The Edinburgh Experience

I love teaching my 1-2-1 courses and working with the very specific and individual needs of my clients. BUT while learning individually can be extremely beneficial, it can also sometimes be lonely. Learning from your classmates is one of the best ways to learn. Not only that, but reaching your language goals isn't only about learning more language. For real, lasting change, you also need to examine the emotional process that language learning entails.

This is why I am now incorporating a monthly group language coaching session for all my 1-2-1s. It's a space to celebrate our wins, to support each other and find accountability, and to make real progress.

Have you ever tried language coaching? Leave me your thoughts in the comments!

And if you are interested in a 1-2-1 course with me, get in touch! I am currently fully booked but my waiting list is open ☺️

After taking a break of around a year, I am excited to be starting some group classes again! My Online Cambridge Proficiency exam preparation course starts next week and I'm really looking forward to it. We have a lovely mix of learners, and teaching proficiency is just so awesome! I can't get enough of showing proficient users how incredible their English is, and helping them smash their goals. I have only THREE spaces left, so DM as soon as possible if you would like one of the last spots.

As always, grammar will be important in some scenarios, especially if you need to pass an international exam like Cambridge. These exams still rely heavily on you not making “grammar” errors. Grammar is much more of an issue if you are mainly writing in English as written communication is different. However even in these scenarios, “grammar” is the wrong word to use. Because we are simply talking about LANGUAGE. Separating language into vocabulary and grammar is not helpful. We start to think some things are more important than others, and we create an artificial form of a language too.

Why does this distinction exist? Well, it’s much easier to write textbooks, create tests, and “measure” progress using grammar. We can put it into a neat little box, grade its difficulty level per unit, use this as a way to decide if you are a B2 or C1 English user. The entire EFL (English as a Foreign Language) industry has been built on this model. It’s also easy to teach. As I have discussed in previous newsletters and posts, EFL qualifications create teachers with very little training (probably deliberately). Teaching “grammar” is easy. It doesn’t require you to understand language, you are just repeating rules. The problem is, language is gloriously chaotic, so when those “rules” don’t work, students get stressed out.

A lot of my clients tell me they need more grammar, or that they can’t use it correctly. But when we do a session, this just doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. Yes, there may be a few errors in there, but they don’t impede communication. Very often, what holds people back more is finding words to express how they feel, not how to construct a sentence.

Grammar can also be a crutch for you. It’s often our first contact with English, so as you advance you use grammar as your guide and support system. But as I mentioned, language is chaotic. When you meet something which can’t be explained by that grammar rule you live with, it can be a huge setback to your progress and confidence.

EMBRACE THE CHAOS.

How much does grammar matter to you? Let me know in the comments.

Do you know about my YouTube channel where you can find my vlog series Real English? I take you around Edinburgh, tell you about its incredible history, and you learn some great language in context. I am FINALLY finishing editing parts 2 and 3 of the incredible Marie de Guise, but you can catch up with part 1 here!
Let me know what you think about her story in the comments! (Spoiler - she is AWESOME).



https://www.theedinburghexperience.com/marie-de-guise-part-1/

It's been a loooong time since I've explained who I am and what I do, so here we go! We can also add book lover, food fanatic, castle nerd, mum, dancer, and fantasy fan to all of this too (who spotted the Star Wars reference?).

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FOOD PHOTO DUMP - Two things you need to know about me. 1) I am half Spanish and 2) I LOVE food. I grew up in Scotland but after university I moved to Spain and lived there for almost 10 years. Most people think what I miss most is the weather. It's not, I can't handle heat very well. But oh my God, I miss the food. The quality of the products, the culture, how affordable eating well is, how getting a take away coffee is the worst thing in the world.

Scotland has some amazing produce and great restaurants, but eating well and having an exciting food experience is reserved for people who can pay. I think that is bullsh*t. We should all have the right to eat well and celebrate food.

If I visit another country, the first thing I do is discover what I should be eating. It's a huge part of our cultural heritage. It exists in Scotland too, but it can be harder to find!

What's your view on food? Is it culture in your opinion? Leave me a comment!

Book number 3 is our most challenging read, but it looks like a good one. There have been a lot of women writers re-telling the Greek myths from a female perspective and I have to say I find them fascinating. We read one in my Culture Club and it was a big hit. This one deals with the topic of war, but instead of looking at it from the perspective of the glorious hero, it’s from the women who have to deal with the fall out of it.

If you are a confident reader, I really encourage you to give this a try. It can seem a bit difficult at the beginning, but you will see how you can do it! A lot of my students have been nervous to try reading Classics or more complex books in English but when they give it go, they really surprise themselves. When you manage to do it, you will be so proud of yourself! Here is a summary for you -

“Troy has fallen and the Greek victors are primed to return home, loaded with spoils. All they need is a good wind to lift their sails.
But the wind does not come. The gods are offended - the body of Priam lies desecrated, unburied - and so the victors remain in uneasy limbo, camped in the shadow of the city they destroyed. The coalition that held them together begins to fray, as old feuds resurface and new suspicions fester.
Largely unnoticed by her squabbling captors, erstwhile queen Briseis remains in the Greek encampment. She forges alliances where she can - with young, rebellious Amina, with defiant, aged Hecuba, with Calchus, the disgraced priest - and she begins to see the path to revenge...2

Remember you can join the summer reading challenge by clicking the link below and joining the Telegram channel. Oh, and it’s 100% free!
https://lnkd.in/esrngt94

Book number 2 is a great choice if you feel good about reading but are nervous about taking on too big a challenge. Hear No Evil, See No Evil has been nominated for a crime writing award, and is there any better kind of book to read while you relax beside the pool than a mystery novel? It’s also based on a real historical event, and mixes crime writing with the historical novel. Quite frankly, it doesn’t get much better than that! The Kindle edition is only 99p at the moment on the UK Amazon shop, so even more of a reason to get it! Here’s a description for you -

“In the burgeoning industrial city of Glasgow in 1817 Jean Campbell - a young, Deaf woman - is witnessed throwing a child into the River Clyde from the Old Bridge.
No evidence is yielded from the river. Unable to communicate with their silent prisoner, the authorities move Jean to the decaying Edinburgh Tolbooth in order to prise the story from her. The High Court calls in Robert Kinniburgh, a talented teacher from the Deaf & Dumb Institution, in the hope that he will interpret for them and determine if Jean is fit for trial. If found guilty she faces one of two fates; death by hanging or incarceration in an insane asylum.

Through a process of trial and error, Robert and Jean manage to find a rudimentary way of communicating with each other. As Robert gains her trust, Jean confides in him, and Robert begins to uncover the truth, moving uneasily from interpreter to investigator, determined to clear her name before it is too late.

Based on a landmark case in Scottish legal history Hear No Evil is a richly atmospheric exploration of nineteenth-century Edinburgh and Glasgow at a time when progress was only on the horizon. A time that for some who were silenced could mean paying the greatest price.”

Remember you can join the summer reading challenge by clicking the link below and joining the Telegram channel. Oh, and it’s 100% free!
https://lnkd.in/esrngt94

Book 1 is a novella, that means it’s shorter than a full novel. Novellas and short stories are a fantastic way to start doing extensive reading because you don’t have the scary commitment of a long novel. If you are not a very confident reader, this is the best book to start with on the reading challenge. Here is a summary of the book for you -

“A battle lost. A daring escape. A long walk into obscurity. The ultimate failure….
In the aftermath of the disastrous Battle of Culloden, a lonely figure takes flight with a small band of companions through the islands and mountains of the Hebrides. His name is Charles Edward Stuart: better known today as Bonnie Prince Charlie. He had come to the country to take the throne. Now he is leaving in exile and abject defeat.
In prose that is by turns poetic, comic, macabre, haunting and humane, multi- award-winning author Alan Warner traces the frantic last journey through Scotland of a man who history will come to define for his failure.”

Remember you can join the summer reading challenge by clicking the link below and joining the Telegram channel. Oh, and it’s 100% free!
https://lnkd.in/esrngt94

Why should you do the summer reading challenge? ➡Reading in a foreign language presents a double challenge, as it takes significantly more effort than reading in your first language. BUT, if you are looking for a way to work on your English without even realising it, and raising your confidence while you do it, then extensive reading is a great option for you.

What’s extensive reading? ➡Extensive reading just means reading for pleasure, not for a school assignment, or university, or because your teacher told you. And when we do extensive reading, some amazing things happen. You improve all aspects of your English, you become a better learner and a stronger communicator, you boost your confidence, and you get to read some awesome books!

So what are you waiting for? Join the Telegram group today! Just click the link to join
https://t.me/+H_77X3-tbMI3NDE0

I decided to join Threads, not entirely sure why, but I fancied a space to just talk about witches and history. Give me a follow if you are on the app, we can nerd out together! (Because let's face it, there is no way in hell I am doing TikTok). Find me on

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I've been extremely quiet on here due to a family member dying. It came completely out of the blue and has floored us all. I am now starting to get back into a routine and catching up with things, but socials have definitely taken a back seat.

I do however have something fun coming up which I am excited to share with everyone, hopefully next week. And I am busy prepping behind the scenes for two cultural immersion courses I have coming up in September.

Apart from that, some tours are keeping me busy, but I am also busy reading some awesome books. It's nice to be back on the platform though ☺️

What's keeping you busy this month? Let's compare notes in the comments!

People have been asking if I am feeling depressed about turning 40, and the answer is absolutely not! Sadly, I know too many people who never had the chance to turn 40. Reaching this goal is a privilege and a joy. If the reason you are holding yourself back from taking that job, going on that trip, speaking to that person, or whatever else it may be is fear of mistakes, you need to let go of that. There are very few occasions when confusing a preposition will have life changing consequences. Just go for it.

Nothing stays the same forever, and whether we want it to or not, life will move us forward. It can be difficult to change, but the results will be worth it. If you have been taking the same approach to English learning without trying new things, assessing your needs, or applying a different mindset, it’s unlikely you will have made the progress you want to. Time to shake things up!

What do you find difficult about change? Let me know in the comments

Here are some English learning life tips from my 40 years of experience…..
I am turning 40 this Saturday, and it is naturally making me reflect on life and the lessons it throws at us. A lot of them are directly applicable to your experience of learning a language, so I thought I would share them with you.

Here’s a thing that we often forget about language learning - it is an emotional process as well as a linguistic one. Most things that involve learning are an emotional process, and that’s because a lot of important emotions come into play. Feel of failure, comparing yourself to others, denial, frustration, acceptance, jealousy, joy, pride - I could go on. But I feel that these emotions are particularly prevalent in language learning because speaking and communicating are such a central part of being human. When we can’t do it, we feel inadequate.

I really experienced this when I was in Cairo, when I couldn’t even read the street signs or recognise numbers! Dealing with your emotional blocks when learning English is just as important as correctly using the third conditional. In fact , it’s arguably MORE important.

So, over my next few posts I will be sharing a few life lessons from my 40 years of experience that you can apply to your English learning journey. Keep your eyes peeled!

Isn’t it funny how life surprises you? I was getting ready for my cultural immersion course this summer, but I have unexpectedly received a lot of tour guiding opportunities. While I love my summer courses, the guiding work is fitting much better into my schedule while I juggle childcare, running a business, and re-aligning to my new post Covid/Brexit work world.

I’m not saying goodbye to these courses, just a pause for 2023. My school group cultural immersion programmes are still running, and I am doing accessible English tours this summer for anyone who wants an alternative to the traditional way of learning the language. I certainly hope to open them up again in the future.

If you are in Edinburgh this summer and would like to arrange a private accessible English tour, do get in touch.

You can however experience cultural immersion online through my Culture Club! We are taking a break until September, but if you would like to get updates on my summer reading list plus when Culture Club will be starting again, you can sign up here.
https://mailchi.mp/980269f3c5ca/culture-club-waitlist

And for more information on everything I do both in Edinburgh and online, check out my website.

https://www.theedinburghexperience.com/

Culture Club Waitlist Culture Club will help you to stop learning English and start using it. We judge ourselves on the way we have communicated – did we make a mistake, was the language we used good enough, have we passed or failed? We need to change the way we evaluate ourselves. Ask yourself whether you have communi...

Perhaps you don’t want to be a C2 level English speaker. And you know what? THAT'S OK! It takes a huge amount of time, effort, and energy to get there. Do you even need it? You don't have to wait until you are a proficient English user to say you are and English speaker.

Choosing to define yourself as an English speaker at any level is powerful. You’re telling yourself that you have already achieved things. You focus on what you can do. And you get to decide what being an English speaker means for you.

Do you want to reach a C2 level, or are you happy with the English you have? Leave me a comment with your thoughts.

Let me tell you a story. Back in 2012, I decided to leave the job I had in an
English academy and work for myself. When I relocated to Edinburgh from Spain in 2014, I began running English courses and this quickly grew. Suddenly I had around 80-100 students a month coming for lessons and 5 teachers working for me. I was managing a team, designing course books, doing administration, and marketing my courses. But I described myself as self-employed.

Of course I wasn’t. I was a business owner and entrepreneur. Was I Amazon or Coca Cola? No, I wasn’t. Did I want to be? Definitely not. That was (and still isn’t) my desire when it comes to my business. It wasn’t until last year that I did a lot of business and marketing coaching that I realised the power in describing myself as a business owner and entrepreneur.

It made me reflect on what I had achieved, that despite Covid and Brexit I had pivoted and survived. It allowed me to discover what my true passion was and to adapt my courses to it. And it completely changed my work life balance and attitude towards my business too. I am so much happier, confident, and fulfilled.

And this is also true of your English. Describing yourself as an English speaker is a powerful change. And guess what, you are the one with the power to define yourself. Use it, and see how your relationship with English will begin the change.

Want to come on a truly transformational journey with your English? Then join me this July in Edinburgh for my cultural immersion course, a unique learning experience. Click the link below or contact me for more information.

https://www.theedinburghexperience.com/courses/cultural-immersion-edinburgh/

My early bird booking offer for my cultural immersion course in Edinburgh ends this Friday, so if you are planning to book, get in quick. You can save 10% on your accommodation and/or 15% off the course price if you sign up with a friend. What are you waiting for?

My cultural immersion course makes you a more confident communicator.
🔴It will boost your confidence speaking English
🟡 It will change your relationship with the language
🔵You will learn to focus on effective communication
⚫ You will stop stressing about your accent and work on pronunciation
🟠You will move towards being a proficient speaker, not sounding like a “native”
🟣You’ll discover all the amazing things you can ALREADY do
🟢 By creating a positive relationship with English, you’ll be able to reach your goals

It's a unique 3 step learning EXPERIENCE which will make you fall in love with your English AND Scotland. Over 6 incredible days we will be diving into Scotland's fascinating history, culture and politics. You'll be using English EVERY SINGLE DAY in real, practical, motivating and inspiring ways. And you will be amazed at what you will be able to do in English.

Places are limited to 6 people and one spot has already gone. More details to follow, but DM me if you want to reserve your spot!

STOP LEARNING ENGLISH, START USING IT!

PEER LEARNING - aka learning with and through another student. I am so passionate about the benefits of peer learning I incorporate it into all of my group courses wherever possible. I cannot emphasise how helpful it is to share your learning journey with another student. You learn from each other, give each other different perspectives, motivate yourselves, hold each other accountable, create a support system, and very often make great friends too!

A key part of my online Culture Club and in person Cultural Immersion courses are the study pods and study buddy collaborations. And if you want more proof of how much I believe in it, I do it myself!

Every week I meet up with for breakfast (see pic) and we do everything I just said above. We're not learning English, but we are supporting each other in our businesses. The difference it has made for me has been HUGE. Working and studying online can often make you feel isolated, which is where a study buddy or study pod system is such a godsend.

Have you got a study buddy? Let me know in the comments ☺️

One of the most common questions I get asked is "What is cultural Immersion?". Cultural immersion means rather than explicitly studying English, learners use the language in a natural setting while interacting with motivating tasks and topics.We take English out of a textbook and into the real world.By creating a need and desire to use the language, you can develop a positive relationship with English.

You might ask why you have never heard the term before - that's because I created it! I didn't feel that terms like English course or language holiday properly reflected what it is I do. My courses give you a new relationship with English, you learn about yourself and your own culture while you learn Scotland's, you meet fascinating new people, discover what you can DO in
English, and so much more. And the best way to truly understand what cultural immersion is, is to DO it!
Get in touch if you'd like to book a place on my course this July.

You should get to learn English on your own terms. And what are those terms? Well, whatever you decide. If you see your progress as moving to the next class, you are relying on another person to define your goals for your English. These goals may be difficult for you to meet for many reasons, such as work being too busy, having small children, or going through a difficult time.

They may also be useless to you. If you need to be able to confidently lead a meeting in English, passing an end of term gap fill grammar test won’t do much to help you. Neither will a vocabulary quiz about sports when you work in film and TV. Ultimately, this will feel like a waste of your time.

You become demotivated, stop putting in the work, start missing classes, and feel like you’ve failed. Everyone has different needs when it comes to English. If you choose to only focus on what you need, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Some people love learning languages and want to know about everything. That’s great for them. But equally, taking a pragmatic approach to how much and what kind of English you need is just as valid.

What kind you English do you actually need? Let me know in the comments.

I’ve met a lot of students who think they need more - more grammar, more vocabulary, more practice, more time. But sometimes this desire for more language is because we are hiding behind the idea that we need more knowledge. If you keep your English in a coursebook, or only for your English classes, it’s not serving a real purpose. You have had enough coursebooks, grammar lessons, and gap fill exercises to last a lifetime. You need to engage in real life, motivating, practical, inspiring, and thought provoking language EXPERIENCES. Open a door to a new relationship with English this summer.

Are YOU using English? Let me know in the comments.

I’ve been telling you why I think you should come to my cultural immersion course A LOT recently.
🟢It will boost your confidence speaking English
🟠It will change your relationship with the language
🔵You will learn to focus on effective communication
🟣You will stop stressing about your accent and work on pronunciation
🟠You will move towards being a proficient speaker, not sounding like a “native”
🟡You’ll discover all the amazing things you can ALREADY do
🔴By creating a positive relationship with English, you’ll be able to reach your goals

But don’t just take my word for it - here is what my former students have to say.
Come to Edinburgh with me this summer to stop learning English and start USING it.

In 2023, we should be having different conversations about what being a proficient user of English means, and prioritising effective communication. With my unique 3 step approach, you will be taken on a journey to transform how you see your English, how you use it, and your future with the language.

And of course you will be USING English too. Because if we don’t actually use a language, what is it for? You have had enough coursebooks, grammar lessons, and gap fill exercises to last a lifetime. You need to engage in real life, motivating, practical, inspiring, and thought provoking language EXPERIENCES. Open a door to a new relationship with English this summer.

For years, students have been told that the native speaker is the ultimate goal - you should sound like them, use the same kind of language as them, speak with the same fluency as them. And I’m here to tell you that YOU DO NOT NEED TO DO THIS.

First of all, what does sounding like a native speaker even mean?! There are endless examples of what a native speaker can be, so using this as a measure of your level is unrealistic, and also pointless. Everyone’s English goal is unique and will involve different challenges. For some people, it’s enough to carry a basic conversation. For others, it’s being able to write scientific papers in English. So the first step you need to take is to evaluate your own needs.

This is exactly what my Cultural Immersion courses in Edinburgh are designed to do. In 2023, we should be having different conversations about what being a proficient user of English means, and prioritising effective communication.

Have you felt pressured to sound like a "native"? Let me know in the comments ☺️