Harnessing the Power of Language: Building Confidence for Architecture Professionals

In this Architecture Social CPD, host Stephen Drew speaks with Tara Cull, a landscape architect and English teacher who founded ArchiEnglish to help architecture and built environment professionals who speak English as a second language communicate with clarity and confidence. The conversation runs for roughly 52 minutes and is most useful for international professionals, and the practices that employ them, who want communication to stop holding good people back.

Listen to the full conversation

Who this is for

Architects, landscape architects, urban designers and interior designers who work in English as a second language, students preparing to enter English-speaking offices, and senior staff or practice leaders who want to support colleagues whose technical ability is strong but whose communication confidence is not yet matching it.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this session you will be able to:

1. Explain why industry-specific vocabulary and jargon, not just general English, shape how architecture professionals are understood at work.
2. Recognise the link between language confidence and career progression for non-native English speakers.
3. Apply practical techniques for clearer written communication, including diplomatic emails and documentation language.
4. Adapt your communication for the cultural differences that arise in international teams.
5. Navigate the particular challenges of online and remote meetings as a second-language speaker.
6. Use a strengths-based, accountable approach to building communication confidence over time.

Two passions brought together

Tara worked as a landscape architect for around 14 years before moving to France, where she could not practise easily without French. That experience, combined with memories of mentoring a colleague from China early in her career, led her to create ArchiEnglish: business English built specifically for architecture and landscape professionals rather than generic language lessons.

Why vocabulary is only half the problem

Tara is clear that the deeper issue is usually confidence rather than vocabulary. Many of the professionals she works with already have an advanced level of English but hesitate to speak up in meetings or take on responsibility because they feel they have to perform. Building the confidence to contribute is often what unlocks progression.

Tailoring the learning to the person

Rather than a one-size-fits-all curriculum, Tara designs around individual needs. She typically runs a focused 12-week one-to-one programme, alongside shorter ad hoc sessions such as Power Hour coaching for interview or presentation practice. She has also taught architecture students online at a university in Thailand, where the curriculum is more structured around presentation skills and English for architecture.

The language of documentation and email

Much of the practical work focuses on writing: how to be diplomatic rather than blunt in an email, and why documentation uses particular constructions such as the imperative mood (for example, "repair the existing roof"). These are details native speakers rarely think about but which non-native speakers ask about constantly.

Culture shapes communication

Because Tara's clients usually work in a country different from their own, the coaching also covers cultural differences. The way people express disagreement or voice an opinion varies between countries, and part of the work is helping people understand the expectations of the environment they are now working in, not only the vocabulary.

Coaching, not broadcasting

Tara and Stephen both reflect on the limits of one-way content. Recorded videos and social posts are useful, but they cannot replace the two-way relationship of coaching, where listening, feedback and the space to practise speaking build real confidence. Tara draws on her one-to-one sessions to create shareable material for Instagram and LinkedIn without diluting the personal work.

Accountability and momentum

A recurring theme is accountability. Like working with a personal trainer, the value of mentoring is partly the relationship itself: knowing someone will check in keeps people moving, and celebrating small wins, such as asking a question in a meeting for the first time, sustains momentum.

Communicating well online

The conversation closes on the added difficulty of remote work for second-language speakers: muted microphones, missing non-verbal cues, presenting to a wall of cameras-off participants, and the self-consciousness of being on video. Tara encourages people to focus on one or two things at a time, to be kind to themselves, and to keep practising.

Key terms

• ESL - English as a second language.
• Lingua franca - a common working language shared by people with different first languages.
• Imperative mood - a verb form used to give instructions, common in specifications and documentation.
• Diplomatic language - softening tone in writing so a message is clear without being blunt.
• Power Hour coaching - a focused one-to-one session for a specific task such as an interview or presentation.

Reflective prompts for your CPD record

1. Where does language or communication, rather than technical ability, hold you or a colleague back, and what one change would help most?
2. Think of a recent email or meeting contribution. How could it have been clearer or more diplomatic?
3. What cultural differences affect communication in your team, and how could you make space for quieter or non-native speakers to contribute?

About the guest

Tara Cull is a landscape architect and English teacher, and the founder of ArchiEnglish, which provides English coaching for architecture and built environment professionals who speak English as a second language. You can also find Tara's profile on the Architecture Social.