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Wednesday, October 31, 2018
Saturday, October 27, 2018
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
Monday, October 15, 2018
HAVE FUN While Learning English
One of the exercises I had to do while taking a voice class at Temple University was to stand up and secure one bent leg with one hand behind me while extending the other hand in front of me. Why? That's what I was wondering at the time too. The point is not only to help you "center" and "direct" your voice, but to distract you while trying to do it. And it helped! Letting go of inhibitions can really help when it comes to anything to do with vocalizing whether it be learning to sing, or learning a new language.
I've always been told I'm a serious person. Having integrity is important to me, but a sense of humor can be important too. After establishing what a student's goals are, and targeting their problem areas, I like to help them "become distracted" and have fun while making improvements.
Using clips from sit-coms (comedy programs) for exercises is one way students can have fun while learning English. A short vocabulary list is given for the student to learn before watching the brief video clip, and then some questions are provided for the student to answer. So along with building vocabulary, the ability to utilize context for comprehension is also being developed. Having a laugh about something funny we've read is also a great way to find ourselves distracted while making improvements during a lesson.
Lastly, alcohol is a natural muscle relaxer. As the tongue is a muscular organ, why not have a glass of wine before practicing your English. I'm not recommending making a habit of it, but once in a while might be ok!
I've always been told I'm a serious person. Having integrity is important to me, but a sense of humor can be important too. After establishing what a student's goals are, and targeting their problem areas, I like to help them "become distracted" and have fun while making improvements.
Using clips from sit-coms (comedy programs) for exercises is one way students can have fun while learning English. A short vocabulary list is given for the student to learn before watching the brief video clip, and then some questions are provided for the student to answer. So along with building vocabulary, the ability to utilize context for comprehension is also being developed. Having a laugh about something funny we've read is also a great way to find ourselves distracted while making improvements during a lesson.
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
Monday, October 8, 2018
Monday, October 1, 2018
Things that Hold us Back from Speaking English
1. Being self conscious
Worrying about how you sound or whether or not you're speaking perfectly can keep you from even trying. If someone can't understand you, or even makes a comment about how you aren't speaking well you have to learn to brush it off and keep going. Learn to laugh at yourself, even, and keep in mind it's quite possible the person judging you may not even speak another language.
2. Lack of opportunity to speak or listen
If you aren't living in an English speaking country, you'll have to take it upon yourself to engage in self immersion. How? Find a television program in English and dedicate a time to watch it everyday. Try to find something with the same characters in it, as this will help you to begin "predicting" what someone might say and find more meaning in the context of what you're watching. This speeds up the learning process. Listening to native speakers will also help you with your pronunciation. Now all you need to do is find someone to talk to so you can practice.
3. People around you all speak your language
Living in Portugal hasn't necessarily made it easy for me to learn Portuguese. Everyone here seems to speak English. So I have to force myself to speak Portuguese even when those around me are speaking in English. It is much easier and less tiresome for me to fall back into my native language, and believe me I've done it many times. But when I'm conscious of the fact I need to improve my Portuguese I make a deliberate effort to not revert back to my English-speaking
comfort zone.
Worrying about how you sound or whether or not you're speaking perfectly can keep you from even trying. If someone can't understand you, or even makes a comment about how you aren't speaking well you have to learn to brush it off and keep going. Learn to laugh at yourself, even, and keep in mind it's quite possible the person judging you may not even speak another language.
2. Lack of opportunity to speak or listen
If you aren't living in an English speaking country, you'll have to take it upon yourself to engage in self immersion. How? Find a television program in English and dedicate a time to watch it everyday. Try to find something with the same characters in it, as this will help you to begin "predicting" what someone might say and find more meaning in the context of what you're watching. This speeds up the learning process. Listening to native speakers will also help you with your pronunciation. Now all you need to do is find someone to talk to so you can practice.3. People around you all speak your language
Living in Portugal hasn't necessarily made it easy for me to learn Portuguese. Everyone here seems to speak English. So I have to force myself to speak Portuguese even when those around me are speaking in English. It is much easier and less tiresome for me to fall back into my native language, and believe me I've done it many times. But when I'm conscious of the fact I need to improve my Portuguese I make a deliberate effort to not revert back to my English-speaking
comfort zone.
Thursday, September 20, 2018
Japan aims to overcome language, cultural barriers before 2020 Games | The Japan Times
Japan aims to overcome language, cultural barriers before 2020 Games | The Japan Times: Last of six parts Aiming to attract 40 million annual inbound tourists in 2020 when Tokyo will host the Olympics and Paralympics, Japan hopes to overcome a
Monday, July 2, 2018
My students in China win awards at an English competition!
I’m very proud of my students in China who won a lot of awards at an English speaking competition. We work very hard on diction and pronunciation (online). I love my students!
Thursday, May 3, 2018
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