Lesson For Real English
Lesson: Social

Series: Is Your English Politically Correct?
As we progress in the 21st century, more and more everyday English terms are considered offensive.  Are you worried that you might unwittingly offend your friends or colleagues by saying the wrong thing? Here's some advice to help you choose your words wisely and survive in a sensitive and politically correct world.

Phase: What does he/she do?
Men and women once had different titles for the same job.  Not anymore!  Referring to a certain gender is now considered sexist, so instead of man or woman, the word person is used in job titles.  For example, we use chairperson as opposed to chairman, businessperson instead of businessman, and salesperson in place of salesman.

Other jobs have a whole new name!  Where have all the air hostesses and stewardesses gone?  They have been replaced with flight attendants.  And waitresses and waiters are now called either servers or waitrons.

What about those jobs that don't sound very prestigious?  Don't worry! If you're a janitor, you call yourself a sanitation engineer.  And if you don't have a job, you're not unemployed anymore, you're actually just involuntarily leisured!

Lesson For Real English
Lesson: Social

Series: Is Your English Politically Correct?
As we progress in the 21st century, more and more everyday English terms are considered offensive.  Are you worried that you might unwittingly offend your friends or colleagues by saying the wrong thing? Here's some advice to help you choose your words wisely and survive in a sensitive and politically correct world.

Phase: What's his / her race?
North America once was home to blacks, whites, Indians and Orientals.  Have they all disappeared? Of course not! These days, however, there are more politically correct ways to refer to a person's ethnicity. Blacks are now called African-Americans/Canadians, whites are Caucasians, Indians are referred to as Native Americans, and Orientals have been replaced with Asians.

Lesson For Real English
Lesson: Social

Series: Is Your English Politically Correct?
As we progress in the 21st century, more and more everyday English terms are considered offensive.  Are you worried that you might unwittingly offend your friends or colleagues by saying the wrong thing? Here's some advice to help you choose your words wisely and survive in a sensitive and politically correct world.

Phase: What's he/she like?
There was a time when you could say a person was old, short, fat, or blind - easy to say, but truly insensitive!

The next time you want to describe someone, think carefully and be creative!  People aren't old anymore - they're elderly.  Someone short has become vertically challenged.  A person once fat is now obese or horizontally gifted.  Additionally, visually impaired is now the most respected term for saying someone is blind.  Just remember that name-calling, in whatever form, is always insensitive and insulting.

Lesson For Real English
Lesson: Social

Series: Are you in the mood for English?
Are you feeling on top of the world and full of joy or depressed and down in the dumps?  Here is a list of popular expressions you can use to tell people how you feel.

Phase: Under the weather
If you're sick or just not feeling so well, just say you're under the weather.  For example, "John's feeling a bit under the weather tonight, so he won't be joining us for dinner."

Lesson For Real English
Lesson: Social

Series: Are you in the mood for English?
Are you feeling on top of the world and full of joy or depressed and down in the dumps?  Here is a list of popular expressions you can use to tell people how you feel.

Phase: Chill Out
If your friends think you're overreacting to a small problem, they might tell you to chill out.  This is a popular way to tell someone to relax or calm down: "Stop worrying about it and just chill out."