English Learning Community and Resources

Hi, friends!

Welcome to our very first episode of the new listening and speaking comprehension series, Listen Up!

We'll get to know each other by having fun, short conversations in English. Not only will you get to practice your listening comprehension, but you will also practice speaking!

Remember, as I said in our announcement, if you don't want to speak, that's ok! You also have the option to type your reply too. 

Let's go!

LISTEN UP! EPISODE 1: LET'S GET TO KNOW OUR FRIEND, KURT.

Source: Pixabay

One of the great aspects of being part of the OLS community is all of the fascinating colleagues I have. It's a rich, multi-national community of people who also love learning and sharing their language and culture. 

Let's get started by chatting with our friend, Kurt, the Community Manager for the OLS Maltese community. 

PART 1: WHO’S KURT & WHAT ARE HIS TIPS FOR LEARNING LANGUAGES?

Task 1: Wow! I didn't know that English is the co-official language of Malta along with Maltese, did you? Kurt has a really impressive background! What did you find interesting about his brief introduction?

Let's continue getting to know Kurt and his country of Malta. With someone who loves languages and has worked for several European programs, how many languages do you think he speaks? Take a guess and then let's listen to find out:

How many did you guess? Were you right? :D

Having so many languages under his belt, I started to feel curious about strategies or tips for learning languages.

Before you listen to his answer, think about some of the strategies and tips that you use to help you learn English.

Task 2: I found his answer to be very useful! How about you? What tips of his did you like? What tips of yours can you share?

Now that you’ve recorded or typed your answer to the tasks, go to Part 2 to continue the conversation!

PART 2: VARIETY OF ENGLISH ACCENTS

Source: Pixabay

One of my favorite joys about being an English teacher is listening to all of the melodic ways English learners speak English. Listen to this next excerpt of my interview with Kurt, the OLS Maltese Community Manager, to hear our thoughts on how our ears get 'attuned' to different kinds of English. Please note that in this excerpt, the audio recording is slightly different from the others. You should still be able to hear it just fine, though! :D

What a beautiful metaphor Kurt shared about the “tapestry of languages.”

Task 1: What do you think about what Kurt says? Do you think it is important for you to attune your ear to different types of English? Why or why not?

Task 2: Let’s weave a tapestry of English accents together, shall we? What are some of your favorite English accents to listen to? I’ll go first. My list is long, so I’ll limit it to just three: I adore Jamaican, Irish, and now the Maltese ways of speaking English.

Record your spoken answer or type your written answers to the tasks and then continue to Part 3 to hear about how moving abroad is a great way to learn more about yourself. See you there!

PART 3: MOVING ABROAD & DISCOVERING YOURSELF

Source: Pixabay

In this audio clip, Kurt tells us about his experience living in Luxembourg and Belgium. He discovered some cultural differences, but he also discovered some new aspects about himself.

Task: What are you discovering about yourself in your host country? Or, if you’ve finished your mobility, tell us what you learned about yourself thanks to your mobility program. 

Record your spoken answer or type your written answers to the tasks and then head over to Part 4, to hear why Kurt enjoys being a part of our OLS community.

PART 4: WHAT KURT LOVES ABOUT BEING THE MALTESE COMMUNITY MANAGER

Source: Pixabay

The more I got to know Kurt during our interview, the more curious I became about his thoughts about being a part of OLS. Listen in to our conversation and then do the task below by recording your vocal reply or typing it.

Task: What do you enjoy about being a part of our OLS community? 

We’re almost at the finish line!

Record your spoken answer or type your written answers to the task, then listen to Part 5, the conclusion of my conversation with Kurt. Don’t miss my attempts at practicing Maltese for the first time!

PART 5: HAVE FUN LEARNING LANGUAGES

Source: Pixabay

It’s fun to practice new languages and make mistakes! Kurt was gracious enough to teach me a few Maltese words. Listen in as we practice together and conclude our conversation.

Iya:

Kurt:

Having learned about its fascinating linguistic history, I had to be brave and give it a try! Why not practice along with us?

CONCLUSION

Thank you for joining me on our very first episode of ListenUp!

I had such a fun time speaking with Kurt, but you know what? I should've asked him what kind of music his music label published.

Task: If you were speaking to Kurt, what questions would you ask? Click Reply below and tell us.

PS: Curious to learn more about Kurt? Skip on over to the Maltese community and start chatting with him. Click here and tell him Iya sent you! Hahaha!

WHAT’S NEXT?

Keep your eyes peeled for Episode 2! Remember, ListenUp! is the place where YOU get to practice speaking in English, so be sure to tell me what other topics you’d enjoy.

Sincerely yours,

Iya, your friendly neighborhood community manager. :D

PS: The OLS Video Contest ends THIS Sunday! Share your English skills with us by entering the contest. The deadline is 4 February 2024 at 11:59 CET. Find all the details here.