The Right way is Your way!
Hi there Linda and everyone!
Yes I’m still alive! So sorry for being so inactive recently but I’ve been really busy and I got kind of burnt out!
Last weekend we held an international conference at our school. Teachers came from all over the world to attend and give presentations and to share their ideas through discussions. The theme of the conference was “International Education: a Bridge to Intercultural Understanding”. It was wonderful as I was able to learn a lot about current practices and concerns of teachers around the world. Not only did I attend the conference, I also gave a presentation and I was on the core organising committee so as you can imagine, I was run off my feet! The conference began last Friday so it was really interesting to read your post on that day Linda about the education system in the Czech Republic – was this the universe talking again??? Thanks for that post Linda, it was very informative for me for example it was good to learn about Comenius, I have heard of him but I didn’t know why he was famous. As a teacher, I completely agree with the quote of his that you posted about the importance of awakening students’ interests! Being properly motivated and interested in what you are studying is the key to successful learning. Basically, if you don’t like it, don’t do it! That’s probably a good maxim for life actually! And that’s quite close to your maxim Linda “to have fun and enjoy life”. You certainly seem like someone who is full of the joys of spring. Of course, it’s good to know your limits as you do with your beer drinking – well done (good to see your doing your bit to help stop the population growth – unlike me!!;) I also didn’t realize that Skoda was from Czech Republic too. It looks like you have become the teacher! Actually that always happens, the best way to teach is by learning from your students!
Those Daruma dolls look so cool! By the way today is Republic Day in Turkey (the day after Czech Independent Day! The Turkish Republic is 85 years old (or we should say young as Turkey is still a very young country!!). We had a big ceremony to celebrate at school which was a lot of fun!
Thanks for sharing what you do to learn languages. I know exactly what you mean about taking bank notes to the shop, that was a strategy I used to use a lot here in Turkey. I too learned so much from going shopping! Authentic tasks like that are very rewarding!!! I think you made a very good point about how practicing using language helps you learn. The internet is (as we all know here in lovely blogland) a really excellent place to learn. Other than living in different countries, it’s hard to find a better place to learn actually. Here you can speak, listen, read and write…there’s boundless opportunities. Of course, perhaps the best way to learn a language is to get a boyfriend or girlfriend who only speaks that language (maybe pilsen can help you learn English then…!!) ☺ I think what probably makes you a very successful learner Linda is that you know your own learning style, you know for example that chatting with people and practicing “fits” you or “suits” you. This means that you have thought about how you learn best. Many people don’t do this. They think that there is a certain way to learn (usually from a teacher) they don’t think about how what is good for them as individual learners. Actually there is only one right way to learn something and that’s your way. My advice to others out there is to do what Linda has done and spend some time reflecting on how you best study. I also thoroughly advise that you take risks like Linda has by doing this blog and start using your language as much as possible. Just remember that your language doesn’t always have to be perfect to be understood! If you want to improve and become more accurate then listen to or read people who are better than you and notice the language they use to get the job done.
The Challenges
1. What words or phrases in this post collocate with the word “conference” (for an explanation of collocate see one of my previous posts)
2. Find the phrase “Not only did I …” Why did I use it?
3. What does “run off my feet” mean?
4. Why did I use the phrase “Just remember that…”?
5. Share something you do that helps you learn and say how or why you think it is good for you.
Comments
Hello Simon, I try to take the challenge by answering some question from you and share my experiences. 1. Conference Group discussion Group meeting Group sharing 2. You used ‘Not only did I … you want to say what you did - was not really important but the other things were the most important… Eg. You gave the presentation and you were organizing the committee were most important! 3. run off my feet means really really busy, you can not do other things. 4. You used ‘just remember that’ because many people may forget this thing and the thing is really important. Sometimes people reluctant to express idea or make exercises because they forgot that they are on the stage of learning process. Make mistake is usual thing for learners. 5. I want to share something I do that help me learn English better: I work in Japanese company for more than 12 years and I realize that I do not practice my English a lot daily in the office especially speaking and listening. As such I lost a lot of vocabulary and forgot some grammar structure. Started from mid of last year, my company open English course and I join this course. I am excited to learn and review my English. The teacher is not only teaching but also he gives some tips and motivation for me to learn consistently . The word I always remember from him is “Persistent”. He said that we will always success to reach our goal if we persist to our goal and follow the process. So I try to persist to learn by trying always to join the class, do homework, and exercise 1. This is the tip from my teacher and I am doing it until now. “Make my own sentences” This is a very effective way to learn language. Whenever he give new subject eg grammar, etc I always to make my own sentences. I make at least 5 sentences. The more difficult for me to understand the meaning the more I make the sentences. This is also can be used to memorize my vocabularies, verbs, nouns, adjective, etc 2. When I joined placement test. I got lowest score in translation compare with other subjects. Therefore I take initiative to make translation of 2 articles per week even more if I have more time to do it. I translate some news in my language to English, sometimes any subject which is related to my job. I asked my teacher to check what I have done after the class and I learned many things from him. I feel that my English is improved a lot since I joined the course and it is easier to speak as the brain structures the words easily than before. 3. Organize the materials and be creative. The important thing also I should organize materials better than before. I made separate books of grammar, verb lists, combined list of noun/adjective, phrase and idioms, exercises, etc By the end of every level, I make my own 'booklet' for summarizing what I have learned. This make I can revise what I have learned and see easily If I forget some subject. Sometimes students are bored with the way of teaching by the teacher. As student it is better to take own initiative and become creative. Eg to learn reading, I read some novel, ask the teacher if I find the difficult words or meaning. It is very interesting way to learn English. It is a pity that I don’t know the way of learning when I was in high school, but I feel that it is never too late to learn anything in this world! Nia Komalafuri
Hi, Simon Too busy you are! I'm interested in attending the conference like that . It give me a lot of experience to do presentation well . Here are your challenge : - The phrase : "Not only did I ... " mean that you want to explain why you are too busy. - Run off my feet : mean you are too busy. You must run to many places and do many things to finish your job. - My experience : learning English through the specific conditions . These event always stick the language into my mind. Have fun, bye for now.
Hi Simon! I reckon the international conference was extremely fascinating. Moreover, it must have been really interesting to share and discuss opinions about education with teachers from all over the world :-). Well, now it´s time for the homework: 1- to hold a conference: Last weekend we held an international conference at our school; to attend a conference:Not only did I attend the conference...; The theme of the conference was...; The conference began last Friday... 2-You used the phrase "Not only..." to emphasise that you weren´t only part of the audience of the conference. You also gave a presentation and you also helped to organise the whole event. 3- Run of my feet means that you were extremely busy; 4- I think you used 'Just remember that...' to say that we all have to bear in mind that the important thing is to communicate. The way of fluency and almost perfection come with practising. We just have to take the plunge and give the first step; 5- There are three things I do that has been helping me to learn. The first one is reading books in English. When I´m reading a book I try to pay attention in the collocations and each preposition which goes with a verb. I also like to watch sitcoms, because I can learn new vocabulary and improve my pronuntiation observing the way the actors speak. After that, I try to put in practice the things that I learn reading and watching sitcoms in my writing and in my conversations. Well, I guess is all for today Simon. See ya, Ana Paula.
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