Start YOU up!

Time to jumpstart your English! 

Fall has just set in, and the memories of the recently concluded summer vacation, though barely 8 weeks ago for most of us, start to fade and slowly turn into blurry images of sun and sand, or faint recollections of fresh mountain air infused with hints of the aromas of the earth…and the rush of our day to day existence leaves us with hardly any time even to daydream and let our minds go back to how much you enjoyed that charming little tourist trap of a restaurant in Pozal de Gallinas (where????), or that splendid week you spent in that bed and breakfast in Canillas de Rio Tuerto (??!!??)….ah yes, your great summer destinations….!

But now it´s time to resume your English studies….! Time to make it past that infamous Intermediate stage and get that B2 level, gosh darn it! 

So here a a few tips we thought we´d share with you to make sure you get the most of your English classes this year.

Show up for class!

Make it a priority! So we all know how busy you are: work, school, family, home chores, gym, Pilates, jury duty, your night job, massage sessions, and a whole list of other essentials….but, hey, if you´ve signed up for class it means you wanted the classes. So make the effort and come to class. You´ll find it can be quite enjoyable (especially at our place!)

Be mentally present!

Yes, we know it can be difficult to tune out your daily life (work, relationships, bills, why didn´t that little man handing out leaflets in Moncloa give ME one?, etc) and just switch to English mode. But you  have to make the effort and then, once all your mental capacities are focused on the task at hand, you´ll find that the task itself is not THAT difficult.

Bring a notebook and pen….and use it!

Uh, no…it´s really NOT advisable to just take a photo of the board with your smart phone. Part of  learning a language is learning how to actually WRITE it, so let´s get primitive and use our pens and notebooks for this. Write down words that are new to you, examples of sentences or expressions that you find useful and interesting. Then you´ll quickly realize that you´re starting to spell better and that writing in English seems foreign no longer.

Go over what you wrote in that notebook!

Admit it: you´re one of those that only looks at their notes while in class… Go ahead, you´d be among legion. Seriously, I mean, what´s the point? That´s just as lame as taking a photo of the board with your smart phone! Only dumber because you actually had to exert more effort WRITING the notes. Go over them! Peruse them over breakfast instead of your Facebook wall. Pore over them while waiting for the bus or standing in line at any Bankia branch office (enough time). Slowly all the concepts you learn and hear in class will sink in and form part of your thinking processes.

Ask and interact!

Don´t understand what "rathskeller" means? Ask the teacher! You´re not sure whether to mention the adverb of time BEFORE the adverb of place or AFTER? Ask the teacher! And it really gets fun when you interact with your fellow students and ask them follow-up questions in English. "So, what exactly did you enjoy most of Torrente 5?" or "How did you feel when your boss caught you reading 

Salvame Deluxe Online?", you get the point…the important thing is to jump in the conversation and it doesn't really matter if your English isn´t perfect…it never WILL be if you never interact and speak.

So there. Not rocket science, is it? And it´s a lot simpler than most of the tasks you do at work or at the university….!

…and, as a bit of comic relief, here is a short video for those of you who remember what Tag Questions are, or for those who are familiar with some idiomatic expressions, or for those who have difficulty spelling or just simply have no vocabulary….

We´re open!!

Yessiree, folks!
…it´s been a combination of hard work and fun putting this place together, and now everything is in place and we´re good to go…!
For those of you out there who haven't been to our place but do have the intention of dropping by, here are our "store hours":

Mondays to Fridays:
9:30 - 12:15 noon
4:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Saturdays:
10:00 - 1:00 p.m.

Welcome to The Bubble!
For our future students, this is something we feel we have to explain, so, allow me.
Learning English (or any other foreign language, for that matter) is most effective if the learner is immersed completely in an environment where that language is spoken. Since the reality is that only a few have the opportunity to actually pack up and go live for a time in the foreign country of their choice, we think that the next best thing is to try and create for oneself the necessary conditions that  simulate  the experience of living in a foreign country as close as possible. We at iSpeak help the learner create that environment, that "bubble". Once the learner has started his English training with us, they have to know that all, and we mean ALL communication and interaction with their teachers and fellow students at the academy WILL BE EXCLUSIVELY IN ENGLISH. We also remind them that this "English bubble" extends itself even to outside our academy doors: if they have to communicate with their teachers via email, phone, text messaging, Morse code, smoke signals, or any other media, this communication WILL BE DONE EXCLUSIVELY IN ENGLISH; if they arrive at the academy doors at the same time that their teachers are opening shop in the mornings and they want to make small talk, all that small talk WILL BE EXCLUSIVELY IN ENGLISH; if, on the happenstance, they come across their teachers at the supermarket, malls, or in a public toilet somewhere, or while paying a parking fine in some town hall because they both swear that for some reason the "Loading and Unloading Only" sign was not visible, or on vacation in some remote town in Teruel when they think they´re finally having a break from English, or any other imaginable place and they want to greet their teachers, the greeting WILL BE DONE EXCLUSIVELY IN ENGLISH. Plus, of course, we HIGHLY RECOMMEND that they watch videos, movies (or short snippets of movies), TV talk shows in English, since hey, everyone´s got Internet and we know this media has no shortage of these resources.
We truly believe that if they collaborate with us in creating this "Bubble", their learning experience will be more holistic, practical, and effective and will take them light years AWAY from the traditional, boring, even nightmarish memories they may have from their school days when English teaching always began with "My tailor is rich" as the first catch phrase…...

Summer is over...

Summer is over and so it's time to start working and putting our academy together! We are excited and looking forward to setting up an academy that's both comfortable and modern. We want to create an atmosphere that is conducive to learning. At iSpeak we want to create an "English bubble".

Why Learn English: 10 Reasons to Learn English

There are many reasons to learn English, but because it is one of the most difficult languages to learn it is important to focus on exactly why it is you want to learn English. Here we will look at ten great reasons why English is so important. Post this list somewhere you can see it and it will montivate you to keep going even when you are tired of trying to figure out which witch is which!

1. English is the most commonly used language among foreign language speakers. Throughout the world, when people with different languages come together they commonly use English to communicate.


2. Why learn English when it is so difficult? Well, knowing English will make you bilingual and more employable in every country in the world.


3. Despite China, the United States is still a leader in technical innovation and economic development. English is used in the United States and in each of these fields.


4. English is commonly spoken throughout much of the world due to Great Britian’s expansion during the colonial age. People in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, parts of Africa, India, and many smaller island nations speak English. English is the commonly adopted second language in Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands. Speaking English opens these countries and cultures up to you.


5. Another reason why English is so important is that it is the language of science. To excel in science you need to know English.


6. English is based on an alphabet  and, compared to Chinese, it can be learned fairly quickly.


7. English is also the language of the Film Industry and English means you no longer have to rely on subtitles.


8. In the United States, speaking English immediately opens up opportunities regardless of your ethnicity, color, or background.


9. Learn English and you can then teach your children English -- or if they are already learning, you can now communicate with them in English.


10. English speakers in the United States earn more money than non-English speakers. Learning English will open your job prospects and increase your standard of living.

Here at iSpeak, we aim to make all our classes dynamic and fun. It is our objective that you start speaking English  from day one, regardless of what your level might be.

For the little ones in our academy, we believe in three dimensional learning. This means that they won't just be learning by looking at words but by actually interacting with them!

For the more adult student, a lot of emphasis will be placed on vocabulary and speaking, as well as enhancing skills in listening. Activities will be dynamic and interactive. Use of English will be present at all times.