Hey there! This is TOP episode 155. Tips For Learning English on Holiday!
My name’s Ola and I am an English teacher. I teach online during 1:1 and group classes. I believe you can eliminate your language blockade. The secret word here is consistency. There are other secret words too. That is why I record this podcast’s episodes, and each comes with a little worksheet, a one-pager to help you digest and test what you’ve practised here. You can speak English more confidently, slay that fear and enjoy easy communication.
Visit my website for full transcripts and worksheets to each episode. Visit my shop at teacherola.com and enjoy your journey to fluency! Happy learning!
Hello hello! Thank you for tapping play! I’m happy for you because you are on your way to fluency now. Now. Tips for learning English on Holiday. It’s summer, so let’s be creative and make learning fun. Don’t pack grammar books into your suitcase. Don’t bother yourself with that! Don’t put this burden on your shoulders. Unless you really enjoy doing these grammar tasks. But if you don’t, treat yourself well and give it up! It’s a fun time, it’s holiday. No matter where you spend it.
Try to be creative and do something completely different from what you normally do.
Before we jump into 6 tips I came up with for you I have to tell you a few things. Firstly, group lessons. I’m teaching groups now! Let me know if you want to try! No lectures, no course books, no grammar, just speaking. Classes are organised into packets of 1, twice a week. Intensive English Speaking course! Conversations, communication, language blockade elimination. If you’re interested please send an email at contact@teacherola.com or dm me on Instagram.
Secondly, top talks. Every Thursday at 11 am I go live just for a quick chat, 20 minutes or so to discuss some language-related tips. You’ll find me as teacherola.podcast. So join me on Thursday at 11:00 live on Instagram!
Visit my shop, buy a Worksheet set, and have your Worksheets in one place. They’re editable. You can complete them on your smartphone. Check out my e-book with episode transcripts.
Lastly, I am working on my Speak English With Tv Series course, a programme focused on one skill only, speaking. If you’re wondering whether such a course is right for you grab a checklist, the link is in the description. Thank’s for your patience and let’s get back to the episode.
Here we go! My tips for learning English on Holiday. I’ve got 6 tips.
Number one.
Take photos during the whole day. Take funny photos, and be creative. Photograph people, people who don’t expect that. Capture the situations, and memories. In the evening – go through them, and talk to yourself. Describe what is happening in the photos, this way you’ll also make your memories last. Doing that you impress those memories on your memory for longer. Delete pictures you don’t like or don’t need. It’ll also save you time for organising pictures after the holiday. You’ll have a ready album of your best holiday photos. You’ll find more about the power of self-talk in episode number 9: Boost Your Fluency By Taking to Yourself.
Number two.
Go for a walk all alone. Choose early morning is possible. When your mind is fresh and eager to learn new things. Now, it’s very simple. Describe what you see. If you don’t know the words, find ways of describing them, avoiding them, doing without them. Additionally, open notes on your phone and while walking put down all the words you miss. So, you see something, like ‘krawężnik’ and you try to describe it, what it is for, what it looks like. But, write down the word ‘krawężnik’ in Polish. . Later, in the evening, sit, look at the list of words you didn’t know and look them up one by one. You don’t have to overthink it, just translate. On your next morning walk, you’ll know it’s ‘a curb’.
Number three.
Journal. You can do it first thing in the morning. Describe the upcoming day. Hey! You can combine tip number two with this one. Take a notebook your journal for a walk. Go to the beach, by the lake, to a cafe, whatever you fancy and write. Use future tenses. Use ‘will’, ‘going to’, and the present continuous tense. It might sound like this: Today I’m going to see the view from the top of the mountain.
I think I will have pasta for dinner and so forth! Practice these expressions that help us describe the future.
Number four.
If you’re abroad, have a chat with a stranger. Do it every day. Look for opportunities, and occasions to have even the shortest exchange with somebody. I know, that might be a trigger, but do it. Take advantage of the fact you’re abroad and speak English. If this is way too much for you tune in to episodes 105 and 109. 105: Comfort Zone. Leave It or Expand it? Episode 109: 5 Best Tactics To Expand Your Comfort Zone. After listening you’ll know what to do. Talk to someone! Be it at the reception desk, restaurant, local shop, street vendor, beach vendor, ask for directions, ask for local specialities, for unobvious places to visit. You are not looking for native speakers to challenge yourself or anything like that. You’re looking for anybody who speaks English. You are seeking an opportunity for communication. That’s all.
Number five.
A tip for readers. Read a book in English. Pick your favourite genre and choose something. Ebooks are fairly cheap and accessible. You can look for books in English on allegro! Something light, something fun. Maybe Agatha Christie? ‘Murder in Orient Express’? Harry Potter? A love story? If you’re abroad go to a shop with stuff for the beach. Towels, toys, souvenirs. Usually, they have a small stand with books, romance, detective stories, self-help books. Do it. Try.
Number six.
Listen to podcasts, sure! But! Use this holiday time, as an excuse to be creative, to go above and beyond for your English and do something more actionable. Don’t resign from listening but add more speaking. I can’t stress enough the importance of speaking out loud. Additionally, try shadowing. Look for a new podcast, something fun, and shadow the speaker. How to do it? Tune in to episode 25: Shadowing Technique to Boost Your Speaking Skills.
Here you have it! 6 tips for learning English on holiday. Now you will start speaking English., Stay with me, this part of the episode is essential. Let’s begin. Listen and repeat:
Describe what is happening in the photos.
Doing that you impress those memories on your memory for longer.
If you don’t know the words, find ways of describing them, avoiding them, doing without them.
Look at the list of words you didn’t know and look them up one by one.
You can do it first thing in the morning.
If you’re abroad, have a chat with a stranger.
Ask for directions, ask for local specialities, for unobvious places to visit.
Ebooks are fairly cheap and accessible.
Go above and beyond for your English and do something more actionable.
I can’t stress enough the importance of speaking out loud.
That’s it for today! Let’s just recap 6 tips for learning English on holiday:
One. Take photos and describe them speaking to yourself out loud.
Two. Go for a walk alone and describe to yourself what you can see say it lout loud.
Three. Journal, use future tenses.
Four. Chat with a stranger, if you are abroad.
Five. Read a book in English.
Six. Listen to podcasts but take it further, talk to yourself out loud, try shadowing for instance. Go out of your comfort zone. I know how silly it sounds but this is exaxctly what you have to to. Expand your comfort zone.
NOW. Go to your inbox and get the worksheet to test yourself. Translate sentences into English. If you aren’t a member of TOPeople download the worksheet from teacherola.com/155.
If you find this episode useful, tell your friends about my podcast. Thank you so much for doing so! I prepare the episodes and in return, you spread the word. That’s a healthy energy exchange. Thank you so much!
I’ll see you next Wednesday! We’ll be talking abour question tags. Till then, happy learning. Take care! Stay fearless and say it out loud! Bye!