MY BLOG
I am sure that for everybody who is actually celebrating Christmas, it is the time to meet with family and friends, go to church, sing carols and eat delicious things. On your to-do Christmas list, there is probably no space for English - and good - so it should be. But, when it is all said and done and you are ready to cherish the spare time this holiday has to offer, you may want to try out one of the recommended things below. Let’s start with music. I know that I do this time and time again but my number one December music set every year is Sting’s If on a Winter's Night album. I take enormous pleasure in listening to these songs and I can guarantee they will put you in a winter and Christmasy mood. Here is a link to the album on Spotify. Next, I want to recommend two series. I am going to start with a shorter one. It has got only 3 episodes and it’s called Mrs Wilson. The series is based on a true story but the facts are one great mystery. I am not going to reveal more, apart from the fact that Ruth Wilson plays her own grandmother and she does it brilliantly. The series is now available on BBC; for other sources please search the net. The second series would be for those of you who like crime stories, the 1920s and a bit of a romance. Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries is always fun for me to watch. The series is witty and playful, the acting is a bliss and the fashion of the 20s - yes- it's a must see. The series is available on Netflix. There was a bit of music, a bit of something to watch so now it’s time for a book. I have one book in mind that I believe reading would be worth your while. It’s the latest Seth Godin’s creation- This is marketing. You can access this book, or the audiobook- to be more precise, on Audible. The app is a paid one but you can enjoy one free month, which I am sure is enough for you to listen to one book. And for those of you are not especially keen on the topic of marketing, I personally believe this is very unlikely- in my book everybody is interested in marketing :), anyways- should you be not - then Audible gives you the abundant choice of different genres and titles. I am singing off now; Wishing you ALL a very MERRY CHRISTMAS! 🎄
Again, I'd like to invite you to take part in a daily (this time daily means Tuesday-Thursday) program to improve your language skills. This month we will be honing our listening skills. The program called "What are you saying?" is based on short video clips from movies and series. The extracts are seconds long so it shouldn't take a lot of your precious time. But, please feel encouraged to listen to the extract as many times as you need. Once you do this, please type your answer. Yes, yes - we're using the Whatsapp communicator for that. If you want, you can also take a more passive role - just listen to the text and then check the answer HERE but I'd recommend to get out of your safety zone and be active for once! The extracts are sent to you at about 8-9 pm o'clock, Tuesday-Thursday. They're also published at the website around the same time. If you wish to take part in this program but haven't registered for my Whatsapp updates you can do this HERE.
Recently, I have been trying to convince you to spend more time studying English using technology-free resources. This post, however, will be a bit different - I guess it is super hard for me to deny my longtime love to all things tech. So today, I am sharing a few great websites/applications that I have personally found irresistible when studying, doing a research or preparing a presentation.
My number one is of course Quizlet. All my students know this app and use it - some are the devoted fans, and some prefer the-check-before-the-lesson approach. I personally believe that Quizlet is great for learning and revising vocabulary or even grammar. You can create your own vocabulary sets , combine them into bigger study units, attach pictures, listen to the correct pronunciation and what’s more you can use your mobile app to study wherever you are. Totally fantastic, have a look if the app is a novelty to you, and if you are a business professional take advantage of enrolling to my business English class on Quizlet.
Another great and fairly new discovery of mine is Youglish. Youglish uses YouTube clips to improve your English pronunciation. It gives you fast access to how English is spoken by real people and in context. All you need to do is write a word or phrase in the Youglish browser and the app generates a playlist of youtube videos where this particular word or phrase occurs. You can hear a variety of accents and check out the pronunciation of names of companies, products and people that you wouldn’t find in a dictionary.
Next, I would like to mention the app which I think is great for anybody who reads a lot on the Intenet. It is called Snippet Web Highlighter. You can highlight text on the web, create your snippets, organise them and review later on. The app gives you the opportunity to store everything in one place with the website reference. You no longer need to save the details of your online resources and waste time browsing your history.
The last thing I feel I need to talk about is Grammarly. I wasn’t sure from the start whether or not I should be recommending this app but I guess the pros outweigh the cons - so here we go. I have been using the Grammarly browser extension for Google over a year now. Grammarly claims to help you write mistake-free texts. Yes, indeed, it helps you! It draws your attention to potential mistakes and suggests different options. The danger of using this plug-in, however, is that you may get into the habit of accepting every suggested change. The app is good, not to say great- but resist the temptation of following its suggestions blindly and remember it is you who have the final say.
Today I would like to recommend you a book which in my opinion makes a fantastic read. The book is titled Mini Habits: Smaller Habits, Bigger Results and was written by Stephen Guise. The concepts presented in this book can completely change the way you look at setting goals and forming habits.
So, did this book change my life? No, it didn't. But It helped me to understand myself and people I work with. It encouraged me to start small. And gave me a lot of food for thought. At the beginning of every course I always ask my students to have a notebook. Since I teach online never before did I feel it was necessary to check whether my students actually take notes or not and I left it completely to their discretion. Of course, I would mentioned now and then that it's a good idea to have a notebook but I didn't really want to boss adults around telling them what to write down. But something has changed. After the semester test I discovered that the ones who had used handwriting and had their notebooks remembered things better and as a result - scored better. So this year many of my student may find me a bit overwhelming because I've made it my top priority to retrieve the habit of taking notes in the lesson (and well, yes -after it too). I strongly believe that handwriting plays an important role in creating connections between ideas and remembering them longer and better. I have already written a post on that - CHECK HERE
Autumn has come. There’s no point denying it. The mornings are pretty chilly and we tend to stay at home more. But today, I would truly like to encourage you to GO OUTSIDE (and take your learning with you …:) A few days ago I wrapped myself up, packed all the necessities and made the place in the photo above my office for the day. Surprisingly, I managed to complete every task I had set up for the day, plus I felt so much at peace. Changing our working or learning environment can bring a totally new dimension to it. Our productivity increases when our mind is ready to process new information. I believe that limiting distractions can help us focus more and as a result remember things longer and better. That is why I want you to try and give your learning routine a little twist once in a while.
The studies show that regular direct access to nature can: increase self-esteem, improve concentration, learning, creativity, cognitive development, cooperation, flexibility and self-awareness. Oh, boy! What a list! And I am sure it is not complete. And while we’re on the topic of nature, there are two more things I recommend you to check out.
Ben travels around the world and meets people who have turned their backs on the rat race and set up home in some of the most remote and extraordinary parts of the world. I am a huge fan of the series, not only because it is in English, but primarily because it is honest, moving and motivating. It emphasizes the connection with nature we all should have and makes you rethink your life and your daily choices. I’m signing off now. Hope you have a great autumn.
Can I get to love public speaking?
Maybe. Can I get better at it and stress less? Absolutely. Below you will find some advice that come from my personal experience, observations and talks with my friends or students. The list is by no means complete, but I hope it can you some food for thought. Be well prepared but also don't be afraid to be spontaneous. Definitely know what you want to say and have a framework that you can follow. Know your audience and adopt your talk to them. Also, know what resources you will have at your disposal and have a backup plan if it turns out that you cannot use them in the end. Plan your presentation using your favorite method. I use the colour coding technique with my students. Have your notes in a paper/ computer version not only in your head. *Don't take the notes to your presentation, though or put them in your bag before you start your show. Look good=feel good rehearse your talk wearing the clothes you intend to wear when giving your talk or presentation. How on earth can that affect my skills, you may think. Well, if you don't feel comfortable, you have problems to walk or feel somehow exposed these will definitely shake your confidence. Then, instead of focusing on your talk, you will focus on your appearance or start imagining people are staring and judging you. If you don't wear high-heels on regular basis, you may find that during your talk you spend more time controlling your walk. Check the pronunciation of any difficult words / names. Don't go with the flow here. English can be really nasty when it comes to the pronunciation of different words. If you talk about some people or their organisations also check how to say it beforehand. Save yourself the embarrassment of mispronouncing the names of people especially if they are present during your talk. I remember when I was giving a presentation on a grammar issue to my colleagues during my TESOL course. The grammar point I was to talk over was the passive voice. I thought that my example with Don Kichote was written by Cervantes would be just great to start with. However, since the name of the book and the author was in Spanish I wrongly assumed that the pronunciation of these two would be the same in any language. Once I read my example the whole room was in laughter. It actually ended up well as it turned to be a very interesting discussion point in my presentation and people had different ideas of how it should be pronounced. Anyhow, I have learnt my lesson and now I go with Hamlet was written by Shakespeare. Your intonation and pace matters - it's not a race. You will know your presentation. You have probably practiced it a zillion times (if you didn't you should have) but your audience hears it for the first time. It is new to them. Don't just get it over and done with. Make sure that you highlight important aspects, paraphrase or repeat them if necessary. Make sure your intonation varies. Don't put your audience to sleep with a monotonous voice. Instead, inject some energy into your talk. Keep the eye contact / or pretend to do this. You must have heard it a thousand times - Keeping eye contact is essential for the success of your presentation. And well, it is. There is nothing to add here. But resist the temptation of taking your preparatory notes with. People find it very difficult not to rely on their notes when they make them easily available. Then, they also tend to look at them more than at their audience or even resort to them completely when their confidence is first shaken. Take a short plan, instead. And only if you really need to. I don't know about you but I immediately switch off when people start to read their presentation. Allow yourself to make mistakes = buy your audience with your honesty. Do the best you can, be excellently prepared but if you hear yourself making a mistake or forgetting a fancy word you wanted to use here don't kill your performance with that. If you make a mistake you can be honest and correct yourself, joke about it or just simply let it go.
Take a few deep breaths and let the odds be with you.
I am proud to present you two short speaking courses - Small Steps and Kilimanjaro.
Both courses are designed to improve your speaking skills. And both of them use a 15-minute framework. I have noticed that many of my students find it really difficult to get into a habit of regular studying. Since I believe in practising mini-habits I thought that it would be just great to offer you the opportunity to practise the language on a more regular basis. I know that time-wise it is extremely difficult to have more than one lesson a week. And money-wise, well ... yes, it's not the cheapest business. So, what I am offering you now are mini courses that you can do during your lunch break at work, in practice it means between 11-14. The only thing you need is a lunch break and WhatsApp. The conversations are based on a very short reading or video material. None of these should take you more than 5 minutes to prepare. The aim of these courses is to give you this extra kick; motivate you to find time to practise the language and show you how being consistent can improve the your learning experience. The fees for the courses are as follows
*A special discount for my regular students - Small Steps 60PLN; Kilimanjaro 200PLN If you wish to take advantage of one these 2 courses please contact me HERE or send me an email. Let’s talk a little bit about motivation today.
If we want to achieve something we need to stay motivated. We might not necessary find the whole process of achieving our goal pleasurable but we need to stay motivated to keep on keeping on when the days of “I feel like doing nothing” come. In our adult like we are often trapped between our financial commitments, work issues and family matters. No wonder that the last thing, we can think of is our English classes. Not to mention heaps of homework our ‘living in a totally different world” teachers assign us thinking that we have absolutely nothing else to do but go through grammar exercises before we go to bed. I am guilty as charged of being a teacher who loves giving homework. I truly believe in the importance of self-study and learners autonomy. The truth is that we learn a language our whole life. It’s a never-ending process. You can learn with a tutor for a while but at the end of the day, you need to take a role of a tutor yourself. That is why learning how to motivate yourself outside your classroom is super important. Well, but how to do it? Aren’t we motivated by different things? Is there a rule we can follow here and all be successful? Unfortunately, there is no simple formula to staying motivated. However, … - I simply love the word however in the moments like these because it we can expect that there is some light in that tunnel. So, however, try to do a little bit every day. As Stephen Guise says “Doing a little bit is infinitely bigger and better than doing nothing (mathematically and practically speaking).” Do not overwhelm yourself with your learning material. Many people have big ambitions, especially at the beginning of their learning path, but they overestimate their abilities and the amount of time they can devote to studying. As a result they end up discouraged and disgruntled. The secret of success lies in creating a habit of doing a bit every day. Not just doing a bit, but doing it often and regularly. A little bit every day can grow into a lifelong habit and this can change everything for you. But start small. A 5 minute vocabulary practice every day can do wonders. You cannot do it everyday, do it on Wednesdays and Fridays but do it. Your best bet would be to set a reminder, for example in your phone, at the beginning so you couldn’t blame your poor memory for your laziness. A good idea is also to build a new habit into your life by stacking it on top of the current one. I guess, many of you have a habit of drinking coffee in the morning. Because it’s already something strongly wired into your brain, it will be much easier to use this strong connection to build a new habit - having a morning brew and doing Quizlet. Science tells us that it takes about 21 days to form a new habit. 21 days doesn’t seem like a lot to me and think of the benefits and changes such a small thing can bring into your life. I truly encourage you to give it a try. For more learning tips click HERE People, who know me, know that I love food- eating, preparing, photographing, talking about - you name it. When I was thinking about my courses offer for this year I couldn't resist the temptation to use a restaurant menu to present what I've prepared. So, what's on the TMM menu this year? Please check it out, I am sure you won't be disappointed. For more info please check the courses website HERE
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AUTHORWritten by Agnieszka Kansy Categories
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May 2024
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