Welcome to our first blog post! As an online ESL instructor, I've noticed these same mistakes appearing again and again in lessons with students from all levels. The good news? Once you know what to look for, these errors are easy to fix.

Learning English is a journey filled with progress and occasional stumbles. Even students who've been studying for years often make the same fundamental mistakes. Today, I'm sharing the five most common errors I see in my online ESL classes – mistakes that can make your English sound less natural, even when your grammar is otherwise perfect.

1. Confusing "Make" and "Do"

The Mistake: "I need to make my homework" or "Let me do a phone call."

This is perhaps t

he most persistent error I encounter. Many languages use a single verb where English uses both "make" and "do," making this distinction particularly challenging.

The Fix:

• Use "do" for activities, tasks, and work: do homework, do exercise, do business, do your best

• Use "make" for creating, producing, or causing something: make a phone call, make a decision, make noise, make progress

Memory Tip: Think of "do" as performing an action and "make" as creating something new.

2. Overusing "Very" Instead of Strong Adjectives

The Mistake: "The movie was very good" or "I'm very tired."

While "very" isn't grammatically wrong, overusing it makes your English sound repetitive and less sophisticated.

The Fix: Replace "very + basic adjective" with a single, stronger adjective:

• Very good → excellent, outstanding, fantastic

• Very tired → exhausted

• Very big → huge, enormous

• Very small → tiny

• Very cold → freezing

Practice Exercise: For one week, try to eliminate "very" from your speaking. You'll be amazed at how much more expressive your English becomes.

3. Mixing Up "In Time" and "On Time"

The Mistake: "Don't worry, we'll arrive on time for the movie" (when the movie hasn't started yet).

This confusion happens because the difference is subtle but important for natural-sounding English.

The Fix:

• "On time" means exactly at the scheduled time: "The train arrived on time at 3:00 PM."

• "In time" means early enough, with time to spare: "We arrived in time to get good seats."

Remember: On time = punctual. In time = not too late.

4. Using "Actually" When You Mean "Currently"

The Mistake: "I'm actually working as a teacher" (when you simply mean you work as a teacher now).

Many students use "actually" as a filler word or to mean "currently," but this creates confusion.

The Fix:

• "Actually" means "in fact" or "surprisingly": "I thought the test would be hard, but actually, it was easy."

• "Currently" or "right now"** means at this time: "I'm currently working as a teacher."

Quick Test: If you can replace "actually" with "in fact" and the sentence still makes sense, you're using it correctly.

5. Saying "I'm Agree" Instead of "I Agree"

The Mistake: "Yes, I'm agree with you."

This happens because students think of agreement as a state of being, like "I'm happy" or "I'm ready."

The Fix:

• Correct: "I agree with you."

• Also correct: "I'm in agreement with you" (more formal)

Related Corrections:

• Not: "I'm disagree" → Correct: "I disagree"

• Not: "I'm understand" → Correct: "I understand"

• Not: "I'm know" → Correct: "I know"

Why These Mistakes Matter

These errors might seem small, but they can significantly impact how natural your English sounds. Native speakers notice these mistakes immediately, even if they don't correct them. More importantly, fixing these common errors will boost your confidence and make your communication more effective.

Practice Makes Perfect

The best way to eliminate these mistakes is through consistent practice and feedback. In my online ESL lessons, we focus on identifying and correcting these patterns through:

• Targeted exercises that highlight the differences

• Real conversation practice where I gently correct mistakes as they happen

• Personalized feedback based on your specific error patterns

Remember, making mistakes is a natural part of learning. The key is recognizing them and practicing the correct forms until they become automatic.

Your Turn

Which of these mistakes do you make most often? Try keeping a "mistake journal" for a week – write down any errors you catch yourself making. You'll be surprised how quickly awareness leads to improvement.

Ready to take your English to the next level? Book a trial lesson with me to get personalized feedback on your speaking and identify the specific areas where you can improve most quickly. Together, we'll turn these common stumbling blocks into stepping stones toward fluent, natural English.

Have questions about these mistakes or want to suggest topics for future blog posts? Leave a comment below or contact me directly. I love hearing from fellow English learners!