Many students feel confident when they hear the word “interesting”. It is a familiar word. A safe word. An easy word. Interesting = интересный. Simple. Until somebody looks at your idea, pauses for a second, and says: “Hmm. Interesting.” And suddenly something feels wrong. The sentence sounds polite. But the atmosphere changes. You understand the […]
Tymur LevitinThere are few words in English that seem simpler than the word “fine”. Most students learn it very early. Fine = хорошо. Problem solved. But then one day they hear somebody say: “I’m fine.” And they understand immediately that nothing is fine. The voice is cold. The face is different. The silence after the sentence […]
Tymur LevitinYou hear a word. You recognize it immediately. You know the translation. And yet something still feels wrong. You understand every word in the sentence — but somehow you do not understand the sentence. For many years students have told me: “I know this word. I learned it years ago. But when native speakers use […]
Tymur Levitin
