My most successful students

Today I was having coffee with one of my most successful students, and we were talking about her approach to improving her fluency in English. In my opinion, her success is related to the following things:


1. She believes that communication is her first priority.
2. She listens and pays attention.
3. She reads and watches TV series and films.
4. She takes advantage of opportunities to speak.
5. She works to incorporate new grammar and vocabulary immediately.

All of these practices are key to her success, but I think the first one is absolutely the most important one. Because she believes this, the other ones follow more easily. If using English "perfectly" were her objective, it would be much more difficult for her to improve, because the idea of "perfection" would be a barrier. She would probably feel less disposed to speak, and it would be harder for her to listen and pay attention, because she would be distracted by her idea of being "perfect".
In education and business today, people are talking a lot about the value of making mistakes and taking risks. It's easy to talk about it but difficult to do it. When I see a student taking risks in order to communicate, I'm very impressed, and I know that she or he will learn and improve a lot!
It would be very interesting for me to hear other ideas about this, from students or teachers...

Smile, baby!

Here is a nice presentation about "The Hidden Power of Smiling." I found out about it from Presentation Zen, where Garr Reynolds has written a good post about smiling and what different smiles mean. He also pointed out that the presenter, Ron Gutman, is using Prezi for his visuals.
Here it is... I hope it makes you smile!

Clutter

Clutter is a noun, and it refers to "a number of things scattered in disorder." Clutter could be a pile of papers, or many things in a drawer or closet. The idea is that the things are disorganized, and sometimes unnecessary.
Some people like clutter. They have a pile of papers on the desk and drawers full of envelopes, pencils, business cards, etc. Some people feel more comfortable with clutter in the kitchen, living room or bedroom.
Other people don't like clutter and prefer to keep surfaces clean and minimal, and closet and drawers organized.
Which style do you prefer?
The adjective for this word is cluttered, and the opposite adjective is uncluttered. For example: Although Mary's desk was uncluttered, she wasn't as productive as Joe, whose desk was always full of papers.
Sometimes people use clutter as a verb, and declutter as its opposite. You might enjoy reading a blog post about decluttering on zenhabits.

The One Hundred Most Creative People in Business 2011

Everyone knows that I like Fast Company, in print and online. I always enjoy their annual list of The 100 Most Creative People in Business. Reading the list introduces me to people and businesses I wouldn't know about otherwise. Also, it can be interesting to debate the choices...

Cumbersome

Cumbersome is an adjective, and it means hard to handle or deal with because of size, weight, or many parts; burdensome; unwieldy; clumsy. The idea is that something is so big, complicated,or badly designed that it is difficult to move or to use.
This adjective can be used for physical objects.For example, the sofa was so cumbersome that he decided not to take it with him to the new apartment.
We can also use this adjective for processes. A lot of processes in business are cumbersome. Of course, doing things with the government is often cumbersome because you have to complete a lot of forms, etc.
The worst may be when websites are cumbersome, because they should be quick and easy to use, exactly the opposite of cumbersome!

No matter what

The expression no matter what is actually a shorter version of a longer expression: no matter what happens. The idea is that the situation could change, but the action, state, or feeling will remain the same. Here are some expamples:

I'll always love you, no matter what.
He promised to be home by dinner, no matter what.
We're going to achieve our goals, no matter what!

It doesn't matter

If something doesn't matter, it's not important. Take a look at some examples of this:

It doesn't matter to me where we have dinner. (The restaurant isn't important to me.)
It doesn't matter what happens, I'll always love you. (What happens isn't important, because I will love you in any case.)

On the other hand, if something matters, it's important. A couple of examples:

What you do matters more than what you say. (Your actions are more important than your words.)
Being on time really matters. (Being punctual is important)

Note: If we put "to you" or "to Mary" afterwards, it means that the thing is important or unimportant to the person in specific. If not, then we're speaking more in general. For example:

Clothes really matter to Barbara. (Clothes are important to her personally.)
Does Facebook matter? (Is Facebook important in general?)

Here's the question form:

Does the royal wedding matter?
Does it matter whether we meet at my place or yours?

Matter is regular in its form, and you can use it in all verb tenses.

People often talk about "what matters," and this refers to what's important to them. For example: what matters to me is how I spend my time.

What matters to you?

We're getting excited....

We use the verb get + adjective to describe a changing physical or emotional state, and we often use the continuous form. For example: FC Barcelona fans are getting excited about the Champions League Final. Here are some more examples:

Let's stop arguing because I'm getting angry.

I'm getting tired and I want to go home.

He was getting hungry and he wanted to have lunch.

Are you getting excited about the wedding?

She could see that he was getting nervous.

Are you getting cold? Do you want to wear my jacket?

Of course, we can also use the structure with other verb tenses:

He got tired during the football match.

I wish she wouldn't get so angry at us!

Will you get cold if you don't bring your coat?

I would have gotten nervous if you hadn't called.

My brother gets really excited when his team wins.

Befuddled

My word of the day is befuddled, and it has two key meanings. The first one is confused: He was befuddled by the sign. The second one relates to being disoriented because of drinking too much: She was too befuddled to drive herself home.

I like this word because it sounds like what it describes. Also, it works the same way as other adjectives with the -ed ending: You are befuddled and the situation or cause is befuddling. For example: The visitors' sign was befuddling and he didn't know which way to go.

Good at/Bad at

If you're good at something, it means that you do it well. For example, my dad is really good at a number of things, like writing, playing games and sports, and cooking.
One question that always comes up about people being good at something is whether their ability is "natural" or not. It seems that the idea of natural ability is very popular, but this concept is being questioned more and more. When we really study people who are very good at doing something, we often find that they practice a lot. A lot! Maybe the ability to practice a lot is the most important thing, and this ability often comes from enjoying the activity.
You can use good at and bad at to describe your ability, or lack of ability, to do something. When you put a verb after at, the verb should be -ing. For example: my dad is good at playing pool. If the activity has a noun form, you can also just use that, for example: I'm not very good at chess.
So, what are you good at?

P.S. Obviously, this post is dedicated to Bill Coulton. One of the things he's really, really good at is being a great Dad!