Assertive Communication for English Learners

March 1, 2022March 1, 2022 teacherjulieta1 Comment

Finally!!!!! Ousman’s book is available in English “North to paradise” .

I recently heard about @ousmanumar immigration story. I heard his story on Aprendemos Juntos BBVA . He said something that resonates with me “Si dos personas quieren se entienden”. That means that when two people really want to communicate, it doesn’t matter what mother tongue they speak. His story is a testimony of assertive communication. In the midst of hopelessness he spoke up with his heart and an angel listened to him with her heart.

Ousman immigrated from Ghana to Spain when he was 17. At that time he didn’t speak Spanish nor Catalán. His trip to Spain was like a hell. He didn’t have any family in Spain. One day, he met Montse in a park in Barcelona. She didn’t speak English. Even though none of them spoke each others languages, they were able to communicate. Montse became his foster mother. To make a long story short, Ousman became an entrepreneur and writer.

Communication is a two way process. If the other person doesn’t want to listen to you, he/she will make excuses not to understand you.

If some people don’t understand you, perhaps they are the ones who have communication issues.

If after making a big effort, still you don’t understand some people… Perhaps they don’t want to be understood.

Have you ever been able to communicate with someone who didn’t speak your language? How was that experience?

P.S. You are enough! and your accent is cool 😉

_{Speak to me with your heart because I will be listening with my heart}
Teacher Julieta

Wanna know more about Ousman’s story? Watch the following video

Online Class Etiquette

October 18, 2021October 21, 2021 teacherjulietaLeave a comment

Listen to the audio

Globalization has changed the way we communicate with others. Nowadays, we can use the internet to attend classes or work meetings. Therefore, we should learn how to behave during our online classes and meetings.

Netiquette allows people to communicate with others over the internet in a polite and professional manner.

The word netiquette comes from the words network and etiquette. It is defined a set of rules that facilitates social interactions online.

Here there is a list of netiquette rules that you should keep in mind during your virtual sessions:

1 Be on time

It’s better to be at least 5 minutes early rather than late.

Punctuality is a good habit that builds self-confidence. Being on time also eliminates stress from your life by removing the anxiety of being late.

2 Come to class prepared

Have every thing that you need for your class ready, including your textbooks, notebooks, pens and other materials that you might need.

If you use an online dictionary, an app or PDFs open them before your class starts.

3 Settle into a quiet spot

Maybe you can study in a noisy place. However, most students can’t focus and pay attention to the class if the virtual classroom is noisy.

Stay on mute. Keeping your mic off lessens distractions. Background noise can be annoying and make it difficult to understand what people are saying.

Pro tip: If you are in a noisy place, use a noise-canceling headset to eliminate background noise. You can also activate a noise suppression filter. Most video call platforms such as Zoom, Teams, Skype, etc have the option to activate a noise suppression filter.

How to activate a noise suppression filter on Zoom

If the noise suppression filter is not enough you can use a noise cancelling software to remove noise.

Krisp is a FREE software that you can use with any communication app.

https://krisp.ai/

4 Turn your camera ON

Having your camera on creates a more personal class atmosphere.

When we communicate orally with other people we use our voice, body gestures and facial expressions. Camera use allows your teacher and your classmates understand you better. So they can sense how you feel and give you feedback to improve communication.

5 Participate and be helpful

Class participation is super important if you want to learn faster. Also, your classes will have more fun and you will feel more energetic if you participate during class. If you are a shy person or don’t know how to participate during your online classes, check the following article:

How to Participate in an Online Class

Practice Time

How easy is for you to communicate with other people if you are in a noisy place?
Which do you prefer, taking classes in person or online? Why?
Do you prefer just speaking with people on the phone/Whatsapp? or Do you prefer having a video call? Why?

How to Express your Opinion in English

September 10, 2021December 13, 2021 teacherjulieta1 Comment

Listen to the audio

Imagine that you are in a meeting where an important discussion is going on and suddenly your manager calls you out and says “What’s your opinion about this topic?

You start feeling nervous and you can’t say anything. You have a lot of great ideas but you don’t know how to express them.

It is common that when we have to share our opinion we feel insecure and nervous. The fear to speak up can be ever worse if we have to speak in a different language. Fear often prevents us to share our opinions with our classmates, colleagues, managers, and other English speakers.

It’s time you learned useful phrases that will make you feel confident enough to speak up. This in turn will allow you to grow professionally, academically and personally.

In this post I share useful phrases that you can use in your next class or meeting.

^{GIVING YOUR OPINION}

BASIC OPINIONS	STRONG AND PERSONAL OPINIONS	WEAK OR HESITANT OPINIONS
I (don’t) think…	I (don’t) really think …	As far as I know,…
I (don’t ) believe …	I strongly believe that …	As far as I’m concerned, …
I (don’t) feel …	There’s no doubt that …	It seems to me that …
In my opinion/ view …	I honestly think that ….	I might be wrong but …
The way I see it …	I’m convinced that…	You probably won’t agree, but …

ASKING FOR OPINION

What’s your opinion?

What do you think?

How do you feel about …?

How do you see the situation?

What’s your view?

RESPONDING TO AN OPINION

AGREEING	DISAGREEING	REACTING
I agree.	I disagree.	Really?
I think so too.	I don’t think so.	+ That’s a great suggestion – That doesn’t make any sense
I couldn’t agree more.	I’m not quite sure.	I’m not very familiar with the topic.
You might be right.	That’s not true.	Know what I think?
I couldn’t have said it better.	I totally disagree.	I see what you mean.

Practice time

What do you think about this blog?

What topics would you like to be discussed in this blog?

Essential Vocabulary for Online Meetings

How to Participate in an Online Class

How to Participate in an Online Class

Asking for Clarification

Assertive Communication for English Learners

How to Participate in an Online Class

August 31, 2021October 20, 2021 teacherjulieta2 Comments

Listen to the audio

Class participation is important if you want to learn faster. Participating in class will allow you to use your English like you would do in the real world. When you participate you are practicing and the more you practice using the language, the faster you will improve it.

Your classes will be more fun if you participate actively and communicate with your classmates and your teacher. Nobody wants to be in a classroom where nobody speaks. It is normal to feel nervous when you have to participate or ask a question. But after you participate you will feel more energetic and alert. That in turn will help you remember what you learn and feel more confident.

Here I’m going to share with you different ways of participating during your online classes:

1. Be proactive and thoughtful

Turn ON your camera and keep it on during the whole class.

Turn ON your microphone when you participate.

Turn OFF your microphone when other people participate.

Use the chat box to ask questions or communicate with your teacher and classmates during the class.

Join the breakout rooms and participate in the group activities.

Offer to share your screen

2. Ask questions

If you have a question or if you are confused you can ask for help to your teacher or your classmates. Here there are some sentence starters that you can use during your class.

Here you have a list of useful phrases that you can use during your English classes:

I have a question about _________________.

I’m confused about _____________________.

I need help with _______________________.

I have difficulties understanding __________________.

I would like to know more about ___________________.

Can you give me an example?

What’s the difference between ________ and __________?.

What is the answer to question/ exercise ______?

What does _______________ mean?

How do you pronounce this word?

How do you spell _________?

How did you get the answer?

Can you repeat the last part that you just said?

3. Offer your help

If you want to help your classmates or if you know the answer you can use the following sentence starters:

I might know the answer to that.

I think I can help you with ________.

I’m not sure, but I think the answer is _____________.

4. Volunteer

If you want to volunteer or start the activity

Can I go first?

I’ll go first.

I can do it

Who’s next?

5. Share your gratitude

Thanks for helping me understand __________.

I appreciate your help.

I really liked that activity.

It was a really fun/ interesting activity.

I liked that!

Practice Time

It’s your time to participate!

How important is class participation for you? How do you feel when your classmates refuse to participate in class?

Essential Vocabulary for Online Meetings

Asking for help

Useful English Phrases for Better Communication (Asking for Clarification)

The Tongue Twister Challenge (Intensity Level 3)

December 17, 2020March 29, 2021 teacherjulieta2 Comments

Workout for your English muscles

A great way to improve your pronunciation and fluency is by saying tongue twisters as fast as you can. Tongue twisters are great to exercise your English muscles. Are you ready to complete this fun challenge?

Have you completed Intensity level 1 and 2? If not, click the button below.

If you are an intermediate student, you can use Intensity Level 1 as your warm up.

Complete Intensity Level 1

If you are an advanced student, you can use Intensity Level 1 and Level 2 as your warm up

Complete Intensity Level 2

Let’s start!

Say each of the following tongue twisters five times as fast as you can. If you are not sure about the correct pronunciation you can play the audio first and repeat after me. Then you can say the tongue twister slowly and when you feel confident about your pronunciation you increase the speed.

1. I scream, you scream, all scream for ice cream.

2. Three free throws.

3. Rubber baby buggy bumpers.

Let’s increase the intensity

4. Birdie birdie in the sky laid a turdie in my eye.
If cows could fly I’d have a cow pie in my eye.

5. Yellow butter, purple jelly, red jam, black bread.
Spread it thick, say it quick!
Yellow butter, purple jelly, red jam, black bread.
Spread it thicker, say it quicker!

6. Betty Botter bought some butter
But she said the butter’s bitter
If I put it in my batter, it will make my batter bitter
But a bit of better butter will make my batter better
So ‘twas better Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter.