Following what is going on

Since there is quite a bit of communication on this blog, which I think is just excellent, it certainly is worth coming here regularly to check out who has said what.
But how would you like to be informed about any recent additions?

There are 2 possibilities.
One is to try to configure the blog to send you any changes that are made.
The other, which can be used for other blogs, podcasts and sites that use RSS, is to sign up with Feedblitz.
http://feedblitz.com/
You can add any URL (the http:// address.com) to feedblitz and it will, in return, send you an e-mail that there have been additions or changes.
This can be quite useful in keeping the flow of communication going.

And you may have noticed that I will not corect anything here. You can, however, send me what you want to post in advance to correct before putting it up, but there is absolutely no obligation. You should be able to write freely about your thoughts, opinions and ideas.

And I'm very much looking forward to reading them too!

What is learning?

In the last lesson I presented some of you with a question that I've also had to consider in my training (formal and informal - again and again!)
I asked you what it actually means to 'learn' something? Now this was in connection with vocabulary. It might be useful, however, to think about something you have recently 'learned'.
How did you learn it?

Example: quite a few of you have left comments on this blog. Did you know how to do it before? Have you 'learned' how to do it? What was involved in the learning process (of this or other examples you have in mind)?

I would encourage you to leave your comments here - and, of course, you can comment on others' comments too, turning it into a discussion.

As you can see, I've also added a concordancer to the links. Have a look at it, try out the different corpi (plural of coprus)
You could start with 'attain' and 'achieve'.

More news about the records mentioned

Here is the news report from the BBC about the Indian hot-air balloon record. IS there anything new that you could find out? You can also read about what the Canadian news (don't ask) has to say about it .
And do you want some more news about Ellen MacArthur? Well, here it is on the BBC. And check out this article - she's on the top 100 list of people who have influenced the world- in an article by Steve Fossette. By the way, did you know that you can help look for him? Google Earth has updated the pictures of Nevade dessert and there have been numerous wrecks discovered, but not his. The officials are saying the area is a graveyard. Hmm. Now what do you think about that?

So, slight change of topic - what advice would you give for success? Quite general, I know, but maybe we can become successful together with all the good advice you leave here!?

My secret ambition

Since I've read so many wonderful and personal texts about you all, I thought it might interest you to know what my personal ambition is. This way is easier than writing to each of you individually.

I have discovered a love of buildings and am fascinated by the styles and especially how the exact position of cathedrals used to be determined. It came about through my travel to different places, looking at magnificent castles, cathedrals, house fronts and doorways.
I also find many new (and older) building lacking the finesse of the real old structures. A certain functionality of rooms, utensils and other are also interesting, and, in my opinion, this is also an overlooked area. The design should be appealling to the eye as well as functional.

My secret passion is to go to university and study architecture, simply for the love of it. I really don't see this as a new way of earning my living, but just for pleasure.

Well, that is my secret ambition, but I don't see it as a real possibility at present. Maybe many years down the road.

Leave a comment

After a great start to the course, I'd like you all to leave a comment. It can be as long or short, as personal or factual as you like. The main thing is to communicate, and that's what this blog is for.

As you can see, there are 2 links for the BBC. One is the news and the other is specifically for learning English (also with the news). They will remain there, but I will be adding more links as time goes by.

I will also invite you all to join in and add to the blog once you have left a comment and I can show you what to do in class.

PS- I hope you enjoyed my first message ;-)