Spring Break is for Everybody
Spend some time to get ahead for the rest of the year.
Hello! I lost February but I’m back for March.
Why am I thinking of Spring Break when I’m not in school?
There are 44 colleges/universities in the Boston metro area so on any day in March some of those students are going to be on Spring Break. That got me thinking about how a short-term coaching option would be good for people who only have a week or two of extra free time to spend on English speaking skills.
Even if you’re not a university student on Spring Break, this is an option that is just for specific practice of any of your speaking situations without the time commitment to a complete set of lessons.
3 is the Magic Number
This is a group of three private speech coaching sessions, called “Single Sessions for Specific Practice” on my website. They are one-hour long meetings on Zoom with me for one-to-one practice of anything you want. That’s the big difference between the single sessions and a set of lessons.
Lesson sets include pre, mid, and post evaluations that identify the goals and set the agenda for the lessons. There is homework in the form of audio recordings and practice sessions between lessons. It is a commitment that not everyone has time for.
Single sessions are open for you to decide what you’d like to practice or prepare for: presentations, interviews, discussions, or pronunciation and intonation skills. You’ll get immediate feedback and practice on your speaking as well as suggestions about organization of content.
Use all three during a break or spread them out as you need them throughout the year. I made this group with a discount from the standard fee of $150/hour so the group of three one-hour sessions is $400.
What do you want to practice?
Ideas for Speaking Opportunities
If you’re looking for new ways to keep practicing your speaking skills over break (or anytime), here are some suggestions that you can do in person or online:
Meetup - find people who share similar interests and hobbies
American English Pronunciation Q&A and American English Intonation - are my Meetup groups
Volunteer Match - find organizations and companies that need volunteers
InterNations - connect with other ex-patriots living and working in the US
eventbrite - find events for social and professional interests
Ideas for Listening Opportunities (online)
StoryCorps - Listen to real people tell stories about their lives
Ted Talks - Listen to well-prepared presentations
American Rhetoric - Speeches from real life and movies
EnglishCentral - Choose the "slow speed" button to listen more carefully
YouGlish - Search YouTube for the exact word or words you want to hear spoken by real people
PlayPhrase - Search Movie clips for the exact word or words you want to hear spoken
Whether you have an official break or not, I hope you take some time for yourself to do something you enjoy and something that challenges you to keep improving. I believe the single sessions combine those two things!