Vocabulary issues? Memrise is there for you!

Hello everybody

Today, I would like to tell you about a great tool I've recently discovered: Memrise.

I don't know about you, but it's always been difficult for me to find the time and motivation to study vocabulary. I am one of those lazy learners who will always choose the easy way; and so far, with vocabulary, the only easy way was to read loads of things and just absorb the words and their meaning from context. It is of course efficient, but not enough.

And then, I discovered Memrise.

Memrise is a website / application to help people memorize their vocabulary in any language that they want to learn. All you have to do is to register for the a "course" that you choose according to your level, and then learn!

The programme teaches you a limited number of words at a time, and then makes you practice them over and over again until they become a part of your long-term memory. After a couple of days, they send you an e-mail to say that it's time now to refresh your memory, or as they put it "to water" your knowledge.

I have tried it myself and followed an advanced course for native speakers, and I must say that it really works. More than an month after having learnt new words, I still remember them. 

And the best part it: it's completely free! Of course you can pay a certain amount of money to access the VIPs, but I didn't find this as absolutely necessary.

Here's the link to the website: https://www.memrise.com

As a teacher, I'm planning to create a course myself soon, and I will keep you posted as to when it's available! Keep posted!

See you soon,

Jessica

English central

Dear students and followers,

I've recently discovered a website that I think could help you with your English skills. It's called English Central and it publishes short videos, subtitled in English, with vocabulary input, memory training and pronunciation exercises. Yes, pronunciation exercises: you can talk to the program and it gives you a note on how good (or how bad) your were. In a nutshell, everything you need to practise every day.

Here's the link: http://www.englishcentral.com

Enjoy!

Back to school

September is back and so is school. I don't know about you, but I've always been inspired by September. Autumn is coming, which is one of my favourite seasons ever with its beautiful red-orange leaves falling and the last rays of sunlight shining through them. 

Also, there is something about summer that rhymes with being lazy. I don't know about other teachers, but summer always equates with "I have no energy" for me; which of course bothers me because there are always a million things I would love to do. So, September is always welcome as it gives me that "kick in the pants" that I need at some point. And the result is this blog having a brand new design! Tadaam. I don't know about you guys, but I love it.

So, for those of you who have followed the hesitating debuts of this blog this summer, worry no more, for I will publish one article a week on various subjects according to my inspiration: that is my "september resolution", it's a promise! And to the others, welcome welcome! 

If, like me and the students I am going to meet next week, you are "going back to school", here are a couple of tips to help you manage efficiently and peacefully.

1) Set realistic goals: it's important to have ambition and to know where you want to be next year, but it has to be realistic. Sometimes, I see students who start a level 3 with me and feel discouraged when they learn there are 12 levels in the school system. You don't need to do 12 levels to be able to speak English. I would say that most people speak acceptable English around level 5, which you can reach at your own pace. So, the first thing would be to know what you want and to see in how long that goal is achievable.

2) Make an appointment with yourself to study: If you go to a school, if you come to my classes or if you just follow this blog, it doesn't matter: you need to study. Of course, most of you have a job and lives full of important things and it is sometimes difficult to find the time to do homework. Going to school, to classes or following a blog, is already a good start. Unfortunately, if there is no background work, your new knowledge is not going to last. Pick a day, any day, where you can spend 60 minutes revising what you have learned that week, to make all your efforts worth it.

3) Sleep: yes, sleep. Apprenticeship needs sleep. It is during your sleep that your brain registers what has happened during the day. If you lack sleep, you won't remember as much.

That's it for now! I'm off to work on your next subject, which promises to be... musical! 

Stay tuned!