The idea for this post came from Joanna’s wonderful blog and I’ve been meaning to write it for a couple of weeks now. Once I sat down to it and looked at these first couple of days after coming to Berlin from my Christmas break in Warsaw, I realized that each day I’ve been juggling as many languages as skills. Yesterday was no exception.
Listening
I decided to practice what I preach and start listening to Spanish podcasts. I’ve found this website and immediately started going through 2 or 3 a day. Interesting topics, neutral accents and just the right speech rate all make it a great resource for Spanish learners.
Reading
I’ve been promising myself to get serious about brushing up on my German (or should I say starting over?) ever since I moved to Berlin, so it’s been a while. Coming back home one day I stopped at a bookstore that was advertising AKTION! and took a look at a basket full of tiny, illustrated books. I immediately spotted this title and knew it would be the right place to start. I read the book between my classes yesterday. Loved it! 🙂
Writing
I’ve spent some time emailing my students, trying to outline what we should cover in January and agree on a schedule. With some, I wrote in English, with others in Polish.
Speaking
I taught an IELTS class yesterday and we spent a lot of time practicing task 2 in the speaking section of the exam. My student felt he had very little to say about his “Favourite possession” so we brainstormed several ways in which to spice this topic up a bit. He still ended up talking about his glasses but it was a pretty humorous and convincing mini-speech. The class took part 100% in English.
It’s been a lot of fun looking at my day like this, thanks Joanna!
Dear Readers, I strongly encourage you to try the same!
I finally got a chance to read your post! I learnt a bit of Spanish a while back but i was really bad at it! I didn’t know you were in Berlin!☺ Great post! Thanks for the mention ❤❤ Joanna
You should hear my German 😉