Friday fun..

Some jokes...funny or not funny?

Roger left for work on Friday morning.  Friday was payday, so instead of going home, he stayed out the entire weekend partying with the boys and spending his entire pay packet.

Finally, Roger appeared at home on Sunday night, and obviously he was confronted by his angry wife, Martha who castigated Roger for nearly two hours with a tirade befitting his actions.  Finally, Martha stopped the nagging and said to Roger, 'How would you like it if you didn't see me for two or three days?'

Roger replied grimly, 'That would be fine with me.'

Monday went by and he didn't see his Martha. Tuesday and Wednesday came and went with the same results.

By the Thursday, the swelling had gone down just enough so that Roger he could see Martha a little out of the corner of his left eye.....

Myra Rhodes, a little old lady living in Great Baddow, Essex, answered a knock on the door one Friday, to be confronted by a well-dressed young man carrying a vacuum cleaner.

'Good morning, Ma'am,' said the young man. 'If I could take a couple minutes of your time, I would like to demonstrate the very latest in high-powered vacuum cleaners.'

'Go away!' said Myra brusquely. 'I'm broke and haven't got any money,' and she proceeded to close the door.

Quick as a flash, the young man wedged his foot in the door and pushed it wide open. 'Don't be too hasty,' he commanded. 'Not until you have at least seen my demonstration.' And with that, he emptied a bucket of horse manure onto her hallway carpet.

'Now, if this vacuum cleaner does not remove all traces of this horse manure from your carpet, Madam, I will personally eat the remainder.'

Myra stepped back and said with a smile, 'Well let me get you a spoon, young man because they cut off my electricity this morning.'

this is my dog after hearing another cat joke ....

What's a good price for a lesson?

Or to put it another way-what's a good lesson worth? In financial terms.And what's a fair price for the teacher to make a decent enough living?These seem like fairly simple questions but when you live between two countries which have two different currencies ,as I do , and your students pay you in a third or fourth currency because of where they are based it actually becomes quite complicated -unless you work with a company or agent who collects fee's ,takes their cut and sends the balance to you in a single currency which you then convert or not.
If you work for yourself in this area then  its up to you to decide a pricing scheme which is suitable for all nationalities while continuing to provide you with a living wage.
I am not greedy but I do have expenses ,like everyone,although as someone who is self employed my over heads are low.I try to be honest in my pricing.I know what I need to make on a monthly basis to cover my lifestyle but I also know what the average income is in a lot of other countries and this is what helps me decide on a fair price for the student and a fair rate for my work.
When working with people from around the globe I have found the best and safest method of payment for both students and myself  is Paypal.Its simple to use and quick to show payments.I rarely offer credit to students-there is the odd exception -so Paypal is a swift way to remedy a zero balance for lesson credits .
I have put together a package of lessons at Sterling ,Euro and Dollar rates.Please contact me on Skype at michelesenglish or via email at sheridanmichele@hotmail.com if you are interested in more information.

Autumn -a time of change and projects!

The evenings are getting dark earlier,the trees are mid way between beautiful and bare and the rain is pouring ...Autumn has arrived in the UK.We can look forward to many months of rain ,cold and darkness until we hopefully receive some snow or winter sun.

This is the time that, as a freelancer/self employed teacher, I work my longest hours.What else is there to do?It is also the time when student demand for lessons goes up.My students have started thinking about their targets in terms of their ability to use English and how they want it to develop over the coming months.They also just want to work or study.I currently have twenty nine regular student who I meet between one and three times a week and all have just completed tests so we can assess where they currently are in terms of levels and ability and plan for the coming months.

I have found ,after teaching for many years,that Autumn and Winter are when students really like to focus on the nitty gritty of grammar and writing skills.A number of my students really enjoy having an  extended project to prepare and develop and then present to me.These projects are broad in their scope and scale and also in the range of subjects.Its an interesting time for me as I tend to learn something new from these students about their culture or traditions.

For example ,a student recently presented a topic on what is important to Russians living in Russia.The three most important things from my students point of view were
 a) a personal library-books are highly valued in a lot of Russian households,
 b) the Church-a cause of much discussion and the popularity of the Church is on the increase..
 c ) the village house or Dacha-almost all Russian people have some connection to the land and value this connection.
I really enjoy thinking about a project for different students and as a teacher its a very valuable exercise to give to  longer term or regular students.For the online student its something different from the usual book based activities and it gives them the opportunity to have some more control over their own learning.As teachers we know the areas of strengths and weaknesses in our students and so we can give as little or as much guidance as needed for each individual student.My students use PPP's ,music and photos along with text to present their completed work.They prepare for the presentation so that they plan how to speak and what to say.They have to find the correct vocabulary and use their imagination as they are also challenged to be as creative as possible.The majority of students who have been given a project to complete have a four week time scale in which to deliver the goods and so far most have met the deadline.

Online English Lessons: Student numbers increasing...

Online English Lessons: Student numbers increasing...

Student numbers increasing...

I have been teaching on line for a number of years now and the summer months have always been unpredictable in terms of student numbers.Some students stop because of family commitments while others feel like they just need a bit of a rest ,an easier schedule.Often I have younger students (aged between 12-16) who either stop completely or actually increase their lessons.Or rather ,their parents choose one option or the other.

This year has been even  more unpredictable than usual.As a result of the global economic downturn and the stress on peoples pockets continues to increase ,plus the continued sanctions imposed on countries such as Russia my private student numbers have taken a tumble during the last year.My hours went from a fairly routine nine to five to being all over the place.I realised I had to make some changes in my working life so as not to find myself in a position where I was tied to my desk for twenty hours a day in order to earn what I need to meet the bills.
I made a decision to start a Facebook page devoted to on line teaching of English to non native speakers a while ago and have been trying to keep it going.I promised myself,and have failed so far,to update my blog at least weekly.I also promised myself to develop my own website where students could contact me more easily.This I have also failed in due to both lack of technical knowledge and time.I did join LinkedIn and start to make new connections with people from around the globe .Not just students but also other teachers ,owners of schools and people interested in the profession.
Its now the first week of June ,the sun has finally come out in Yorkshire and I find that demand for lessons appears to have really increased.Its interesting to note that the majority of requests for lessons that I receive now are coming through LinkedIn and most of the students are young professionals already living in an English speaking country.Also of note is the fact that a good proportion of these students are professionally linked to the world of finance.They tell me that despite having an advanced level of English its just not quite good enough to give them that edge in a very competitive job market.Pronunciation is one of the main issues for these students.
I take my hat of to all students of English.Its not easy to learn.It can be very very confusing.I am constantly impressed by the ability of the students I teach.And thankfully the numbers are up....

How to train for IELTS

IELTS-the International English Language Testing System is still one of the most common exams taken by non native speakers.It provides a benchmark as to someone's level and ability in English.It is particularly useful for those who wish to move or study abroad but also for those who wish to stay in their native countries but work for international companies.
The exam itself is not that difficult to pass if you train well in advance for it.The structure of the exam and what the examiners want is very important for the student to know about-without this knowledge the student is already behind.
How to prepare?
I think a student who is around intermediate level should give themselves a good 4-6 months to prepare.Each student is different but daily practice is required in order to improve ability and skills.

1-Decide if you need General or Academic IELTS
2-Study the test format and become familiar with its structure and very importantly the time limits for each section.
3-Check the content of each of the 4 tested skill areas so you are completely familiar with the types of activities you may have to complete.
4-find a good experienced teacher.This can be in person ,in a classroom setting or on line.
5-The internet is stuffed full of resources for the purposes of practice -use it well.Look at the following regularly
http://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/prepare-test/how-prepare-ielts-test
http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/exams/ielts/
6-Make yourself have daily practice-watch an English film without subtitles,listen to English radio channels,read English language books in an genre-basically immerse yourself in the language.

where does the time go....?

Busy ,busy ,busy....its been a manic month or so and therefore its been difficult to stick to my resolution to write this blog much more regularly.
I've been rushed off my feet,pushing my limits,been pulled in all directions ....
Things are beginning to settle.
At this time of year changes happen with my students.Some drop away as they prepare for state exams and summer holidays.Others become more intensely focused on their learning because they are preparing for English language exams which often take place in early summer.Some students change their course for summer and study slang or language for travel.And the remainder continue on their chosen course.
At the moment the students I teach hail from a variety of locations .I have a couple of French students,about 12 Russian students,one from Spain,a Portuguese lady ,two from Brazil and a few from China.I like this mix.The ability is also mixed so lessons at the moment are very interesting for me.

Helpful or pushy parents?

Who teaches and has the experience of what we refer to as a pushy parent?

When teaching a foreign language the idea is to build up ability in all the skill areas -writing ,reading ,listening and speaking.This happens in stages.With each stage in the learning process grammar is developed from more simple to more complicated forms.Vocabulary is increased on a lesson by lesson basis.Phrases,collocations,idioms and so on start to be used.....its a process that takes time and study.

When teaching young people sometimes I experience parents who are completely uninvolved in their child's learning or the opposite -a parent who demands tons of homework and a huge amount covered in each lesson.This is a tricky situation to deal with.For the totally uninvolved parent I do try to engage them a little just so that they encourage their child in his or her studies.The 'pushy' parent is trickier to deal with.As a parent myself I understand where they are coming from .They are paying for lessons and want to see results week on week.But not all students of language have a natural ability and most need time to process information before they can actively use it.

So what is the best way to approach the parents who expect to see weekly improvements?

I hold regular tests for my younger students and pass the results to his or her parents with written advice about how the child can continue to make progress.I try to explain to the parents that progress is gradual but will happen as long as the child in question is happy and engaged with the learning process. If we are forced into doing something by someone most of us don't do very well-we naturally fight against it.We see it as an unreasonable demand.parents of a child learning a foreign language need to take this on board and accept it.

As teachers we want happy learners.We know we are doing a good job if our lessons are well prepared and tailored to the needs of our students.We know that our students will learn better in a friendly atmosphere where not so much pressure is put on them -just a little push to encourage them is all that's required usually.As teachers we want happy and successful students who are confident users of the language.We also want satisfied parents .Its important for them to see that their often hard earned cash is being wisely spent.

What can a parent do to help their child be a successful learner?
Provide a good working environment ,ask about homework and check it gets done,trust the teacher to deliver what's expected,speak to the teacher about how their child is progressing at regular intervals...just some helpful advice for parents.

Sample text for advanced students

Extreme Views on the Internet

The Internet has suppressed the sharing of opposite views and their discussion, or so says recent studies. It takes little effort and even less time to search and find sites, online newspapers and magazines, blogs, and forums which support your views, whatever they may be. Believe that global warming is a hoax, for example? Google the phrase and over one million sites pop up. Or how about the US government masterminded the 9/11 terrorist attacks? Over seven million sites purport this as fact. The potential effects on society, government, and human relations in the future are immense.

With little to no debate also comes imbalanced views and extremism, as niches of like-minded people engage in one-sided discussions. If a group of supporters discussed the benefits of the Kyoto Protocol, for example, it stands to reason that few arguments would get raised about any possible negative impact. From this evaluation stems the idea that confidence grows with the absence of persuasive naysayers. An overabundance of confidence produces extreme views - a mob mentality on the Internet, if you will.

Discussions by large groups of like-minded people have the potential for good in the world, though. The Civil Rights Movement in the US and the movement for gender equality all over the world are but two examples. But it doesn't take much effort to realize the negatives, such as terrorism, cults, or fanatical regimes like the Khmer Rouge. There is the risk that people will band together and be both brash and utterly wrong in their views.

Unfortunately, sociologists worry that the harm to society's general welfare is more likely than any possible benefits. Suspicion of others whose views differ, unjustified rage, and the fragmenting of society are all grave concerns. Any adversaries could be viewed as the enemy in some kind of future war of ideals and beliefs.

This is an example of the type of text that can be used with an advanced student.Particular vocabulary is highlighted for discussion and clarity and there is a lot of scope to develop conversation with this kind of topic.

Advanced Students

I have begun to do away with the need for an agent to help me locate students and through social net working I am now beginning to teach an even wider variety of nationalities.The demand for lessons is relatively high within the UK ,particularly among the more advanced speakers.
In the last week I gained two more students who are both at this level.The main problem they feel they have is the confidence to speak and they often find themselves not finishing a sentence because to their ears it just doesn't sound right.They have lost confidence in their abilities with the language.
For these students the important thing for me as the teacher is to very quickly develop a rapport so that the student feels safe to communicate and make mistakes.

I use a fairly clear structure in my lessons with advanced conversational /general English students.We usually have a warm up -a word game related to the topic.This is followed by a questioning activity based on the topic.I then provide a piece of text ,usually with underlined phrasal verbs(to highlight their use) and some more complex vocabulary.The student reads the text ,we discuss unfamiliar words and phrases and this is followed by more questions which requires the student to respond using the new language.The lesson ends with another game which highlights the that the learning outcome has been achieved.These types of lessons do vary a little.Sometimes a student will have watched a talk,video clip or read a newspaper article in advance of their lesson and we use this material for our lesson.
For advanced students its not just about chatting.Error correction is essential as is the introduction of new phrases,idiomatic speech and so on. Using more complex grammar easily is also very important so I try to include a grammar element to our lessons.Here are links to some sites I use as a basis to these lessons.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts
http://www.ted.com/
http://www.theguardian.com/uk
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/
http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/
This is really just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what resources I use.Because of how long I have been teaching English I have now created and built up a range of lesson types for different abilities. 

The popularity of IELTS

IELTS (International English Language Testing System) is one of the most commonly taken exams by non native English speakers.It is a high stakes English exam which tests proficiency .Accepted by over 9,000 organisations worldwide it is sat mainly for the purposes of study,work and migration.More than four million people in 130 countries sit the exam every year and this number is increasing.
IELTS tests students in their skills in reading ,writing ,listening and speaking and is designed to reflect real life use of the language -at work,study and play.There is a choice of two exams to sit depending on your purpose-IELTS General and IELTS Academic.Naturally if a student is aiming for education in a English speaking country then they would chose Academic as opposed to someone moving for other purposes who will be more likely to sit the general exam.There is a difference in the reading and writing components of the two tests.Both versions of the exam are in four parts and results are graded on a nine band system.In my experience students usually aim for around band 7 or above.A band seven grade shows that the candidate is good user of the language with a sound operational command although at times there are some inaccuracies or misunderstandings in certain situations.A student at this level can deal with complex language....so not fully fluent but very close to it.

FCE part 4 Speaking

The fourth and final part of FCE is the speaking section.This lasts about 14 minutes and is divided into 4 parts.This part of the test is worth 20% of a students overall mark.

TIPS FOR SPEAKING EXAM!!

DO

• Make sure you are familiar with what happens, and what skills you need to show, in each part of the test.
• Practise speaking English as much as possible in groups and in pairs, both inside and outside the classroom.
• Listen carefully to the instructions and questions during the test and respond appropriately.
• Speak clearly, so that both the interlocutor and assessor can hear you.
• Use all the opportunities you're given in the test to speak, and extend your responses whenever possible.
• Ask for clarification of instructions or a question if you're not sure.
• Be prepared to initiate discussion as well as responding to what your partner says.
• Make full use of the time so that the examiner who is listening hears plenty of your English.
• Listen to your partner when it is their turn to speak. 

DON'T

• Don't prepare long answers in advance, or learn and practise speeches.
• Don't try to dominate your partner or 
• interrupt them abruptly during the Speaking test.
• Don't leave long or frequent pauses.
• Don't worry about being interrupted by the examiner. This shows you have spoken enough. The tests have to keep to the time limit for administrative reasons.
• 
  

contact me to help with speaking practice
Skype:michelesenglish
Facebook:Teaching and learning English online

FCE part 3 Listening

Part 3 of FCE is the listening section.It takes around 40 minutes and is divided into 4 parts.

The tasks range from multiple choice to sentence completion and the listening gets progressively harder as one would expect.The student is examined in areas from listening for detail or general meaning to picking out specific information .There are a total of 30 questions in this section of the test.This part of the exam is worth 20% of overall marks.

Many students find the listening section of any test quite difficult.As native speakers we appear to talk rapidly and students often try to listen to each word and lose the thread of what's being said.

TIPS!!

• Listen to and read the instructions throughout the test. Make sure you understand what you are listening for and what you have to do.
• Use the preparation time before each recording is played to read through the question and think about the context.
• Use the information on the page to help you follow the text.
• Look carefully at what is printed before and after the gap in Part 2 and think about the kind of information that you are listening for.
• Write only the missing information on the answer sheet (Part 2).
• Write your answers as clearly as possible.
• Check your answer the second time you hear a recording if you have an idea of the correct answer the first time round.
• Answer all the questions, even if you're not sure.
• Transfer your answers accurately to the answer sheet.




DON'T


• Don't rephrase what you hear in Part 2; write down the exact word(s) or figure(s) that you hear on the recording.
• Don't complicate your answer by writing extra, irrelevant information (Part 2).
• Don't spend too much time on a question you are having difficulty with as you may miss the next question.
• Don't rush to choose an answer just because you hear one word or phrase – concentrate on the overall meaning (Parts 1, 3 & 4).
• 
  

FCE-part 2 Writing

FCE-Paper 2 is writing and lasts 1 hour and 20 minutes.This paper is in 2 parts and requires the student to write two different pieces of writing such as a letter,a report ,a review or an essay.Part 1 of the writing paper is compulsory and has a word count of up to 190 words.Part 2 is where students can chose from four tasks.The word count is the same.The writing paper is worth 20% of overall marks.A typical part 2 question could be as follows ......

Your flatmate has left you the following message:

That company you bought the mobile phone from online has just called - apparently you phoned them about problems you've been having with it. They'd like you to put your complaint in writing. They want you to explain what's wrong with the phone and what you'd like them to do.
TASK:write your letter of complaint to the company (140-190 words)
TIPS FOR THE WRITING!!!! 
Should give details of the purchase, explain clearly what the problem is and tell the company what action you would like them to take.

Communicative achievement
Formal register. The reader would be fully informed of the problem and would consider taking the action you request.

Organisation
Should have the layout of a formal letter with an appropriate beginning and ending. Should state the reason for writing in the first paragraph ('I am writing to complain about ...'). Should be divided into paragraphs but no more than three or four, including the opening and closing sections.
N.B. In the exam you do not have to write addresses.

Language
Language of description. Vocabulary relating to online purchases (special offer, latest model, under guarantee, full refund etc)
Should not contain major errors that lead to misunderstandings or that irritate the reader.

EXAMS!!!

In order to train and qualify as a teacher I had to do a degree,a post graduate certificate in education and a work for a year as a newly qualified teacher.This was to teach in schools in England.When I decided to work as a English language teacher to non native speakers I then took the CELTA course.It was hard work ,very intense and I learned a huge amount which I then had to put into practice.Many years later I feel very experienced in the job I do.And I like it.

A lot of students study English for exam purposes.They may need a particular grade or exam to enter university abroad ,take a job at an international company or need it to meet visa requirements.Whatever the reason a student has for taking an exam it is ,without question, a time of stress.

One of the most common exams is the FCE(First Certificate in English) which is for the upper intermediate student.The exam is split into for parts and they test a students abilities in all areas of the language.

The Reading and use of English is split into 7 parts and has a total of 52 questions.It takes 1 hour and 15 minutes.

The writing part of the paper takes 1 hour and 20 minutes and is divided into 2 parts

Part 3 of the exam is listening which takes 40 minutes and is divided into 4 parts and has 30 questions.

Finally ,part 4,is the speaking.This takes app 14 minutes and is divided into 4 parts.

This is not an easy exam to take and it requires preparation for a student  to become familiar with the exam format as well as the skills required to pass.

So far this year I have received a number of requests for lessons to help students prepare for different exams so I have decided to look at the most common exams on a monthly basis.

January is FCE month ......watch this space for helpful hints,tips,links and activities.

January and new beginnings