Two helpful questions for you today


Hi Reader,

It's the weekend and boy am I glad! It's been a busy week, hasn't it? I think these two questions will help you with your English practice:

***

The two best questions I've read all week!

  1. But what went well this week?

James Clear's email newsletter is great for reading practice. It's usually short but filled with great ideas to read and think about. If you scroll to the bottom of this post you'll see a great question to think about! It's easy to focus on the bad things that happened to you this week with your English skills. But what went well as you prepared for the CELPIP or worked on your English? Remember: Like James Clear points out, small wins stack up! This is true with your English skills too!

2. Are you spending enough time outside of your comfort zone?

This great question is also at the bottom of the post I'm linking to from James Clear's newsletter. (I know...I like sharing and talking about Clear's work.) But he has great ideas that I think will help you as you work on your English skills. In this post he makes a great observation about what you can do to learn faster - and it totally applies to building your English and CELPIP skills! Check it out.


Join the conversation! As you likely know already, this month in the CELPIP Success School we're working on developing skills for the listening section of the CELPIP exam. Here's a 4 minute clip from a session I had on listening skills a while ago - I bet it will help you! I would also love for you to share what has been working for you as you practice your listening skills + what's your favourite thing to listen to in English - I challenge you to practice your writing a little and leave a comment on the post to help our other members!

Upcoming Class: See you next Wednesday, February 12 at 6pm PST for our next class.

Thanks for reading! Have a great weekend.

Aaron

Learn How To Speak English Fearlessly + Effectively Prepare for the CELPIP Exam

Weekly emails to help you say goodbye to fear and speak English fearlessly. Learn effective and practical tips to help you prepare for and conquer the CELPIP Exam. I also host The CELPIP Success Podcast.

Read more from Learn How To Speak English Fearlessly + Effectively Prepare for the CELPIP Exam
Movie gif. Jim Carrey as Ace Ventura wears a delivery man uniform. He leans forward then settles back with an exaggerated eye roll like he recognizes he made a silly mistake.

Hello Reader, To get better CELPIP scores, you need better practice. (Duh!) Jim Carrey Reaction GIF But not the kind of practice where you get lost behind a course or grammar book. Those might help...a little...but they're not near as powerful and potent for practice as...(drumroll please!) actually using your English in day-to-day situations. Excuses Reasons To Avoid Practice I've got many friends who are immigrants. Most of them, not all of them, but most of them rarely use their English...

Hello Reader, I've been experimenting with using an open source podcast recording tool called Audacity. I used it before many years ago, but I've forgotten much about how it works. So it's felt like using it for the first time. When the episode went live, I noticed a constant, annoying 'hiss' in the background. It sounded unprofessional, and it frustrated the heck out of me to hear! But it was already live! To be honest, it bothered me the entire day, so when I got home after work, I spent an...

Shaved ice dessert with strawberries and whipped cream

Hello Reader, Many test takers that I've worked with make this mistake: not leaving enough time for a conclusion in their speaking task responses. It's a simple mistake, but it can negatively impact your score. But I've got great news! This is an easy mistake to avoid, and all you need to do is remember the sweet spot! There's a sweet spot? Yep! It's the last 10 seconds of your speaking response. Don't use the last 10 seconds to add another point, or dig a little deeper with the idea you're...