Success story of the month – November

Success story of the month – November

by | Nov 14, 2017 | All posts

How do you measure success when learning a language?  For some people success is measured in exams, certificates and qualifications, for others it is more a question of gaining confidence to be able to do things which you couldn’t do before – like ordering a coffee or reserving a hotel room.  This is the story of one of our past students, Andy.

Andy started beginner German classes with Language Learners in early 2015.  He was planning to take ski instructor training in Switzerland and wanted to get a head start on the language.  Here is what Andy himself had to say about his first set of lessons with us:

“I had never spoken German before and needed to learn a lot in a small amount of time. In the space of just a few months Teri had me confidently speaking the language to the point I arrived out here and became the person who had to do all the translating and question asking! Teri’s lessons were great fun and really well structured.  From tenses and grammar to specific lessons on Ski vocabulary, she really took into account my requirements and level.  When I come back next year I will definitely be continuing the lessons and improving my language skills further. Thanks a lot Teri!”

Did Andy return for more lessons?  Yes, indeed he did.  He came back at the end of the ski season and continued learning in preparation for a return to Switzerland in the next ski season.  We continued with focussed classes on grammar and ski vocabulary including naming eight different types of ski lift, and practising how to call for medical assistance.  In fact, he was so inspired that he also took the Goethe Institut A1 level German exam in London shortly before the 2016 ski season, which he passed with a good mark. 

There was mixed news about Andy’s season.  The good news was that he felt confident in his language and really enjoyed his time there.  The bad news was that a ski accident saw him “enjoying” the Swiss medical facilities rather more than he may have wanted.  However, every cloud has a silver lining and we were delighted to get a message from Andy to say that the medical vocabulary we had covered had been really helpful and that he had managed to complete all his own medical forms, in German, despite the pain!

Andy recovered from his accident and completed the ski season.  He has now returned to the UK and has moved away from the area to start a new job.

August

by | Aug 4, 2016 | English (EFL), French, German, Language Learners News

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Welcome to August!

While you are out and about on your holidays, don’t forget to keep up your language skills. Whether you choose to tune in to an internet radio station in your target language, or to check out the newspapers, make time for practice. ‘Little and often’ is the mantra to use.

This month we are going to give some ideas about making the most of the news websites. There are several websites offering podcasts in the language you want to learn (your target language) and these can be particularly useful – especially those which have the news read more slowly than usual.  “Deutsche Welle” offers very good news coverage for learners (https://www.dw.com/de/deutsch-lernen/nachrichten/s-8030).  For French try the imaginatively titled “News in slow French” (https://www.newsinslowfrench.com).  Those studying English may benefit from the choices of speed available at “Breaking News English” (https://www.breakingnewsenglish.com).  Why not download one every weekend and listen to it on your daily commute?

Another option would be to use one of the international new channels, such as www.euronews.com  A useful tip is to familiarise yourself with the news story first in your native language, by watching the clip several times, and then to change the language of the site to your target language and watch the same article again.  There may well be a few small differences in reporting style or focus, but the main facts of the story should stay the same!  Alternatively, you could watch the article several times in your target language, make notes and only THEN read the text of the article.

After we finish with our intensive students in mid-August, Language Learners will be taking a short summer break too. We are looking forward to seeing our regular clients in September and to meeting our new ones. In fact, September is looking busy already with very few of the popular late afternoon/early evening slots left. So, if you are hoping to learn a new language or brush up your existing skills, drop us a line!