No time is no excuse.

I love this quote (and I hope I can get away with a little bit of copyright infringement by sharing it:)

No time is no excuse: squeeze out a few extra hours of every week. When you want something bad enough, you make the time – regardless of your other obligations. The truth is most people just don’t want it bad enough. Then they protect their ego with the excuse of time. Don’t let yourself off the hook with excuses. It’s entirely your responsibility to make your dreams come true. Besides, the perfect time never arrives. You’re always too young or old or busy or broke or something else. If you constantly fret about timing things perfectly, they’ll never happen.

(Taken from the 37signals blog.)

Efficient Learning: The seven questions you should ask yourself

I'm taking a course on teaching with Coursera, and I just saw something I'd like to share with you (I will admit here that I actually didn't secure permission to share this, but I imagine it's not proprietary).

As you plan for your English learning this year, ask yourself these seven questions.

When preparing for exams....don't do these things!

One of the reasons why I love The Guardian newspaper is that it's a fabulous source of how-to information on a variety of topics. Today's edition is no different - there's a very good article on what not to do when you're taking an exam -- and I think that a LOT of this information is valid for TOEFL iBT and the writing part of the GMAT exam.

Text 2 Mind Map: A great tool for vocabulary management

Are you one of those students who has a lot of notebooks from past courses? Are you one of those students who makes lots and lots of lists of words, but you don't know how to use them once the class is done? Trust me, you are not alone. You'd be surprised 

One way to solve this problem is to filter out the vocabulary and identify the words that you will actually use. (Just because you wrote a word down in your book a year ago doesn't mean that you will use it a year from now.)  

Once you've done that, group the words according to common concepts - things you find in the kitchen, verbs related to studying, verbs that use subjunctive.  

Why is it useful to do this? First, it helps you reduce and filter the old photocopies and notebooks: if you're not using your old class materials, cull them and get them out of the way. Second, it's a lot easier to remember words and ideas if you understand the context behind them. The more you understand the reason WHY a word is important, the easier it will be to remember it and use it again in the future.

This is a word map that I created for basic verbs for TOEFL iBT using a website called Text 2 Mind Map. I like this website because you can use it with both Macs and Windows, it's free to use (we like free! Free is good!) and you can download the word maps and share them. (I don't know if you can collaborate with other people to create a word map - I'm still waiting to hear on that.)

I'll probably update this word map over time: consult the latest version by clicking here.

This is definitely worth using - I'm going to think of ways to incorporate this into my classes.

If phrasal verbs give you a headache....

...try this: organize the phrasal verbs according to the particle, not by the verb.

Why?

Consult one of those very long lists of phrasal verbs, and you notice one thing: there are LOT more verbs than their are particles (particles are the adverbs or prepositions that create a phrasal verb.) So why not try organizing phrasal verbs by the particle, rather than the verb?

Don't forget...focus on the phrasal verbs that you need, rather than memorizing long lists of random phrasal verbs that you will never use.

New video!

A couple of months ago, I described the sticky note method of practicing and recycling vocabulary. I got working yesterday and created this video to show you how to do it...

And yes, that is my toothbrush!

Money and mouths....

So....today's collocation is "to put your money where your mouth is:" to support what you say by doing something practical; to show by your actions that you really mean something.

I just picked up the DELE Superior C2 book at FNAC. I'm not surprised that I don't know a lot of the vocabulary in it, but I'm very happy that I have six or seven months to prepare for the exam.

The big day comes at the beginning of November. After all the hell I put you guys through, now is your chance to laugh at me. :)

Practice, not study: Mar's ideas

Mar and I were having class yesterday in the Parque del Oeste, and the topic came up about study versus practice. Here's what she does when she wants to work on her English, but doesn't have time to get study in....

- Washing dishes: What are these things called? What adjectives can you use to describe utensils, pots and pans?

- Cleaning around the house: What prepositions and adverbs do you need to describe location and movement? What are the machines called? How do you spell the names of the machines?

- Grocery shopping: What are the English words that describe the groceries that you usually buy every week? Which ones are countable, and which ones are uncountable?

Remember: Study is fine as long as you're disciplined enough to do it. Most of us benefit from regular, steady consistent practice. Five minutes, twice a day, every day will help you more than one hour of staring at a grammar book!

Announcing the ENGLISH FOR EMIGRATION course

It felt weird typing that when I had to do it for the first time. Immigration - when people come INTO a country - has been such a hot topic in Spain for such a long time that it seems strange to think that people leaving the country is now an issue.

But so it is.

I started getting calls and e-mails last summer: "I want to practice for the TOEFL course; I can't find a job here and I can't see the point in staying here." "I'm not working in what I was trained to do and I don't want to wait forever." "I might as well do a master's degree in the States

Here's the story.

You can find basic information on the course at:

http://www.tusclasesparticulares.com/profesores-ingles/english-for-emigration-new-hopes-new-opportunities-152378. Unfortunately, this website doesn't allow you to put in a bunch of relevant information, so here's the other stuff that you should know:

* The course is on Tuesday nights from 8PM to 9.30 PM, so that's twelve hours over 8 weeks (from Tuesday, April 26th to Tuesday, June 14th.) If enough people agree to it, I may switch the course to Sunday nights.

* The cost of the course is €169, and if you're unemployed (you have one of the little carta things the Comunidad gives you), I'll take €30 off the price. Remember, as with all STOP SPANGLISH courses, all of your materials are included in the course. If you sign up with a friend, I'll also give each of you a €30 discount.

* Minimum number of participants is 3 and maximum is 6 - if I get three paid confirmations by April 25th, it's a go.

* If you'd like a week-by-week description of what the course offers, send me an e-mail and I'll send you a detailed course schedule.

I don't think that anyone should *have* to leave their jobs if they don't want to. But...if you're planning on leaving, you need to be prepared!!

I fired a student on Wednesday.

No, maybe that's not exactly what I want to say.

Maybe I didn't fire her. But I did terminate our working relationship. And it's not the first time I've done it, either. Why?

I've been meaning to write this post for some time. One of my aims in starting this blog was to be honest about how teachers see the relationship between students of English and teachers of English here in Spain. And one thing I want to be totally honest about is how teachers feel about the way they're treated by students.

First, let me say that these things happen so infrequently that, if they weren't so damn aggravating, I wouldn't bring them up. Ninety-five percent of you do not behave like this; 95% of you are absolute dolls and I love you to death.

Second, I just want to speak in general terms. One of the reasons why I focus on teaching adults is that... well, we're adults. We should be able to communicate in reasonable, mature words, without being rude, insecure, uncommunicative or passive-aggressive towards each other. But there are certain things that students do that bug the hell out of me. I try to filter these things out from the start, and I won't just take anyone on as a student. (This is the reason why I'm trying to reduce the amount of teaching I do for academies: academies will take anyone with a pulse and a credit card, and it doesn't matter whether or not they're really interested in improving their English or not.)

So...again, in general terms, here are the five things that you can do if you want me to back out of our client-teacher relationship.

Cancel your classes all the time. Yes, everyone has days when they need to cancel classes because they're busy, they're travelling or they're sick. Once every two or three months is normal. Once a month is not unusual, if you have a demanding job. When you start cancelling your classes so often that I can't remember what you look like, or you only have classes once a month, you lose your classes. (That's why the ten-class bonos have a three-month time limit.) See, a cancelled class is income that is lost. Even if you pay for your classes in advance, that's time that I can't recover at a future date.

Don't talk. I know, I say this all the time. Seriously....if you could care less about talking, why are you interested in being an English speaker? (And don't give me the excuse of "oh, some people don't like talking." It's true: there are a lot of people who don't like talking because they feel that silence permits them to control the situation and keep them from making mistakes...and if the other person is made to feel weird or uncomfortable, well, that's her problem!)

Confuse English classes with confession, therapy sessions or career counselling. This is a tricky problem, because the whole idea of being able to communicate should mean being able to talk about personal experiences. Keep in mind, however, that my focus is on communication, not on any matters related to the mind, the soul or labor relations. My relationship with my (now ex-) student basically ended because the person in question is going through a severe depression which is undiagnosed and making this person's life a living hell. I don't have a problem with trying to help you with something that's bugging you, or with an issue that's come up that is driving you nuts. Six months of constant complaining, breakdowns, tears, and panic attacks means that you need the help of someone who is a LOT more qualified than I am. Especially when you....

Consistently tell me what you can't do, without focusing on what you CAN do. I understand what it's like to be afraid of learning a new skill and not feel like you're prepared to try something new. Not doing something does not make it easier. Complaining that you can't do something - ditto. If you're truly afraid of using language in a particular situation (like negotiations or giving presentations) - that's all right. Just be honest about it with me. You're not crazy if you're afraid of something, but you're a fool if you let it control your life and make your English classes unpleasant. NOT CONFRONTING A FEAR IS A CHOICE.

Treat me badly or in an unprofessional manner. I left this one for last because, I think, there are going to be a lot of teachers who have stories about this, but here's my list.

Don't ever, ever, ever, ever even think about:

- making me use the service entrance of your building (if you have one.)

- asking me to translate stuff for free. I don't work for free.

- bringing your infant son or daughter into the room where we're having classes to do potty. (I am NOT making that one up.)

- calling me after 11PM with a question. Send an e-mail.

- threatening me in any way, shape or form.

- blaming me for your lack of progress.

- asking me to reduce my prices. I am willing to negotiate lower prices if you're having more than six hours of class a week, but if you want to pay someone peanuts, call some other monkey.

In short, if you want to be treated like an adult, be prepared to treat me like one. I'm not an ogre and I'm not a witch, provided I'm treated with respect.

Get rid of it!

Here's an easy New Year's resolution for 2011:

If you're like most language students, you probably have a big stack of photocopies from past classes. And I'm willing to bet that you haven't touched them in ages.

To make your life easier, go through all your photocopies and sort them into two piles. One pile is for photocopies that you use regularly and which you use to review. The other pile is for photocopies that you haven't read in the past six months - since last June.

Pile #1 goes into your binder.

Pile #2 goes into your recycling bin.

If you don't need it and you don't use it, why are you still holding onto it?

Why virtue doesn't work

A couple of weeks ago, I bought "The Study Skills Handbook" by Stella Cottrell, who works as the Director of Lifelong Learning at the University of Leeds. This book is a real treasure: page after page of valuable brain-training and attitude-adjusting, it gives you tons of information about how to study smarter, not just study more.

One very valuable piece of information is the difference between virtue versus effectiveness (pages 64 and 65). What's the difference?

Virtue: Saying, "I have to study", over and over again (and never doing it).
Effectiveness: "Hey, Patricia... I'm having trouble with using and remembering vocabulary. What can I do to practice the words I really need?"

Virtue: "I need to do every exercise in this book."
Effectiveness: "What are the things I can't do right now? How can I work on improving those things?"

Virtue: "I haven't done any practice this week, so I'm going to work for five hours today."
Effectiveness: "I'm going to do little bits of practice every day, and I'm going to do different things so that I can improve in different areas."

Virtue: "I have to understand everything that the person says in this listening exercise."
Effectiveness: "I don't need to understand everything in order to get the most important ideas in this listening. And if I don't understand it the first time, I'll listen to it again and again until I DO understand it."

Virtue: "If I can't learn to speak English perfectly, I'm not going to try at all."
Effectiveness: "There's no such thing as perfect English. I'm going to try my best."

Is being virtuous getting you what you want?

I leave it to Seth.

I can say it louder, but I can't say it clearer: if you want to do some serious thinking about motivation and learning smarter (not just working harder....), read Seth.

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/