Business English: Responding to Customer Complaints
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Business English: Responding to Customer Complaints

An inevitable part of doing business is responding to unhappy customers or clients. In many cases, formal language is required in both speaking and writing situations. Do you have the English skills to handle customer complaints? English for Responding to Customer Complaints Language of Apology First, you must apologize for the problem. I (sincerely) apologize...

Guide to Attending an American Baseball Game + “Centerfield” Lyrics
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Guide to Attending an American Baseball Game + “Centerfield” Lyrics

Many international students consider attending a baseball game to be a “must” while studying English in California, and we agree that this is indeed an activity that students should try! If you are a student at CISL San Diego or CISL San Francisco, you have many options for attending a classic American baseball game: San...

Grammar Lesson of the Month: Idioms related to sports
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Grammar Lesson of the Month: Idioms related to sports

Californians are known as being outdoor and sports-loving people, so while you are studying at CISL San Diego or San Francisco, you can expect to have plenty of opportunities to break a sweat! The love of sports continues long after the game, however: English is full of sports idioms! Do you know some of these...

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Business English: Expressions and Collocations with “earn”

The verbs WIN, EARN, and GAIN are often confused by English learners, and for good reason: they have very similar meanings! They are also incredibly important words for Business English, and CISL teachers are often asked to clarify the words and their meanings. To test your knowledge of the differences between these words, take a look...

Send? Message? Text? Useful Language for Texting/Phones/Communication
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Send? Message? Text? Useful Language for Texting/Phones/Communication

The smartphone is like a lifeline for international students: it allows you access to an English dictionary when you are shopping and don’t know an important word; it allows you to take photos of your incredible time in San Diego or San Francisco; it provides you with the opportunity to text friends for your next...

The Hollywood Sign + TOEFL Reading Section 1 Practice
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The Hollywood Sign + TOEFL Reading Section 1 Practice

In a previous article, we looked at the types of questions that students can encounter in the TOEFL Reading Section 1. Today we are applying this information to a practice test on an article about the history of one of the most famous California icons: The Hollywood Sign. This practice test contains all of the...

Example Questions for TOEFL Reading Part 1
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Example Questions for TOEFL Reading Part 1

Section 1 of the TOEFL Reading test is designed to rate your comprehension of academic-style writing. Students are expected to quickly read a large portion of text and then answer questions regarding the content. Students are not expected to understand everything that they read, as they are not given enough time to thoroughly read the...