This is me

1# One part of my life?

This blog made me think about English as a part of my life. And now I realized that actually it's quite big part of it. I have to or I have got an amazing possibility (just as you want to form it) to speak English in my life, every day. So, I can say that I really need English.

Something that worries me sometimes is that I notice all the time mistakes that I make when I'm speaking. But anyway, everybody does that. Even natives - maybe the most (I understood that last year in Texas when some of my English friends said something that was taught to us on the third grade).

But maybe it's not the grammar that I need the most. And difficult words can always be said in another way. So why do I and all others have to worry so much about speaking? I think that there won't be a nuclear bomb hidden somewhere even if I said something wrong. Next step for me is to relax more and just speak; if not without mistakes then with one hundred.

with love
Solja 



2# Should I start to panic

Ok here we go. Wednesday the 28th of August. It sounds better than for example the 27th because I like the even numbers. But one good thing about that date 27 is that yesterday, I could have said that it's still two weeks to the listening comprehension of matriculation examination. And now? Yeah, it's only one week and six days.

I was really pleased when we did the listening comprehension on this course. That was maybe the best of my life! I mean the two years and a few weeks that i have been in this school. But anyway, those comprehensions are really hard. You can't know what to answer because the questions are always so trikky. And I'm not used to that kind of situations: in real life, if I miss a part when someone is speaking, i know how to say: 'Sorry, I didn't quite get it, could you repeat'. And, I even know some variations of that kind of sentence. I think I'll handle it. But in the listening comprehension, what can I do! Basically, nothing. If I don't hear, that's it, you're out. Oh, nice.

I've been watching House for practice a little. Actually, it's quite good way to monopolize the living room: 'I need to watch the TV now, I'm practicing'. But actually, House is just so great a series that I actually like that kind of practise.

I've got a late morning today. So, should I study a little. Sounds like a plan! Here I come House.

with love
Solja



3# Communicate!

People are social creatures. In their culture, they have learnt to work together, and for that, they need to speak. The first words of those loved-by-everyone babies start to sprout up when they are approximately one year.

So, from the time that you were one, you have been saying something. Thanks to these many years, speaking with others should be easy, right? But anyway, communication with people who you don't know (yet) is many times a bit difficult. What should I start with? What if I freeze? What does the other one is thinking? What are his/her values?

On this course we have been speaking a lot about how to manage in a conversation. It might be really awkward and embarrassing for both if the discussion dies. It's of course easier if the other one is active and keeps up the conversation. But sometimes you may run into people with whom you have to be the active one.

To avoid the silence, the best way is asking. When you ask, the other (obviously) has to answer. So the conversation is going. With adding something you show that you are really listening to the other and that you are interested about him/her. Also active listening in general is really important. You can for example add some little words 'Oh really!', 'That's really unusual!' etc.. And don't forget the body language and the tone! In formal situations people have to know some basic ways how to act and behave.

Have a good time, speaking!

with love
Solja



4# Beating the other

One of the most challenging exercises on this course for me was the debate. On the first one, the topic was about if it's good to have one day in a year when you can do anything without being punished. My team was against that claim. In the other one we had to fight for the claim that it's good that everybody lives in a same country.

First of all, I don't like debates. It's because every time some of the group don't want to say anything. And what kind of team is that? But I think it's impossible to make going debates at school - there are never anough motivated persons to say their opinion.

On the other hand, it's not just the students don't want to fight against each other. It's also quite hard. The topics are, most of the time, almost too difficult to understand so you don't anything to say because you don't know anything about the topic. Or then, if you know, thing are too personal to be said out loud.

However, debating is a good skill to learn. You will need to justify and make ground for some important subjects in your life. So learning how to do it in a polite way, and at the same time get the other one to understand you point of view, is important.

I would like debating if it worked, maybe some day.

with love
Solja



5# Oral exam

Actually, no panic. For me it's a bit weird because I'm used to be nervous in every exams or in general in situations where I have to try my best. Maybe now I didn't have time to think about it before - too much to do, no time for your brain.

My pair was Netta and together I think we did quite well. First I had to speak about a German holiday city, after make a summary of Internet using. Speaking was a bit hard in the beginning. That's because I was definitely trying too hard so every word you say starts to struggle. But after a while everything went better - it's always harder in the beginning. The summary was challenging as a task. You have to decide what to say, what the important points of the text are and you should leave out.

As our conversation we spoke about child soldiers, and that as a topic was really hard for me. Basically i didn't have any kind of clue of them, just what the name was bringing to my mind. Luckily Netta knew a little bit more about those beings.

Anyway, I found the oral exam a bit challenging, it wasn't bad att all. We were there and that's about it. I didn't get any trauma and I still feel I'm living. Now that I got the result, I am even more pleased with the exam. I really can speak!

with love
Solja


6# The end


It feels odd to say 'This was my last course of English in this school' but anyway, true it is. Now I should have the basic skills of English and this course was made to train my skills as a speaker.

It's hard to say how much one has learnt on this course because at least for me, I speak English every day. So thinking what new these five or six weeks gave me more, I don't know. At least I got a course. And I learnt that 'Cheers!' can be used in many situations.

Nevertheless, I don't feel like the course was for nothing. But I think that either it was me who wasn't doing enough or then the course was really easy. We didn't get any homework or anything, so the point was just if you work yourself. Anyway you always leanr something, even though you don't even know it. When you sit in the class hearing English it activates your brain for that important language. The more you hear and use it, the more you learn. But maybe it's hard to see an effort in such a short period.Although in the beginning I really didn't like the idea of the blog, I must say that now sitting and just writing feels really good. It's maybe easier to see the progress in writing than in speaking, and so, I could now point out that this blog has helped me to write.

Thank you for the course Mika:)

with love
Solja