Whether you use an app, take an English course, hire a private teacher, or do it yourself, there are ups and downs in learning English.  One thing I've begun to notice is that people tend to blame themselves when they don't reach their goals for English.  Then they feel bad for not being able to learn. I say: judge your English learning technique by how much your English improves. Stop blaming yourself and feeling guilty. Figure out what you need, and find what works to make it happen.You are not a lost cause. You just need to find a method of learning that works for you. If you want me to help you out, let me know at krisia@lightningenglish.com You can also join the waiting list for my English Boot Camp course at https://lightningenglish.com/course

My guest, Julie Frølich, shares her story of improving her business English competence and confidence in a matter of weeks. Julie works in public relations and politics and found herself in a situation where she knew she had to improve her English. Still, she couldn't imagine it was possible - not in a few weeks, and not with the little bit of time she had as a busy working mom!   Listen to our conversation as she shares how English Boot Camp and private coaching with me improved her English and gave her the confidence she needed to really step it up at work. If you're interested in doing what she did and transforming your English, check out English Boot Camp at https://lightningenglish.com/course, or contact me at krisia@lightningenglish.com and we can talk about your needs and how we can work together to get the results you want. If you like this episode, give it a 5-star rating in your podcast app, and share it with a friend!  If you have any comments or feedback for me, please email me at krisia@lightningenglish.com. I can't follow all the comments in all the podcast apps!

You're sitting there in front of a foreign client, and your mind goes blank as you try to remember the right word.  You're in a meeting, and you have something to say, but the thought of saying it out loud in English stops you from putting your hand up. You hear yourself speaking English, and the sound of your voice makes you cringe with embarrassment! You stop talking as soon as you can. There's something unique about using English at work, there is much more at stake than there is in a casual conversation.  In this episode I'm going to share some of my experience with helping people get over these common business English challenges. If you are interested in private coaching with me, contact me at krisia@lightningenglish.com. We can book a free consultation and figure out if it's what you need.If you're looking for a way to get started on your own without spending any money, go to https://lightningenglish.com/bizguide and join my mailing list to download the Business English Guide.  Share this episode with a friend or colleague who is also struggling with their English. You can become buddies and support each other as you work to improve!Remember to subscribe to the podcast if you like it!

What does improving your English have to do with your sex life? In this interview with Kimi Sand, a sexologist and couples therapist, we find out that my job as an English teacher and coach overlaps with her job as a sexologist and couples therapist. She shares how she helps her English-speaking clients feel more comfortable, tips for becoming more confident - in the bedroom and in the boardroom, and much more. This episode has a lot of advice, especially for women, but Kimi is there for the men too!Her website is: https://kimisand.dk Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Kimisand.dk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kimisand.dk/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmqHFu8VprB880BX2YKIJMQ (or search for Kimi Sand) Tiktok: @kimisand0  Enjoy this episode!If you like it, subscribe so that you get every episode delivered to your podcast app. Drop in and give me a 5-star rating as well! If you have feedback for me about the podcast (good or bad), please send it directly to me at krisia@lightningenglish.com. I don't always see all the comments in all the podcast apps, so a direct email is your best way to reach me.You can also find me on Instagram and Facebook @TheRealLightningEnglish.

If you spend ages writing that business email in English, this episode is for you. In this episode, I talk about how getting something done is better than trying to make it perfect. It's something I struggle with, and I'm sure you do too.

Subscribe to Doing Business in English, and join the mailing list at https://signup.lightningenglish.com to get extra info and tips and an email every time an episode is published. Sentences are a necessary part of writing and speaking in English. In this episode, I share 6 tips for making better sentences in English. You'll find out (among other things) the basics of building a sentence, what to focus on to make sure your sentences fit your audience, and why you don't want to make long, complex sentences.  I've made a pdf to go along with this episode. Get it by joining my list at https://lightningenglish.com/sentences. Links mentioned:https://lightningenglish.com/sentences https://lightningenglish.com/journal https://lightningenglish.com/lgs grammarly.com

Katka Csényi has years of experience as both an English learner and an English teacher. She started learning English in school in the Czech Republic, and her thirst for English led her to spend time working and studying in England. The problem is, what she learned in school didn't prepare her for what happened when she got there!Listen to her tell the story of how she went from not even being able to buy a train ticket in English to where she is now, teaching English to others in Hungary.If you're in the south of Hungary and would like to contact Katka for English lessons, you can email her at csenyik@gmail.com.If you want lessons from me, book a free consultation at lightningenglish.com/teachat, and we'll see what you need and if I'm the right person to help you with it.I mentioned in the podcast episode that you can join my mailing list and get a free download with 5 mindset tips for improving your English. That's at lightningenglish.com/tipsIf you enjoyed this episode, take a minute to give it a 5-star review wherever you're listening to it, and drop a note in the comments. If you have any suggestions for what I can do to improve, or what you'd like to hear in future episodes, email me at info@lightningenglish.com.I'm always looking for guests for my podcast as well. If you would like to share your story about doing business in English, email me and let me know. I'd love to talk to you!

Subscribe to Doing Business in English and join the mailing list at https://signup.lightningenglish.com to get extra info and tips and an email every time an episode is published.English is confusing, so a lot of the questions I get are from people trying to sort out things they are confused about. As a teacher, it's important for me to help my students untangle the confusion, but there's more to it. Your attitude towards being confused can affect how you learn and remember English.  I know from experience that confused students are better at learning the things they are confused about. I also know that if they hold on to the 'confused' feeling a little longer, it helps them to retain that information.  Listen to this episode to find out how I use this when I'm teaching, in my BOOST membership  and in my Lightning Grammar System program. Find out more about both of these here: https://lightningenglish.com/boost https://lightningenglish.com/lgs If you enjoyed this episode, write a comment and give me a 5 star review in your podcast app. If you have any suggestions for me, or comments about things you don't like, make sure I get them by sending me an email at krisia@lightningenglish.com

This episode is a conversation with María Pinto from Venezuela.  She's a lawyer, teacher, business owner, and renaissance woman. She shares her story and how she was able to recover from a traumatic early experience with English and go on to love English, and eventually start a company with her twin brother, helping others with their English. María is a treasure trove of tips and inspiration for anyone looking to improve their English and make changes in their lives. If you want to contact her, she can be reached at wizardoflanguages@gmail.com. Wizard Languages is also on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/wizardoflanguages/ (although, as she says in the conversation, they aren't very active there at the moment). Near the end, María tells us how to use Google to show us videos of someone pronouncing words in English. In Google, type, "How to pronounce ____________ in English" and it will show you the pronunciation, with an animated drawing of a mouth. When you click on the animation, it will show you how it looks and sounds. You can even try it yourself and it will tell you what you said. Let me know how it goes! If you like this episode, make sure to subscribe, and join the mailing list at signup.lightningenglish.com. I'll send you an email every time I upload a new episode!You can also find me on Instagram @thereallightningenglish or email me at info@lightningenglish.com

This episode is the audio from a video answer I gave in my private membership group, Business English BOOST. This question comes up often, so I thought I'd share it with you. If you want to join Business English BOOST the next time registration is open, go to https://lightningenglish.com/boost

I met Yenlik by chance at lunch at a conference in London. We got to talking, and I quickly realized that this was a special young woman, who was doing something many people I talk to wouldn't even dare try! She recently started all over again in London, and jumped in the deep end, working at the secretariat for the Regional Bahá'í Council in the UK.  We talked (and laughed!) and had a wonderful time together. I found out that despite the courage and confidence it took for her to work in a job handling correspondence and phone calls with native English speakers from all over the UK on a daily basis, Yenlik still had some struggles with her confidence.She shares this with us in this podcast episode. She also tells us what it's like to work with native English speakers, and what they think of her English!Listen and enjoy!  You can find Yenlik on Instagram at @yenlikgaisinaYou can download my free pdf with 10 quick tips to help you improve your confidence in using English at work at lightningenglish.com/confidence

"Do I need private English lessons?" "Where can I get cheap English lessons?" "What should I look for in a one-to-one English teacher?"  I'm going to answer these and other questions about learning English with an English teacher. Even if you're not looking for private lessons right now, these tips will help you figure out the next steps in your English journey. If you're considering private lessons in English, there are a few things you can do to make sure you don't waste time and money in your search for a good English teacher. Here's what's in this episode: 00:00 Intro - How you can save time and money on private English lessons  01:57 1. Start on your own: figure out your learning style, what you like and don't like, start a journal. https://lightningenglish.com/journal 06:30 2. Set clear goals: What do you want to be able to do, and when? How much money do you want to spend? How much time do you want to spend in class, and practicing between lessons? How much guidance and encouragement do you need from your teacher? 11:30 3. Find a teacher that suits your needs: Minimum CELTA or Trinity TEFL Certification. Talk to friends for recommendations. Look online - carefully! Arrange a trial class or consultation with your potential teacher. If you want one with me, book a virtual tea and chat at https://lightningenglish.com/teachat 15:54 Summary. Maybe you don't need private lessons. Check out Business English BOOST membership. For the price of one cheap English lesson a month, you can get all the benefits of a business English teacher, plus the community to share with! https://lightningenglish.com/boost   Links mentioned in this episode: Start your journal at https://lightningenglish.com/journal Set your goals with some journal prompts at https://lightningenglish.com/goals Book a free consultation at https://lightningenglish.com/teachat Check out the Business English BOOST membership program at https://lightningenglish.com/boost.As always, find me on Instagram and Facebook @thereallightningenglish, join my mailing list at https://signup.lightningenglish.com, and subscribe to this podcast, rate it and share a comment on whatever podcast app you use.

Anna Prims (@annaprimsmarketing on Instagram) is an online marketing specialist from Catalunya in Spain. She has lived in Scotland, Japan, and now Denmark - all because of her English!Listen to her story as she shares what she did to get better at languages and build her confidence (hint: Dragon Ball comics had something to do with it)!She'll also tell you about some of her regrets, so you can learn from her mistakes and get better at English even more quickly than she did!The Doing Business in English Podcast is hosted by Krisia Justesen from Lightning English. Find me on:Instagram: https://instagram.com/thereallightningenglishFacebook: https://facebook.com/thereallightningenglishLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightningenglishJoin the mailing list and get a free download of 5 Mindset Tips to help you improve your English at https://lightningenglish.com/tipsPlease let me know what you think of this episode. If you liked it, please leave a review and a comment. I look forward to reading these reviews and responding to the comments. It helps me to know what my listeners like and what to give you more of.  A positive review will also help this podcast get out to more people.If you didn't like it, I also really want to hear from you - send me an email with your feedback at info@lightningenglish.com

The biggest change to your English comes from changing your mindset.If you're trying to improve your business English, and you've tried learning grammar and vocabulary, tried classes and courses, and you're still stuck, it might be time to start looking at your mindset.How you think will affect how you show up in English.In this episode, I share 5 mindset tips that will help you get unstuck and start moving forward on improving your English.If you don't want to take notes, go to https://lightningenglish.com/tips for the pdf download that goes with this episode.Here are the 5 tips:Think of English as a tool, not a goalFocus on the message, not the languageInclude English in your daily lifeChallenge yourself to do more in EnglishBe the person you want to become.I also mention starting a journal as one way for you to include English in your daily life. Get the journal guide at https://lightningenglish.com/journal.Jump in and listen to my very first podcast episode!Please let me know what you think. If you liked it, please leave a review and a comment. I look forward to reading these reviews and responding to the comments. It helps me to know what my listeners like and what to give you more of.  A positive review will also help this podcast get out to more people.If you didn't like it, I really want to hear from you - send me an email with your feedback at info@lightningenglish.com

The Doing Business in English Podcast is here to help you to be more confident and competent doing business in English, so you can let the true you shine through, even when you're speaking English. I'm Krisia Justesen, and with over 17 years' experience teaching English as a foreign language to adults, I'm going to share my experience and knowledge with you.   But that's not all.  For many, speaking English at work is about finding the confidence and motivation to do it.  In conversations with people from around the world who are using business English in a variety of industries, we're going to unlock the secrets of using English successfully.  I hope you'll get information, education, and inspiration with this podcast.For more from me, join the mailing list at https://signup.lightningenglish.com