Hello Reader,

If you've been reading my newsletter for a while, first of all I'm so glad you are here - thank you for sticking around!

FRIENDS is one of my all time favourite TV shows. I've watched the entire series from start to finish multiple times now. Have you ever watched it? If so, do you have a favourite character? For me, it has always been Chandler.

Well this week my wife and I finished watching the mini documentary on Netflix called, "The One About Matthew Perry."

It's so good.

And so very sad.

It made both my wife and I shed a tear or two. His story is heartbreaking.

It's terrible what addictions can do to people. The show highlights this all the way through. But it also does an amazing job of showing how powerful love and friendship is.

If you decide to watch it, let me know what you think!

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📺 Watch this: I found this webinar to be quite helpful from the official CELPIP YouTube channel. If you've ever wondered about using ChatGPT and templates to help you practice, watch this video first.

💡A writing idea: Sometimes the hardest part about the writing section of the CELPIP is just getting started! You struggle so hard with what to write because you want it to be perfect, that you spend all your time second guessing yourself instead of writing.

If this feels familiar, your best friend is your cell phone's timer app, and your laptop or computer.

The only way to break away from the trap of second guessing yourself out of time, is to practice forcing yourself to just write!

That's 27 minutes for the e-mail section and 26 for the survey response section of the exam.

If you don't have any writing prompts on hand, try this:

1. Quickly hop over to the official YouTube channel and check out a few of their writing focused webinars. Here's a playlist.
2. Don't watch the entire video. Just skip to the practice prompt they use, and then YOU respond on your laptop or computer.
3. Work against the clock. (Use your timer!)

You goal: finish in the allotted time. (Make sure you give yourself 3 or 4 minutes to plan your response before you begin! ) Then compare your response with the video.

But your objective here is to push yourself to just write. Get words down in your word document, and don't stop.

Try to write like you talk, and get quickly to the point!

When the time is up, stop writing.

How did you do?

Now the important part: try again after you've taken a break. The more reps you get in, the easier it will become to get your ideas to come out the way you want them to.

Need some help with your writing skills for the CELPIP? I can help. ​