Connected to English

Hello all you English Fans!

For those of you who know me, you know I LOVE food!

And it was really funny because I was in the countryside a few weeks ago and there were these HUGE mushrooms  growing in the garden. I saw these things and all I wanted to do was cut one, cook it and eat it. But I wasn't allowed to! They were so beautifully big, that I had to wait and be patient (geduldig) because my boyfriend's grandparents wanted to still show their daughter these wonderful mushrooms.

I waited 4 days! And FINALLY I was allowed to harvest them. I even learned a new skill of how to dry the mushrooms and fry them properly so they don't go soggy.

(If you'd like to see the photos come and join the English community in the private facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/connectedtoenglishgroup)

Sometimes, good things take their time. Are you patient (geduldig) with your English? Learning English can feel like a HUGE mountain and can be frustrating at times, but if you take it step by step and keep going - your satisfaction with your English will be tremendous. You will feel great at work when you're speaking with clients or negotiating that next deal or speaking to your team.

Come and join the Private Facebook Group and join other English learners. Come and practise your English in a safe space.

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

HELLO HELLO!

Are you ready to get back into the swing of things? It took a few days for me, but now I'm ready and raring to go!

Holiday reflections:

I go to the Baltic Sea every year and, I don't know about you, but every year I learn something new. Last year I deepened the lesson of "I live in an abundant universe". You just have to look at the amount of water, sand, trees, grass, leaves ... 

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Till next week! Stay CONNECTED!

We're off to the sea …

Hooray!  Finally, the date has arrived.

The Smith family are going to the beach this year. It has been a very demanding year and a couple of weeks of rest in an ocean environment is just what the doctor ordered.  Oodles of sunshine; hours of lazing on the beach; building sand castles; therapeutic swims in salty water; delicious ice cream … and many more fun activities.

The car is packed, the house is locked, even Ben, the dog, is in the boot (he can't wait to play in the waves), and away they go! Many kilometres later the first whiff of salty air welcomes them and the excitement rises.  At their holiday cottage they all pile out, hastily unpack the car and rush towards the beach.

The holiday has started …

Wow! Some wonderful new words! What are your favourite ones?

And notice the Present Perfect - has arrived, has been, has started. In this particular story the present perfect releases the tension. The Smith's have been waiting to go on holiday and it has finally arrived! Woohoo!!!

May your week be wonderful:)

Hello, hello!

When I was living in South Africa, I was busy learning Zulu. I already had a little bit of knowledge from school, but I wanted to go deeper. And even though my Zulu was by no means perfect, and no matter how nervous I was to use it, I spoke to every person I met who would speak to me. And that really accelerated my learning.  So I needed to be BRAVE. I needed to have courage. And I gained this courage by USING the language. I didn't wait to be perfect first and then speak Zulu. I spoke Zulu firstand then gained courage.

I challenge you to do the same with English. Be brave! USE your English.

"But Claudia I have no one to speak to!"

Well, I have created a Private Facebook Group for you to USE your English. Click this link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/connectedtoenglishgroup/

Already in the group? Amazing!!!!!! Go get started and use this opportunity to USE your English:)

Look forward to seeing you all there.

Have a great day all you brave, amazing English speakers:)

In 3 weeks I'll be off on holiday. How about you? Any plans this summer?(Note: that's a cool small talk question!!!!! I digress).And if you're anything like my boyfriend, he's already started planning the logistiks - how much food to take, what food to take. (Notice, that was a MIXED CONDITIONAL) Food's always a very important subject for us. If you didn't know this about me - I love food! Who's with me on this one?

But he's also planning inall thegadgets and gizmos, and bells and whistleswe might need as well. Chairs, lights, of course hand sanitiser is on the list this year, bicycle, umbrella. And then there's the discussion of 1 or 2 umbrella's. To these questions I always go with the smaller amount

Wishing you all a lot of fun with your summer plans!

Come share your thoughts in the Private Facebook Group and practice your English there. Would love to see you in the group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/connectedtoenglishgroup/

Hello there!

Are you enjoying the summery weather? Did you enjoy the rain over the weekend? Are you more a summer or a winter person (or something in between)? Have you been spending time outside lately due to the lovely weather? What's it been like for you?

WOW!!!! So many tenses, so many questions - in just ONE paragraph! Can you work out which tenses they are?

I'll give you the list. Can you match them up correctly?

Present Simple

Present Continuous

Present Perfect

Present Perfect Continuous

Past Simple

If you've attended the Back to Basics Grammar Review, can you work out WHY I've used those tenses? Can you feel the difference?

I hope you have fun with this little exercise. If you would like to go deeper into this subject, or if you would like to be part of the next Back to Basics Course, I'm here to help and support you. Please feel free to contact me directly. Message me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/connectedtoeng/ - just click the "send email" button.

There are also other free resources in my Private Facebook Group and an opportunity to meet people in English. Come and join us there:)  https://www.facebook.com/groups/connectedtoenglishgroup/

Facebook: @connectedtoeng

Today we're off on an adventure with Jane.

So let's get started!

Jane was so bored.  Another day in the countryside where she knows everybody and each day is just the same as the next.  She wanted to experience something new! She needed to get out! The vegetable delivery truck, that came every day, was getting ready to go to the Jo'burg market and without any further ado Jane managed to hitch a ride.

The truck arrived at the market and Jane hurried into the crowds. There were so many people, so much noise and - ooh - such good smells.  Food was cooking and she sauntered over to see whether she could find something new to eat, which she'd never eaten before. She tried a bit of this and a bit of that.  The various taste sensations livened up her taste buds.

She heard the truck starting up for its return journey. Jane raced to catch her lift just in time.  She was so excited to tell her friends about her adventures.

Lately I've been focusing on my wishes. How do wishes come true? What are wishes? And I found a German book, "Magie der Wünsche" by Daphne Unruh. It's a fantasy story - my favourite genre. And the best thing about it for me is that it is in GERMAN! I love finding wonderful German books which I can read or listen to because I know it is one of the most powerful ways to stay connected to German and improve it at the same time. Reading helps because I can see the words and I can focus my learning, and listening to an audio book helps because my pronunciation and phrasing starts to improve. Plus I can use it for unfocussed learning. A time, where I can do something else at the same time. I usually wash the dishes or iron.

Are you reading something in ENGLISH? Which book are you reading at the moment? Come and share it with me in the Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/connectedtoenglishgroup/

 Are you finding it easy or is it still quite difficult? If it's still difficult, try starting with a children's book. That's how I started to improve my German reading when I first started.

So REALLY recommend reading English to keep in your language flow.

And enjoy reading:)

The more you enjoy it, the more your brain will absorb the English.

Have a wonderful week!