Don’t forget to stop by and celebrate this Thursday, December 3rd from 19.00h-21.00h at Galeria Joan Gaspar with us and all of our wonderful students… We really look forward to seeing you there and ringing in the festivities.

More than once, I have been told by some of you that you just do not get the use of certain acronyms.

Have you ever found yourselves in a meeting and the chair keeps repeating things like TBC, HQ, HR and ASAP all in one sentence? Maybe it sounded like this guy speaking…

Well, we have the post for you this week. We have gathered some interesting links for you to start studying and use at your next meeting. Just click on the bold for the website:

Business Abbreviations you need to know under titles

A list of 40 acronyms if you are in a rush

And 123 acronyms to get you feeling like a pro

We also thought it might be a good idea to get you started on learning 1 new word a day. Recommended by one of our students, if you sign up to word reference’s word of the day app you can learn and quiz yourself on a new word. Vocabulary is another one of your weak points, right? So let us give you a helping hand!

Stay tuned for a pop quiz!

Photo source Planet of the Apes 1967

It’s that time of year again! So make sure you save the date on Thursday, December 3rd from 19h-21h at Galeria Joan Gaspar and join us for a class of Cava, great art and friendly company.

We hope to see you there!

Please RSVP by November 27th, 2015

In this profession, we are fortunate to work with many different students who come from all sectors and professions. Why are we fortunate? Because we get the opportunity to learn so much about everything you do!

This week, we applaud all of you for working hard and doing the best you can. Now, let’s take a look at how we can compare jobs and watch 5 different videos on professions around the world.

First of all, do you know the difference between an adjective and a comparative? It’s easy!

An adjective describes HOW something IS (emphasis on the noun): Messi is a good player.

An adverb describes HOW something IS DONE (emphasis on the verb): Messi plays well.

Here are the rules on comparing with adjectives:  Use the (-ER) at the end of the adjective: Colder or Use (more) More famous, but never use -er and more together!!

If you are using an adjective of one syllable you add  –er: Old → older         Tall →taller       Short → Shorter       Wide → Wider

If the adjective ends in a vowel sandwich (consonant-vowel-consonant) double the final consonant:

hot → hotter          thin →thinner             big → bigger

If you have an adjective with two syllables and it ends in –y, you must change the –y to an –i and add –er:  Happy → happier         Sunny →sunnier      Easy → Easier

With adjectives of two or more syllables you must add More before the adjective: Modern →more modern           Important → more important         Beautiful → more beautiful

There are irregular adjectives that do not follow the rules above and you change the word: Good → Better      Bad → Worse    Far → Further   Many/Much → More     Little → Less     Ill → Worse

Now, let’s watch these videos and see if you can compare the jobs. How do you compare your job to the ones mentioned?  http://www.thebookoflife.org/a-working-day/

Happy Friday Readers!

I don’t know about you, but I tend to be much more motivated in the Fall (Autumn) than any other season. I am usually excited about having an excuse to grab a great novel, make some hot chocolate and cover up. It is also a great time to pick up (start) a hobby or focus on learning something new and preparing to host (have/invite people to) dinners at home since it gets dark and cold so early!

So this post is about learning, listening and becoming just a little smarter.

                                                             http://explore.brainpickings.org/

Want to know the benefits of knowing a second language? Watch this video: The benefits of a bilingual brain

Fascinating article from The Guardian on making ourselves more intelligent. Did you know we only use 15% of our neurons? Read this article: Can we make ourselves more intelligent?

and for fun, test yourself on how smart you are: Personality Test

And the director, Luc Besson speaks about his film last year on Lucy. Watch a video on him explaining his reasons for the movie: Luc Besson’s celebral sci-fi   

Finally, if you want to get into a great book, but prefer to listen to it. Try audio books. A great way to listen and even read at the same time: Audio Books 

Online Articles 

Or try my favorite, Podcasts. These two are on my top list: The Hidden Brain and Ted Radio Hour

Have a wonderful Autumn weekend!

October 1, 2015 is a big day!

We couldn’t be happier to announce that after 4 wonderful years on Pau Claris, we have decided to move a street down. Our office space has improved and we cannot wait to show you how.

Please take note that as of October 1, 2015 you will find us setting up business on Arago 290, ppl Barcelona 08009.             Click here for an interactive map.

We look forward to seeing you there and inviting you to a glass of Cava to celebrate!

This week we have been speaking with many of you about your summer adventures and where you went, what you saw, and who you met with. But, sometimes, you find yourselves at a loss for words or simply using the same adjectives all the time. So, we thought it would be a great idea to give you a list of the typical words we use daily and options on how to use more varied vocabulary.

One of the activities I have been doing with students these last few weeks is working on talking about cities. I ask them to describe their favorite cities and their least favorite. Once we have an idea of what cities are on your list, we work on describing them with words like crowded, fashionable, cool, expensive, noisy and then I ask students to come up with two synonyms for each of those words and then 2 antonyms. Not an easy task!

Why don’t you give it a try? If you get stuck (can’t think of any words) try using a Thesaurus. This is my go to online Thesaurus

I also love testing my vocabulary:  Test your vocabulary here

The Guardian also wants to test you

And here is a link to improve your vocabulary on a daily or weekly basis.

Now that you have expanded yourself, choose a go to word that will impress everyone. Mine is plethora. Go to this link for 100 words to impress an Native English Speaker!

Photo Source

Welcome Back and Get 20% off!

We are happy and excited to be back. So excited in fact that we want to grow, but we can only grow with your help.

So, if you tell a friend about us and they decide to join, you get 20% off on your next invoice or if you are not one of our current students, but you recommend someone, you get a free 1 hour revision class.

We have a proverb that says, “Birds of a feather flock together” or people of the the same sort or with the same tastes and interests will be found together and we like you so much, we want MORE students like YOU! 

Contact us for more information here:  hello@heidi-schmidt.com

We can’t wait to meet your friends…

Have a wonderful summer and thank you for another fabulous year.

Stay tuned for some more surprises this September. In the meantime, try some Duolingo this summer to keep your skills             up to par.

Listen to some news on BBC Learning English or on NPR News

And practice your grammar on our favorite website: Perfect English Grammar

See you in September!

If you remember, last month, some of you signed up for a 2 hour tour on Poble Nou and its history. And boy, did we have fun.

I have to admit, it was a sweltering day (very very humid and hot) but our attentive participants were excited to meet and learn something about a neighborhood that has been changing ever since the late 1800’s industrial revolution.

Our Business English students went from office serious to comfortable cool summer outfits and were the perfect Barcelona tourists.

There were historical facts, lovely streets, a surprise visit to the Water Tower in Poble Nou with spectacular views and a vermouth and some bravas at our local Pubilla from the 1800’s to finish off the day. What was a 2 hour activity turned out to be a 4 hour activity! I took this as very good news, since it meant everyone was having a fabulous time.  Next time we will have to include lunch to stretch out (extend) the day!

As most of you know, I am not an expert in tours, but I love the research involved, the discovery, having to translate from Catalan to English and getting  to share it with people and see the surprised look on their faces.

And you know what was the best of all? Every single student spoke in English with each other without feeling forced or uncomfortable. It really made this Business English teacher transformed to Tour Guide very happy.

I do hope all of you can join us at some point on one of these tours. They really are magical. All you have to do is look at the smiling faces in the pictures. I had an excellent time, thanks to the great attitude of all the participants. 

And don’t worry, we will be doing more tours. Any requests on Barcelona neighborhoods you want to learn about??