learn new vocabulary, you can use several strategies, such as reading in English, watching movies and series in English with subtitles in your language, listening to podcasts or music in English, and using language learning apps. Most importantly, focus on learning words and phrases that are relevant to your interests and needs, such as vocabulary specific to your area of work or hobbies. Remember that it is not about memorizing an infinite list of words, but about learning and using the words in a practical and effective way in real situations.

Speaking English with other people

Speaking English with other people is an excellent way to improve your communication skills.
If you have the opportunity to practice English with native speakers, don’t hesitate to take advantage of it. You can join online conversation groups, attend language exchange events, or find English-speaking friends to practice together. If you don’t have access to native speakers, don’t worry, you can speak English with friends or family members who are also learning the language.
The important thing is that you feel comfortable speaking English and that you practice both listening and speaking. If you feel insecure speaking in English, start with simple conversations and gradually increase the complexity of the topics to be discussed.
That’s all in this post. A very important point to keep in mind is that we all have beginnings!
If you are just starting out in the language or you think you are bad at it, don’t worry, time is your best friend.
Practice enough and end up mastering the language. See you in the next post!

Essential marketing vocabulary in English

Essential marketing vocabulary in English

Looking to learn marketing industry terms in English?
Then we have good news for you, as you have come to the right article.
In this post we are going to analyze the words that are used by companies, advertisers or marketers in the marketing world and that are essential for anyone’s knowledge.

Marketing vocabulary in English

words business marketing Learning vocabulary in a language is essential because words are the building blocks of communication and understanding. The more vocabulary you have, the more resources you will have in your linguistic arsenal, so it will be easier for you to understand and express all kinds of ideas, from the simplest to the most complex and precise.
In addition, the more vocabulary you have, the more you will be able to read, write, listen and speak fluently, allowing you to communicate in different types of situations.
For this reason, here are some English words about marketing with their corresponding meanings:

How to say brand in English?

Brand in English is expressed with the word branding and it is very likely that you have heard this term on some occasion.
Essentially what it means is “Brand marketing” and is used when talking about a company’s corporate image and the actions that can generate an impact, positive or negative.

How do you say announcements in spanish?

We can translate ads as “ads” or “advertisements” and essentially refers to all content that is shown to the public thanks to the fact that it has been paid to appear in that media or communication channel.

What is a potential customer called in English?

When a user subscribes to a page to obtain certain information about a product or service of a company, this is called a lead and its direct translation is potential customer.

How is the English content referred to?

In the context of digital marketing, when we talk about “content” we are referring to audiovisual content. These can be images, texts, videos or audios.
In short, any type of audiovisual material.
In English we refer to this type of resource by the name of “content“.

How do we refer to sales targets?

In marketing, when we talk about the target audience of a campaign or strategy, we talk about sales targets.
In English, we can refer to this by the expression sales target. This target audience is attainable, quantifiable and can be monitored and results can be obtained to know if sales reps are on the right track or not.
Nowadays, English plays a fundamental role in the working world, and in certain sectors it has a more relevant role.
Many companies that interact with other companies are on the other side of the sea and use English to establish this necessary means of communication.
This is the end of this post!
We hope you have found it useful and now you know more expressions to be able to communicate with marketing jargon.

Everything you need to know about turn down phrasal verbs

Everything you need to know about turn down phrasal verbs

Phrasal verbs are one of the essential idiomatic elements to learn English since they are part of everyday life.
Knowing this type of expressions is necessary if you want to be able to hold a conversation with a native speaker in a natural way. That is why you should know the most used phrasal verbs in English and integrate them naturally in your conversations.
In today’s article, we will show you the phrasal verbs with turn that you should definitely master. Are you interested?
Let’s get to it!

English phrasal verbs review

Before we dive in and explain what phrasal verbs with turn are, let’s make a brief reminder about what phrasal verbs are.
These are English phrasal verbs that are made up of a main verb followed by one or more adverbial or prepositional particles.
These can modify the meaning of the main verb, creating a unique idiomatic expression with its own meaning.
These types of expressions can be very complicated for speakers of other languages for several reasons:

  • Different meanings: Phrasal verbs often mean something different from the individual verbs that make them up, so they can be difficult, if not impossible, to translate directly.
  • Variable combinations: Some phrasal verbs have many possible combinations with different meanings, which increases the difficulty in learning them.
  • Idiomatic usage: Some phrasal verbs are very specific to the English language and have no equivalent in other languages.
  • Particle order: Particle order can affect the meaning of a phrasal verb, and can be difficult for speakers of other languages to predict.

Although it can be overwhelming, don’t worry!
Little by little you can start to understand these types of expressions.
With this reminder in mind, let’s take a look at what the phrasal verb with turn

Phrasal verbs with turn

deliver pizza The verb turn is one of the most used verbs in English and can be combined in different ways, with different prepositions or adverbs to create different meanings.
The best way to understand this phrasal verb is through examples.
First let’s look at its infinitive meaning:

  • Turn: turn

And now let’s see how their meaning changes when we add prepositions or adverbs:

  • Turn down: It has two meanings
      • Turn down the volume
      • Declining or rejecting an invitation or request
  • Turn up: It has two connotations
      • Turn up the volume
      • Appearance or presence
  • Turn in: This can mean two things
    • Going to bed
    • Deliver something
  • Turn into: To transform or become something different.
  • Turn off: Turn off a machine or device.
  • Turn on: Turn on a machine or device
  • Turn out: To finish, end or result

As you can see, these types of expressions can be really useful to express different situations in daily life.
The ideal is that you understand them and incorporate them into your way of expressing yourself little by little, so that it comes naturally to you.
This can be tricky, but it is definitely worth it.
If you need help to improve your English, do not hesitate to come to our language school in Barcelona Visit us!
So far this post!
We hope you liked it and find it useful. See you next time!

How are the demonstrative pronouns in English?

How are the demonstrative pronouns in English?

If you have recently started to study English, it is very likely that you have many doubts.
One of the most frequent is how to use demonstratives such as this, that, these or those.
Do you want to solve your doubts?
Then we recommend you to keep reading this post In Funtalk we give you all the tips you need to know!

What demonstrative pronouns are there in English?

Although in Spanish the demonstrative pronouns are numerous, in English we are in luck because there are only 4 demonstrative pronouns and they are
there are only 4 demonstrative pronouns and they are: this (este/a), that (ese/a or aquel/aquella), these (and those (those or those). However, although they are not so numerous, they can be a bit tricky to use if you are just starting to study English.

When are demonstratives used?

pointing away English demonstratives are so called because they show or point to the object, place or idea to which the speaker refers.
In this context we can find two main uses:

  1. Referring to the location of something or someone: Demonstrative pronouns are used to refer to the closeness or remoteness of an object with respect to the speaker or listener.
    In this sense, for example, we can use the pronoun this to refer to the fact that an object is close by, or that to express that it is far away.
    Let’s look at a couple of examples:

Sentence with this: This food is delicious, I can taste all the flavors Sentence with that: That city is too far from here, I don’t think I’ll be able to visit it anytime soon.

  • Refer to ideas that have been previously expressed: Demonstrative pronouns allow you to express yourself without being redundant and repeating expressions.
    Let’s look at a couple of examples:

Prayer with this: As we discussed earlier, this project is a high priority and we need to complete it on time. Prayer with that: Regarding the issue that we talked about earlier, that problem still hasn’t been resolved.

How are demonstrative pronouns used in English?

Now that we know when they are used, let’s see what rules they follow.
The first thing we need to know to understand how demonstratives are used in English easily is that they are always used referring to a noun and can be of two types.

Demonstrative adjectives

This type of demonstrative pronouns are the equivalent of the Spanish demonstrative determiners, which are followed by the noun to which they refer.
Some examples of sentences with demonstrative adjectives are the following:

  • This car is much faster than that one → Este coche es mucho más rápido que aquel.
  • These shoes are more comfortable than those → These shoes are more comfortable than those.

Demonstrative pronouns

This type of pronouns are those that replace the noun when it is obvious and can be omitted.
Some examples of sentences with demonstrative pronouns are the following:

  • This is my favorite bookEste es mi libro favorito
  • Those are my favorite shoes → Aquellos son mis zapatos favoritos

So much for today’s post!
We hope you found it useful and now you know when to use demonstrative pronouns in English and what rules they follow See you in another post!