Connected to English

You can find Magda on Instagram: @blogumagu

To join the English Facebook Group go to: https://www.facebook.com/groups/connectedtoenglishgroup

Here are some words from the podcast to listen out for:

without further ado

It's made my day.

bond

photography 

portraiture

analogue

digital

municipality

artistic journey

at ease

dabbles in the arts

over and over again

skeptical to the idea

what the represented

curious

sometimes I'm stiff

break the ice

don't moan about things

false expectations

immersed

memorise

painful

a lump in my throat

humiliating

It too me ages!

plough through

mispronounced

Has knowing more languages enriched your life?

Click the link to join the Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/connectedtoenglishgroup

The Feast - by Petra Esmark

The Village was in a tizz. This weekend was Feasting Day and everybody was preparing for this great event.

Aunty Rachel was busy turning her olives, making sure that they were just perfect. Cousin Elizabeth was once again checking the ingredients for her Lemon Meringue Pie, and over there, Carola was getting ready to make her famous Strawberry Punch. Uncle Kurt was tending to the huge pumpkins as his wife needed the best for her pumpkin pie.

Everybody was wondering what Linda was going to bring. She loves experimenting and always surprised the folks with some outlandish dish. It was also whispered that Thomas has had a wonderful wine harvest.

Those that preferred the tasting to the preparing were setting up the tables and chairs, decorating the area with garlands, table cloths and flowers, making sure everything would be very festive. The bands were rehearsing and everybody was singing to their favourite tunes.

The day had arrived. Everybody was scurrying around since early, applying the final touches. It did look so festive. The flags were flapping in the wind, the children were laughing and playing, friends were happy to see each other and there was an underlying excitement for the wonderful food.

It was essentially a day where family and friends could meet, eat and drink of the best foods and just have a jolly good time. And Linda’s dish was divine, whatever it was called:)

As the day drew to an end, families said their goodbyes. Small groups were still talking, enjoying

the last embers of fellowship of this day.

What a great story for the past continuous!!!

Hello there:)

This is another story written by my mom. Thank you so much!

Which words are new for you?

Notice the way the tense changes. Especially from the present perfect to present simple.

This is a great story to practice !He/She/It das 's' muss mit!

Please note: Promise is the name of the lady in the story.

It is a typical translated name in South Africa.

Here we go, we hope you enjoy it:)

It is hot!  The sun is baking down on the earth.  The earth is brown and cracked; it looks as if it’s coated with a layer of broken chocolate.

Promise intently stares at the big blue sky, searching for a speck of white. Nothing. Not a cloud in sight.

The village she lives in is next to a river, but the river has very little water.  There are mainly muddy puddles and the villagers are anxiously praying for a miracle. Without water the village will die.

The village elders have invited the Rain Queen.  Fortunately she has agreed to assist them. A big feast is being prepared for the weekend.  The Rain Queen is coming to do the rain dance Saturday evening. Promise is so excited.  All who have seen the rain dance have assured Promise that it is wonderful.

At last the day has arrived.  The village is abuzz; the women are preparing all the food; the men are getting the rituals ready.

The queen arrives and the festivities begin. It’s time for the main dance. Everybody is very quiet.  The drums start and beautiful voices make eerie sounds.  The dance begins.  It is wild, it is beautiful, it is sacred.  The prayers rise to the heavens and after what feels like hours, the dance ends.  The queen falls asleep next to the fire.

The next morning, when the villagers gathered around the fireplace, the queen had already moved on.

The big waters arrived in the late afternoon.  There was much rejoicing, dancing and feasting that evening.

Praise the Rain Queen!

Hello there!

Find me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/connectedtoenglishgroup

I've been posting a lot about 'health and fitness' at the moment and I hope you are as fit as a fiddle and not as sick as a dog - in which case you may need a new lease on life.

These are just 3 useful 'health' idioms.

If you want to have a new lease on life, the next vision board workshop may help you.

Here you can set up some goals for 2021 and use the power of pictures and stories to help learn vocabulary.

It's happening

If you are interested register at www.connectedtoenglish.com

Have a wonderful week.

Till next time:)

Link to register for the English Vision Board Workshop: www.connectedtoenglish.com

Hello there:)

I would like to wish you a very happy New Year and I hope it will be filled with unexpected, beautiful surprises.

Saturday we met for our monthly Conversation Class and we discussed some of our goals for 2021, including our English goals (in my case German goals;). And at the end of the exercise I asked everyone to find one word that would guide them through this next year. These are some of the wonderful words that came up in the session: balance, trust, patience, clarity, healing, learn - to name but a few.

Thinking about your English and staying connected to English, I'd like to suggest the word: JOURNEY.

It's often easy to forget that learning and maintaining another language is actually a journey. A journey with words. A journey with yourself as you explore what you sound like in a different language and how it influences your thinking. A journey takes time. Learn to love the frustrations and the excitement along the way.

If you'd like to explore your goals for this year, for your life and for English, there will be 2 Vision Board Workshops running on 22nd January from 2pm-5pm and on the 5th February from 4pm-7pm.

This is such a powerful way to learn vocabulary because you can see it visually and you can immediately associate a strong emotion to it. Strong emotions are needed in order to remember new words more successfully. Emotions send memories into your long term memory in your brain.

To register for the workshop go to: www.connectedtoenglish.com

To get in contact with Annette Fengler from Hamsterradoase: www.hamsterradoase.de

A: Hello Claudia. I’m looking forward to asking you my questions. So let’s begin. Tell us a little bit about yourself.

C: So as many of you know my name is Claudia Markovic and I started a company called Connected to English. So I’m the English coach in this space.

A:Yes you are. But you also have very specific reasons for WHY you coach English. Give us a little bit of background to that?

C: That’s true. I believe no one should feel unheard even in your second language and so I help you to connect with your English voice and guide to express yourself authentically. Show the world who you are and what your ideas are.

A: That’s super interesting? Why is this important to you?

C: Well I’m a native English speaker and I live in germany where I’m required to speak German and I go through very similar emotions and face very similar challenges with my German. So I know what it feels like to speak to people where you feel like their language ability is so much better than yours or when you struggle to find the words and then everything shuts down because as soon as you are afraid your brain shuts down.

A: Yes I can totally understand. (I have this feeling very often when I need to speak English.) Thank you for sharing that perspective. How does that connect to doing a vision board?

C: Well a vision board is a great, fun way to explore your goals and dreams in a relaxed way. This immediately helps your mind to be open to new input. Your language can flow more naturally. You are also connecting to your language on a visual and emotional level so you include more of the senses. And because it’s in a group you get to practice speaking straight away.

A: You’re spot on, yes vision boards are very powerful tools for goal setting and ….

But Claudia, you were actually part of one of my workshops, how was it to create your own vision board?

C: I absolutely loved it. I really enjoy tapping into my creativity and just choosing pictures (I used pinterest but you can use your own photos magazines google images) without judging them and then seeing what comes up. Usually there is always a surprise. So the surprise I had in my vision board with you was … well let’s just say that throughout the year I have put a lot of focus on my business, but through my vision board I noticed the most important thing to me is family and relationships. I wasn’t aware of that before. So that really surprised me. The other thing that I found really helpful was being able to speak to the other people and share my vision board and also hear about their hopes and dreams. I loved this connection to people.

A: ……  Where can people register for our workshop?

C: So if you are interested in using this creative tool to set goals for 2021 and learn English, go and register now at www.connectedtoenglish.com the workshop will be on Friday the 11th of December and start at 6pm. It’ll run for about 4 hours - and these will go quickly. Just so you know spaces are limited. We only have space for 6 participants. So head on over to connectedtoenglish.com and secure your spot.

Annette thank you for your questions, it was certainly different being on the other side for a change

A: You’re welcome. I had fun. I look forward to seeing you at the workshop. The links are in the show notes.

For more information and to register for the workshop go to www.connectedtoenglish.com

Welcome to another special guest podcast. Today we will be meeting Annette Fengler! We met each other at a conference and decided we have to collabarate. Because our business compliment each other so at the end of this interview I will be making an announcement for our project together! Which you will be able to register for at …... Welcome Annette

Thank you, Claudia. So nice to be here.

Claudia

Annette, you founded the Hamsterradoase, literal translation (hamster wheel oasis). (break away)  Hamsterrad and Oase? How does that fit together?

Annette:

Thank you for the question Claudia.

The name Hamsterradoase is polarising.  And that’s good.

It’s just like life.  There’s always something.

Annette:

I’m a Stress Management and Mind Coach.

I support you to discover your inner core

with an effective combination

They’re complementary.

Claudia:

Interesting.  You also conduct Vision-Board-Workshops.  Why?

Annette:

During these workshops you

You gain clarity and focus.

Claudia:

And that’s enough ta achieve my goals?

Annette:

Looking at your vision board daily,

your subconscious will continuously support you with new ideas to achieve your goals.

This makes it easier for you to realise your goals,

Claudia:

I understand that. AND now for the big announcement -  This is the reason why we are having a Vision-Board-Workshop with the theme:  How do you easily integrate the English language into your daily life?

Annette:

That’s correct.  I am looking forward to that.

If you’ve ever wanted to learn English in a relaxed atmosphere with your own visual inputs and the vocabulary which is important to you - this is the place to be. Check out the poster below for more information. the Workshop will run on the 11th Dec You can register for it at www.connectedtoenglish.com the link is below in the comments and show notes

And in our next podcast Annette will be interviewing me - so that will be a change.

Have a wonderful day!

Remember to register for the workshop go to www.connectedtoenglish.com

See you at the workshop

Join the Facebook Group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/connectedtoenglishgroup

Continuing with more banking vocabulary:

(This is just basic, everyday banking terminology)

You deposit money into someone's account either by transfer, by credit card or by cash.

At the end of each month your bank will send you your bank statement. On this bank statement you will see your bank balance which is the amount of money you have at the end of each month. Of course you can check your bank balance on a daily basis, but that will be a different amount to that on your statement.

The monthly bank fees you pay to have your account are called bank charges.

Come and join the Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/connectedtoenglishgroup/

(If you speak German, this will be particularly useful)

Words you may need for banking:

Most people have a current bank account (Girokonto) and possibly a savings account as well. When you want to withdraw cash from your account you will probably use your debit card to withdraw money from an ATM (Bankautomaten).

Excuse me, where is the nearest ATM? (Great question to learn)

If you need to pay someone via your bank account you will make a transfer into that person's account or you'll transfer the money into their account.

If you would like to have more information about these building blocks, go ahead and subscribe to my weekly newsletter. After that you can request the building block sequence and I will gladly email you what was in the newsletter. This newsletter is a great way to start building up a weekly ENGLISH READING HABIT which is o important to keep your language on track.

https://mailchi.mp/c53325ae5f4b/connectedtoengnewsletter