by Olivia Augustin | Nov 1, 2025 | Technical English
As a proud member of Generation X, I really don’t mind a text message written entirely in lower case, not even a capital letter after a full stop. But when a message arrives with no punctuation at all, no commas, no full stops, and definitely no semicolons,...
by Olivia Augustin | Oct 25, 2025 | International Projects
When “Technical English” Is Not Enough You have probably heard the term “technical English” used as if it is one fixed thing. Learn the vocabulary, get the grammar right, and you are done. But engineers working across borders quickly discover...
by Olivia Augustin | Oct 3, 2025 | Confidence & Fluency
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes Most engineers assume language learning is the opposite of engineering. Logical. Systematic. Left-brain. Versus creative. Intuitive. Right-brain. Here’s the thing: that assumption is wrong — and brain science backs it up. The...
by Olivia Augustin | Sep 20, 2025 | International Projects
If you’re a non-native English speaker on an international engineering project, you’ve probably had this moment: someone says something, you nod, you understand the words — but you’re not entirely sure what they actually *meant*. Or the reverse: you...
by Olivia Augustin | Aug 14, 2025 | Engineering & Career
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes Getting a job in an international company can feel impossible as an engineer. You have the technical skills. You have the experience. But the moment the process shifts to English — the application, the interviews, the cultural...
by Olivia Augustin | Jul 3, 2025 | Technical English
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes In 1066, William the Conqueror invaded England and accidentally broke the English language. Within two centuries, English had absorbed thousands of French words. Legal vocabulary, culinary terms, words for royalty and government — all...
by Olivia Augustin | Jun 25, 2025 | International Projects
Most international engineering teams work in English. Some team members are fluent. Others are proficient. A few might still be learning. But in most cases, communication seems to work well enough: emails are sent, meetings are held, and specs are written. Everyone...
by Olivia Augustin | Jun 8, 2025 | International Projects
There’s a particular kind of exhaustion that doesn’t show up in any project report. It hits engineers at the end of a meeting where they understood about 70% of what was said, said half of what they meant, and spent the entire hour translating — not just...
by Olivia Augustin | Mar 31, 2025 | Engineering & Career
Last updated 22 May 2026 Estimated reading time: 7 minutes You have more impact on health and safety than you think you do as an engineer. We all have beliefs that inform our actions, and these values affect how we communicate and make decisions. Even if you spend...
by Olivia Augustin | Aug 2, 2024 | International Projects
“Global mindset” shows up in job postings, training programmes, and LinkedIn posts so often that it’s almost stopped meaning anything. So what does it actually mean for someone doing real engineering work? It means being able to work well with people...
by Olivia Augustin | Aug 2, 2024 | Guest Interview
If you’re an engineer thinking about a move to Denmark, or you’re already there and confused about why interviews keep going sideways, this one’s for you. Olivia talks with Kate Dahl, founder of Career Denmark and career consultant for internationals...
by Olivia Augustin | Oct 18, 2023 | Solo Session
Before Arnold Schwarzenegger was the Terminator, he was an Austrian immigrant. People mocked his accent, his body, and his ambition. In this quick chalk talk, Olivia breaks down three lessons from his story. Each one applies directly to learning English as an...
