In The Same Boat #9
A weekly dose of motivation, inspiration and education from Masha and Jedrek.
Ahoy Sailors!
It’s your captain speaking as Masha’s sleeping in a hammock. I had a really good week topped off by receiving an invitation to be a plenary speaker at the next Innovate ELT Conference in May. The response from Barcelona took me down the memory lane to 2015 and my first ever visit to this city followed by a linguisitc transformation. More on that in my text. We have a brand new episode of the ToL podcast where we talk about taste. Maciek is helping us out today with some nice finishing lines for business correspondence (I love it!). Agata stays positive despite failing her entrance exam, and Mateusz is back with another gem-song of the week (where does he find them?!). We have a bunch of recommendations for you on what to read and listen in English, and last but certainly not least, our gallery “Your ToL” is growing. This week Aga is showing us her setup for a pleasant journey to Warsaw. Maciek, what would be a perfect ending to this edito? I’ll go with: have an A+ day ;)
PS. I have opened the possibility to chat under this post (as I understand it), so feel free to do it ;)
Finding Peace With My English Skills
By Jedrek Stepien
I didn't harbor any deeper hopes of being selected as a plenary speaker for this year's Innovate ELT Conference in Barcelona - given I spoke from the podium last year - but when the news came a few days ago, I was ecstatic. Yes, I am going to speak again at iELT this year, cementing my lifelong relationship with this event. I know I am going to toss and turn, lose sleep and whine writing the actual speech, but I know also that I am going to grow as a teacher. Each of my trips to Barcelona have been transformative so far, but the most significant change by far occurred between my first and second coming to iELT.
I came to Barcelona for the first time in 2015 for the historical first iELT conference. I had never been attracted by similar events before, but this one promised to be different. Instead of speaking about new materials and methods of teaching, they advertised an event about the future of our profession. Being a freshly baked entrepreneur back then, running my own teaching business in Warsaw, I couldn't resist its appeal. And the first ever iELT was successful beyond my imagination. It was an event packed with interesting and innovative sessions accompanied by extensive networking. And if the first edition was knee-deep in craft beer, the second one was neck deep. But it was not only the amount of free beer that changed between my first two visits to the iELT conference. I came back to the second edition with a different mindset about who I am and what is my relationship to the English language.
Inspiring sessions and conversations abounding, I didn't feel comfortable with my English in this English-speaking environment. I came to my first conference after years of studying English at a university level, equipped with an extensive knowledge of its grammar, literature, and culture, as well as after several years in the teaching profession. And yet, what I experienced were some of the typical struggles of every learner like slowed time of reaction, clumsy wording, missed conversation turns, all making me seem slower and more introverted than I really am. I was making up for it by being friendly, smiling and laughing out loud. But when the dust of the first conference had settled, I felt there was a shitload of work still ahead of me. Meeting with other professionals from all over the world showed me my place in the ranks and reminded me once more what sort of a beast a second language truly is.
So, I swore myself to get down to English and double my efforts before I come back. But as time went by, I got sucked up by the busy life of a young entrepreneur in the Polish capital (not to mention I had a bride to marry in the fall) so my grip on this post-conference resolution relented. I had just won a tender for my future school, a beautiful place overlooking the royal castle in Warsaw, which I had to redecorate. My work at that time felt like that of the great discoverers. My database of questions was growing fast, and I have just devised an innovative way of running conversation classes. I wanted to share my findings with other teachers so much, that even the horrible attack on Bataclan didn't discourage me from coming to Paris one week later to present at the Annual Colloquium of TESOL France (a French organization for teachers of English). The rest of the year flew by so quickly, that before I realized it was time for the second iELT conference in Barcelona where I was selected to be a speaker.
I didn't find time to brush up on my English, but I came back with a head full of ideas and I was passionate about my work. Conversations had largely been neglected by our industry, treated as the easiest type of classes, a much poorer cousin of grammar lessons where the real teaching was supposed to take place. I came with a fresh perspective on the subject and my session was a success. I talked about four types of conversation questions and the need to engage our learners intellectually, keeping their private life intact. It felt great to contribute to the Innovate ELT Conference for the first time. But my English? It didn't change much. I kept having the same problems as one year before. Informal conversations at a table of 5 people and more kept their nightmarish difficulty level. What did change, however, was my mindset.
Somewhere between the first and the second edition of iELT I had fully accepted myself as a user of English. My original fanciful ambition of studying harder gave way to a more down-to-earth approach. I realized the amount of training necessary to speak on par with my foreign colleagues is a work in the domain of turnover but not in the domain of profit. I decided that, after all, I like this slower, more reserved, and shyer version of myself. It could even be turned into an asset under some circumstances, adding depth to my words. I had a unique insight and something others didn't, which made me valuable beyond my language skills. So, the greatest transformation that happened to me did not actually happen so much, it was a matter of looking at myself from a different perspective. Today, when learners like my former self come to me, with super solid syntax, wide range vocab and beautiful pronunciation I tell them about my experience from between the first and second iELT conference. Focus on profits, ignore the turnover.
THIS WEEK IN ToL:
Thinking Out Loud 087: Good Taste in the Filterworld
They say there’s no accounting for taste, but this week we did exactly this with Masha. The concept of taste had been following us for some time, and it finally found its way to our podcast. Quite by chance I’ve read the lastest book by Kyle Chayka called “Filterworld” which talks about the flattening of our culture (and taste for that matter) due to the extensive work of algorithms and algorithmic recommendations. The converations is an important one and I hope it will give you some food for your own reflections.
THE PHRASE OF THE WEEK
By Maciek Skulski
Business English Part 2
Today I'd like to continue with our "Phrase of The Week" (or rather phrases) related to business English and show you various alternatives that I use when ending business emails, so I don't write the same thing every time, e.g., the boring and overused "Have a great day." One cool solution is to vary these endings and see how the recipient reacts to such an email or if they notice it at all. I use the following phrases:
"Wishing you a productive day."
"I hope all goes well today."
"Have an A+ day."
"Have a fantastic end to your day."
"Have a two-coffee day."
"It's one day closer to the weekend."
"Have a lovely day!"
"Good day!"
"Happy Friday!"
"Have a good Friday!"
You can use these phrases in your emails whenever you like. Maybe they will make your day better or your emails more interesting!
THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE?
By Agata Kasperczak
Don’t Hesitate To Use Your Second Language
I didn’t get into Germanic Studies after high school because of… the Polish language J. Back in the days the entrance exam comprised of tests in both German and Polish. So, after failing Polish, with an impeccable logic, I decided to spend one year in Germany, to further improve my German.
I signed up for a guitar course, visited dance classes, martial art trainings, English and German of course.
At the very first lesson, we had to introduce ourselves and I was to start. I began by saying how old I was, where I came from, and what was my motivation to study: I said I didn’t feel comfortable enough in my German. The teacher asked me some other questions, before asking me how long had I been in Germany.
I hesitated for a while and said: almost 3 weeks. After that the classroom burst into laughter. I was confused and thought I had made some blunder.
But lo and behold, I did not. Everything was fine. They laughed because most of the participants had been in Germany for many years and they spoke nowhere near as good as me after 3 weeks ‘stay.
The conclusion is: don’t hesitate to use the language that you learn. Not everybody is a linguist and even native speakers make mistakes. Your skills may surpirse yourself.
WE RECOMMEND:
SNIPPET: Nassim Taleb on the advantage of fiction over facts
Masha, this one is with a special dedication to you.
ESSAY: Diplomacy and resistance: how Dune shows us the power of language – including sign language
The Conversation
Have you already watched the new Dune? At the time of writing these words I haven’t yet, but this movie is most likely to be the one to break my multiyear absence in the cinema. The article from The Conversation I am linking talks about the power of language(s). I share a very similar point of view on our future in the world dominated by AI. Great text.
PODCAST: The Don Lemon Show: Elon Musk
The Don Lemon Show
Elon Musk may not be the most likable person on the planet, but I like his simple English a lot. He’s one of those native speakers who will never make you feel you need to do something with your language. In this interview with Don Lemon he finds himself in a crosshair of uncomfortable questions, happy when after one hour can excuse himself and doesn’t need to answer more of Lemon’s cannonade.
THE SONG OF THE WEEK:
By Mateusz Borowik
Vampire Weekend - Capricorn
The zodiacal time of Capricorn may have passed together with January, but I hope this one will take over the entire year in music. "Capricorn" appears as a harbinger of hope and the coming of spring. The light-flowing sounds, quite contrary to the nostalgic lyrics, lift our spitits and make us believe that "Good days are comin'." Beautiful piano riffs and a string section are rocking us towards the group's upcoming fifth album. I, for one, am already looking forward to it.
Lyrics:
Can't reach the moon now
Can't turn the tide
The world looked different
When God was on your side
Who builds the future?
Do they care why?
I know you're tired of tryin'
Listen clearly, you don't have to try
Capricorn
The year that you were born
Finished fast
And the next one wasn't yours
Too old for dyin' young
Too young to live alone
Sifting through centuries
For moments of your own
Alone and wounded
But in my prime
I called the hospital
They didn't have the time
I'd seen it comin'
It's no surprise
I know you're tired of tryin'
Listen clearly, you don't have to try
Capricorn
The year that you were born
Finished fast
And the next one wasn't yours
Too old for dyin' young
Too young to live alone
Sifting through centuries
For moments of your own
A hundred dollars
On someone's dime
I looked for answers there
They weren't mine to find
Good days are comin'
Not just to die
I know you're tired of tryin'
Listen, baby, you don't have to try
Capricorn
The year that you were born
Finished fast
And the next one wasn't yours
Too old for dyin' young
Too young to live alone
Sifting through centuries
For moments of your own
Capricorn
The year that you were born
Finished fast
And the next one wasn't yours
Too old for dyin' young
Too young to live alone
Sifting through centuries
For moments of your own
YOUR ToL:
This one was sent to my by Aga while she was on her way to the Polish capital.
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