Seneca And I – True Happiness~

Re-Blogging this beautiful post ‘Seneca And I’ from Simple Pleasures. Thanks Cindy for writing it and linking it with equally lovely picture. Is this clicked at the time of Dawn or is it Dusk? I have been looking for good sunrise pictures… I really enjoyed the visual poetry on ‘Simple Pleasures’ its a lovely blend of Poetry and Photography.

Thanks also for following my blog which introduced me to yours… I have this Tricks4English blog for my students on ‘How to Learn to Speak’ with ease and confidence. I generally use Simple language for everyday Conversations.

Dear Students: please write your comments on the the Picture below (take it as a Describe The Picture assignment) . Ashish

“True happiness is to enjoy the present,
without anxious dependence upon the future,
not to amuse ourselves with either
hopes or fears but to rest
satisfied with what we have,
which is sufficient,
for he that is so wants nothing.
The greatest blessings of mankind are
within us and within our reach.
A wise man is content with his lot,
whatever it may be,
without wishing for what he has not.”
― Seneca

(Re-writing the words with the permission of the author… white text is not readable in the re-blogged post below… but its there, Hidden!)

Seeing is believing

We at Tricks- Language Lab use a lot of visual clues and blended learning with multimedia is part of our methodology… this is an interesting article on using the face of the speaker.

To answer to your Q3: I as them to do learning style assessment 24 questions on how they learn the best. This helps me understand who are more of visual learners than the rest of the groups… and if the group loves it i like to use a lot of media. Thanks to BBC’s 6-min. videos and some licensed content that I have picked-up…

teflresearch

If you’ve ever done pronunciation drilling with your hand cupped behind your ear like a demented kids TV presenter (all together now!) you’re probably of the opinion that exaggerating audio cues helps students to discriminate the sounds of a second language. But did you know that students can improve their chances of learning sounds by simply looking at a speaker’s face?

Research on how language learners use visual cues in the perception and production of sounds supports what auditory and visual sciences have known for some time: what you see has a strong impact on what you hear. This relationship is niftily illustrated through the “McGurk effect”, not the latest McDonald’s menu, but a rather compelling example of how the human sensory experience is interlinked.

More recently, with the help of fMRI scans (which basically involve putting silly hats on people, sending them down a tube into a giant washing…

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Winter in Noida: Describe this Picture

Describe this Picture… use Simple present Tense

Useful language:

Start with an overall simple statement of what’s the first thing that comes to your mind.

1) This picture shows…

2) There is / there are…

3) I can see…

Describe as much as you can. (Do not over do it… as 1 min is just 10 sentences)

example: There is a woman in the picture, She’s about 40 years old. She’s got long grey hair and dark skin. She’s

wearing a shawl.

Useful language:

4) In the foreground / in the background…

5) On the right / on the left…

Try to use your imagination to make assumptions. For example: The landy could be waiting for someone to join the bon-fire. or Maybe some is calling her

Useful language:

6) I think… Maybe / Perhaps…

Modal verbs of deduction: she must / can’t / might be …

7) She looks…(worried)/ She looks like … (my maid).

You can also use personal stories but avoid them for small descriptions.

Go Global/IELTS Students must do 10 DTP activities and Get Selected must do 5 such activities…. to gain confidence.

IELTS testing would love it if you use your stories and examples from your life to speak more. People are much more

comfortable talking about their experiences, so talk about yourself. For example

when describing the picture you can talk about ‘such community bon-fires being common in your area in the chilly months of Dec./Jan’

EnglishClub Activity Every Saturday

EnglishClub Activity Every Saturday

Please register and make it a point to attend such Meet-up to get an opportunity to talk to more and more people and express yourself in English.

Be polite in your conversation with strangers and i suggest not to share your personal contact details or mobile numbers until you are very sure of the intensions.

have a great time on 1st march 2014… do not confirm if you are not sure that you will be able to come.

topic this time is very simple: It’s my life… tell what do you like to do the most and no-one is asking why?

Am I Smarter Than my Smart Phone?

“Am I Smarter than my Smart Phone?”

Am I losing on anywhere/anytime connectivity with the civilization just because I don’t have a Mobile device in my Pocket and/or don’t use it smartly enough?

Am I missing any update on friends or unable to do any business due to my not keeping a mobile in my Pocket… this is the first Post I created on this Tab Phone (edited on the PC with a larger screen and inserted the picture there) – Its an ideaPad (Lenovo) gifted to me by my Family/Friends on my work anniversary at T.r.i.c.k.s : Lifelong learning/NOIDA. The Smart Phone has too many applications voice/text-based tools to help you communicate better both inbound and outbound. But I can think and have better ideas  therefore I remain Smarter than my Phone. I will choose the way I wish to use it or not use it…. last thing in my mind is to share the identity however anyone can touch the hardware and receive calls on my behalf.

ideaPad with Android OS.

While I am still learning from Simran (my daughter) how to make best use of it and block (or register for DNC) the unsolicited calls with desperate offers, the sweet but recorded voices of movie stars (I’m sorry Bips, will talk err. listen to you later 😦  ). The Latest interruptions is whatsapp – please educate me the practical utility before registering my number and enticing me to download. You will get my response to text-msg SMS and/or your call (if missed by me) will be responded ASAP.  emails on my official id.  that’s on gmail until we have a dedicated mailbox (under development) and yahoo is for my personal or semi-official mails. Linkedin remains my professional network  and the Facebook messages are generally replied my me with 24 hrs. (Don’t expect responses to bulk-mails if you don’t know me – I am choosy and not an emotional of spontaneous buyer). Chain mails or Group mails: I see at my leisure weakly/fortnightly; I do pick-up a thread whenever I see a loose end – ‘reply all’ is what I like to do. Put me the group mailing list if and only if you are sure that i will not cause much trouble to the very formation of this group or party. I do have power to express my views rather strongly can change them given a good argument.  yes I do endorse skills or give references to people I know and they also know how to get them from me. Best is to schedule a call so that I can re-connect the Dots.

Oh this Twitter tweets every second and what do i do to feed this Chirping Bird all the time.. its difficult for me to handle so i will let it be!

Its only so much communication channels that we can handle as humans and who needs my 24×7 availability anyway… I am not a heart surgeon with lot of patients with weak heart, you know 🙂

Please do note down my new No. it has limited contact list but I do recognise your last available number from my earlier hand-held device – a blackberry not being used for around 15 months….OMG! for people who can use 2 mobile phones and also for people keeping 2 SIMs

With warm regards I remain as contactable as earlier to you my good old friends

Ashish Khurana
08860050157