Luckily — it was a non awkward meeting — except for the initial part.. Canadians are just awkward people or maybe it’s just me — when we first meet someone that we know really well.. but are meeting for the first time.. there is no gesture that is friendly yet not cold (handshakes are lame — really — unless its a business meeting…).  Air kissing is obviously out of the question with Canadians ;) Also we don’t have something to say when we start eating.. I suppose Bon Appetite!  But something in English.. ??

We did have quite a bit in common — and I honestly think that we would have been friends even if we met offline first.  And although Canada is a HUGE country — we have some random connections (thanks to Facebook for figuring that out for us)!

I’ve told a few people that we’ve met and they ask how it was.  I guess people are different online — perhaps more comfortable.. casual.. relaxed — than they are in real life.  I wonder if that goes the same for students who take lessons — would they be the same offline?   I’ve met a few teachers before — and they are the same online as they are offline… we mostly just talk about funny work stories..

So it was nice.. knowing that my boss is 1) REAL 2) hip… makes me confident in the choices that I’ve made these past 2 and a half years 3) and can crack jokes about TalktoCanada

So, if you are learning English, relax and take a deep breath.  Don’t fret the small stuff or every small detail as you will do just fine with consistent practice.

Language is developed over time and even native English speakers have trouble remembering all the rules, names of grammar and why we do something the way we do.  If your English is improving with practice year after year and you don’t remember all these rules or get confused take the easiest path and don’t worry about it.  Nobody can be expected to know everything there is to know about English unless you’re an English teacher :) in the meantime keep up the great work, enjoy life and don’t get caught up with all the finer points of English.

Well, first of all — Thank you for signing up for lessons with TalktoCanada.  You will not be disappointed!  How English learning works with TalktoCanada is fairly simple — once you get past the whole internet part.  The good thing is — is that almost everyone already has the basics to start learning right away!

We mostly use Skype and WebEx for our online learning — very simple programs to manage — and very little equipment needed to take full advantage.  We recommend you have a headset with a mic and you can do it with a webcam or not — its up to you.  That’s all you really need (besides a reliable net connection, and a computer).

What’s important on your first lesson is to tell your teacher exactly what it is that you hope to accomplish with your English lessons — then they can develop a course that is appropriate for you and your needs.

Then, as the lessons go by, you work with the same teacher — working on your target/problem areas until you are confident with your progress.

In no time you will notice improvements — much quicker than in a traditional classroom.  I encourage you to test us out… and see for yourself just how easy it is to learn English online!

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/

TalktoCanada.com increases the interaction with the students by using the different features that WebEx has to offer such as whiteboard sharing, video conferencing, media sharing, and annotations on all documents.

Check out the video below and see how WebEx has made e-learning that much better!

]]> http://www.talktocanada.com/2010/08/talktocanada-com-using-webex-for-e-learning-solutions/feed/ 0 http://www.talktocanada.com/2010/08/learning-english-one-step-at-a-time/ http://www.talktocanada.com/2010/08/learning-english-one-step-at-a-time/#comments Mon, 02 Aug 2010 01:41:12 +0000 Marc Anderson http://www.talktocanada.com/?p=1731 Learning a new language is a lot like learning to ride a bicycle.  The student starts out with zero knowledge and slowly increases that knowledge so that they are no longer a beginner but rather an expert.

We have a lot of beginner students coming through our program here at TalktoCanada wanting to become expert English speakers.  They generally contact us the same way and tell us their goals which are very similar to the vast majority of our students — which is to speak as well as a native speaker.  Students need to change their idea of success when they are first starting out.  Instead of asking how fast or quickly they can become a fluent English speaker, they should be asking how long will it take to move to the next level.  For a beginner speaker this would mean no longer being a beginner but having a novice-intermediate understanding of English.  I am not saying that students shouldn’t strive to become very good at English, but take it one step at a time.  Like a baby learning to crawl and then eventually learning to walk…rarely do babies skip a step in development.  During your English learning don’t expect to  become an expert quickly, this takes time, patience and perseverance.   Our online English program can definitely help somebody but if you don’t have time, patience and perseverance, the TalktoCanada program won’t get you very far.

So when your serious about improving your English, focus on something within reach and which is achievable as well as realistic.  This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t focus on becoming an advanced speaker, just don’t forget like a baby you need to crawl before you can walk or like riding a bike, you need to start with training wheels.

C is also for compliments. Example: That’s a nice shirt your wearing. Make them feel good about themselves. Start with telling them they look nice, or that they are funny. That will put them in a good mood which will make your conversation nicer and easier.

Basketball is a very interesting topic. They could go on and on talking about it for hours.

Here are some examples you can use to start conversation about basketball:

Did you watch the NBA game last night?

Whose side are you? Lakers or Celtics?

B is also for Bus stops…while in a bus stops you can use the following conversation starters:

I didn’t think it would be so busy today.

You look like you’ve got your hands full (with children or goods).

The bus must be running late today.

It looks like we are going to be here a while, huh?

I’ll have to remember not to come here on Mondays.

How long have you been waiting?