Do you think of yourself as someone whose "English is not very good"? This episode is for you. I'm talking about "you do it"-situations - situations in which you pass a task on to other people because you don't think that you can do it yourself. Find out what this has to do with your English, and which consequences "you do it"-solutions might have for you.

Denkst du von dir selbst als Person, die "nicht so gut Englisch kann"? Dann ist diese Folge für dich. Es um "Mach mal"-Situationen: Das sind Situationen, in denen wir uns eine Aufgabe nicht selbst zutrauen und sie deshalb an andere abgeben. Nur, dass das manchmal ganz unerwartete Konsequenzen hat. 

The "Language Pig" newsletter in English - this is an invitation to experiment. Do you prefer to listen to the German version, the English version, or both?
Get the e-mail newsletter here (it's in German): https://thelanguagepig.com/newsletter/ 

Der Newsletter im Audio-Format.
Newsletter-Anmeldung: https://thelanguagepig.com/newsletter/

The "Language Pig" newsletter in English - this is an invitation to
 experiment. Do you prefer to listen to the German version, the English
version, or both?

Get the e-mail newsletter here (it's in German): https://thelanguagepig.com/newsletter/
Blogartikel “Wie viele englische Wörter brauchst du?”: https://thelanguagepig.com/wie-viele-englische-woerter/

The list of words:
big,circular, confusing, conscience, cremation, database, funnel, get, habitual, happy, late, likeable, meeting, motherboard, nice, offer, people, play, restaurant, sinusitis, toxic, train, tripod, uncle, understand 

Links aus dem Podcast:

Blogartikel “Wie viele englische Wörter brauchst du?”: https://thelanguagepig.com/wie-viele-englische-woerter/

Newsletter-Anmeldung: https://thelanguagepig.com/newsletter/

Die Wortliste:
big,circular, confusing, conscience, cremation, database, funnel, get, habitual, happy, late, likeable, meeting, motherboard, nice, offer, people, play, restaurant, sinusitis, toxic, train, tripod, uncle, understand 

The "Language Pig" newsletter in English - this is an invitation to experiment. Do you prefer to listen to the German version, the English version, or both?

Get the e-mail newsletter here (it's in German): https://thelanguagepig.com/newsletter/

Der Newsletter im Audio-Format
Was assoziierst du mit dem Wort "simple"?
Warum "simple = stupid" kein Englisch-Problem ist, sondern ein Kommunikationsproblem.

Hol dir den Newsletter hier: https://thelanguagepig.com/newsletter/

This episode is based on my blog post 10-Dinge Listen für dein Englisch

 

I wrote this post in January when everybody is busy with to-do lists and plans and resolutions. In a way, September can feel similar. Everybody is coming back from holidays, school is starting... and a lot of people feel a new surge of energy. Maybe you have even written a bucket list for the rest of the year with all the things you haven't done yet?

 

Also, well, I think that there is always time for lists, especially the ones that have no real use. Like, your 10 favourite smells, or 10 sounds you heard today. These random lists are fun, and they can help to spark your inspiration when you are having one of those days where ideas just don't flow. And lists are good for your English. They can be a great mental warm-up or a starting point for extended practice.

 

So who knows? Maybe those random lists make you notice things about yourself and your English that surprise you.

Today's podcast episode is based on my blogpost "Die Scaffolding-Methode: Bau dir deinen Lernprozess."

 

Have you ever experienced a situation where you were trying to solve a problem and someone just asked you a question, or recommended a book, or showed you a simple trick - and you had the solution?

 

That's a form of scaffolding - something that helps you to move from where you are to where you want to be. Sometimes scaffolding can feel obvious - like when you are leaving the satnav switched on, but leave it on silent - because you know the route, but you are not 100% sure that you will not need a reminder.

And sometimes scaffolding can feel like a magic trick, like when someone asks you a question that seems simple, but nevertheless moves your thinking in a direction that helps you to solve your problem.

 

Today I will talk about scaffolding for language learners:

 

What is scaffolding?

And why is it so useful for adult learners?

What does it look like? (an example)

And how do you move on from it?

In this episode, I am talking about kindness, curiosity, and pigs. If you have been following this podcast, or if you receive my newsletter, you know that I always end with the same sentence: Be kind be curious - be a language pig. Today you can find out why.

This podcast episode is based on my blogpost "Swearing in English". I talk about my own swearing habits, the link between swearing and foreign language fluency and reasons for and against swearing.

Today's episode is a slightly adapted version of my German blogpost "Warum Englisch lernen?" - why you should or should not learn English.

 

Why should you learn English? Or practice English? Or get better? 

 

I believe that this question is crucial. It is very important. Without a good answer to this question, it is hard to make progress. Seriously, if you really don't want to do this English thing, don't. 

 

But: If you are curious about my answer to the question why you should and why you should not learn English - then you probably have a reason to be here, and to work on your English. And in that case, thinking about your "why" is time well spent. 

 

I hope that this episode will give you some ideas and prompts, and that you enjoy the exercise at the heart of the episode.

In this episode, I am showing you a short exercise that helps you to practice nearly spontaneous speaking: the word avalanche.

 

The main challenge for language learners is to speak spontaneously. Thinking of something to say and saying it in the foreign language, and both at the same time, is, well, really difficult.

With this exercise, you separate the thinking and the speaking by a few seconds. That gives your thoughts a headstart. And with practice, you get more relaxed, and more confident, and when you are relaxed and confident, the next steps are so much easier.

At the end of the episode I give you some prompts for trying the exercise immediately. The prompts are also in the shownotes.

This podcast episode is based on my blogpost "Facts about me". 

 

Do you know the game "2 truths and a lie"? Or those other icebreaker games where you are asked to tell other people a fun fact or something surprising about you?

 

These questions are not easy - especially when you did not expect them.

 

That's where a "facts about me"-collection can be useful. Write one when you are relaxed, and when you have time. Ideas will come. For inspiration, I am giving you my own list of facts. 

 

Read it on the blog, too - I am always adding to the list, so what you hear today is only a selection of what you can read about me here.

This episode is based on my blogarticle "Warum ich dir kein Buch zum Englischlernen empfehle". That's right. I am telling you why I don't recommend books for your English learning.

I will talk about reasons why some common advice for reading in English does not work for all learners. 

And I talk about steps you can take to find books anyway. Or anything else to read.

Today I will talk about compliments as conversation starters. 

What do you do if someone starts a conversation with a compliment? They might say that they love an item of clothing you are wearing, or your hair, or even the mug you are holding in your hand. 

 

If this is not common in your culture, situations like that can be confusing. So, let's have a chat about it. 

 

This podcast episode is an audio version of the blogpost I wrote for compliment day. My newsletter readers voted it into this place in the podcast - who does not love a compliment? 

 

The original post is in English and contains some vocabulary explanations. So if you want to read along, check out the link in the shownotes - and have a look at the suggested activities, too!

I often hear that learners want to speak spontaneously in conversations. What does that actually mean? And why do you even want to do that?

 

Why would you put pressure on yourself to just go into English conversations and speak spontaneously?

 

So today I will talk about 5 exercises to prepare for these situations. I don't mean crammig vocabulary or grammar, or "phrases for conversational English". I will talk about practical things you can do to go into conversations with a more helpful mindset, a clear idea of the purpose of the conversation, a good sense of what you might want to talk about and a voice that's ready to talk. Because conversation is not only about the words. It's also about how you think about the situation and how you feel in your body.

 

This episode is a blogcast episode - it is an English version of my blogpost on the same topic. The blogpost is in German. You can read it here.

Welcome to the Language Pig Podcast - in this episode you find out what to expect in this podcast, who I am and why I podcast in English and write in German.