by Christine Burgmer | Jul 21, 2026 | Sparks of English |
You understand everything. Speaking is different. Have you ever noticed that understanding English and speaking it feel completely different? That’s because they are. And for a lot of professionals, that gap is quietly frustrating. Reading and listening help you...
by Christine Burgmer | Jul 20, 2026 | Sparks of English |
The word was there. It just came late. You knew the word. It was there. But when the moment came, it didn’t show up fast enough. I see this often in my sessions. You know the vocabulary. You understand the sentence. Then a small delay appears while your brain checks...
by Christine Burgmer | Jul 17, 2026 | Sparks of English |
The zombie test for passive voice You write an English sentence, and it feels stiff. Heavy. You can’t quite say why. Often it’s the passive, and German nudges you straight into it. “A decision was made.” “The report was finished.”...
by Christine Burgmer | Jul 16, 2026 | Sparks of English |
What the tortoise actually got right. In English meetings, you might feel like the tortoise. Everyone else races ahead while you’re a step behind, still searching for the word. You’ve probably decided that slow means losing. But look again at the old...
by Christine Burgmer | Jul 15, 2026 | Sparks of English |
The film wasn’t “synchronised”. It was dubbed. You’re telling an English-speaking colleague about a film, the German version, with the voices replaced. So you reach for the word that sounds right. “It was synchronised into German.”...
by Christine Burgmer | Jul 14, 2026 | Sparks of English |
The smallest word that changes everything Listen to the sentence you say about your English. “I’m not fluent.” “I can’t explain this clearly.” “I don’t speak up in meetings.” Said like that, each one sounds like a...
