Hedging Language & Seeking Clarification in Our Arguments

  “Education is a kind of continuing dialogue and a dialogue assumes, in the nature of the case, different points of view.” ~Robert Hutchins (1899-1977), educator and philosopher   In academic writing, especially argumentative essays, it is important to argue your claims with supporting facts. Yet, the importance of seeing the other side of the claim or argument is equally as...

Don’t Let Perfectionism Silence You!

Some English students make learning English even more difficult by expecting themselves to speak “perfect”, with “no accent” just like ” a real native English speaker.” May I suggest that this noble goal is both very difficult to achieve – especially for adults – and often even unwise. First, what is perfect American pronunciation? People across the country –...