UPDATE - Submit your articles!
This is an update to let you know that there is now an option on the contact page for you to submit articles and videos that you think would make an interesting topic for conversation classes.
Every week, I remind you that you can send me things that you have been reading or watching but some of you may not realise this, or know how to contact me. Some students already know about this, but I encourage you all to take advantage of this!
How can I send you articles?
You can use the contact page and complete the submission form, putting your links in the message. Alternatively you can send me an email directly:
In future, there will be places for you to just submit your links without needing to send an email. For now, this will be the easiest way to do this but if you have any ideas… Why not send me an email?
What can I send you?
You can send anything that you think will make for a good conversation topic. It can be something that you think is interesting, something that you would like to practise speaking about, or just something that you think other students might like.
I would recommend sending just articles and videos, but of course you are not required to only send these. Maybe you have found an interesting website, or you want to share a story from your own life, maybe even some of your own work — send in anything that is interesting to you!
But it is not in English! What should I do?
I know that you might not be watching all of your videos in English, or reading the news all the time. If you have something that you think will be interesting, then look for a similar article or video in English!
Challenging yourself to find an English version will also improve your reading skills and it might even encourage you to read more in English. The same is true for videos — you will hear so many different accents and styles of language across the internet, so why not practise your listening skills while you are at it?
I don’t think you will find it interesting…
Firstly, don’t worry about that! Secondly, not every topic is going to be the most interesting thing for each student.
Try to think of some questions to ask while you are reading or watching. Have you learnt any language from it? Do you know anything else about the topic? Why is it interesting to you?
There are so many questions to ask, which means there will always be something to talk about. You will also be challenging yourself to ask more questions, which is always good.
Why should I send you anything?
Now that is a difficult question to answer!
You do not need to send anything to participate in classes. I will continue to send out articles every week. However, you can become more involved in your learning and shape our classes by choosing your own topics. I really encourage you to do so, if you think this will be helpful.