One of the best things about the Advanced Vocabulary & Collocations Course is the option to do homework and get feedback/correction from an Espresso English teacher.
There are so many benefits to this homework!
✔️ Putting new words into practice guarantees that you’ll remember them better
✔️ You can easily get any mistakes identified and fixed, and learn from the errors
✔️ Your confidence in using advanced English words will increase when you get confirmation from a teacher that you’re using them correctly!
What does the homework and correction look like?
I’ve made a few samples available for you to see!
Sample #1 – Topic: Emotions & Behavior
Question is in bold
Student answer is in italics
Teacher feedback is in blue
1. Describe the last time you were elated.
When I got the acceptance from my dream school 5 years ago, I was elated.
When I was accepted by my dream school (this way sounds a little more natural)
2. What’s something that keeps you spellbound?
A well-written book on the following three topics normally keeps me spellbound: psychology, interior design and astrophysics.
3. Have you ever encountered someone who was despondent or disconsolate? What was the reason?
My co-worker once called me and poured out his frustration for our manager. He said it seemed like every he did was wrong and he didn’t know what our manager wanted from him.
his frustration about our manager
everything he did
4. What’s something you’re longing for?
I long for the day when we are back to normal and can start to travel again.
5. Have you ever been disenchanted, and why?
I seldom get disenchanted and I think that is because I alway try to manage my expectation on anything.
I always manage my expectations for everything.
6. How can a person avoid becoming bitter?
I think bitterness normally comes from the feeling that “I am stuck”. If we be more mindful on all the choices we have, we might be less likely to be bitter.
mindful of all
7. Do you think it’s better to be resigned to a bad situation, or try to change it?
I think we’d better resigned to a situation with a good spirit if we cannot change it in short term. In other words, we can try to accept it while try our best to change the situation.
we’d better be resigned
in the short term
while trying
or: while we try
8. What kinds of situations make you crabby or grouchy?
I am crabby when someone from work asks me to provide something last minute and assumes I will prioritize his/her ask over my other daily tasks.
9. Talk about the last time you had the jitters.
I had a chance to be keynote speaker in front of hundreds of clients a few years ago. Though I was well-prepared, I was still very jittery the night before.
be the keynote speaker
10. What’s something that makes you grin?
Dog/cat videos will make me grin.
11. When was the last time you became irate or scowled?
When I was misunderstood and criticized for something I didn’t do, I was irate.
12. What would you do if your child, partner, or friend were sulking?
If I did something wrong, I normally would apologize and ask for forgiveness. If I think they are just being a little emotional that day, I will just pretend everything is normally and let time heal the situation.
I would just pretend everything is normal
Sample #2 – Topic: Personality
Question is in bold
Student answer is in italics
Teacher feedback is in blue
- Do you consider being assertive and outspoken a positive or a negative quality?
In my opinion, being assertive is a positive quality. Being an outspoken, however, can be either positive or negative, depending on the situation. Some people really state their opinion in a kind of aggressive way, that can leads to arguing.
Being an outspoken
or: Being an outspoken person (outspoken an adjective, so if we use “an” then we need a noun afterwards)
that can lead
- Describe someone you know who is charismatic.
I would say that Morgan Freeman is a very charismatic person. Every time I see him in an interview, I can see how much charism he has. I would love to have a beer with him and talk about his life and career.
how much charisma
- Talk about a time when you were very conscientious.
When I need to buy something new I am very conscientious. I usually do a lot of research, talk with people who have experience with it and read or watch a lot of reviews about it before I decide to buy it.
- Write about a situation when you had to stay composed.
When I was in my 20’s, I worked at receptionist in a laundry shop. Sometimes I had to stay composed with clients that were not so satisfied with the service and when we had delays in some important deliveries.
I worked as a receptionist in a laundromat.
- Describe someone you know who is feisty or witty.
My best friend is a feisty person. He always brings a lot of joy and happiness to every party we go. I always enjoy spending time with him.
to every party we go to. (in more formal English we avoid ending a sentence with a preposition, but when speaking/writing informally it’s fine)
or: every party we attend.
- What’s a condescending remark you’ve heard someone say?
I had a colleague in a previous work who was very condescending. Once he said that “we should end the meeting” because we were not agreeing with what he was saying.
in a previous job. (work is an uncountable noun, so it doesn’t go with “a.” And “work” is more like something you do, not the job itself)
- What are some things you find obnoxious?
I find obnoxious people who talk about other people in their back all the time. Seems like they are always complaining about everyone. I can never trust a person like that.
I find it obnoxious when people talk about other people behind their back (we say that like this)
- What would you do if your coworker was very nosy?
I always try to solve problems at work peacefully. I would find it very obnoxious and then politely speak with him/her that I do not like to be watched all the time.
- Do you think people in general are more cynical nowadays than in the past?
I definitely think so, especially in times of pandemic. People are being more cynical nowadays because they find difficulties on having a non-normal life. Also, watching the news on TV always bring us the worst in the world.
difficulties in having (we use in for areas, and you mean difficulties in a particular area)
watching the news on TV always brings us
10.What’s an example of slovenly behavior you’ve seen (or done yourself)?
I have a single friend that lives alone for a while and he lives in a very slob place. I don’t know how he can live in such a mess!
that has lived alone for a while (present perfect is for things that started in the past and continue today)
he lives in a very slovenly place.
or: he is such a slob.
