Blog - JustMeneesha

The hidden cost of being ‘native’

For years, the conversation around first-language bias has focused – rightly – on the harm it causes teachers and learners who use English as an...

translate the-jopwell-collection-unsplash

The translation layer: Why fluency isn’t a level you reach

The translation layer: Why fluency isn’t a level you reach

When I began my English training journey, I thought the goal was fluency. Not just competence – real fluency. The kind where you don’t pause,...

What I do as an English trainer

What I do as an English trainer

I’ve noticed something over the years. When people hear “English trainer”, they assume certain things: I don’t. And I think it’s time I shared, clearly,...

Permission to pause: why silence is not a sign of weak English

Permission to pause: why silence is not a sign of weak English

I notice something with almost every client I work with. They rush. Not because they’re in a hurry. Because silence feels dangerous. A two-second pause...

I don’t fix emails. I add tools: a business English case study

I don’t fix emails. I add tools: a business English case study

A confession – for years, I thought my job as an English trainer was to correct. To spot the error. To explain the rule. To...

Beyond “native” and “non-native”: a kinder way to teach English

Beyond “native” and “non-native”: a kinder way to teach English

If you have ever taught English – or learned it – you may have felt the weight of certain words: These terms arrive with good...

From “Lost in Translation” to “Found in Interpretation”: the executive’s guide to cultural code-switching

From “Lost in Translation” to “Found in Interpretation”: the executive’s guide to cultural code-switching

For the internationally mobile executive – whether navigating a joint venture in Singapore, leading a multilateral negotiation for a development bank in Addis Ababa, or...

The strategic English deficit: why fluency isn’t enough for global leadership

The strategic English deficit: why fluency isn’t enough for global leadership

In boardrooms around the world, among the executives of the world’s most prestigious institutions, a quiet realisation is dawning. The global business arena no longer...

Riding the waves of 2025

Riding the waves of 2025

Gosh! I am so ready to see the back of this year. If 2025 had a mantra, whispered beneath the roar of the waves and...

How moving disrupts your work-from-home groove (and how to survive it)

How moving disrupts your work-from-home groove (and how to survive it)

After three decades in this house, I’m not just packing up a home – I’m dismantling my entire work life. As someone who works fully...

In anticipation of change: preparing to leave my family home

In anticipation of change: preparing to leave my family home

After three decades in this home, I find myself in the peculiar limbo of straddling two lives – not quite ready to leave but already...

A creative haven (with a feline muse)

A creative haven (with a feline muse)

This cosy little corner is more than just a workspace — it’s my creative sanctuary. It’s where ideas take root, projects come to life, and...

What makes a good CV? A key to landing the job

What makes a good CV? A key to landing the job

As I navigate my job search, I’ve been reflecting on what it takes to stand out in a competitive market. One thing is clear: a...

Let go of what doesn’t serve you

Let go of what doesn’t serve you

I’ve been grappling with many challenges lately: job fulfilment, life after the death of my spouse, health issues, and navigating single parenting. Over time, resentment...

Community tourism offers unique experiences

Community tourism offers unique experiences

Community tourism is popular as it gives the traveller a more realistic insight into local lives

TIA360 CEO unpacks her vision for tourism

TIA360 CEO unpacks her vision for tourism

TIA360 CEO, Sindile Xulu, looks at what must come in the tourism sector during pandemic recovery

Namibia: Plug-in campus promotes cross-cultural learning

Namibia: Plug-in campus promotes cross-cultural learning

The Future Tech Lab, a plug-in campus set up within the main campus of the University of Namibia (UNAM) in Windhoek by Finnish higher education...

New network to focus on supporting higher education reform

New network to focus on supporting higher education reform

The South African Technology Network (SATN) and its local and international partners have been successful in applying to the European Commission to establish a South...

SATN-UIF learnership offers skills – and hope – to youth

SATN-UIF learnership offers skills – and hope – to youth

Acknowledging the urgent need for the youth to be employed, the South African Technology Network (SATN), Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) and Milzet Holdings – a...

Drug programme showcases benefits of multidisciplinarity

Drug programme showcases benefits of multidisciplinarity

When the sciences and humanities collaborate, exceptional work is possible. This is the belief of the academics working in the Urban Futures Centre (UFC) at...

Partnership to turn graduates into job creators

Partnership to turn graduates into job creators

As South Africa faces catastrophic unemployment rates, the South African Technology Network (SATN) and various stakeholders are partnering to ensure that graduates “are no longer...

Lesson on education and societal change

Lesson on education and societal change

Postgraduate education students from New York University (NYU) and Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey in the United States are learning invaluable lessons in...

SATN helps boost PhD capacity in South Africa

SATN helps boost PhD capacity in South Africa

The South African Technology Network (SATN) has partnered with the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) to launch a Staff PhD Capacity Enhancement Programme...

#ReadingRoom: Friday Black

#ReadingRoom: Friday Black

“Fresh, exciting, vital and contemporary”. These are just some of the words used to describe this collection of short stories. Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s Friday Black...

My best social media tactics for 2019

My best social media tactics for 2019

I’ve been thinking about my social media strategy for 2019 while researching trends and tactics. How do I get my own brand, as well as...

#FreelanceFriday: And the word of 2018 is toxic

#FreelanceFriday: And the word of 2018 is toxic

“The Oxford Word of the Year is a word or expression that is judged to reflect the ethos, mood, or preoccupations of the passing year”....

Fakeness: kudos to Instagram for tackling the scourge

Fakeness: kudos to Instagram for tackling the scourge

Instagram is hands down my favourite social media platform. Beautiful images, clean lines, easy formatting … what’s not to like about Instagram right? Well …...

#FreelanceFriday: firing a client

#FreelanceFriday: firing a client

As a freelancer, you quickly learn that it’s important to have as many clients as possible. More clients mean a healthier bank balance every month....

Using hashtags for effective marketing

Using hashtags for effective marketing

If you use social media you must know that hashtags are an important component of social activity, especially on Instagram and Twitter. But have you...

Raising responsible, tech-savvy teenagers

Raising responsible, tech-savvy teenagers

Generation Z is a demographic group that comes after Millennials. One of the defining characteristics of this group is that youngsters from Gen Z have...

#FreelanceFriday: valuable tips that helped me negotiate the entrepreneurial journey

#FreelanceFriday: valuable tips that helped me negotiate the entrepreneurial journey

There’s no manual on how to be a freelancer. And as the gig economy evolves at a phenomenal pace we often find ourselves wishing someone...

Are you paying enough attention to your reputation online?

Are you paying enough attention to your reputation online?

This week I am talking online reputation management or ORM. The great thing about social media is that brands can interact with their customers in...

#ReadingRoom: Why Social Media is Ruining Your Life

#ReadingRoom: Why Social Media is Ruining Your Life

I spend a huge amount of time on social media … for myself as well as the numerous clients I work for. There is no...

Content marketing: ignore it at your peril

Content marketing: ignore it at your peril

I would argue that content creation and marketing is the ultimate tool any brand could utilise to set them apart from the noise on social...

#SundayRead: The Necessary Marriage

#SundayRead: The Necessary Marriage

#SundayRead: The Necessary Marriage Once you get past the slow start to this book and get to grips with the underlying commentary, I promise this...

#FreelanceFriday: the hustle is real

#FreelanceFriday: the hustle is real

#FreelanceFriday: the hustle is real I began blogging some years before I became a freelance content creator. It was the ideal platform for me to...

Organic reach is on the decline, but is it all doom and gloom?

Organic reach is on the decline, but is it all doom and gloom?

Organic reach is on the decline, but is it all doom and gloom? If you work with social media regularly you will know that we’ve...

#SundayRead: Eve of Man

#SundayRead: Eve of Man

#SundayRead: Eve of Man Eve is special. She was the first girl to be born to the human race in 50 years. The story of...

#FreelanceFriday: Dear freelancer. I see you, I salute you

#FreelanceFriday: Dear freelancer. I see you, I salute you

#FreelanceFriday: Dear freelancer. I see you, I salute you Rates and fair pay are hands down the most talked about issue amongst independent consultants. It...

Social media peeves: how they hurt your brand

Social media peeves: how they hurt your brand

Social media peeves: how they hurt your brand Peeves … you know – those things you do on social media that give users scratchy eyeballs....

#SundayRead: Vox

#SundayRead: Vox

#SundayRead: Vox I read The Handmaid’s Tale when it was first published. It’s one of those novels that stayed with me all these years later....

#FreelanceFriday: ruminating on my choices

#FreelanceFriday: ruminating on my choices

#FreelanceFriday: ruminating on my choices We make choices every day of our lives. And they begin the minute we open our eyes to the world...

Three tips to generate engagement on social media

Three tips to generate engagement on social media

Three tips to generate engagement on social media The success of a social media campaign correlates strongly with engagement. Likes, comments, shares, debate – they...

Misogyny in the workplace is alive and well

Misogyny in the workplace is alive and well

Last week I wrote a blog about my friend Anxiety and how we met. I’ve pinpointed an incident that took place almost a decade ago...

#SundayRead: F**k Plastic

#SundayRead: F**k Plastic

#SundayRead: F**k Plastic I’ve written extensively about my plastic-free journey this year. If, like me, you’d like to join the war on plastic, get your...

#FreelanceFriday: Let’s talk about anxiety

#FreelanceFriday: Let’s talk about anxiety

#FreelanceFriday: Let’s talk about anxiety A few years ago I was held up in my home. I was in the shower, getting ready to fetch my...

Productivity: what is useful work