So, Euro 2020 is in the books. Despair for England as they lose yet another penalty shootout at Wembley and how fitting that Southgate is the manager. A man all too familiar with the dark shadow that follows one around after missing such a vital opportunity to put England into the annals of European football. It was supposed to be Sir Gareth Southgate written all over the print media and news outlets. How football finally came home and how this team compares to English team of ‘66 that won the World Cup at home. Unfortunately, it wasn’t football that came home but racism and hooliganism did, which have been synonymous with English football for decades.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwbN7zOlRY4&ab_channel=DailyMail

Black Lives Matter

Before a ball was kicked, English fans had been booing fans who decided to collectively take a knee in solidarity for the Black Lives Matter movement in the lead up to the Euros. This was addressed by team manager Gareth Southgate as well as many important media figures in England prior to the beginning of the tournament. In a post match press conference, after a warm up match against Austria before England’s opening match against Croatia, Southgate explained his disdain for sections of supporters jeering during the taking of the knee. He alluded to the fact that the England players were not taking a political stand, but that they were supporting each other. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izs-g-cQU-o&t=185s&ab_channel=LBC

So-called Fans

Throughout the tournament, the boos and jeers continued from ‘so-called’ supporters as the England players tried to show their collective support for their fellow players, especially the players of colour. Not only that, but England supporters throughout the tournament decided to boo and jeer while opposing teams national anthems were being played. Important figures in the media tried to use their position to explain to the English public that this was not a good look and to be frank, was an embarrassment of the highest order. Classless would be a very fitting word but perhaps racist and biggoted would be more appropriate.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnblTAfuv5w&ab_channel=SkySportsFootball

Where Were The Big Guns?

How fitting is it that three players of colour missed their respective penalties in the shootout. It was for all the marbles, two of the three players hadn’t kicked a ball for England in the tournament (Sancho 21 years old and Rashford 23 years old) and Saka, in fairness to the young lad, is 19 years of age and did reasonably well in the tournament. Instead of asking, as rational football fans would ask, where were the experienced players? Where were Sterling and Grealish? Sterling is an experienced player and has won big trophies in his career and while Grealish hasn’t, he is still the captain of one of the most storied clubs in English football history. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7c4zrTglMg&ab_channel=SkySportsNews

Sowing the Seeds of Hatred

Instead, what happened? The three players of colour have received racist abuse from a certain section of English supporters. Absolutely disgraceful behaviour, but unfortunately it is not surprising to me. Failure from the British establishment (Boris Johnson in particular) to condemn booing and jeering during taking a knee or during national anthems from other countries meant the seeds were sowed for something like this to happen. In no way am I condoning what happened because no one deserves that. Be them what they may, all 5 players for England had the proverbial balls to step up and take a penalty on the biggest stage and it wasn’t to be. It happens in football. It’s easy to sing when you’re winning, Football’s Coming Home and Sweet Caroline. A true champion shows honour and respect in defeat and in fairness Southgate and the players have done that, the same can’t be said for certain fans.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffLBRgW-m7M&ab_channel=talkSPORT

Hooliganism is as English as Fish and Chips

Moving on to my next point, Hooliganism. English football fans and hooliganism go hand in hand unfortunately. So much so, that movies have been made which have attempted to either directly or inadvertently popularise hooliganism. Watching how large numbers of English fans without tickets forced their way into Wembley is stomach churning. Absolutely disgusting behaviour but again, not surprising. The English FA have since released a statement condemning such behaviour but it’s the same old PR nonsense after something like this. The Irish fans who attended a friendly game between the Republic of Ireland vs England in 1995 will be all too familiar with this type of behaviour. In case this reads as sour grapes or some form of vendetta I have against England, there are a litany of other incidents similar to these to go on that rap sheet. The frequency of these incidents and attempts by filmmakers to popularise hooliganism does not mean it is normal. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IG4KrofO9Iw&ab_channel=HugoTalksSomeMore
This video contains foul language

Shame on You

In the space of a few short days, we’ve had a laser incident during Harry Kane’s penalty against Premier League counterpart Kasper Schmeichel in the semi-final against Denmark. The English FA have since been fined a meager £25K for the incident, which to be fair represents loose change more than a fine. Anthem boos by racist supporters and fireworks being set off in the stadium during games and outside opposing team hotels in the dead of night the eve of big games. If I was an England supporter I’d be embarrassed and if you aren’t embarrassed by this you should be. Shame one all of you. For everyone that booed during the Black Lives Matter knees, or national anthems; for everyone that rushed into the stadium, for trying to put Schmeichel off using a laser pen, for abusing your OWN PLAYERS after missing penalties, for tormenting supporters from other teams, and many many more incidents that I don’t have time to get into. I raise my middle finger up to you. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ou23jd2en2A&t=1s&ab_channel=SkySportsNews

Football didn’t come home. The only things that came home were the ones we knew all too well.    

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/jul/09/danish-woman-claims-assault-by-england-fans-after-semi-final

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/57800431

I had a lesson recently with one of my students and she decided that it might be a good idea for her to read about current affairs prior to our classes. The idea being that this would lead to richer discussion during the lessons and opportunities for me to find ‘teaching moments’. 

Some time last week, my student decided to speak to me about the famous female tennis player Naomi Osaka. To be perfectly honest, prior to my student mentioning Naomi Osaka to me, I had never heard of her before that. As she started explaining the situation to me, I became very intrigued by her story that at the time of writing, is being talked about at length.

Withdrawal from The French Open

Just as a quick point of departure, Osaka decided to withdraw from the major tennis tournament ‘The French Open’ in May 2021. Prior to all this, Osaka announced that she had no intention of participating in any post-match press conferences citing mental health reasons. After a first-round match with Patricia Maria Tig, she was true to her word but received a fine of $15,000 by the organisers of the French Open. The decision to fine Osaka is causing quite a stir, to say the least, in both social and conventional media platforms. 

Media Obligations

On the one hand, there are those who will argue that her decision to withdraw was unceremonious and discourteous. Part and parcel of playing elite level sports are media obligations. Media coverage of sports not only inspires younger generations to want to compete but also raises the profile of a given sport and the athletes who participate in them. Those of a conservative disposition will also point out that sports stars are contractually obliged to fulfill certain media obligations. They will also highlight the vast amounts of money sports stars earn from; prize money, sponsorships and bonuses. 

Sacrifices

On the other hand, never has mental health and the importance of taking care of it been more prevalent. Especially during the covid-19 pandemic. It is easy to presume as ‘regular’ people that being rich and famous is something that we should envy. We speak about elite athletes as though they have won a lottery ticket and haven’t had to do anything of significance to earn such status. I can’t speak to it personally but I can imagine that a great deal of sacrifice must be made. Important family gatherings and holidays probably take a proverbial back seat to the pursuit of glory and fame. Perhaps when they do get the chance to attend a get-together, they have to abstain from indulging in alcohol and / or comfort foods. 

The emergence of social media to the mix, whereby fans can under certain circumstances communicate directly with athletes and a society of cancel culture in which everything you do and say is almost under surveillance adds more pressure. Being a person of colour and mixed race heritage (Japanese and Haitian to be specific), according to Osaka, is something else she has to contend with, to put it mildly. She has drawn attention to incidents where she has suffered racism by compatriots from Japan while in Japan and from fellow Japanese tennis players. 

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/aug/25/naomi-osaka-reflects-on-challenges-of-being-black-and-japanese

I would argue that any of the issues mentioned above, pertaining to the external pressures athletes have to face, would be enough to test the resolve of any person. Couple this with racism (be it perceived, blatant or otherwise) and it could very well contribute towards a mental health crisis in anyone, yet alone a young, impressionable woman. I understand she, along with lots of other athletes, has media commitments and was fined for failing to fulfill said commitments. It still doesn’t sit right with me, though. Her sponsors (Nike, Louis Vuitton, MasterCard and Tag Heuer) are standing by her and are commending her for being open and honest, which is heart-warming to be honest. It begs the question, however, where is the support from the organisers of The French Open or any other Tennis governing bodies? Support from fellow tennis players, male and female, has been mixed. 

https://theathletic.com/news/naomi-osaka-withdraws-from-french-open-over-growing-attention-from-media-boycott/6fPDH0hWx6eI

Concluding Reflections

It is a very nuanced situation and it is most certainly not a black and white issue. From a legal standpoint, yes the French Open bigwigs justifiably fined Osaka. An argument can be made, however, that the organisers and governing bodies of tennis need to do more in terms of showing support to Naomi Osaka. They could have made a statement saying that from a legal standpoint they had no choice but to fine her, but from a moral / humanist standpoint they could have said more. Something along the lines of that they will do whatever they can to support her during this difficult time and that they take mental health issues very seriously. I would be interested to know what people who may read this might think. Is this another example of how mental health is still very much stigmatised in this day and age? Should the sport of tennis, and other sports for that matter, be doing more to draw attention to mental health issues? Please let me know what you think.

On Sunday the 11th of April 2021 I had the chance to talk with my mentor Ed Wienk after having not spoken for over 10 years. It was great to catch up, exchange ideas and pick the brains of a man who has had such a positive impact on me professionally. In this piece I would like to share with you how I cut my teeth as an English teacher, the positive experience it had on me and mentoring. 

Cutting my teeth

Some 10 years ago, I found myself in Bratislava, Slovakia after having completed an online 120 hour TEFL (Teaching English As a Foreign Language) certificate. Before arriving there, I sent a CV to one school in particular Class jazyková škola. It made sense when I arrived in Bratislava to pay Class a visit. I managed to have a chat with the Director, Ed and I explained to him that I was looking for an opportunity to English. I had no experience in teaching English but I convinced him during our chat that I had potential and a willingness to apply myself and learn. Long story short, he gave me the chance to have a demo lesson, which he observed, and on the strength of that lesson he made me an offer. I never told him that my first lesson was a disaster but after observing others and picking Ed’s brain, I got the hang of it!

The atmosphere among the teachers was fantastic, everyone shared their ideas in meetings to ensure that the lessons were of really high quality. We all shared our materials and did our best to make sure that everyone knew going into a week what he / she had to do. In this school, I had the chance to teach children, adults, complete beginners and advanced students. The classes were interactive, dynamic and fun. I even went on a summer camp called ‘Camp Wonderland’ for 3 weeks which was a blast! I also had the chance to take part in interviewing potential teachers and I saw first hand that teachers were selected on the basis of if they were a good fit in our team rather than the qualifications they possessed. With every passing day I was growing in confidence as a teacher and I felt like I was doing something that I really enjoyed professionally. 

Back to the drawing board

For personal reasons, my time with Class, and in Slovakia, came to an end and I found myself back in Ireland again. Depressed and upset, I decided to immerse myself in the world of Spanish. Going back to university and learning Spanish was the best form of therapy for me. Fast forward some 6 years and I found myself in Mexico, armed with my degree and CELTA certificate, looking for a job as a teacher again. I strived to find a school with an environment similar to what I had experienced in Class but it was not to be. To be honest, it seemed to be more about writing reports and attendance sheets than delivery of quality lessons. Teachers tended to keep to themselves; not all of them of course but the majority of them. Classes were usually taught from a text book of some sort and were quite monotonous and boring. I was not happy doing that and I felt I was not realising my full potential.

That’s when I had the idea of Talk Together (thanks John Doherty)! I decided that if I could not find a school that had values similar to mine, then why not go out on my own. As my mentor Ed says, ‘Learning English (or any language for that matter) is personal and when we understand that, it stops making sense to use textbooks in the classroom’. At Talk Together it’s your goals and interests that provide the foundation for the materials we will use in the classroom (be it online or present). The lessons are tailor made to reflect your learner profile and needs. No two students of English are ever the same and this is exactly why I offer a free 30 minute trial lesson to discuss in detail what your goals and expectations are. 

What we do

My role is that of a mentor, a coach, someone who instills confidence in you, a sound board (if necessary), a friend and a teacher all rolled into one. I take a genuine interest in my students in and out of the classroom and it gives me great pleasure to hear from one of them that they passed an exam, got the job they wanted or even simply that they feel more confident as a result of the classes they have had with me. A large part of what I do is in response to the demands of clients, of course. But I would say it is more down to the positive experiences I received in my first job as an English teacher. The values of Class and Talk Together are very similar, even though the areas in which we specialise are somewhat different. After all these years I am still very much the same guy that walked into Ed’s office. I am still hungry to learn and willing to focus on weaknesses in order for them to be strengths. 

It was great, as I said, to chat to Ed again after so long. I would highly recommend prospective English teachers, who just completed their CELTA certificate, to contact Class here <https://class.sk/kontakty> it could be the start of something truly special for you, as it was for me. So, some concluding reflections. What is a mentor? It’s an interesting question and it’s difficult to recognise in the moment. Perhaps it comes with age, life experience and reflection. Put simply, from my perspective it’s someone who offers practical guidance and helps you to navigate unfamiliar territory. I’m glad to have had this experience and I love helping others in a similar vein. 

The future is bright!

Now for the exciting part, what does the future hold for Class and Talk Together? A collaboration of some kind, why not? Hopefully it’s the start of something special for everyone involved and I have no doubt that it will. Teaching children is something that I thoroughly enjoyed in Class, but for some reason I’ve been neglecting that here in Talk Together. I’m sure with Ed’s help and guidance I can rekindle this passion. Regarding what I can bring to the table as far as Class is concerned, I can collaborate with the team and help them coach students for exam preparation and also share my fluency coaching techniques. Here’s to a future full of success, prosperity and happy students!

As an English Teacher, one of the most frequently asked questions I get from students is the one highlighted in the title of this piece. Why Should I Do an English Certificate Exam? In this article I will share some of my thoughts when asked this question in order to help students to make an informed decision. In my next blog I will offer some reflections and advice regarding IELTS VS Cambridge exams. But at the outset, regardless of which one you decide to take, there are some important points to consider first.

Why?

Our point of departure should be, ‘why?’ Why are you considering doing a Certificate Exam in English? In my view, the importance of this simple question cannot be understated. A failure to understand why you are planning to do any certificate exam can result in a lack of motivation. In days when you are not in the mood to study for a particular reason, it will be easier to get something done if you have a clear motivation. This motivation can help you to push through in days when you would probably otherwise do nothing. The motivation for doing exams such as these can be either internal or external. In the next part of my article I will mention some external and  internal motivating factors.

External Motivation

There are lots of external motivating factors regarding doing a certificate English exam. It looks impressive on your CV for one and provides you with something tangible for all the hard work you have put in. Another factor, especially here in Mexico, is that it is a requirement to pass some form of certificate exam in order to graduate from the majority of third  level institutions. Also, for learners of English who wish to study in countries where the language is exclusively spoken, some form of certificate in English is required before being accepted into most (if not all) third level institutions.

In my experience as an English teacher, students who are motivated to an exam by any of the aforementioned reasons view the process of doing and studying for the exam as an obligation. ‘I only need it so that I can graduate!’ is what I hear from most people here in Mexico. Other varying responses are, ‘it looks good on the CV’ and ‘it might help me to get a good job’. While all of this may in fact be true, it is not personal to you. Change your mindset a little because, in many ways, external factors bring up connotations of obligation, stress and pressure to name a few. This can make the process less enjoyable, and it should be a process that you enjoy!

Internal Motivation

When I started my Spanish learning journey some 10 years ago, my motivation was to live and work in a Spanish speaking country for either an extended period of time or even indefinitely. It meant that everything I did along that journey was ultimately going to help me realise my goal. This internal motivation helped me to study when I did not want to and gave me the courage to put myself in situations where I had very little idea of what people were saying when conversing in Spanish. It gave me hope when I was working in a dead end job to remind myself that this situation I am experiencing is temporary. 

My focus was razor sharp and I made sure I did everything possible to help myself to achieve my goal. For example, I went to university to study Spanish, I spent time in Salamanca, Spain in a Spanish language school, I had language exchanges with Spanish speakers in Galway, I did a 1 year placement in Mexico City in a university and volunteered for some NGOs here too. All of this was much easier to find motivation to do because I had a very clear ‘why am I doing this?’ I was not motivated by external factors like degrees or certificates that ‘look good on your CV’. I am in no way being critical of these external factors, I am just merely pointing out that they were, at least in my case, a consequence of my pursuit of something very personal and not the main reason for studying the language.

So, put simply, before you decide to undertake a Certificate Exam in English you should probably think about why you would like to do it. More specifically, is there a reason that is internal or personal to you because it could make a big difference?

I hope you found this article useful and of course if you would like to prepare for a certificate exam such as IELTS or Cambridge PET (B1), FCE (B2), CAE (C1) or CPE (C2) then please do not hesitate to contact me.

Common Mistakes

Some common mistakes that I have noticed are;

1. Repeating information that is already present in your CV and/or cover letter.
2. Failure to convince the interviewer that you have the skills to do the job.
3. Being too informal in your answer.

With regard to the first point, it is very important to understand that if you are being invited to an interview, it is probably because someone has read your CV and/or cover letter. I understand that this seems very simple and straightforward, but usually the most practical advice often is. I would strongly advise you to say  something different, do not just repeat everything over again. I think our first impulse, in this situation, is to talk about the college we gruaduated from, work experience, etc. It is important to bear in mind that in an interview situation, lots of other candidates have similar experiences to your own. So then the question becomes, what should we say?

When a job position is advertised, regardless of the position or company, it usually comes with a detailed description of what the job entails and skills that a potential candidate should have in order to do the job. This brings me to the second of the 3 points mentioned above. If a job is being advertised which describes clearly the skills required to do it, surely it then follows that a potential candidate should try to convince the interviewer that you have these skills. Again, I am very aware that this is simple advice but it makes perfect sense. You can mention other information if you so please. Such as some personal information like marital status, hobbies and interests. The formula that I encourage students to use is, tell me about the skills that you possess and make sure they are aligned with the required skills being advertised in the job post. Finally, you should then mention what motivates you. For example, I am an English Teacher and helping people to improve their English in order to achieve their goals is something that motivates me.

Regarding the 3rd and final point, there are a plethora of different approaches and tips on how to answer the question, ‘Tell me about yourself’. My suggestions are only that, suggestions. You should always do what you feel is easiest for you and what best reflects you personality. My approach is to err on the side of caution and be professional, not only in interviews but everything work related. I am not trying to suggest that you should not be yourself, of course you should. All I am suggesting is that you should keep in mind the skills required to do the job and what motivates you. This way is a win win for everyone because it allows you to, ‘tell me about yourself’ as the question asks and also it convinces the interviewer that you are indeed an ideal candidate for this position. I hope you found this blog post useful and please let me know if you have any questions or doubts

As the football world, and indeed the world at large, comes to terms with the loss of an icon, we have the chance to reflect. Diego Armando Maradona was an incredibly polarizing figure and his life, while short, was enigmatic. It is difficult for us ‘regular’ humans to comprehend genius, instead we tend to focus on flaws. Maradona will forever be remembered for a match that took place against England in the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. I think this match can serve to metaphorically represent a microcosm of his life in that it was both majestic and controversial at the same time. The most infamous foul in the history of football; followed by a display of individual skill that was mesmerising, all in one match is what launched him into global recognition and fame.

In my opinion, what separates Maradona from footballers of today was that he truly was a man of the people which made him a very endearing character. The problems he endured off the pitch were (and should be) relatable to us. Mental and personal issues are very much part of the human condition and Maradona certainly had his fair share. The support from his country never wavered, regardless of his flaws because perhaps there can be no genius without madness, no magic without ordinary, no euphoria without misery. His talent was generally considered as God-like and between the white lines of the football pitch was his altar. As humans, we are truly fascinated to explain and interpret that which we do not fully understand. Few of us can appreciate what it is like to be thought of as a deity, to be considered as one of the all-time greats, to be the hero of a nation, to be the warrior, to be the samurai or the titan. Maybe it is difficult for the person to separate the public icon from the actual person. In many ways, perhaps the actual person becomes the public icon in order to deal with fame. They become swept up like a leaf in a storm, basking in the glory and adulation.

For reasons we do not fully understand and perhaps we should not judge, his life was an extreme one filled with trial and tribulation. In a world of cancel culture and retrospective vilification, the outpour of admiration and love for this troubled yet blessed man in his native Argentina is inspiring. His time here was short and while his story should definitely serve as a cautionary tale, it should remind us how fragile life is, how someone who was considered immortal has been taken from us.  “Doing easily what others find difficult is talent; doing what is impossible with talent is genius.” Henri Frederic Amiel.

So, the grammarians and linguists who have seen my post earlier this week will have recognised quite easily that ‘step by step’ is a binomial pair. I am fairly confident also, that students of English will at the very least recognise ‘step by step’ even though they probably do not know what a binomial pair is. Some will even be able to use ‘step by step’ in a sentence because there are expressions in other languages that are very similar. In this blog I will explain what binomial pairs are, why students should use them more when they speak and examples of common binomial pairs.

What is a binomial pair?

What exactly is a binomial pair? A binomial pair is a grammatical expression in English consisting of two words which are joined by a conjunction usually ‘and’ or ‘or’. There are other conjunctions used in binomial pairs also but we will get to that shortly. An example is perhaps the best way to illustrate what exactly a binomial pair is. Take the example ‘step by step’. This is the same word doubled up and joined together by the conjunction ‘by’. This particular binomial pair refers to a process, more specifically a gradual process. Let’s take an example, ‘Learning English is a step by step process’. Now, there are other ways to express that learning English, or any other language for that matter, is a long and gradual process. But this is a nice, short and simple way to express the gradual process that is learning a language. More importantly, this is reminiscent of what a native speaker would say.

Why should we use them?

This brings me on nicely to my next question, why should students use binomials? Well they should use them for several reasons; the first is because native speakers use them very frequently and they represent a very natural way of expression. Second, they are chunks of language that students can learn easily and most of the time there are similar expressions in other languages. Remembering situations where these expressions can be used will help students seem more fluent, spontaneous and can be the difference between an intermediate student and an advanced student. I have said over and over again (spot the binomial pair!) that a big part of language learning is mimicking what native speakers say in certain situations. Binomial pairs are a great example of this because they are universal in that they are not exclusive to certain English speaking countries in fact they are universally used in all English speaking countries. It is much easier and natural to say that learning English is a step by step process than to go on a long-winded explanation and reach the same conclusion. Listen to native English speakers and try to notice if they are using binomial pairs. Then ask yourself what situation is each one being used in and ultimately how could you use it.

Common Examples

Let’s take a look now at some commonly used binomial pairs but first I want to explain the different categories.

1. Binomial pairs joined by ‘and’.
2. Binomial pairs joined by ‘or’.
3. Binomial pairs with alliteration.
4. Rhyming binomial pairs.

Sick and tired: this binomial pair refers to something/someone we are annoyed or frustrated with to the point where we lose our patience and/or temper.

Eg. I am sick and tired of working in my current job.

Take it or leave it: this binomial pair refers to a negotiation, more specifically that the negotiation has come to an end. In any negotiation there is a power imbalance in terms of decision making. The person in power can use this expression to indicate their final offer and that it is non-negotiable.

Eg. Interview Candidate: ‘Regarding the salary offer of £35,000 per year, is there any room for negotiation? I think based on my credentials and experience I deserve £40,000’.

Interviewer: ‘Ok, I think you make a fair point so I will make you an offer. £37,500, take it or leave it.’

Safe and sound: this binomial pair is commonly used to convey that a person has arrived to their destination safely and without any difficulty or to convey that a person is not injured or in any danger after a dangerous situation.

Eg. Thankfully, my family and I are safe and sound after the earthquake that occurred a few weeks ago

Wear and tear: this binomial pair refers to damage to something that occurs naturally over the course of time.

Eg. These reinforced cables are strong and withstand normal wear and tear.

That’s it for this week! Remember, if you have questions or comments then please let me know.

Job interviews can be daunting and nerve-racking for some of us for many different reasons. The vast majority of us just turn up and do our best to answer whatever questions we are faced with. In my own experiences, I rarely did anything in terms of preparation in terms of interviews and I realise now that this is not a good approach. As many of you know, I am an English Second Language teacher but I am also an interview coach. This is something that happened by accident, I never anticipated that I would be helping so many students with interviews, presentations, CVs and cover letters. Due to demand from students I became interested in interviews and how to prepare for an interview.

Advice

My advice to students is simple and not necessarily exclusive to learners of languages but to everyone. Think about it logically and ask yourself, ‘If I was to interview a candidate for a particular position, what questions would I ask that person?’ I am aware that are specific questions related to the sector you wish to apply, but there are also general questions that you can prepare for in advance. The questions I mentioned earlier this week were, ‘Why do you want to work here?’ and ‘Why should we hire you?’ These, among others, are very common interview questions and now I will show you how to give an excellent response to these questions.

Company Core Values

Every company has something that is called, ‘Company Values’ or ‘Core Values’ or even a ‘Mission Statement’. These ‘values’ are what defines the company and make them different from other companies in the same sector. Some people would argue that this is just public relations lip-service and that there is no real substance behind it. I think it is something we can use to our advantage when preparing for an interview. Example, let’s take two automobile companies; Toyota and BMW. Both companies are involved in the same sector which is selling cars, but their ‘values’ and ‘outlook’ are different. This is something worth keeping in mind when preparing for an interview because values are what determine whether a candidate is a good fit for the company or not. Let me explain in more detail.

Class Jazyková škola (Class Language School)

This first became apparent to me while working in my first English teaching position. Some ten years ago, I worked for a language school in Bratislava Slovakia called Class Jazyková škola (Class Language School) and one day we had a teachers’ meeting to discuss the core values of the company. The academic director Ed Wienk asked us to think of what we, as teachers, value, write them down and share them together. After reviewing everyone’s ideas, we then reached a consensus on what we collectively valued and those became the ‘Core Values’ of the school.

What was more interesting still was the recruitment process pertaining to hiring new teachers. Our ‘Core Values’ shaped the interview questions to potential candidates and it became easy to tell if someone would be a good fit or not. At Class we had a great teamwork ethic and all of the teachers shared their material to provide the best lessons possible. We supported each other, pointed out weaknesses and how to improve those weaknesses. Granted, we had to do this on Fridays in the afternoon but we would leave the meetings with the bulk of our lesson preparation already done and peer reviewed. So, if during an interview, X candidate expressed that they did not subscribe to this, then guess what? That person would not be considered a good fit to work in this particular language school.

Conclusions

People applying for the same position, generally speaking, have the same or similar qualifications and the same or similar experience. What separate them are their core values. If you find that a particular company’s values are closely connected to your own then you need to express that in an interview. This is going to be what closes the deal, as it were. This is the difference between a good candidate and an ideal candidate. So, when preparing for an interview and you think, how would I answer the question regarding, ‘Why should we hire you?’ consider the company values and how you can incorporate those into your answer. I hope you found this article useful and if you have any questions or comments then let me know.

When we want to learn something, we are usually given advice that seems arbitrary. Pertaining to languages, we are told we need to read, listen, write and speak. These are generally considered to be the 4 skills in language learning and we must practise each of them in order to make headway in terms of progress. Something we are not told is how to practise effectively. I plan to explain each of these skills individually and I will dedicate a blog post to each of them, however, today I will focus on reading.

‘You need to read more English in order to improve your vocabulary and skills in general’. On the face of it, this seems like good advice and for the most part it is. Any exposure to the language you want to learn can be beneficial. Nobody ever explains, at least in my learning experiences, how to read effectively. In this blog I intend to do just that.

Problems when reading

When reading a foreign language, Spanish in my case, what happens is we start reading anything we can get our hands on. We come across lots of new words and phrases that we have to constantly go and translate. This is incredibly time-consuming and frustrating. The more words we encounter that we do not understand, the more daunting the task becomes until ultimately, we just give up. We have to contend with trying to understand the context of the story (what is this story about?) and also the different words and phrases that we do not know. I am now going to show you a technique which eliminates one of these steps and will help you to read effectively.

Fairy tales

When I first came to Mexico to study, as part of my studies I was faced with a lot of texts, prose and poetry in particular, in Spanish. I was incredibly frustrated because I could not understand what I was reading and my confidence was at an all-time low. It was suggested to me to start reading fairy tales by my then Spanish teacher. I scoffed at the idea, not to my teacher, but to myself. It seemed ridiculous to me; how the hell can reading fairy tales be beneficial? One day I said to myself that I have nothing to lose, let’s give it a go and see if it works. Interestingly, it does work and it is very beneficial because, for the most part, we all know the classic fairy tales pertaining to the stories themselves. This means that we essentially are eliminating the step of having to read for context (understanding the story) and now all we are focusing on are new words and vocabulary. We can relate words we do not know from the pictures and illustrations and our own knowledge of the story. The value of doing this cannot be understated and is a real effective way of reading in order to improve your ability to speak. This technique can be applied elsewhere also.

Harry Potter and Football

Maybe you are a keen football supporter or a Harry Potter fan. You can apply the same logic mentioned above to these interests also. So, let’s say there was a match last night that you watched with great interest. When you go to read a newspaper report about this match the following day, again you are eliminating the step of reading for context because you already know what happened. All you are going to do now is learn a lot of vocabulary related to football. Perhaps there was an innocuous penalty decision in the match; you know that this happened so you will be able to apply your knowledge of what happened to the vocabulary and create a connection between your interests and language. You can apply this technique to movies and TV series that you watch also by reading reviews about your favourite TV shows and movies. If you have all the Harry Potter books and you know them inside out and upside down, you can apply the very same logic here too. Your knowledge of the stories eliminates having to read for understanding and you will, as a result, learn a lot of new words and vocabulary.

Reading with a Clear Purpose

There must be a purpose to your reading instead of just reading for the sake of it. Ask yourself, ‘Why am I reading this?’ is it to learn new words and vocabulary, or is it to be able to explain to someone else the main points of what you have just read. I would argue that you should separate these activities in order to make your reading very effective. By applying the techniques I mentioned above regarding reading about things we are very familiar with, this will improve your ability to learn new words and vocabulary. In this case, especially with children’s stories, we are essentially scanning the text to find new words that we can then use when we speak. It might be an idea to make a note of these words and phrases, if you are that way inclined, and then practise them with your teacher and write example sentences using these words and phrases.

Being able to explain the main points addressed in the text can be applied to new things that we want to read. So, we have an article from a newspaper about a topic, the subject matter is not important. Go through the article and try not to get too hung up on the words you do not understand, instead try and get through the whole thing and try to be able to summarise it in a few sentences afterwards. This is commonly known as gist reading. Once we have completed this step, only then can we scan for new words and phrases.

So, now when someone tells us, ‘You should read more English!’ we have some useful and effective techniques that we can apply when doing so. This will increase the volume of our reading and reduce our levels of frustration. Short and effective study which is clear in its intention is far more beneficial than long, drawn-out studying just for the sake of it.

So, this is going to be a short blog about how to improve you fluency in Spanish. Most people will know that ‘por favor’ means please in Spanish but what I want to show you in this blog is how we can make simple phrases by simply attaching extra words to this phrase. I have said many times that a big part of language mastery is mimicking what native speakers say in certain situations.

Often times when it comes to speaking non-native languages, unforced errors are caused because we are trying to translate a phrase in our heads from one language to another. Let’s take a practical example; imagine you get into a cab somewhere and you want to go to the airport. In English we would say something like, ‘Could you take me to the airport please?’ Perfectly appropriate in English, I would say. It is clear and the register is polite. What about Spanish, though? I would say that the majority of Spanish learners, who are English speakers, in this situation would attempt to directly translate the above utterance directly from English to Spanish. This can result in unforced errors and failure to communicate what you want to say. Of course there is any easier way that, not only is similar to what a native Spanish speaker would say, but easier to remember. ‘Al aeropuerto, por favor.’

If you translate this to English, it sounds somewhat Shakespearean. To the airport please! Even reading it seems strange but the point is this is what a native speaker would say in this situation so learners should try to replicate this when the situation warrants it. You could easily substitute ‘aeropuerto’ for ‘hotel’, ‘Al hotel … por favour.’ Whatever the place you would like to go, all you have to do is, AL + place + POR FAVOR. Simple, right? So, where else can I use this type of a structure to make requests?

Another situation would be in a restaurant. Let’s say you are sitting down to dinner with friends or loved ones. The waiter brings some bread, water and whatever else. While you are waiting to order, you realise that you have eaten all the bread and drank all the water. In this situation you can attach simple words to ‘por favor’ to make requests. ‘Un poco más de agua, por favor’, ‘un poco más de pan, por favor’. A little more water please, a little more bread please.

There is no need to complicate things when speaking non-native languages. It’s not necessary to speak the Queen’s English or perfect Spanish in real-life situations. All we have to do is communicate a simple message in a way that is clear and concise, especially when we are at a pretty basic level. This becomes more apparent as you increase your exposure to the given language you want to learn. I hope you find this blog post useful and please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or comments. Take care!