Fresh on the blog

Have you had this question on the G.B.C. before? Which city is the best city in the world to live?

I've often heard non-native English speakers say something like, "You had better do it." But to a native English speaker, this sounds like a threat! If "better" is a positive word, why does "you had better" seem scary?

In the G.B.C. test, there are often abstract questions that can cause difficulties, because you have to think very quickly about a topic you may never have considered before. In other words, expect the unexpected!

Use emphatic phrases to make your spoken English more effective.

Keeping motivated is something that everyone struggles with from time to time. Whether it’s motivation to exercise, eat healthy, study, or learn a new language, we’ve all found ourselves lacking the drive and energy to work at whatever goals we’ve set for ourselves.

Here, we are going to look at a very common question which usually comes up at the start of a GBC interview. Of course, the answer to questions about Japanese cultural experiences is a very subjective one. I'm sure all of you will have his or her own answer.

In the G.B.C. test, there are often abstract questions that can cause difficulties because you have to think very quickly about a topic you may never have considered before. In other words, expect the unexpected!

Have you ever said something like this?

A: How was your weekend?
B: It was fine. I could enjoy a relaxing time.

Language is a major factor in what makes humans unique. We use language as a tool to explain how we see the world. But could language actually be what determines how we see the world around us?

Here is a question that you can bet will keep coming up for the next four years: What do you think about the Olympics in Tokyo in 2020?

Today I want to look at a very common question in the G.B.C. interview. It is surprising how many respondents, when asked about the place where they grew up, have very little to say.

This time, we're going to look at a hot potato* that has caused a lot of heated discussion in Japan.

The question we're going to deal with is: What do you think of the legalization of casinos in Japan?

Here is my sample answer:

What do you think is the biggest threat for the world in the near future? Here's a sample answer to that question.

This time, we're going to consider a G.B.C. question about you. As we have mentioned before, personal questions should, in theory, be the easiest to answer. However, because they are considered easy questions, it is important that you have a really good answer prepared.

This time, we are going to look at a question that naturally follows the issue of how the Japanese lifestyle has changed over the last 10 years, which was considered in a previous blog.

There is something a lot of people do when they are nervous while speaking. It's the statement that sounds like a question: when your intonation rises at the end of a sentence that is not a question. When we make a statement, it is supposed to stay straight. 

In this blog, we are going to look at a G.B.C. question that should be quite easy to answer. However, sometimes the easiest questions cause the most confusion when you are thinking about what to say.

In this first blog of the series, we are going to look at a question about which many of you may not have specialised knowledge or a strong opinion. However, with some basic information, a good structure and some sophisticated vocabulary, it is still possible to produce a very good answer.

Does the name Sara Blakely ring a bell (= sound familiar) with you?  What?  No? 

Yeah, it didn't for me either.

Why is advertising so annoying?