Home Alone
New Year New You! We often set ourselves new objectives for our lives in the early part of a new year, and many make the commitment to do more exercise or improve their English. People can be discouraged very easily, especially in this era of COVID isolation, so here are some tips for improving your English even if you are in enforced solitude.
The Noise in your life
One of the biggest steps you can take to making English more comfortable is to replace the noise in your life with English! It is common for Spanish people to fill the silence with the radio or TV in their homes. Here are some resources for you to try to fill your life with English!
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The Bulldogz podcast or youtube channel
Available on various platforms including apple, spotify and anchor​​
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The BBC Podcast Library
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The Spanish Football Podcast
British journalists living in Spain talking about the beautiful game​
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The World Radio Map
Select a country and a city and tune in to any radio station live!​
The Original and Best
Digital technology and on demand TV have revolutionised the way we use the black mirror. There is no excuse to not watch all your favourite films and TV shows in the original audio. Quitting your dubbing fix could be the best thing you would ever do to aid the development of your natural English.
Swift Results
Isolation is no barrier to getting to the classroom in our modern world. You can still participate in English classes and prepare for exams from the comfort of your own home, connecting by Zoom and you don’t even need to wear a mask! Classes for all ages and all levels are available with Swift; especially popular with our students are our Exam Preparation Classes; B1, B2, C1 & C2; with expert native teachers.
Revisit your favourites
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A great way to build your confidence is to go back and watch or read your all time favourite stories that you know like an old friend. If you have seen Pretty Woman a thousand times well you don’t need to concentrate on the dialogue as you already know it, so rewatch it in English and see how well you can follow the events.
Lyrical learning
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Your favourite songs in English.
This is a marvellous way to start and finish the day, not to mention all weekend. Go to lyrics.com and there you will find the lyrics to your favourite songs. Learn them by singing along. Very entertaining and enjoyable.
Talk to yourself
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I am often ask why I talk to myself, I always reply it is the only way I can guarantee decent conversation! Talking to yourself is an excellent way to solidify your English. It helps change the habit of translating from Spanish into English and helps build your instinctive English. It can also help with the boredom of isolation!