Lori's Language Lab

🗣️ WHAT WOULD YOU SAY?

You're talking with someone and suddenly realize you don't know the English word for something.

What do you do?

A. Stop talking because you don't know the word.

B. Switch to your first language.

C. Describe it another way: “I don't know the word, but it's something you use to…”

👇 What would you choose?

C is a great strategy!

Confident English speakers don't always know every word. They learn how to keep the conversation going when they DON'T know one.

Try:

💬 “I don't know the word, but it's something you use to…”

💬 “It's similar to…”

💬 “How do you say the thing that…?”

You don't need the perfect word to communicate your idea.

Sometimes confidence is simply not giving up on the conversation.

🌱 English progress doesn’t always happen in big, obvious moments.

It often starts with a challenge.

Maybe someone avoids making phone calls because they’re worried they won’t understand.

Maybe they stay quiet in a meeting because they need more time to put their thoughts into English.

Or maybe they depend on a spouse or child to speak for them in everyday situations.

Then comes practice.

One phone call. One conversation. One question asked without help. One meeting where they decide to speak up.

And eventually, you start noticing the progress.

The phone call gets made.
The question gets asked.
The conversation lasts a little longer.
And something that once felt intimidating starts to feel normal.

That’s the kind of progress we love seeing at Lori’s Language Lab.

💬 Think about someone you know who has been learning English. What can they do now that was difficult for them a year ago?

Tell them you noticed. Sometimes we don't recognize how far we've come until someone else points it out.

And if you know someone who is ready to take that next step with their English, we'd be happy to be part of their journey.

💬 CONVERSATION STARTER

Small talk can feel awkward when you’re trying to think of the right thing to say in English.

Here’s one easy question you can use:

“How’s your week going?”

It works with coworkers, neighbors, other parents at school, or someone you see regularly.

And it gives the other person more to talk about than simply asking, “How are you?”

They might answer:

“Pretty good! It’s been busy.”

“Not bad. I’m ready for the weekend.”

“It’s going well. How about yours?”

🎯 Try it once this week.

The next time you have an opportunity for a little small talk, ask:

“How’s your week going?”

Then listen for something in their answer that can help you keep the conversation going.

🌎 What question do people use to start a casual conversation in your country?

☎️ “He only has 10 days left. What can we do?”

I received a call from a company with an unusual situation.

They had an international intern working in Dallas for one month. Part of his assignment while he was here was to improve his English.

There was just one problem.

They called me with only 10 days left in his stay.

So, we made a plan.

Instead of squeezing him into a traditional English program, we asked: What can we accomplish with the time we have?

He had five 2-hour lessons during his remaining days—and we took the lessons out into Dallas.

🎨 Dallas Museum of Art
🎓 UT Dallas
📚 A comic book store
🎣 Bass Pro Shop

Each location gave him something different to talk about, new vocabulary to use and, most importantly, hours of real conversation and listening practice.

By the end of those 10 days, something was changing.

His sentences were coming out more smoothly and naturally. He was even starting to slip into an American accent at times.

Was his English completely transformed in 10 days? Of course not.

But give someone 10 hours of focused practice built around what they actually need, and you may be surprised by what can change.

That's why we don't believe in one-size-fits-all English lessons.

Sometimes the right question isn't:

“What English program do you offer?”

It's:

“Here's what I need to accomplish. What can we do?”

And that's one of my favorite questions.

So—what can we do for you?

💼 WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

At the end of a meeting your coworker says:

“Let me check on that and I'll circle back with you.”

What are they going to do?

A. Come back to your office
B. Ask you the same question again
C. Get more information and contact you again
D. Schedule another meeting

👇 What's your answer?

C!

In workplace English, “circle back” usually means to return to a topic or contact someone again after getting more information.

So:

💬 “I'll circle back tomorrow.”

really means something like:

💬 “I'll follow up with you tomorrow.”

This is one reason workplace listening can be tricky.

You might understand every individual word—circle, back, with, you—and still miss what the person actually means.

Learning English also means learning to listen for the meaning behind the words.

🗣️ WHAT WOULD YOU SAY?

You're in a meeting.

Your manager explains your team's next steps—but you missed one important detail.

You could say:

A. “I don't understand.”

B. “Can you say it again?”

C. “Just to make sure I understood, you need the report by Thursday. Is that right?”

Which would you choose?

👇 Decide before reading on.

C is a great choice.

Instead of asking your manager to repeat everything, tell them what you think you heard and confirm the part that matters.

💬 “Just to make sure I understood…”

💬 “So, you'd like me to…”

💬 “Did you say you need this by Thursday?”

These phrases aren't just speaking skills.

They're listening strategies.

Good listeners don't always understand everything the first time. They know how to check what they heard.