🇺🇸 New York · English
Learn English in New York
Choose your first conversation
New York English is a counter language: «lemme get», not «may I have»; a «regular» coffee that already has milk and two sugars in it; a bacon-egg-and-cheese ordered in one breath. Ibrahim has run Ibb Grocery & Deli in Bay Ridge since 2005 — Yemeni-American, fast, direct, a cat named Habibti asleep by the register — and he teaches the English the city actually runs on, at the speed the city actually runs.
Yo, what can I get you?
How New York actually talks
What you'll pick up
- The «regular» coffee trap defused — milk and two sugars by default in most delis in the city; if you want it black, say black
- Order grammar at register speed: «lemme get…», the sandwich named in one breath — «bacon egg and cheese on a roll, salt pepper ketchup» — and «you're good» when you fumble the change
- New York's own rules: you wait «on line», not in line; Manhattan is «the city» even to New Yorkers; and «the 2 is running on the 5» — some of the hardest listening in America, coached
Where you'll practise in New York
66 missions across 11 scenes. Each mission is a real errand with a goal, a person who talks back, and a debrief afterwards in your own language.
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Cross Bay International — Terminal C airport terminal
Gina, Station agent for Larkspur Air at Cross Bay International Airport, Queens · 6 missions · A1–C1
- Bag drop A1 — One bag, one question at a time. The shortest trip through an airline counter there is.
- Three kilos over A2 — 26 kilos, 23 allowed. Pay the fee, or open the bag right there on the floor and move things. Your call.
- Through security B1 — Laptop out, liquids in a bag, shoes off, pockets empty — and the pat-down nobody explains. Ask, because she volunteers nothing.
+ 3 more at this scene
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Mott Haven Savings Bank neighborhood bank
Yadira, Head teller at a neighborhood savings bank in the South Bronx · 6 missions · A1–C1
- Money order A1 — The rent is due and cash won't do. Buy one money order at the window: the amount, the name, the fee, your signature — done.
- Send money home A2 — The first-of-the-month errand half the city runs: name spelled right, amount confirmed, fee understood, reference number read back.
- Ask what it costs B1 — Maintenance fees, wire fees, the hidden exchange margin, and the corner remittance shop — ask everything, get real numbers, decide with them.
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Ibb Grocery & Deli bodega
Ibrahim, Owner of a corner bodega in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn · 6 missions · A1–C1
- Order a coffee A1 — Order a cup of coffee at the bodega counter — greet Ibrahim, say what you want, and pay.
- Order a BEC to go A2 — Order a bacon-egg-and-cheese with your toppings, decide to-go, and settle up — real bodega grammar.
- Draw out Ibrahim B1 — Find out why the bodega is named Ibb, how Ibrahim got here, and the story behind the cat on the counter.
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Explore all 11 scenes
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Sweetfern Family Daycare family daycare
Toni, Owner and lead provider at Sweetfern Family Daycare, Sunset Park, Brooklyn · 6 missions · A1–C1
- Drop-off A1 — One child, one bag, one sentence about her morning. The bravest hello in Brooklyn.
- Her day A2 — Ate, napped, played, one surprise. The five-minute report every parent rehearses for — in any language.
- Meet Miss Toni B1 — Eleven years, a hundred graduates, one painted fern. The quietest twenty minutes in Sunset Park — go learn who holds the gate.
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Pilcrow Parcel — Your Doorstep package delivery
Marlon, Courier for Pilcrow Parcel on a Washington Heights route, Manhattan · 6 missions · A1–C1
- Sign here A1 — A knock, a label, a finger on a screen. The shortest transaction in the building — if your name matches.
- The intercom A2 — A steel box that eats consonants, a voice you must decode anyway. New York's true listening exam.
- Meet Marlon B1 — Rain, a radiator, ten minutes. The man who knows every buzzer on the block has a story worth the delay.
+ 3 more at this scene
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Harlem River Provisions grocery warehouse
Millie, Day-shift supervisor at a Bronx grocery warehouse (your boss — on the phone, then on the floor) · 6 missions · A1–C1
- First morning A1 — Day one at the warehouse: say who you are, clock in, meet your shadow, and say the three facts of the day back out loud.
- The callback A2 — The job is three read-backs away: confirm who you are, take the shift, say the address and start time back over the forklift noise.
- Phone screen B1 — She asks her three questions — then it's your turn. Pay, hours, the real work, the gear, the gate: ask it all before you say yes.
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Vasilakis Auto & Tire auto repair shop
Roz, Service writer and co-owner of a family auto-repair shop in Astoria, Queens · 6 missions · A1–C1
- An oil change A1 — Ask for an oil change, give your name and your car, find out how long. The gentlest rung in the shop.
- That noise A2 — A sound you have no word for. Make it out loud, say when it happens, hear the $95, and leave the keys.
- Whose shop is this B1 — Forty minutes, an old photo on the wall and a three-legged dog. Find out whose shop this really is.
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Copperhook Athletic Club gym
Dez, Front-desk manager and trainer at Copperhook Athletic Club, Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn · 6 missions · A1–C1
- Day pass A1 — Fifteen dollars, one wristband, two locker rules. The shortest way onto the floor.
- The tour A2 — Two floors, two minutes, one asterisk on the promo poster. Ask what things are — that's the whole workout.
- Lock in the week B1 — Two classes, one floor day, one Saturday invitation you have to answer honestly. Build a week that survives your life.
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Whirlybird Wash & Fold laundromat
Vera, Attendant at Whirlybird Wash & Fold, a Ridgewood, Queens laundromat · 6 missions · A1–C1
- One load A1 — One bag, one washer, one card. The shortest trip through a laundromat there is.
- By the pound A2 — Drop the bag, save the evening. Wash-and-fold, a scale, a ticket, and one sweater that must not meet the dryer.
- Meet Vera B1 — Twenty minutes on the folding-table clock. The woman behind the scale has a whole life — go find it.
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Union Square–14th Street Station subway station
Migdalia, MTA station agent at a busy Manhattan subway hub · 6 missions · A1–C1
- Tap and go A1 — Ask Migdalia how to pay at the turnstile, tap your card, and get through — the simplest way into the subway.
- Fix a bad tap A2 — Your card didn't tap through at the gate. Explain what happened and get Migdalia to sort it out.
- Draw out Migdalia B1 — Find out how long Migdalia's worked the subway, what the system used to look like, and what keeps her at the booth after twenty-two years.
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Apartment 3F, 118 Cortelyou Court apartment (on the phone with the super)
Ray, Building superintendent for three walk-ups in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, taking your call on his cell mid-route (voice on the telephone) · 6 missions · A1–C1
- No heat A1 — The radiator's cold and so is the apartment. Say your name, your apartment, and 'no heat.' The shortest call there is.
- No hot water A2 — Cold shower this morning. Report it, then ask the two questions that actually matter: when, and how long.
- Pin down the visit B1 — A cracked windowpane, and a super who says 'I'll swing by.' Get a real day, a real window, and settle who lets him in.
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Words that change in New York
Ibrahim speaks the way New York does, not the way a textbook does. A few of the swaps you'll hear from the first minute — the full list lives in the app's «Talk like a local» guide:
| They say | It means | You'll hear |
|---|---|---|
| bubbler | drinking fountain elsewhere: water fountain | There's a bubbler right by the door. Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island (and Wisconsin) — say it "bub-lah". Plenty of locals also just say "water fountain". |
| regular | a coffee, cream + sugar elsewhere: coffee with cream and sugar | Large regular, please. Order a coffee "regular" and it comes with cream AND sugar automatically. Very Dunkin'. |
| frappe | blended ice-cream milkshake elsewhere: milkshake | I'll get a coffee frappe. Ice cream + milk, blended. Rhymes with "app". Here a plain "milkshake" has NO ice cream. |
| grinder | a hot sub sandwich elsewhere: sub / hero | A steak-and-cheese grinder, please. A hot sandwich on a long roll. "Sub" works too; "grinder" is the old-school word. |
| jimmies | ice-cream sprinkles elsewhere: sprinkles | Chocolate jimmies on top, please. The little sprinkles on your ice cream. |
| packie | liquor / package store elsewhere: liquor store | I gotta hit the packie before it closes. From "package store". Everyday, casual. |
| rotary | a traffic circle elsewhere: roundabout / traffic circle | Take the second exit off the rotary. What the rest of the country calls a roundabout. |
| the T | Boston's subway / transit elsewhere: the subway | Just take the T to Park Street. The MBTA — subway, trolleys and buses. "Take the T" = take the subway. |
- wicked — very / really THE Boston intensifier — goes before adjectives: wicked good, wicked tired, wicked expensive.
- pissah — excellent / awesome Old-school high praise — often paired: "wicked pissah" = really awesome. (Spelled from "pisser".)
- Dunkies — Dunkin' (Donuts) The affectionate name for Dunkin'. The region genuinely runs on it.
- the Pike — the Mass Pike (I-90) The Massachusetts Turnpike, the main east–west highway.
Questions people ask about New York
Which English will I hear in New York?
American English (New York). Ibrahim and the other locals in the New York scenes speak the way people in New York actually speak — accent, pace, register and vocabulary. They'll say bubbler for drinking fountain, regular for a coffee, cream + sugar and frappe for blended ice-cream milkshake, and the coach tells you when a word is local rather than universal.
Do I need to speak English already?
No. Missions in New York run from A1 (first words: greet, order, ask for the bill) to C1 (argue a point, handle a complication, hold a real conversation). You pick a level, the scene meets you there, and the coach explains anything you missed in your own language.
What will I actually do in the New York scenes?
66 missions across 11 scenes — Cross Bay International — Terminal C, Mott Haven Savings Bank, Ibb Grocery & Deli and Sweetfern Family Daycare and more. Each mission is an errand with a goal: order, negotiate, describe a symptom, get directions, small-talk your way through a wait. The person you're talking to has their own agenda, so it never goes exactly to script.
Is it free?
You can start speaking without creating an account. A free account keeps your notebook and progress and comes with 10 minutes of live conversation a week, refilled every Monday; the app tells you where you stand.
How does the feedback work?
Ibrahim answers in English, and a separate coach watches the conversation and flags what to fix — grammar, a word choice that isn't New York's, pronunciation — in your language, without interrupting the scene. Words you didn't know go into your notebook with the New York pronunciation, and after each mission you get a debrief you can review.