by Christine Burgmer | Sep 3, 2026 | Sparks of English |
That accent? It’s not a problem, it’s a clue. That accent?It is not a problem.It is a clue. It tells you where someone is from. Mine gives me away in about four words, usually before I’ve finished introducing myself. (Someone once asked if I was from...
by Christine Burgmer | Sep 2, 2026 | Sparks of English |
Tone matters Grammar gets attention. Tone gets the reaction. You can write a perfectly correct email and still sound cold, sharp or slightly fed up. You can also make a small grammar mistake and still sound perfectly fine, because the tone does the heavy lifting....
by Christine Burgmer | Sep 1, 2026 | Sparks of English |
Your email endings You’ve written the email. Now comes the strange part. You’re suddenly questioning your entire personality because of the sign-off. “Best” works.“Kind regards” works.“Thanks” works. It’s reassuring, but also frustrating. You’ve just spent...
by Christine Burgmer | Aug 31, 2026 | Sparks of English |
English at work is people trying to solve a problem together A participant in a workshop once told me she felt like there was a red pen following her sentences, circling anything imperfect before she’d even finished the thought. That tight, watched feeling sits...
by Christine Burgmer | Aug 28, 2026 | Sparks of English |
“Let’s make a pause” A manager once said this to her team mid-meeting. Everyone understood her instantly. Nobody blinked, nobody corrected her. The meeting just paused. That’s the odd thing about phrases translated straight from German. They...
