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Hello, I have a question about the online meeting with you, how does it work, how should I imagine it, I have never done anything like this before and I just feel insecure. Is it just listening or also actively talking? I would be grateful for a bit of information. Kind regards

Hello Mathias, An excellent question! Here's a description of each type of workshop: Sunday workshops: They involve listening to and speaking with your peers, and typing sentences in the chat box in reply to my questions. One week: Grammar Review & Practice I'm attaching the worksheet from our last session on 15th January. You receive this before the session + the link to the online lesson that we will be revising. You can revise that lesson and do the exercises before the session, or you can come unprepared to test yourself and revise the lesson after the session. In the first part of the session, you partner up with one of your peers in a breakout room, and you do the exercises together. So, in this part you're revising a topic while discussing it with another student. In the second part of the session, I take the whole group through the exercises one by one. Here, you will be listening mainly to me, and occasionally answering a question from me in the chat box. The following week: Conversation Practice (occasionally changed to pronunciation practice) I'm attaching the worksheet from our last session on 22nd January. You can prepare your questions and/or your answers before the session, or you can come unprepared if you want to speak spontaneously. In the first part of the session, you partner up with one of your peers in a breakout room. You ask each other the questions and make a note of each other's answers. In the second part of the session, you share the information you've gathered from your partner with the whole group, speaking for 1-2 minutes. Your partner shares the information he/she has gathered from you with the whole group. NEW Saturday Q&A sessions starting 18th March 2023: hey involve mainly listening to me answering questions posted in the Forum, but you can ask questions live as well. You can post any questions you have in the Q&A Forum in four categories: Grammar, Pronunciation, Vocabulary, and General. You can answer your peers' questions in the Forum (the best way to reinforce your own learning). I choose the best questions from different categories every week and answer them in detail in our Saturday Q&A session. We end each session with a quiz to see how well you remember the different points covered. Don't hesitate to continue this thread if you have any follow-up questions on what I've explained above. 47 Conversation Cars - 22 January 23.pdf 46 Negative words -15 January 23.pdf

Hello and welcome to the course everyone! It's a pleasure to have you onboard! Here are some recommendations on how to make the most of your studies. 1. Where to start Whatever your level is, it would be a good idea to revise all the basics and close any gaps. So start at the first level: Lower Elementary (A2). Use the ‘test’ section of each lesson to check if you have any gaps, and review the recommended sections. When the tests start to get difficult, then study each lesson in detail (Study & Exercise) before taking the test. 2. How long to study each day Try to study 30-60 minutes every day. On the days you have less time, revise a lesson you’ve already done, or just listen to some audio files you’ve downloaded. Revision is really important! If a lesson is challenging you, don't keep repeating it on the same day. Move on and return to it after a few days. 3. How to watch the video lessons Take notes while you watch video lessons or read written explanations. This is really helpful in assimilating the material. For example, you can note down the new words with their English definitions (the less translation, the better) and two example sentences for each structure, one from the lesson and one of your own. 4. How to work on your speaking skills After typing your answer to a written exercise, repeat the recording of the correct answer out loud (not just in your head) several times until you can repeat it easily and without reading it on your screen. The real test of assimilation is when you can repeat it at the same time as the model (shadowing). Also, download the audio files of the online exercises and save them to your mobile device. You can then use these to improve your listening and speaking skills anywhere anytime. 5. Where to find more listening and speaking exercises There are additional listening and speaking exercises in the Daily Challenge section. Some other great things you can do in addition to your online studies: 1. Relaxed listening Every day, watch/listen to something in English for 20-30 minutes. Choose YouTube clips, TED talks, podcasts, or TV series that you like and understand easily, for example a TV series that you’ve already watched in your own language. Just relax and listen; don’t try hard to understand everything. If you don't have time, pair this relaxed listening with another activity, e.g. driving or cooking. Then, once or twice a week, choose something that you love and watch it several times. You can watch it once or twice with English subtitles, and once or twice without subtitles. This will allow you to remember and use new vocabulary and expressions that you hear and read in those clips, talks, or series. If you watch something new every time, only your passive knowledge of vocabulary will increase, but not your active usage. 2. Focused listening & writing Take dictations occasionally. From time to time, use what you have watched or listened to for dictation exercises. You can also use audio books if you have the printed version of the book. Listen and write down a small section (1 or 2 minutes), then check what you’ve written against the subtitles or the page in the book. This is a great exercise to improve many things at the same time: listening, pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and spelling. 3. Free writing Keep a diary in English. Once a week, write a few sentences about your week in your diary. You will find that you can gradually write more and better as you progress through your online course. Applying the things you're learning in your own writing will help you to integrate them into your speaking more quickly. If you have access to someone who can give you feedback, ask them to check your writing. Happy studies!