Tag Archives: english

Idiom of the Day

I often find myself translating the meaning of various idioms to au pairs.  Idioms are phrases and expressions that do not make sense when literally translated, but have meaning to native speakers of that particular language.

Here’s an example:

A Piece of Cake – A task that can be easily accomplished.

Putting together those shelves will be a piece of cake.

There are a seemingly limitless number of idioms in the English language.  So, I am challenging myself to tweet an idiom a day on my Twitter.  Follow me if you want to learn some new idioms to increase your English comprehension and sound more like a native English speaker.  You can also view my most recent tweets here on the Twitter Feed on my blog.

I love learning idioms from other languages.  If you have some you would like to share, please post them here.

Interviewing Au Pairs – English Proficiency

When you are interviewing au pair candidates, you need to be certain that the level of English is good enough for you to communicate.  It is normally easier to communicate in person than on the phone, but don’t assume that it will be.  Be sure that you could deal with the au pair’s level of English if she arrived and it was exactly as it was on the phone.

Keep in mind that the interviewer who is evaluating the au pair’s English proficiency is probably not a native English speaker.  Therefore, his or her idea of good may not match up with yours.