These last few days have given you, I am sure, some extra time to watch a few shows online or on TV. Now the question is, are you watching them in English?
If you are reading this, it is most likely that you are keen on improving your English skills and are looking for ways to help you do it quickly. I am sorry to say that there is no “immediate” way to learn English but there is so much you can do to improve. One of the most recommended steps is to speak, speak, speak, but I know that is easier said than done.
The next step you can take is to watch all those fabulous series and movies in original version. I know you think it is exhausting and for some even impossible, but I guarantee you that if you get into the habit of watching everything in English, it will get a lot easier. Think of it kinda like the gym. The more consistent you are and the more frequently you go, the easier and perhaps even more fun it becomes. Same here…
So, here are a few steps to help you get started and things you can do to help you learn while watching. But above all, remember to relax! Have fun and sit back:
First of all, be aware of active and passive vocabulary. Active vocabulary are words or expressions that you are familiar with and easily understand or even better, are already in your dialogue when speaking English. These are phrases you do not need to worry about when listening to English.
Passive vocabulary are words you might be familiar with (or not) but rarely use or are not sure how to. This can happen simply because you do not have the opportunity to use English as frequently.
Second, be an active listener when watching something in English. Have a pen and paper near you and take note of words and phrases you are attracted to or not familiar with. But Don’t sweat it! Take a few notes and try learning them but do not take down more than 5 to 7 words/phrases. This should be out of curiosity and not pressure.Then make sure you say these words out loud for at least a week. Memorize them, practice them, play with them!
Third, if absolutely necessary, use subtitles, but in English only! Start making that change now. Even if it is difficult, I guarantee you that if you keep trying, you will eventually catch on and be able to understand more and more each time.
Fourth, choose the right material to watch. News and soap operas are the easiest to watch. Comedies and sitcoms are the most challenging due to the slang and collocations used so pick something adequate for your level and interests.
Join a speaking club! That can either be a book club, movie club, whatever your interest is and start putting those skills to work. You will start seeing a considerable difference and at least more confidence in what you watch and read.
If you are interested in setting up a club, feel free to contact me and we can get you started!
Finally, if you want an added challenge, try a podcast. There are some great resources out there today to learn both English and lots of other fun facts.
Shows to watch:
Best Netflix TV shows to watch in 2020
10 Best movies to learn English with
The best shows on Netflix to learn English (both British and American)
My favorite Podcasts:
Modern Love (American) Did you know Amazon Prime has a series out on this podcast and it is incredible!
PHOTO SOURCE: Image Magazine
We are all currently facing some serious changes to our daily lives and I have no doubt many of you are going through unexpected challenges as we adapt to working from home, wearing face masks, not seeing our loved ones as closely or frequently as we would like to and countless other factors that we do not have time or heart to name. But I do want to believe that there is a silver lining to all of this. Change is never easy, but sometimes change in itself brings on many other opportunities that we are not aware of.
As many of you find yourselves at home, I want to offer you the possibility of taking on some of your forgotten objectives. There has never been a better time to learn, study and improve those skills you tend to push back because your are simply too busy. Now is the time to consider taking on English again and stepping into a short moment in time when nothing else matters but how you are improving your skills and advancing your knowledge.
I find that when I work with my students for that short hour or hour and a half, I come out happier, more hopeful and positive that they are learning and feeling better about themselves. And maybe, that is the silver lining in all of this, finding those windows of time with others and spending some slow time learning and growing.
Here are a few things for you to consider:
Starting English Classes again! I have been told classes during the lock down have been a small oasis.
Read our blog Loud and Clear for fresh ideas and practice
This amazing short film that demonstrates the power of empathy
This lovely podcast to remind us all that everything is always changing
I hope to see all of you more frequently and soon, whether it is on the screen or even better, in person.
Take care and be well.
Love, Heidi
Photo Source: Cuddle Clouds
Think you can’t draw? You can! | Round Table Event #1 | Saturday March 2nd, 2019 from 10-12h
Events, Listen, Loud and Clear, Workshops
Step outside the class | Drawing Activity with Tim Currant
Saturday, March 2, 2019 from 10am to 12pm
“Learning never exhausts the mind” – Leonardo da Vinci
Remember that next Saturday, March 2nd is our first round table event of 2019 with Tim Currant. We will be sharing breakfast, coffee and an excellent opportunity to learn how to draw and relax, while improving your skills in conversational English.
Here’s Tim:
Are you dissatisfied with your drawing ability – or think “I can’t draw”?
Whatever level of drawing ability you may or may not have, this workshop shows you how to develop authentic drawing skills. I believe that everyone has the potential to draw, but just need to focus on three things:-
1. Change your thinking habits when you draw
2. Learn how to train your hands and eyes to work together.
3. Go and practice them. Practice makes perfect – before Leonardo da Vinci drew the final painting on the Cistine Chapel, he drew 140 pictures that did not work.
The workshop will be hands on and enjoyable and a chance to find out of you really can draw!
Please RSVP by Wednesday, March 27th
And don’t forget our future events!
Thursday, March 14, 2019, 19.00h-20.30h: PART I: “Eating your way through words” this is a two part series led by Caroline Bagnara (Learning food vocabulary)
Thursday, March 28, 2019, 19.00h-20.30h: “Cleaning up your act” led by Anna Bezubka (living a healthier more sustainable life)
Saturday, April 6, 2019, 10am-12.00h: “Meandering through art” led by Rosemary Grieve (Visiting a museum and practicing your English skills in description)
Thursday, April 26, 2019, 19.00h-20.30h: PART II: “Eating your way through words” led by Caroline Bagnara (Visiting Santa Catarina Market in English)
Thursday, May 9, 2019, 19.00-20.30h: “Setting yourself up for success” led by Heidi Schmidt (the importance of setting goals and challenges)
Start reserving your favorite activities and we will keep you informed! You can email us at hello@heidi-schmidt.com
Each course has a cost of 30€ per person and will include snacks and beverages
Photo Source: Ryan Johnson for NPR
Last week we spoke about “Thin Slices of Joy” and living in the present. Have you tried it, yet?
And so in honor of Valentine’s day tomorrow and living in the present, I thought we would talk about a recent interview I heard on detoxing from Smartphones. I know, eye roll, and how trendy, right? Wrong. David Greenfield, a psychologist and assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Connecticut found that hearing a notification from our phone is identical to the study Ivan Pavlov did over a century ago. Greenfield compares us to those dogs and warns us that high usage of our telephones can cause serious disorders and addiction.
According to Greenfield, the average user checks their phone 50 to 300 times a day and compares it to gamblers on slot machines. In another study, Dr. Anna Lembke, a psychiatrist at Stanford University, considers this problem a “spectrum disorder” that can go from mild to extreme forms. She doesn’t think we should stop using our phones completely, that would be too much of an extreme, but does advise us to consider controlling our use of the phone and being more present.
Dr. Lembke suggests we spend less time on our phones to help increase our creativity, enjoyable time with family and friends and efficient time at work.
But before you decide to take on the challenge of detoxing from your phone, as this week’s exercise, I invite you to listen to this fascinating report:
When you are done listening, I challenge you to turn off your phone for the next 24 hours and enjoy Valentine’s day without any interruptions or notifications and instead, soak in the pleasures of such a romantic day!
And in case you are curious, a little video on the history of Valentine’s day!
The holidays are fast approaching and the smell of Christmas is in the air and we are very excited around here…As many of you already know, Oriol and I are happily expecting an addition to our family any time now and we could not be more excited! I could also have not asked for a better Christmas…But before I sign off to impatiently await this little member, I thought I would share a heartfelt (touching) video on learning English. Apparently, it has become the most watched commercial this last week and if you haven’t seen it yet, please do. Heat up some hot chocolate, pop some pop corn and bring out the tissue.
If there is anything I have learned these last few years is that every single one of you have a different and very personal reason for learning English and there is not a single reason that is better than another one. What does not cease (stop amazing) to amaze me though is the passion in which all of you want to learn and how you achieve your goals each and every time, be it small or large. This is what makes our job so amazing. And I think I can speak for all teachers, that we are fortunate to form part of your learning experience. Congratulations to every single one of you for wanting to learn something new and doing it.
Today is the first day in a long time that the weather is cooler and we all seem to be walking just a little quicker. Did you know that summer is officially over next week? Get your light jackets out, September 22 is the first day of Autumn!
In ode to the summer and to all your brilliant summer tales this week, I thought I would share a very extraordinary story with you about a man, Gunther Holtorf, who decided to go on a 26 year holiday (177 countries and 884,000km (549,000 miles))! Talk about a very long summer.
Here’s a lovely photo-documentary by the photographer, David Lemke:
This article by the BBC gives you detailed information: http://www.bbc.com/news/special/2014/newsspec_8703/index.html
And before we check out for the weekend, how about an informative video on the differences between British and American English Pronunciation?British vs American | English Pronunciation Lesson
Can you tell the difference? Do you use one form of pronunciation more than the other? Or maybe you have a preference??
Photo Source: Philip Barlow
This Friday, April 22nd is Earth day, a global day on which it aims to inspire awareness of and appreciation for Earth’s environment. As we all know, this planet we live on needs our love and attention, so I thought that we could dedicate this week’s post to all things Earth. Maybe this will inspire you to work on your garden, plant a tree or clean up a littered (dirty) beach. Do you recycle? Maybe now is a good time to start!
Here are some fun links from around the web to get you motivated and at the same time help you learn some new vocabulary;
Earth Day quiz from The Guardian
Some great videos and a quiz on what animal are you? from Google
Why Trees? A great explanation on why we need to plant more trees and a global map with events near you.
Animals that might not survive 2016
One man’s goal to preserve nature’s sounds for future generations
And finally, if you loved these links, here is a whole page dedicated to videos and articles on Earth Day
Have a great week and stop to smell the flowers!
Photo Source: Bernard Chevalier
How are you intelligent vs How Intelligent are you?
Business English, Listen, Loud and Clear, Read, Watch
“If we don’t make mistakes daily we are not pushing the boundaries and challenging the system enough.” Antonio J. Lucio
Happy Monday everyone! Before we begin with a very interesting topic on intelligence, we want to remind you that this week is our first edition of the Round Table Series so remember to sign up and join us on Thursday from 20.00h-21.00h. You can find more information here. We really do hope to see you there!
So, this week’s blog is on how intelligent you think you are and why creativity is so important in both work and learning. More than once I have heard students tell me that it is impossible for them to learn a new language or that they were never really good at learning, or intelligent enough. To be honest, I disagree. Maybe we just need to find a different approach at learning.
I have always believed that we are all creative, every single one of us and luckily Sir Ken Robinson believes the same. Take a look below at this week’s links and see how you can become a more intelligent and creative learner.
Here are Five common mistakes when learning a foreign language. Just imagine, with a little more curiosity and less fear, you could easily go a long way
A very creative video on Ken Robinson speaking about How are you intelligent?
An easy video on Why do we need creativity?
A more advanced video by the author Elizabeth Gilbert on Your elusive (difficult) genius
And you can test your English (maybe you know more than you think you do?)
Finally, here’s a Quiz on commonly confused words in English.
https://aeon.co/videos/how-a-massive-painting-project-is-transforming-a-haitian-slum-through-colour
This week we are making room for a very compelling (interesting) post from Madeleine!
Our last post was titled Blue Monday, and that got us thinking about colour, or a lack of (not much,) colour! Some parts of the world are not lucky enough to enjoy the Barcelona blue sky this time of year, and the sky is mostly grey and the light is dull, (lacking brightness.) If you live in these kind of countries, it is not surprising that people start to feel a little depressed.
So, in celebration of all things colourful we would like to share this video about a transformation of a hillside slum in Haiti. So beautifully simple and inspiring.
After watching the video, try to think of how many adjectives you can think of to describe colour? Yes, it’s pink or green or blue, but what kind of blue?
Here are some adjectives to help you, and remember that some of these words can also be used to describe other things too.
Intense
dull
pale
subtle
radiant
rich
light/dark
luminous
shiny/matt (Am. E.: Matte)
dusky
neutral
bold
cold/warm
deep
fresh
soft/hard
sober
vibrant
vivid
translucent
Descriptive language really helps you to communicate well in another language, so go on, don’t be afraid to use some adjectives!
Note: Did you notice the spelling of the word colour in this post? In British English the word is spelt with a ‘u’ and in American English, we drop the ‘u’. British English: colour American English: color
There is a story behind why the Americans spell some words differently from the British, but we’ll save that for another post!
We are four days into 2016 and about to put our shoes out for those 3 wise men and their gifts. In the meantime, we have had enough time (and days off) to give some thought to what we want 2016 to look like…right? Or maybe some of you are more of the September resolution kind of person?
If January is your month to shake off the previous year and start fresh with new goals, this post is just for you! Have you ever wondered where the idea of New Year’s resolutions come from anyway? Find out from this short video:
And this short article explains The History of New Year’s Resolutions
We have gathered some interesting links on New Year’s resolutions and what to expect for 2016 in regards to reading material and food:
50 New Year’s resolutions and how to achieve them
Top 10 healthiest New Year’s Resolutions
Vegetables likely to take over your plate in 2016!
What makes a good life, happy? VIDEO
What to expect in 2016 (according to The Wall Street Journal)
Books to Read this year (according to Brooklyn Magazine)
Top 10 Movies to watch out for in 2016
May it be a fun year for you all and full of health, happiness and accomplished resolutions!
