Skills: English is like...

... AN ENGLISH TRIFLE!

You need different ingredients to make it.

You must layer them to make it look alright.

To enjoy it, you must take all the layers at the same time.

READING

Reading in English is a very good exercise that you can practise everywhere now. On the Internet, there are thousands of free ebooks, magazine articles, reviews and so on. You have access to them 24/7.

Reading is not only about seeing the words and understanding the sentences. It's about analysing, thinking, comparing and working on the text itself.

When we study a text (be it a short story, an article or a play), you need to highlight, underline, comment, summarise, circle the important points. A well read book is full of self-made notes.

Check the school library for books, magazines (weekly, monthly) and DVDs.

LISTENING

You've been listening to English for years: songs, TV programmes, films... All these are accessible in various types of English.

To improve your listening skills, read the lyrics as you're listening to your favourite band, switch to original version when you're watching your favourite TV series, spot the films you want to see and go to the cinema with a few friends. Not reading the subtitles is hard, but with a little training, you will be able to forget they're on the screen!

WRITING

During your school years, you will be asked to produce a large variety of texts: letters, dialogues, essays...

First, put all the key words you can think of, look up in the dictionary those you don't know in English and organise your ideas.

Then, start writing the first draft. Think about the organisation of the paragraphs, the topic sentences, the introduction and the conclusion, the linking words... Use a thesaurus and an English dictionary to enrich your vocabulary and avoid repetitions. Make sure the sentences don't sound French.

Finally, rewrite and improve your text with a few details, such as idioms, comparisons or typically English examples. Proofread it for spelling and grammar mistakes.

You're done!

SPEAKING

The ONLY way to improve your speaking skills is to... speak!

In class, express yourself as much as possible and forget about what other students might think. If necessary, I will correct you and explain why.

Your oral participation will be assessed during the first or the second semester using a "participation sheet".

FORMAL ASPECTS

Formal aspects include vocabulary and grammar. That is, the structure on which you're building your English.

Without foundations, a house collapses. It's exactly the same for a language. Learning by heart is unfortunately compulsory and it must be done correctly if you want to remember things years later.

Translating words into French is not enough: play with them, think of definitions, contexts, words from the same family, synonyms and antonyms...

The same with grammar rules: grammar in use only is interesting to actually build something from it.

BE YOURSELF! DARE! OPEN UP! TRY AGAIN AND AGAIN!

Remember my role is to help you, so don't hesitate to ask!