Being Courteous

Everyone knows that it is extremely important to be polite and corteous when building rapport. It doesn't really matter whether we are talking about personal or business communications. 

Everyone knows this but only English people know why. Check it out:

... Divided by a Common Language

American English tends to subdue its "older brother". It's penetrated movies, songs, literature and weaves the web all over the world. It might be the case that one day the British won't be able to understand the Americans! Let's see what's going on there at the moment:

Which language do you speak?

Challenge Accepted

or How to Pronounce "TH" Correctly

 

Native speakers recommend the following approach:

:) Very easy... apparently!

Wicked

The adjective "wicked" stands out among other options:

- gloomy;
- depressed;
- miserable;
- forlorn.

First of all, it is not a synonym for the word "sad".
Second, it is a tricky adjective since in American and British English it has got different meanings. 
This is what you will learn from my favourite dictionary:

1 behaving in a way that is morally wrong [= evil]:

- the wicked stepmother in 'Hansel and Gretel'

2 informal behaving badly in a way that is amusing:

- Carl had a wicked grin on his face as he crept up behind Ellen.

- Tara hasn't lost her wicked sense of humour.

3 spoken informal very good:

- That's a wicked bike!

 

Wicked word, is it not?

Playing Games

If you are both: into word games and English, you will love this source. There is no better way to study than playing and not taking anything seriously :)

This particular web-site claims that "Games are a great way to learn all sorts of things about English. These games are for English language learners, or native speakers who are addicted to word games".
In addition, you will find a great thesaurus there.
Enjoy!