E-talk

It sounds crazy, but the Vietnamese name Trung is the secret to mastering two very difficult English words! 🤯

Many of my students struggle with the pronunciation of RECRUIT and RECRUITER.

Here is my favorite trick:
Listen to the "ru" sound in the name Trung.
It is exactly the mouth movement you need!

🗣️ Try it right now:

Say: "Trung"

Now say: "Rec-ruit"

Now say: "Rec-ruiter"

Watch the video to hear the connection! 🎧

👇 Tag your friend Trung in the comments and say "Thank you for helping my pronunciation!" 😂

The verb READ is tricky because the spelling doesn't change, but the sound does!
📖 Read (Present) = sounds like "Reed" /iː/
📕 Read (Past) = sounds like "Red" /ɛ/

Here is my favorite hack to remember it. Just think of the verb "Meet":
1️⃣ Meet - Met - Met
2️⃣ Read - Read - Read

Same rhythm, same vowel change! 🎵

I read [/ɛ/] a really interesting book yesterday. 📚
👇 Tell me in the comments: What was the last thing YOU read? (A book? A news article? A contract?)

Are you pronouncing "Island" correctly? 🏝️
​Silent letters in English can be tricky, even for advanced speakers. A common mistake I hear in business meetings is pronouncing the "s" in "Island" — making it sound like "Ice-land" (the country! ❄️).
​In this quick video, I break down the correct pronunciation to help you sound more natural and confident.

Key Takeaway: The "s" is 100% silent. Just say "I-land".
​Small adjustments in pronunciation can make a huge difference in how your message is received.

​👇 Challenge: Try using "Island" in a sentence below!

​

🙊😱🙊 "You are mute" vs. "You are muted" — Do you know the difference?

In my class today, we tackled a super common mistake!

👉 If you tell someone "You are mute," you are actually saying they are physically unable to speak (a medical condition!). 👉 If you want to tell them to turn on their microphone, you must say "You are on mute" or "You are muted."

It’s a tiny difference, but it saves you from a potentially awkward moment! Watch the video to hear the full explanation. 👇

Let me know in the comments: What’s the funniest mistake you’ve heard in an online meeting?

Proud teacher moment! 🌟 Watch my student self-correct.
Mistakes are the best way to learn! In this class, we were practicing prepositions.
Notice how the student first says "waiting to," but then quickly realizes and corrects it to "waiting for." This happens when you practice speaking regularly—you start to "feel" what sounds right! 🗣️💬
Keep practicing, everyone! You are doing great. 💪

🛑 Stop translating "𝐓ừ... đế𝐧..." 𝐚𝐬 "𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦... 𝐭𝐨..."!
We often make this mistake because of direct translation. In this video, Mr. Cuong from PNJP English Speaking Club wanted to say:
❌ "From the beginning of this year until now, I haven't violated traffic rules."
But in English, when we talk about a period starting in the past and continuing to now (Present Perfect), we must use 𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐄 ✅
✅"I haven't violated traffic rules 𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐄 the beginning of this year."
👉 Quick Rule:
Since: Use for things that started in the past and are still true now.
Watch the video to fix this common grammar mistake! 🚦

Proud of my students from PNJP English Speaking ClubPNJP English Speaking Club for working hard on their pronunciation! 💪

The word "Determined" can be tricky. Vietnamese students often want to say it like "Mine," or "Mind" but 𝐰𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤 today to get it right every time.
(𝐇𝐢𝐧𝐭: 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐡! 😉)

In this clip, my student Nhi from PNJP English Speaking Club asks a question that confuses many Vietnamese speakers. In Vietnamese, you say "ở với" or "kết hôn với" (with), so it feels natural to say "married with."

But in English, there is a big difference!
❌ Married with = describes your family status (e.g., "I am married with 2 kids").
✅ Married to = connects you to your partner (e.g., "I am married to John").

Watch the video to see how we break it down! 👇