It's not easy for us, either!

So last night, I was looking around Twitter (as you do, when it's Sunday night and there's nothing good on TV), and I found this blog....

http://30daysofspanish.wordpress.com

It's the story of a guy named James, who shares an apartment in Seattle with a guy named Luis. James has decided that he's going to try learning Spanish. For thirty days, there's no English allowed in their apartment: it's all Spanish.

I think that most of you will be able to relate to what James is going through. I know that when I moved to Spain, I was at about this level...

Don't miss the video where they watch the soap opera together - it's classic.

What are your English practice plans this summer?

So....this week is the week when most people go on holidays. When we think of holidays, we don't think about work; the most that we want to do is, well, nothing.

When did you English classes end? How much have you planned to practice your English over the summer?

If you think that practice isn't important, I'd like to ask you to reflect on a post that I wrote last year. You are the only person who can control how much you learn. You attitude is everything!

So how have you planned to review and practice your English over the summer? How are you guarantee that you don't go back over the summer? Please feel free to leave your ideas in the Comments section below....

English: The (new) official language of Le Tour?

There's a thought-provoking article over at The New York Times: English has become the language for riders, teams and organizers at the Tour de France. 

First Certificate and Squeaky Wheels

Okay, let's be honest: People don't always like writing, and on the First Certificate, they really don't like formal writing. They're especially not happy about the Letter of Complaint. Why, they say, do they include this on the writing? Why complain? Complaining doesn't work. It's impossible!!

Let me tell you a story about what happened in my home town today.

My hometown is called Kemptville, Ontario. For a long time, it was not a very big place, and it wasn't very rich. That's why a lot of us left: there were no jobs. We went to different places - Toronto, Ottawa, even Spain! - to find work.

Things have changed a lot since then. The town had 2,500 people when I left; it now has about 20,000 living in the area. There are more businesses operating there. It's hard to find a really good job, but it's not hard to find a decent job.

I won't go into all the details (you can read them here); but, on Tuesday, a girl from my home town got fired (perhaps illegally) and decided to complain. And, oh, did she complain. She took the campaign to the media and social media after she complained about being fired illegally. When I joined the Facebook campaign this morning, it had about 200 members. It's now up to 8,820 members. She now has a lawyer and a couple of job offers. And she wouldn't have that if she didn't complain.

Be very careful when you roll your eyes and say that something is impossible. Just because something is new and scary, that doesn't mean that it's impossible.