Mindfulness Reflections

If you're thinking about how to take your English to the next level, try these 4 'S's,  . 1. Space We're so busy most of the time that it's difficult to "find space" in our diaries to do what we want to do. But now that we're approaching the end of the year, let's look at 3 aspects of space:  physical space: if your desk is full, take some time to clear and organise it! You'll be surprised at the sense of freedom and spaciousness you'll experience when your desk is clear. mental space: before you even sit at your desk and start your computer, give yourself a few conscious in-breaths and out-breaths.  Confident  English Training  incorporates mindfulness practices to help you connect with the vastness of mental space in the service of language acquisition and use. virtual space: have you created an "English" folder on your browser yet? This is just one simple way to keep English very close by on a daily basis. 2. Sit Have y...

It's never too soon to start thinking about being generous, so I've put together my Top 5 recommendations for you to show your appreciation to yourself and others now that we're approaching the end of the year. Wait - did I say, " yourself  and others"? Yes! We often think that our nearest and dearest should come first, but in fact, it is ourselves we need to take care of  first and foremost  (most importantly). Think about this: if we are physically, mentally or emotionally unwell, we are unable to contribute and be helpful to others. So putting ourselves first is in fact an act of kindness and unselfishness, and I'll be speaking about why and how you should  invest in yourself  in number 1. But let's start at number 5 and work our way up: 5) One of the best gifts you can give anyone is something useful, and few things are as universally useful as an appealing or attractive  calendar  for the year ahead (2022). ...

As a classroom teacher of English to adults for over 20 years, I’ve seen it all! From absolute beginners who become proficient in record time, to students registering for higher and higher levels of English without having mastered the basics, resulting in a patched and fragmented English that is complicated to produce and challenging to follow. The main reason why learners find it so strenuous to become skillful and eloquent in English is due to a sense of  having no time  to learn it. This results in: a lack of consolidation of basic English grammar, such as using auxiliaries for negatives and questions, for example a lack of exposure, that is, having the misperception that attending a 2-hour class twice a week and doing the “exercises” left for homework is the correct formula for truly making progress a lack of practice, i.e., not belonging to an English-speaking community, where they can safely express themselves without feeling intimidated or judged Now -...

  The Three Jewels  - Part (i) Last week we were speaking about the importance of perseverance in language acquisition and use. One thing is to give yourself a break, to rest, to take stock, and another is to give up, to quit, or to surrender. You haven't given up, have you? This could be the perfect time to pick up where you left off ( stopped ), and embark on that coveted ( strongly desired  -  / kʌ -vɪ-tɪd /)  ascent again. In overcoming the intermediate (or upper intermediate!) plateau, we definitely need perseverance. What else do we need? The Three Jewels occurred to me because we can learn about a very small part of what they represent and then bring them with us, as a source of loyal and unfailing support, as we move courageously towards fluency and proficiency in English. You might be wondering: what are The Three Jewels?  They are ideals that come from very ancient and profound Buddhist teachings containing infinite wisdom. We ...

After a long period of heads down, focused concentration on the craft of teaching adults, two milestones will be taking place for me this year - all things being equal - and I'm very excited to share them with you here today. 1) Mindful ELT online workshops Late last year I ran a Mindful ELT online practice workshop pilot called "Introduction to Mindful Teaching" for teachers wanting to incorporate mindfulness practices into their classrooms, private lessons and day to day lives to enhance the quality of their teaching and overall experience. I received full support for this undertaking from British Council Mexico, especially my line manager, as I explained the vision of offering a series of online workshops to English teachers worldwide. She then put me into contact with a Norwegian web designer with whom I'll be working from end of February. The pilot was attended by volunteer teachers in Mexico and the UK and the feedback I received throughout and aft...

Now that Marie Kondo is all the rave worldwide, let me share the aspiration I had, some 10 years ago, to become a home stager. Home Staging (a term coined by Barb Schwarz in Seattle, USA) is the preparation of homes for sale. My idea was to become the first Home Stager in Mexico and I travelled to the US to receive training from Barb herself. Prior to that, during the time I lived in the UK, my favourite TV programmes were all about property construction and transformation. From House Doctor to Grand Designs, I found everything related to property absolutely fascinating (still do), from the process of building, refurbishing or renovating to the areas of conservation and restoration, it was all gripping to me. So like I said, once I was back in Mexico and travelled to the US to receive training, I came back, translated all the materials, opened a company I called Escenogar (escenografía = staging and hogar = home in Spanish), went to see all the estate agents in my area, arr...

Facebook reminds me of this post from a year ago today: "The "id" (called "unconscious" in Spanish) is not a structure, but a mental state". Thich Nhat Hanh (affectionately referred to as Thay -  meaning "Teacher" in Vietnamese - by his monastic disciples as well as his lay followers, such as myself) used to love poking a bit of fun at Shakespeare during his teachings ( Dharma talks ). He'd sit quietly for a few minutes until you could hear a pin drop in the meditation hall filled with nearly 1,000 people (give or take a crying baby or two), and then say, in his characteristically soft-spoken style: "To be... or not to be... is NOT the question". I remember laughing out loud when I heard this. You know who else might also have been wrong? Sigmund Freud, who developed the psychoanalytic theory of personality development, which argues that personality is formed through conflicts among three fundamental structures of the mind: ...