Interview with Marusya Price from Inspirational English
Confident Communication
by Kate Winder
3y ago
I had the pleasure of chatting with my fellow online language teacher, Marusya Price, about her new book, 101 Activities to Teach English Mindfully. Marusya brings mindfulness into all of her lessons in different ways, and this book is a comprehensive collection of activities that can work with people of all ages. In the interview, we talk about how to use these activities in these lessons, the benefits of them, and about our own learning and mindfulness experiences. Check it out below and make sure to grab a copy of Marusya’s new book here ..read more
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Self Study Series 103: Reading on Your Own
Confident Communication
by Kate Winder
3y ago
Reading in another language can be very tedious. Especially if you don’t read a lot in any language, it’s hard enough to get started reading in a language you’re trying to learn.  Reading has so many benefits. There are some easy ways to start to add reading to your language learning practice if you haven’t already.  In this post I want to talk more about specific activities that I believe can be fun and creative and playful, so that reading in your target language doesn’t seem like such a hard mountain to climb. Because remember, the first rule of practicing on your own is to do so ..read more
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Curiosity in Language Learning
Confident Communication
by Kate Winder
3y ago
The stories we tell ourselves influence everything in our lives. Even if we don’t realize it.  One of the key parts of mindfulness is curiosity, or questioning things. Asking why you think a certain way about something, or what there is to learn from a situation.  When we’re learning a new language, we tell ourselves a bunch of different stories.  I’m not good at languages.  I’m too old to learn a new language.  This language is too different and difficult for me to master.  This language is useful for business and work so this is what I should learn.  I’m n ..read more
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Self-Study series 102: Journaling for Language Learners
Confident Communication
by Kate Winder
3y ago
I’ve written before about how keeping a journal can be really helpful for reflecting on your language learning journey. In this post I want to dive more into journaling as a way of expressing yourself in your target language. I’ll also explain why it’s a great way to practice your language on your own and the benefits of journaling. Finally I’ll give you some tips at the end with activities so that you can start your journaling practice, too.  My own experience  First I want to share my own experience with journaling. I’ve never been a person that journaled all the time or every day ..read more
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Self-study series 101: Making your listening practice more efficient
Confident Communication
by Kate Winder
3y ago
Listening is one of the most overlooked and yet, very important parts of learning a new language. It can be really difficult to get enough listening practice in your target language if you don’t live somewhere where that language is spoken, or if you don’t have much time to listen to hours and hours of your target language.  So how can you make progress if you have many factors working against you? You can change how you practice listening so that you listen smarter, not harder. In this post I’ll talk about different strategies you can use to make your listening practice more effective s ..read more
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What Reading Taught Me in 2020
Confident Communication
by Kate Winder
3y ago
When 2020 started, I set a high goal of reading 45 books for the year. I didn’t think I was going to be able to read that many books in one year. Little did I know, the pandemic would allow me to read more than 60 books this year!  I’m really proud of myself because I don’t think I’ve read this many books since high school when we had to read for class. There have been years when I haven’t read any books at all (!!). I’m happy that I’ve gotten back into the habit of reading for pleasure. It goes to show that if you’ve given up on reading or pushed it aside recently, you can get back into ..read more
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Tips for Overcoming Perfectionism
Confident Communication
by Kate Winder
3y ago
In my last post, I talked about my experiences with perfectionism and how it might show up when you’re learning a new language. Today I want to talk more about what you can do to start to change behaviors so that perfectionism isn’t dominating your life. I recommend talking with a therapist, and this advice is not a substitute for that. This is a starting point. At the end of the post I’ll also link some resources that I’ve found to be really helpful.  First, let’s talk about why you might want to become less of a perfectionist. Perfectionism can cause high stress and anxiety, and maybe e ..read more
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Are you a perfectionist? How perfectionism might show up in language learning
Confident Communication
by Kate Winder
3y ago
The other day I did a puzzle. I haven’t done one for a long time so I forgot how long it usually takes. This puzzle was only 350 pieces, so I thought it wouldn’t be too difficult. However, it was a round puzzle, which I’ve never done before. So it was harder than it looked.  I worked on the puzzle for a couple hours in the morning and then took a break. But the puzzle was still on my mind most of the time. I realized that I was stressed about finishing the puzzle.  After I had finished it, I felt so accomplished! But I was wondering why I was stressing myself out about something that ..read more
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Refusing an Invitation in American English
Confident Communication
by Kate Winder
3y ago
Have you ever been invited somewhere in English, but didn’t want to go- or couldn’t go? What did you say to the person inviting you? How do you say ‘no’ to people when they invite you to do something? Especially during COVID times, when some people still are having parties and get-togethers, and you don’t feel comfortable doing that yet? Today we’re talking about how to refuse invitations from someone in American English. You may think that it’s most common to say sorry, and maybe give a reason why you have to refuse the invitation. But there are actually 4 other ways we can refuse an invitati ..read more
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How to Focus When Studying on Your Own
Confident Communication
by Kate Winder
3y ago
If you’ve ever tried to study or practice English on your own, you might know just how difficult it can be to focus while you’re doing it.  We have countless distractions during the day popping up from every direction, and some people are so used to that now that it seems normal. But it’s not how our brains are meant to work. Multitasking really isn’t possible for your brain. You’re really just switching your attention very quickly from one thing to the next, which makes your brain more tired. Focusing on one task at a time can help you slow down and make the most of your time and your br ..read more
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