Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

What Old students have to say about TalktoCanada’s program

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

Recently I was placed with a student who had taken lessons with TalktoCanada in a corporate program of our’s over 2 years ago.  He told me that TalktoCanada was the ONLY program that taught him effective English — that he could use in everyday life as well as in business situations.

TalktoCanada works.  It allows students to TALK and LEARN in a variety of ways that STICK — and that are useful.  When students say that they are confident in our methods and pleased with their outcomes — I know I am standing behind something that is for real.

With the changing ways of the world — everything towards technical and internet — e-learning is something that has taken a HUGE leap, and TalktoCanada is a step in the right direction.

I encourage you to take a step in the right direction with TalktoCanada!

http://www.talktocanada.com/individual-training/user-fees/

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Grizzly Bear — What does THAT have to do with learning English??!!

Saturday, March 27th, 2010

This past week my students have made references to grizzly bears on about 10 separate occasions. Now I’m not sure if it comes up because I am from Canada — and yes we do have grizzly bears here.. or if it is just  the random noun of the week. It got me thinking about how all classes start out differently (talking about the Russian Economy, Saudi buildings, Pallea (traditional Spanish food) or even the World Expo 2010), all at one point it comes back to grizzly bears.

Have you ever randomly talked about grizzly bears? Does it have something to do with Canada? Or are they really popular nowadays? I have IMDBed a movie a few times “Grizzly Man” and as obscure as it sounds — a lot of students have seen it and comment on it.

How are grizzly bears related to learning English? I am not entirely sure – but I am sure that it does foster a lot of discussion and thus facilitate English learning.

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How to be Creative in the Virtual Classroom

Sunday, March 21st, 2010

Having a virtual classroom doesn’t mean that you have to give up your creative side — if anything, it means that you should beef it up a bit.  HOW you may ask? Well there are a few ways that I’ve actually done — and a few ways that I’ve seen other teachers to be quite effective in the virtual classroom.

1) Bring in Props!!

Today’s lesson is about FOOD — Fruits and Vegetables — what easier way to show what you are talking about than to SHOW the students what it is… it adds a little bit of “REAL” to the class.  A lot of countries have different fruits and veggies — and it is interesting to share, especially if you have it in your hands.

2) Sometimes it’s fun to add a little bit of weather into the classroom

I know my studentsalways got a hoot out of seeing snow — as most of them had never experienced it before.  I’d show them shots out of my window — and sometimes at the beg of the class add a little graphics — just to make things a little bit more interesting,.

3) Special Holidays

A lot of teachers take advantage of the fact that there are special holidays that fall on teaching days: ie: Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day, Valentines Day etc… These are by far the easiest days to take advantage of to be creative in the classroom.

There are a TON of ways for you to to spice up your virtual classroom — as an online teacher its important that you find a way that your students respond to best.  They’ll like it — try it! :)

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Tips on how to build up your confidence when speaking in English

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

Learning to speak English with confidence is not as easy as one might think.  Most if not ALL of the students who sign up with TalktoCanada.com have just that problem… lack of or no confidence when communicating and speaking in English.  As a teacher — no progress is really complete without building that confidence — so it is my main goal when teaching to boost up a student’s confidence as much as possible.  Students can also speed up the process by taking into account these tips (however it is understandable that they are easier said than done):

  1. MAKE MISTAKES

    2. – the only way to learn is by making mistakes — your English tutor is there to correct those mistakes and to help you understand WHY they are mistakes and what the proper form is.  If you don’t feel comfortable making mistakes with your teacher — your confidence level will take that much longer to increase.

  2. GO OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE

    3. – sure its easy to stick with vocabulary that is simple — but do you really learn anything that way?  Try new words, grammar and sentence structures — increasing your vocabulary and comfort zone will give you a larger range of words to work with in a variety of situations.

  3. ASK FOR HELP

    4. – your tutor is there to help YOU learn to speak English.  Ask them questions — ask for their help if you don’t understand something.  Don’t be shy — remember that these are YOUR classes.

If you follow these basic steps during your English lessons with TalktoCanada.com not only will your confidence level increase but your knowledge, understanding and overall fluency will as well!

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Posted in English Improvement, English for Business, Learning English Online, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

How TalktoCanada.com can help YOU pass the IELTS test

Saturday, February 20th, 2010

The IELTS Test is quickly becoming the English Test of choice for many students who wish to study, work or live abroad.  It is a holistic approach to assessing ones English level, and includes a listening, reading, writing and speaking component.  For those of you who don’t know what IELTS stands for, it is, International English Language Testing System.  The test managed by the University of Cambridge, IDP Education and the British Council whom we have partnered with to work on corporate English language training contracts in Saudi Arabia.

Many students who take this test need the most help with the speaking component.  Being put on the spot — even as a native speaker is sometimes scary — public speaking is not an easy thing for anyone – and especially for topics that you have only 2 minutes to prepare for — it can seem impossible.

TalktoCanada helps you with all aspects of the test — but most importantly we help you with building confidence when you speak.  The training will also help you build up your vocabulary with words that you would not normally use (simple words — for general conversation).  While also helping you think on your feet and feel confident while answering questions of any type.

TalktoCanada helps you improve your speaking by simulating the speaking section of the exam — you have the option of going through Part I, Part II and Part III of the IELTS test — with your teacher you will go over each answer afterwords while working on grammatical structure, sentence building and of course fluency.

Typically students sign up for an intensive month long course with TalktoCanada (which entails having a lesson everyday) helping to guarantee results.  We focus mostly on the speaking section, as that is the section that requires the most amount of work.  We encourage students to work on the writing exercise (we also help and correct any mistakes) and lastly, you will work on your listening and reading exercises portion of the IELTS exam.  The success rate thus far has been 100% and students have noticeably increased their confidence and their fluency…just ask to to talk to one of our students who has taken the IELTS test after training with their very own online English trainer at TalktoCanada.com.

TalktoCanada helps you achieve your goals and your dreams whether it is to move, study or work in an English speaking country — don’t limit yourself and know that with the right amount of dedication anything is possible!  Get the help you need by registering for IELTS training sessions today!

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Virtual Manager MUST have Tools…

Sunday, February 14th, 2010

Being a manager and a teacher who works in about 10 different time zones every week — I’ve come to realize the importance of being organized and punctual.  I’d like to share some of my tricks with you to keeping organized — especially when you have a pretty full plate.

  1. Google Calendar –  by far the BEST google application since gmail!  I’m able to organize all of my appointments, classes, and teachers.  I can invite others to join on the calendar — and it is all synced automatically.  I can even get reminder pop ups or emails before I have something scheduled.  A must have for ANYONE who has a busy schedule.
  2. Time Zone Converter – another essential tool – it lets you figure out your time zone differences.  So for example 2pm in Uruguay is 11am in Toronto and 5pm in Madrid.  I use this application all the time — to check and double check appointments — can’t be an effective manager if I’m doubled booked all the time :
  3. Sticky Notes – yep just like post its — only on your computer — I have a few going at once — they stay on my desktop even after a shutdown — great for keeping notes in a meeting, or words during a lesson — or a “TO DO” list of sorts.

With Virtual managing becoming more and more popular the need for ease and tools to make your job more efficient are a must.  I’d be interested to hear your tips to keep things in check…

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