Don't Be Too Casual in Emails to Teachers: Overly Informal Words Learners Most Frequently Misuse

Don't Be Too Casual When Writing to Teachers: Informal Words Many English Learners Misuse

Have you ever had this experience? You write an English email to a professor or send a message on LINE to ask a teacher a question; the words that pop into your head are grammatically correct, yet the teacher finds it "a bit off" when reading it.

The issue often isn't grammar, but register (formality level). To make things easier to memorize, textbooks often teach only one word per meaning. But in real-world English, the exact same meaning often comes in two versions: a spoken, informal version for chatting with friends, and a formal version for writing emails, interviews, or reports. A very common situation for learners is bringing the spoken version directly into formal settings, ending up sounding inappropriately casual.

The good news is: this is just like "wearing the wrong clothes." Today, using a "✗ Too informal → ✓ Authentic formal phrasing" comparison, we will help you learn to switch to the right words for the right occasions. Take your time, and you'll find there is actually a pattern to switching formality levels.

Remember One Quick Rule of Thumb: Your Audience Determines Your Words

Before you speak or write, ask yourself one simple question every time: "Am I talking to a friend right now, or am I talking to a teacher, a manager, or a client?"

• To friends, family, and classmates: The spoken version is completely fine, natural, and friendly.
• To teachers, professors, interviewers, clients, and people you don't know well: Please switch to the formal version.

This simple question can prevent the vast majority of social missteps. Let's look at them one by one below.

✗ wanna → ✓ would like to

When writing an email to ask a professor a question, many learners directly write:

I wanna ask you about the homework. ✗

wanna is a spoken contraction of want to. It flows very naturally in speech, but writing it in a formal email is too casual. Switch it to would like to, and it instantly becomes polite:

I would like to ask about the assignment. ✓

By the way, assignment is much more suitable for universities or formal contexts than homework, as homework leans more toward primary or secondary school tasks.

✗ gonna → ✓ have to / will

When saying goodbye or explaining what they are going to do next, many learners love to say:

Thanks, gonna go now. ✗

gonna is the spoken version of going to. It sounds super natural with friends, but far too loose for teachers or elders. Say it more formally like this:

Thank you. I have to go now. ✓

Here is an easy memory trick: words with "omitted" letters are mostly spoken contractions (wanna, gonna, gotta, kinda). When writing formal documents, simply "restore" them to their complete forms.

✗ ASAP → ✓ at your earliest convenience

When urging someone for a reply, many people learn ASAP (as soon as possible) and use it everywhere:

Can you tell me ASAP? ✗ (to a client)

ASAP can sound a bit demanding and pushy, coming across as impatient to clients or seniors. A formal and courteous expression is:

Could you let me know at your earliest convenience? ✓

Notice that Can you was also changed to Could you here. A quick test: requests starting with Could / Would are almost always more polite than Can / Will. Make them your first choice in formal situations.

✗ guy → ✓ manager / colleague

When writing a resume or self-introduction and wanting to praise a former supervisor, many learners write:

My boss is a nice guy. ✗

guy is too casual and informal, while nice is too vague; putting them on a resume looks unprofessional. Change to a more precise and formal phrasing:

My manager is very supportive. ✓

There are two upgrades here: replacing the informal guy with manager, colleague, or supervisor; and replacing the all-purpose nice with specific adjectives like supportive, knowledgeable, or dedicated.

A Few More High-Frequency Comparisons

Here are a few more common pitfalls for English learners to keep in mind:

• Expressing thanks: Thx! ✗ → Thank you very much. ✓ When writing emails, please avoid text abbreviations like thx, pls, and u.
• Greetings: What's up? ✗ → I hope this email finds you well. ✓ This is a versatile, polite opening line for emails.
• Expressing opinions: I think it's super good. ✗ → I believe it is highly effective. ✓ For casual intensifiers like super or totally, switch to highly or particularly in formal contexts.
• Sign-offs: See ya! ✗ → Best regards, ✓ Ending emails with Best regards or Sincerely is the safest bet.

Two Takeaway Tips

If you can't memorize all the words at once, taking away these two tricks is more than enough:

• The Restoration Rule: Whenever you see "shortcut" words like wanna, gonna, gotta, thx, or pls, restore them to their full spellings in formal contexts.
• The Could / Would Priority: When starting formal requests, replace Can with Could, and Will with Would, instantly boosting your politeness.

You don't need to memorize a huge table; just ask yourself that question—"Who am I talking to?"—before hitting "Send," and you'll avoid 90% of impolite mistakes.

How to Practice in Loopy

The hardest part about switching formality is that there is still a gap between "knowing the rules" and "using them naturally." Loopy places these informal and formal expressions into real-world context sentences, allowing you to encounter them repeatedly through listening, speaking, and shadowing, gradually building your intuition for "which word to use for which occasion."

• Leveled Courses: Step-by-step progression from A1 to B1, covering workplace emails, campus conversations, and interview scenarios, so the words you learn can be used immediately.
• Forgetting Curve Review: For formal expressions like would like to and at your earliest convenience, the system automatically schedules reviews right when you're about to forget them, helping you lock them into memory.
• Listening & Speaking Shadowing: Practice along with native speakers' intonation to master formal sentence patterns until you can speak them fluently without getting stuck during interviews.
• Built-in Dictionary: Whenever you're unsure about a word's formality, quickly look up example sentences to see how native speakers use it in different contexts.

Take three minutes to do a quick placement test to see where your current level is, and Loopy will help arrange the most suitable starting point for you. You can do it—let me help you get there!