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Collocations Challenge 1

Sound more like a native English speaker in 30 days



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'I can speak English but I don't sound natural and I translate in my head'

I remember once, when I was studying French at university, my French professor said to me, "your writing is all correct, but it just doesn't sound French! I can't give you a good mark."

I was really shocked! I'd tried hard to get everything correct. But my choice of words in French just wasn't natural and I didn't know how to fix the problem.

Later, when I was studying linguistics at Cambridge (where I focused on the psychology of how adults learn foreign languages), I found the answer!

The answer was collocations.

What our students say:

Dobestean from Romania

It was absolutely wonderful. It was so easy to learn with you, to practice, to memorize...I will certainly speak better in English and I will understand way better what native speakers say. I had a great conversation with a native speaker...it was marvelous to speak so easily and understand him so well. Thank you so much!

Alessandra from Italy

I like your courses because I can really repeat what I learn many times and I can space it out. I've realised that these collocations come to me quite naturally when speaking.

Znedka from Czechia

I love the cyclical revision, it really works for me. Filling in gaps is also a great way to remember the phrases. The choice of collocations is just about right for me. I have noticed that I subconsciously talk/write more about topics where I can use the collocations I am just practising. I feel that my English vocabulary has improved and become more accurate.

What's a collocation?

A collocation is a group of words that often go together, like 'heavy rain' or 'solve a problem'.

If you translate each word from your language, it's easy to say something like 'big rain' or 'improve a problem'.

All of these are grammatically correct! But they're not what native English speakers say.

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Here's how to sound more like a native English speaker:

Learn the exact phrases, expressions and collocations that native English speakers use.

Introducing the 30-Day Collocation Challenge

Learn 150 collocations in 30 days

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The perfect challenge for upper-intermediate and advanced learners who want to sound more like a native English speaker.

You'll learn how to:

  • Understand and use 150 important English collocations. We chose the collocations very carefully for you and we use them ourselves every day.
  • Remember the collocations by using scientifically-proven learning techniques. No more forgetting the words that you study! It's really possible to remember the new vocabulary using this method.
  • Make your English sound more like a native speaker's. Collocations are the key to making sentences like a native speaker and sounding natural in English.
  • Build the habit of studying every day. You'll be really surprised by how much progress you can make in a month if you study a little every day.
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Fast progress in 20 minutes a day

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Easy to use - just follow our system

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Learn interesting collocations from the first lesson

What our students say about the listening challenges:

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The Listening 30-Day Challenge is inside our Perfect English Grammar membership.

How does it work?

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  1. You sign up for the Perfect English Grammar Membership.
  2. Inside the membership platform, you choose the Listening 30-Day Challenge.
  3. You do the online lesson every day for 30 days. The lesson is a real, natural conversation with native speakers. It includes full transcripts and explanations.
  4. It will take you around 20 or 30 minutes to do the lesson.
  5. You can study whenever you like - maybe with your morning coffee?
  6. In 30 days, you can improve your English listening a lot and understand native speakers more easily.
  7. Then you can choose another course inside the membership, if you want!

More of our students' comments about the listening challenges:

Semih:

I have been watching movies for five months with English subtitles. But after the course, I don't feel like checking what's written in the subtitles!

Raquel:

I feel more comfortable and confident when I'm listening to English conversations during a meeting (at work or with friends), so I take part in them. I like this feeling! Honestly, I can't think of anything better that you should change in this course. It's perfect!

Ramakrishna:

Last night (the 29th day) of this challenge, I spoke with a bank customer care executive and I got all her question clearly. I felt my efforts paid off!

The Perfect English Grammar Membership ALSO includes:

  1. 35 more in-depth online courses
  2. A daily email to keep you motivated
  3. PDFs, flashcards, online quizzes - everything you need to improve
  4. A certificate when you finish each course
  5. Help from our lovely teachers whenever you need it
  6. No contract - cancel anytime with one click
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Hi, I'm Seonaid, your teacher!

And together with the Perfect English Grammar team, I've helped *tens of millions* of students improve their grammar.

I'm a British native speaker of English. I have a Master's degree (MPhil) from Cambridge University in English and Linguistics and I've been teaching English for more than 20 years.

I live in London, I've studied French, German, Spanish and Japanese myself and I love learning, culture, books and ideas.

(My name is pronounced "show-na"!)

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Complete 30-day guarantee

We really want you to be happy with your purchase! If you don't like the courses for any reason, email us within 30 days and we will refund you 100% - no problem at all!

Start today and see how much you can improve your English!

Monthly membership

$25 per month

  • Full access to all our English courses
  • Pay $25 USD automatically every month until you cancel
  • Cancel easily any time with one click
  • 30-day money-back guarantee

Annual membership

$240 per year

  • Full access to all our English courses
  • Pay $240 USD automatically every year until you cancel
  • Cancel easily any time with one click
  • 30-day money-back guarantee

Frequently Asked Questions

It costs $25 (USD) per month or $240 per year. Everyone gets the same courses, it's just a bit cheaper if you pay for a year in advance.

Of course! You can cancel your membership any time with one click inside your account or by sending us an email. There's no contract or obligation.

We have thousands of happy students! But if you decide that the membership isn't what you need, we offer a full 30-day guarantee. Just send us an email in the first 30 days and we'll give you your money back.

No, all the lessons are already recorded so that you can study whenever you want.

Yes! You can get a certificate at the end of every course.

You have full access to everything for as long as you stay in the membership.

Yes! Just write a comment inside the courses or send us an email and a qualified British teacher will answer you.

We really recommend studying a little bit every day! Fifteen or twenty minutes is perfect.

The free website has written explanations and some exercises. The membership has full online courses, which are carefully organised and go into a lot more detail. They have videos, audios, flashcards, PDFs, infographics, summaries and hundreds of review exercises. In the membership, you can also have your questions answered by us and you can get a certificate when you finish a course.

Yes! You are very welcome to use this material in your classroom or with your private students. Everything can be printed and photocopied.

A few more student comments about our courses

Natalita:

My English makes a good impression on my colleagues and business partners. I feel more confident and powerful.

Farah:

I've got great accuracy and confidence to express my ideas or thoughts.

Paul:

I became more self-confident, and today I started an international business course in English. I'm so proud!

Hubavina:

The course is marvellous. I can understand and read a lot of articles and books in English.

Oksana:

This is the best-structured and the most clear course I've ever seen (I'm 52 :-)). Thank you so much! At last! I can speak confidently and understand how to build my sentences.

Maria:

It was easy to learn, you explained it perfectly. I can speak more easily and I am more confident in conversation.

Kelly:

I have noticed that I use several of these idioms naturally in my conversation in English. I say them naturally, it's very rewarding.

Guillermo:

The course is helping me to hold better English conversations with others. It's also helping me improve my English writing skills and is giving me great self-confidence.

Alessandra:

I realised that I am actually able to use the phrasal verbs when speaking and writing. They just keep coming to my mind.

Michel:

I can already enjoy movies more and get a better understanding of Bloomberg papers. I'm confident it will be helpful in my career.

Zsuzsanna:

I use much more sophisticated grammar in my communication now. I love reading novels in English and with the help of the course, many types of sentence structures, which were weird for me before, became familiar. And I adore this feeling :)

Lyudmila:

I can see that my self-confidence is raised sharply. I can pass those tests on which I was previously unsuccessful, practically without errors.