Mindfulness Reflections

  Speaking with one of my clients the other day, we discussed some of the advantages of being part of a lifetime access English training program that includes (but is not limited to) the three key ingredients to successful language skills development, especially if you have a busy lifestyle, or if you cannot attend or do not enjoy regular lessons, and would like guidance on how to make progress on your own, while continuing to count on the support you need at any time. These ingredients are: 1. A teacher that promotes autonomy by guiding you towards becoming a more effective learner 2. Materials that (a) help you achieve this purpose and (b) are interesting and suited to your needs 3. A friendly and supportive community you can reach out to day or night for personalised feedback and inspiring conversations. Here are a few of Perla's reflections If you would also like to learn how to develop your English language skills more effectively by bringing more awareness and understanding t...

  Many people who want to improve their English skills report that they have no one to practise with, which prevents them from making progress. Others say that they cannot attend regular English lessons because of their busy lifestyle, and that they need something different, versatile and flexible. When I created my English training program aimed at helping professionals who have already reached an independent user level (B2 - C1), I took this incredibly important feedback into account and suddenly had a vision of how it would work. Earlier this week we were joined by a program member who hadn't attended the live calls in over a year. When she joined, her idea was to apply for a teaching and research position at a university in the US, and we worked together for some time in attaining that goal, but then she stopped attending. In this week's session, she explained that she had decided not to follow up on (phrasal verb - to pursue or investigate something further) that intenti...

  Let's talk about money today. Let's look at the difference between an expense and an investment. Imagine you want to buy a product or a service. You might think of it in terms of its price. You might think: "How much does it cost? Can I afford it? Is it cheap or expensive?" All of these questions refer to the product or service as an expense. An expense is something that gives no return, it's a liability. Examples of expenses are things like rent, maintenance, insurance, electricity, groceries and clothes. An investment, on the other hand, involves putting capital (but also effort and/or time) into something today in order to increase its value over time. If we're speaking about money, an investment produces wealth through compound interest, which enables it to grow exponentially. This is where cost or price needs to be distinguished from value. We talk about the cost or the price of goods (products) and services, but we rarely talk about their value, becaus...