So here he is again with another random, out of the blue post. We haven’t heard from you in ages Richard, what have you been doing? Well, I’m still working face-to-face via Skype, Teams and in person. I have taken on new students in a couple of local businesses, one which is a quarry for refractory materials and the other which imports classic American cars. If you need business in either of those areas I can put you in touch. Otherwise, I am mainly working on a new project for you all, more on that in a bit.
Broken Website
First of all, I’d just like to apologise for my broken website (did you notice?) The site is still up and some pages are functioning including the video courses which if you are still subscribed to you can access via this link. However, the homepage is not accessible so if you need to you can log in here. Are you a WordPress expert? Can you help me solve the issue? Please get in touch 🙂 – Note: This has now been solved, thank you Yasin Ali.
2023 Anyone?
So how was 2023 for you? Did anything remarkable happen? Did you take the holiday of a lifetime? Make huge leaps forward with your English learning. At my end, it wasn’t my greatest year but I have made more of a considerable effort with my Czech learning and have found a new podcast that suits me. I listen to it each morning, an episode lasts around 15 minutes and I note down any new words or phrases. On the whole, I’m pretty pleased as (I think) I understand most of what’s said, and the podcast is aimed at intermediate-level speakers of Czech as a foreign language. Do you regularly listen to podcasts in English? Let me know what they are so I can recommend them to my students. Of course, I have my own Rich English podcast and you can expect some new episodes coming soon in the new year. I also recommend Luke’s English Podcast, one of the longest-running pods out there.
My English Journal
The new project I mentioned has actually been in process for over three years. Indeed some of the material I started working on almost eight years ago in the form of blog posts. What is it? It’s called My English Journal and it’s a book! The format is roughly B5 like a standard size diary/journal with half the book bringing you my research from over the years into how you can best improve your English. Currently, I am working on amendments suggested by my editor, while I have already had some wonderful illustrations done for the book by Kateřina Čápová who was recommended to me by my designer Sona from Ginger&Fred.
The book includes sections on mindset and motivation, using your memory and imagination, it will help you take an inventory of your current learning habits and give you space to write down where you think you can make progress. Most importantly it wil give you many new ideas for note-taking so that the way you take your notes will enhance your ability to recall/remember. The second half of the book is the journal space for you to start using as a go-to notebook for your new vocabulary etc. I sincerely believe this will be a breakthrough moment in your English as My English Journal will help supercharge your learning! Here’s a sneak preview of the cover. There will be a new website soon to promote the book and where you will be able to buy a physical copy. We are hoping to go to print in January, I will keep you posted.
Christmas is Coming!
Again!, Already! Can you believe it? Life still seems to be speeding up for me. I’m wondering at what age (if any) it will slow down again and maybe even return to those long drawn-out days of my childhood (come on man, you’re only 40something!) No, I haven’t done any shopping yet. Have you? Yes, I am enjoying this cold snowy weather (from the window) and I am starting to think about putting up some lights. We’ve already watched, Home Alone and The Grinch so I am pushing myself towards that Christmas feeling. What about you, how are you preparing? If you haven’t read it before you can read here about how I used to spend a traditional English Christmas. So, ta ta for now, and see you in the new year, if not before.
Richard.
