子供英会話大津市堅田 MARGIT'S ACADEMY OF CULTURE & COMMUNICATION

Trip to England Back in Farmington

8/8/2019

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Once upon a time...

What comes to your mind?
Sleeping Beauty? Alice in Wonderland? Hobbit?...

Inspiring for so many stories.

Mirror Mirror on the wall~~~

Rumpelstilzchen...

Definitely it is our story, of a beautiful trip to England 10 days before my 50th birthday.
And of meeting a very dear friend, who had to leave Japan very suddenly 20 years ago. Now I don't need to wonder anymore why she never came back, despite of loving Japan so much. This country is so beautiful, and in many ways, a lot like Japan.

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Trip to England, day 1

8/6/2019

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After a wonderful sleep, in this cozy little house, we woke up and opening the curtains our eyes were spoiled with a magnificent garden.

Farmington

I usually am not a cat person (not really a dog person either), but these two cats here looked like black panthers, very silent, very strong, very kind. We enjoyed them so much.

Northleach

After a breakfast, tasting like the bread and jam breakfast I used to have home, when I was little, we went out to the church in Farmington, then the one in Northleach.
Wherever we went it felt like Kings and Queens must be walking around and I can well imagine lots of princesses and princes to have their weddings in this beautiful nature.

British Graveyards

Somehow graveyards always impress me. I feel they tell so much about culture. I was very surprised at the sight of these graveyards, were they so different from the ones I know in Germany or Japan. The tombstones almost falling over~I always thought that this was just an image created for Halloween posters. Now I saw they really are looking like this, on the other hand I was pleased how warm and not at all scary these graveyards felt.

Not on purpose, but somehow I happened to play hide and seek in one of the churches.

For lunch Judy took us to an excellent place at the Wheatsheaf. It felt too nice to sit inside, so we stayed in the garden, but it actually got so cold we wrapped up in blankets.
Excellent service here: Look, a basket with sunhats and sunscreen for hot days, and lots of Fine lambswool blankets for chilly days like today.

The only surprise I had not been prepared for:
My first half pint of ale~it was luke warm! And came with no foam. That is hard for a German Beer Fan. But, as it was not a hot day, and the taste of the beer was good, I enjoyed even this.

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Our first trip ever to England

8/6/2019

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On the airplane from Duesseldorf to London, I started reading a new book:
A thriller, plot in Great Britain, by Charlotte Link.
I hadn't started it on purpose, now, that I was going to England; for the first time in my life, by the way.

Off to Cirencester

My daughter and I arrived at a very windy and slightly rainy Heathrow, and made it to our coach heading for Cirencester, just in time. PERFECT~ one minute later, and we would have had to wait another hour on a rather boring airport.

We double checked our route with the driver and got on the bus~in 2.5 hours, I would finally meet my friend Judy, first time in 20 years. She was my first colleague, she was my pal learning Japanese style weaving, dying and other textile arts, and she was my oldest son's Baby Sitter. So so exciting.

After 2 hours bus ride, the driver changed, and we got a very funny guy on the wheel. He was making jokes, that it was his first bus to drive and warned us to fasten our seatbelts tight, and also he played around with our destinations.
The names of places he threw at us were names I had never heard, but never mind, non of the other passengers did so either, it seemed, so I was still confident we were getting there.

How ever, the first thing I found weird was the rain getting stronger and stronger...The weather forecast was saying that the rain should have stopped in the area of Cotswold around the time we had arrived, and from there the rain should be pushing north!

We were definitely driving, with the rain getting stronger and uglier.

How good to have google map

Also, on my map I had seen that we should be passing some beautiful sceneries, nothing of those so far. So, 25 minutes before our scheduled goal, I turned off my flight modus and checked my navigation app.

WHAT???

Estimated arrival 21h45??? We were supposed to arrive 20h5 and there had been no traffic jam.

How weird.

I checked the route and the blue path went ahead to Cirencester, however a bit weird, via Oxford. OK, Let's wait it should take a curve around Oxford then.

5 minutes pass, but HEY the rout bypassed Oxford, and we are heading further North.

THIS is where I finally get it: Something is completely wrong.

The thriller comes to my mind again: A woman at Heathrow gets stuck at the airport because of horrible weather, at the same time in all kinds of places around London people go missing~~~I kind of wish I would have read a different book.LOL

Well, I give up on the ticket my i phone displays and instead search my bag for the printed version. I read it 3 times, and the third time I go finger by finger into the small printed detail:

I was supposed to change the coach in the next terminal at Heathrow. This coach was NOT going to Cirencester.

We are going to Northampton

I consulted the driver, still silent and thinking it won't be too bad:
'This coach is going to Northampton. I do not know where Cirencester or Cotswold is"
Oh? That unpopular?????
I got kind of desperate when he told me what to do:
'I will set you off at the next station, which is 30 minutes from now, Leicester. From here you will wait for the next bus going back to Heathrow. And in Heathrow you can get a new bus to Cirencester"

I didn't even wonder about the double price to pay, BUT this would mean that I would probably not be at my friend's house before early morning, and we were both still Jet lagged from coming to Germany from Japan.

But fortunately my friend called in between and arranged that she could come the way up to Leicester to pick us up. (It would take her 2 hours one way)

I can't remember when in my life I have felt so embarrassed and sorry and bad and a trouble maker at once.
I kept apologizing and saying 'thank you' .

Well, we arrived in Leicester (interestingly non of the people in England I talked to knew this place, but my husband knew it right away, because apparently it won the English Soccer Championship last year)

It was a lonely, rather dark station in cold windy rain, and because we both were so hungry we couldn't avoid getting chicken and chips at a pizza take out, which had a sign saying 'hygienic standards 0' (out of 6)

We arrived nice and neat only thanks to my wonderful friend, at 0h30, and from the adventures I have had on my journeys this is for sure one I won't ever forget.

My daughter was the best companion I can think of. Though extremely tired and exhausted, not saying one negative word at all. That taught me a lesson as well, actually: One doesn't need to come up with false encouragements or positive words to be positive. Just accepting things as they are without sighs and cries, that was the most positive way I could have thought of at that moment.

And for sure now I know the locations of London, Cirencester, Birmingham, Oxford, Leicester and Northampton. A lecture I would not have learned in school. Yeah Yeah!

NOW: What would you do in a situation like this, not speaking any English?

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Birthday Campaign

7/15/2019

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If you have been thinking to join any of my online teaching courses, probably NOW is the time.

Next month is my birthday, and as it is a new number in front, I will give you my birthday % off!
So, 50% on each of my courses.

50% off from any of my online courses

In detail:

Margit's Master English Teaching:

The heart of my Courses!
6 modules (videos of ~30 minutes each), worksheets, many live talks with almost all the members who have joined so far, and great discussions I won't want to miss.

You are of course also invited to share your questions and ideas, in discussions and lives or videos, how ever you prefer.
498$>>248$

Margit's Advanced English Teaching:
Again 6 modules (30-45 minutes), discussions, worksheets, lives...

How do we encourage conversations and communication?
How could we get students WANTING to read and write and enjoy doing so?
Activities, videos and many ideas on these topics.
498$>>248$

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60+ modules (~10 minutes each) for each sound of the GE Phonics program, live classes, activities, and again of course you are welcome to ask questions. THIS COURSE IS ONLY AVAILABLE IN JAPANESE

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Margit's school launch and admin course:
5 modules (about 2.5 hours all together) on how I launched my school and am administering it, great worksheets, and again also here, you are welcome to ask your questions.

198$>>98$

If you apply for Margit's Master Teaching and Margit's Advanced Master
you will get the 'School launch Course' or the 'Phonics Course' (Your choice) for free.

If you are already a member of my Advanced course, please choose between:
1-on-1 Call
and
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and
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and
School launch course
and
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All applications for this offer till July 23rd 2019

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Gestures in language learning

7/10/2019

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Why are gestures so important in language learning? Especially when we learn speaking?
Gestures trigger a different part of the brain, than for example pictures or words do.
When learning a language (no, actually when learning ANYTHING) it is highly recommended to activate as many senses as possible.
Eyes, ears, hands, balance, if possible also smell and taste.

The picture of a snake:
this only could mean many many things.

The word 'snake'
pretty clear if we have heard the word before, know what it means, how to decode and sound it out, and can 'picture' it in our mind. So, lots of work to do, only with a WORD.

The gesture of a snake:
again, only the gesture could mean many things, but together with the above it gets clearer.

Of course there are many more reasons for using gestures:
it is fun, they can even function as brain breaks.
They help students to get out of their chairs and move around.

I have had times without a voice, and I still could teach, because we all knew gestures.

And, here, for you 10 songs in one playlist to teach with gestures.

As always, if you have questions or comments, let me know.

And here is:

Gestures for 'What are you doing?'

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Extensive reading and Raz Plus

7/3/2019

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How important is reading, I have mentioned my own experience on this in my last live .
So, I think it is absolutely essential! And here is how I do it.

I know I sound as if I was hired by the company, I AM NOT. I am just a user of this program, and there might be other programs that are equally good or even better or cheaper or whatsoever.
Feel free to share any other experiences with reading programs. And of course if your kids go to the bookstore and get their own physical books that is also excellent. But extensive reading needs 1000s of books to choose from, in the right level, and this is something that you won't find in most libraries.

What isRAZ Plus and how do I use it

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How do we get students use what they have learned

6/29/2019

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We all know this symptom:
Kids see a flashcard and answer promptly with the phrase they have learned with it.
They hear a song and sing the lyrics~even hard ones.

30 minutes later we ask a similar or sometimes even exactly the same question outside the context and blop!

QUESTIONMARK EYES　?

How can we help our students not falling into the Flashcard trap?

If you have any stories, questions or comments on this, please write them down, BELOW!!! Thanks for watching.

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Why Flipgrid

6/27/2019

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And here is my Facebook Live session on WHY to use Flipgrid. What makes it different to other platforms? How do we introduce it to parents and students?!

If you have further questions after watching this, put them in the comments.

Watch this live about Why to use flipgrid as a learning platform

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Balance of work, parenting and household

6/24/2019

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I finally figured out a way of how to share some more thoughts with you who are not using facebook .
Today's live was on an almost hot topic.

Can we balance work, parenting, household without burning out?

I made some maybe striking observations of my own.

Do you have any hacks on this topic?

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How to Flipgrid

6/16/2019

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A week ago I did a Facebook Live on how I started setting up Flipgrid in my EFL classroom.
It sounds like many teachers got inspired and are wanting to try it.

Please let me know how it goes, and what ideas and topics you come up with.

Example Grids

Meanwhile, I finally mixed a tape of several student works, you can check HERE.
I tried to mix a variety of ages, levels, confidences, and topics.
They all did this without my help. I gave them a topic per video, and off they went.
Which of the topics do you like most?
Looking forward to hearing from you.

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<<前へ

Trip to England Back in Farmington

Trip to England, day 1

Farmington

Northleach

British Graveyards

Our first trip ever to England

Off to Cirencester

How good to have google map

We are going to Northampton

Birthday Campaign

50% off from any of my online courses

Gestures in language learning

Gestures for 'What are you doing?'

Extensive reading and Raz Plus

What isRAZ Plus and how do I use it

How do we get students use what they have learned

How can we help our students not falling into the Flashcard trap?

Why Flipgrid

Watch this live about Why to use flipgrid as a learning platform

Balance of work, parenting and household

Can we balance work, parenting, household without burning out?

How to Flipgrid

Example Grids

Archives

Categories

Archives

Farmington

Northleach

British Graveyards

Off to Cirencester

How good to have google map

We are going to Northampton

50% off from any of my online courses

Gestures for 'What are you doing?'

​What isRAZ Plus and how do I use it ​

How can we help our students not falling into the Flashcard trap?

Watch this live about Why to use flipgrid as a learning platform

Can we balance work, parenting, household without burning out?

Example Grids

Archives

Categories

Archives

What isRAZ Plus and how do I use it