The elephant in the room is an expression which means “a big problem everybody can see, but nobody talks about”.
In international companies everywhere, the elephant is not African or Indian, it’s English.
You want a promotion? English. You want to work when others are fired? English. You have an interview? English.
People who learn English deserve respect. It’s difficult. It takes a long time. And sometimes the reality stops students. They worry that they don’t have time, that it’s too difficult, that they don't have the discipline
Maybe that's why so many students start and stop and start... and stop again.
Does that sound like someone you know?
There is a solution and the students who find it are the students who learn the best, are the most fluent, pass the exams, get the promotions, and have great interviews in English.
You can find the solution, too, in How To Eat An Elephant, a text about extreme challenges in our course book English File Upper Intermediate:
In Air Force survival school, they ask cadets “How would you eat an elephant?” About 50% answer correctly: one bite at a time.
And that is how you eat the English Elephant, one word at a time.
Learn 5 to 10 words a day, 50 words a week and in less than one year, you can have an advanced level vocabulary. That's a big step towards the English you want. All in the time it takes to brush your teeth.
It's impossible!
No, it’s not. Research in 2009 (Milton and Alexiou) showed that advanced students typically know 3750-4500 words.
So, on your to do list today?
Some helpful links about vocabulary