December, the 23rd

On Friday I was extremely tired and all I wanted was only to relax. So my husband and I had a great romantic evening together after my working day. We watched a great movie "Good Will Hunting". It is a bit strange in the beginning but then you start to realise that this film is great.It shows us that we often don't realize (and may be even don't want to do this) what are causes of ouur problems nowadays. It's not always easy, it's hard work, it can hurt you but after sometimes you have to do that. Not analyzing your past, trying not to think about anything serious, just live is much simpler. When you meet someone who can help you, you shouldn't be reluctant, you have to think about this person. Why has he/she come to your life? What do you need to learn? And if you want to change your life?

December, the 22nd

What should say after not writing for so long? At first I thought that a situation like this one will be a kind of break of my own promises. Now I realise that sometimes we simply need to set our priorities in the right way.
So I decided that even if I don't study for one or even for some days I will write (in other words I must do it) something about my day and what was done.
On the 22nd of December I worked as usually. In the evening I had to translate one text connected with management, so I worked with English which is obviously great. Not much but it's better than nothing.

December. the 21st

Is it enough to sleep for about 5-6 hours? I try to but I haventn't succeeded in it yet.
Today Unit 14th of idioms is completed/ My only drea, now is to sleep in.
I had a couple of episodes of Saun T when in my car. He's great even if I do not understand evything in his talks.
To be honest it's almost impossible for me to write right now. I will do it tomorrow, I promise. And now - nighty night, my dear followers.

December, the 20th

Today I did a few things connected with my learning.
First of all, I completed unit 13 and almost finished unit 14 (idioms). I hope to finish it completely tomorrow.
I listened to Shaun. Today it was much better than yeasterday. It was about changing yourself.I definitely like the idea of trusting and believing in yourself.
I looked through the book "1000 collocatons" (thank you, Lilya). It is great. I've done lesson 1 from it. It will be my next coursebook during my preparation.
I need to relax, I don't know why but I am so tired now. Now I can do nothing with it 'cause I have to work. I can only dream about my coming holidays.
Well, I feel that my thoughts are tangled. It's not a good time to write about something, to try to understand what's happening and what do I have to do later. So I'll go to bed and have a good sleep.
Bye for now! Peace out!

December,the 19th

It's Monday again. Two weeks before the New Year. I am looking forward to my holidays. I am absolutely tired.
Today I worked a lot.
As for my English learning, I've almost completed Unit 13 (idioms). I listend to the episode 14 of Shaun T's podcast, but I didn't like it. It was really noisy and very difficult to understand for me. Moreover, it was too long.
I know that I have analyse my sample exam №1, work with its vocabulary and explain all the mistakes. It will be useful for me.
Now I will go to bed. Good night!

December, the 18th

That day I almost wasn't at home and didn't have any opportunity to do any tasks. I was busy all day. I understand that it is not an excuse. It is only a fact. Now I see that I have to be more careful with my free time, to plan it thoroughly. This weekend served as a lesson for me.

December, the 17th

I am very sorry. I haven't been writing anything for almost 3 days. That's awful. Does it mean that I have broken my word?
Last Saturday I finally did a sample paper for my future exam. It was kind of ambiguous. On the one hand I've finally done it. On the other hand, I was frustrated with my result. I got only 60% in reading and Use of English and I also got 60% in Listening part. I know that I have to improve my future results, I have enough time for that but I have to work hard. I will.

December, the 16th

It is really amazing how different my days can be. Today was really busy. I had too much to do and it was quite difficult to squeeze all the necessary things in it.
I listened to some podcasts as usual. Shaun talked about negativity. That episode was made just after the terrorist atack in France last year. He was very emotional. His main idea was that we can't change this world, we can't change other people but we should change ourselves. We should overcome our inner problems and try not to spread the evil into the world. It was so close to the ideas form one of my favourite books.
By the way, have you ever read the 'Little prince'? It's a wonderful book full of the nicerst thoughts about our life. I just adore this book. I remember reading it at university in French and discussing the most vexed questions with our teacher. All these hot dicsussions are really unforgettable!
To be honest, it was the only thing I managed to do today within the bounds of my learning. It is Friday already and I am very tired. It was a long week, it was hard for me.
I'm going to do the sample test tomorrow. I definitely must do it because I ptomised to do one sample a month and I'll have some time for it tomorrow evening. I hope that my results won't frustrate me. I will tell you about my experience even if it is disspointing.
Well, that's enough for today. I'm going to sleep in today because I don't sleep enough during weekdays. See you later, my dear alligators! :=)

December, the 15th

It was quite an ambiguous day. I was upset because of some problems but I managed to fulfil my promises for today.
Unit 12 (idioms) is done. I have 3 more left.
Listening. It was Shaun again. It might seem rather strange but when he talks about fitness, it immediately connects with learning languages in my head. Today he talked about plateau. I think that when you learn a language, some day it seems to you that you don't move forward anymore, you can't see any progress. It's not easy to overcome this situation but it is real. You just have to work hard. And it is very important to do one small step forward, towards your goal every day. You shouldn't lose your temper but you should work. Work hard.
Oh, today I watched the first series of "Great expectations". It's a BBC series and it's an exciting one. Its length is about one hour. There are two more series and I'd like to watch them as soon as possible.
Not bad, isn't it? Need to 'chillax' now. See you tomorrow!

December, the 14th

Today was a long and busy day. I did lots of different things from the very morning.
In terms of learning I managed to listen to a couple episodes of Shaun's podcast. I really enjoy listening to them. Altough it is sometimes impossible for me to understand, I struggle. Shaun often repeats 'Dig deeper!' These words are just the ones I need to hear every day from someone. He also talks about motivation, about how not to be your own barrier, what is important when you have to make decisions. When you listen to him, you realise that all your life is about struggling. You shouldn't give up, think that you're weak. Just dig deeeper!
Today I finished reading the 4th chapter of HP2 and started to write down vocabulary. I'm trying to find a way to organise it, a way to classify it.
I did half of the 12th unit of idioms. I dream about completing this book already as I have lots to do besides this book.
We (my students and I) watched "Frozen" to the end. I liked it very much. I want to look up in a dicionary some words and phrases that seem to be rather interesting and useful for me in a dicionary.
I think today was a great day! I did well. Hope to keep it up!
Now it's time to go to bed. Night-night!

December, the 13th

One more day of my studying. Not bad, I should say.
In the morning I wanted to add some mire LEP to my flash card but I came across Shaun T's podcast. It was rather unexpectedly. I decided to listen to it destite the fact that he is American. At first, it wasn't easy to understand because of different pronunciation. Luke's pronunciation is just perfect for my ears, I understand almost everything when he talks. However, I definitely need to listen to something different from time to time.
By the way, Shaun's podcast is so great! It is inspiring and motivating. It's such a pleasure to hear his voice. I hear it every day when I workout. So I'm used to listening to his motivating words, I really like this. That's why I decided to listen to his podcasts for some time. I listened to two episodes and started to listen the third one today.
What else? I completed the 11th unit in my idioms.
 I read some pages from HP 2, chapter 4.
To summarise, I think that today was quite a good day in terms of learning.
I have to revise  all the words that were new for me from the book and do some additional exercises to practise idioms.
That's all for today! Nighty night!

December, the 12th

At the beginning of a new week I am usually tired and want to stay at home sitting comfortably in my armchair and reading a great book. That's a nice dream, I think. n reality I hav to go to work and do many other necessary things.
In the morning I could start listening to the next episode of LEP but I prefered to listen to some music in order to improve my mood. But when getting back home from work, I was listening to episode №99. It was quite interesting as Luke was talking about different things from food to his memories from his childhood. I haven't finished listening to it yeat, so tomorrow I'll go on.
I started to read the next chapter of HP2. Chapter 4. I must complete it by the end of this week.
I also started to watch the cartoon Frozen with my students. It is rather easy and I like it very mych. I want to find all the words and expression from this cartoom connected with winter and cold.
What's more, I've started to work with unit 10 of my idioms course book. I've already found definitions for all the idioms from this unit and I have to do only some exercises now.
So, I think this day was not so bad. I did a lot of useful things despite the fact that I just wanted to be lazy today. Bye for now! See you!

December, the 10th and 11th

My weekend was quite buse this time. We are doing some repairs in our flat so this work totally occupied all my free time. I don't even now what to write here today.
Do you think I should feel guilty for that?
I definitely must plan my activities for next week much more carefully. It will give me opportunities to learn a lot of new things and useful information. I dream about having more free time but 'c'est la vie' as the French say. I know I will do my best to keep my promise.
I have to go to bed now as I am tired. Bye, see you tomorrow!

December, the 9th

That's the end of this working week and I feel so tired. Maybe that's because I was working hard for the whole week, spending every evening with my English learning.
At the end of this weekend I hope to sum up my activities during this week and write a bit longer message in my blog.
As for today, I've listened to some LEP.I've also listened to the 3rd chapter of HP2 and have written down a couple of minutes from the 4th one (I've done quite a lot of mistakes). I've finished to translate new words from the 3rd chapter. And I've completed the 9th unit from my idioms course book.
This was just a brief message. I have to go to bed now and have a rest. Bye. See you tomorrow!

December, the 8th

I've just understood that a week slipped by. I can't say it was bad. On the contrary, I've done a lot of work. I always think I can work better. It's a kind of self-criticism. I definitely need you to comment my posts here, it would be like feedback for me.
I must write here not only about my promises but also about something exciting or just interesting in order to make this blog more alive, more natural. I may write down my speculations though they can be a little crazy sometimes. It would also be really useful because it is a good practice in writing and using new vocabulary.
Today I listened to LEP, episode 97 and 98 (not to the end). I just like it very much.
I also worked with some vocabulary from HP2. I've stopped wriring down definitions and started to translate words and phrases into Russian.
I want to choose a good series in English to watch but still can't decide. There are so many of them.
In about a week I'm going to do a kind of a mock exam for me. I hope I won't be afraid of my results.
See you later, alligator!

December. the 7th

If only I knew where to buy some free time, I would go there immediately. But, as far as I'm aware, it is almost impossible so I have to do with the exact amount I have now. I definitely must learn what time-management is and how it works.

Today I was thinking a lot about my knowledge of English. I sometimes doubt whether I know enough to teach other people. Of course, I do, but I'm never that sure. 

I've listened to an episode where Luke presents some participants of his competition. To win a good dictionary, people had to record themselves speaking English for about 2 minutes. It's a real challenge, I think. I don't know why, but it's very difficult for me to feel confident when I speak English. It's okay when I talk to my students but not that way when I talk to someone else. I need more practice. Mayve I must record myself speaking and upload this into my blog. Who knows? I'll think about it. 

I've done some exercises from my idioms coursebook. I think I'll complete Unit 9 tomorrow.

It's a shame but I haven't read anuthing at all today except for some texts from my students' coursebooks. 

Tomorrow might be a good day for learning. So, I'm out of here, bye for now!

December, the 6th

Today was much better than yesterday.
I've done several things today in terms of my exam preparation:
1. I've finished episode 91 where Luke was talking randomly ebout everything and listened to a part of the episode 93 where Luke with his btother James and his friend Aaton are talking about cultural differences. It is quite challenging sometimes because they talk naturally, laugh and etc.
2. I've started unit 10 of 'A good tirn of phrase'.
3. I've listened to the 2nd chapter of HP2and started to work with vocabulary from chapter 3.
4. I've decided to take part in a marathon where I hope to achieve some good results in time-management.
Well, I think that's all I have to say for today. By the way, it's tomorrow already (haha!) and I need to go to bed.
See you soon!

December, the 5th

Nothhing special, what else can I say.
This day was too busy from the very morning. I was listening to Luke's 91st episode in which he was talking something about something baginning with the letters from A to Z. It was quite interesting how he could go on talking without lod pauses.
I've done some exercises from Unit 9 of 'A good turn of phrase' but I haven't finished it yet.
As for reading, I've only managed to print out the next chapter. Tomorrow I'll start reading it.
Now I'm just going to bed because I am so tired...

December, the 4th

Not a very succeddful day, to be honest, in terms of learning. A visit to the dentist, a ski trip to the forest with my husband, lots of housework. In one word it's Sunday.
The only thing I've done is that I've finished reading the third chapter and I think that during the next two days I must make some notes about new vocabulary from it. I'm also going to read a part of the 4th chapter, to listen to the 2nd  and the 3rd ones, do a listening task like the one I did for the 3rd chapter. Lots of plans! I hope the next week will be more effective.

December, the 3rd

It's a shame but I haven't done a lot today. I've only listened to the episode 90 of Luke's EP. In it he talked about phrasal verbs which are commonly used and which begin with the letters A, B and C. Here is the list of these verbs with examples:
VOCABULARY
Here are all the phrasal verbs I used in this episode:
A
to account for something -“All this traffic accounts for the noise in London”
to act on something -“I act on my ideas and make a podcast”
to agree with something – “I agree with everything you say”
to appeal to someone – “Living in Hawaii really appeals to me”
B
to back someone up – “My listeners back me up and vote for me”
to bail someone out – “The Bank of England had to bail out the high street banks”
to base something on something / to be based on something – “This book is based on a true story”
to begin with something – “The podcast always begins with a jingle”
to begin by doing something – “I’ll begin by giving you the background to this news story”
to begin to do something – “He began to start talking about crime in London”
to believe in something – “I don’t believe in UFOs”
to belong to something – “Some people belong to sects with strange ideas” “Why can’t ants go to church? Because they’re in-sects”
to blow someone away / to be blown away by something – “If I saw a UFO I’d be blown away”
to blow something up – “The army would try to blow up the UFO”
to break down – “My car broke down on the motorway” “He broke down and started crying”
to break up – “Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are going to break up”
to bring something down – “They’re going to bring the government down”
to bring someone down – “Don’t bring me down man!”
to bring something on – “bring it on!”
to build on something – “They want to build on the legacy of the Olympic games”
to build up an interest in something – “They’re using publicity to build up an interest in the olympics”
to bump into someone – “I bumped into Mike and we went for a few pints”
C
to call something off – “It would be embarrassing if they called off the opening ceremony”
to camp out – “To stay outdoors in a tent”
to get carried away – “Some people might get carried away and drink too much”
to catch up with a friend – “It’s nice to catch up with a friend and catch up on all the latest gossip”
to catch up on the latest news
to charge someone with something / to be charged with something – “The police charged him with being drunk and disorderly”
to clean something up – “I’m going to stay in and clean up my room”
to cling to something – “People cling to these old stereotypes about Britain”
to come across something – “I came across a lovely old pub which I didn’t know about”
to come along – “I’m going to a party, you should come along”
to come around – “Why don’t you come around for a cup of tea later”
to come through something – “He’s just come through a very difficult period”
to come up with something – “She came up with some really good ideas”
to concentrate on something – “You can concentrate on your English”
to consist of something – “A typical episode will consist of interviews, vocabulary and pronunciation”
to contribute to something – “He really contributes a lot to the team”
to convert something into something – “I can convert WAV files into MP3s”
to be covered in something – “My desk was covered in CDs”
to crack down on something – “The police are cracking down on internet piracy”
to cut back on something – “The government are cutting back on public spending”
to cut something off / to get cut off – “They might cut off the electricity” “Sorry, I think we got cut off for a moment”

I need to translate them or look up their definitions in a dictionary.
I've also read some pages of the third chapter. There are so many unknown words there.This book is definitely full of useful bits of vocabulary.
The weekend is never successful for me in terms of learning. I usually spend a lot of time with my family, cook something tasty because  on weekdays I don't have enough time for that.
I have one idea that can help me to make my preparation for the exam more effective but I will write about it later and only if I get what I want.
So, that's all for today. Bye! See you tomorrow.

December, the 2nd

Well, today was a busier day than yesterday. However, I've managed to do something.
In the morning I had about twenty minutes and I did the first part of the module 9 in 'A good turn of phrase'.
When driving, I was listening to Luke. They were episodes number 88 and 89. In the episode 88 Luke told his listeners about how to play the drums. It was quite interesting because he did it very emotionally (by the way he always speaks this way and I like it). In the episode number 89 Luke was chatting about his ordinary day with lots of details. I definitely have to listen to it one more time and to work with vocabulary which is very useful I think.
In the evening I decided to work with the second Harry Potter book. I started with a kind of listening task for me. I was listening for the audio version of the book for about two first minutes of the thitd chapter and was writing this extract down. It wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. I didn't make a lot of mistakes. But it was a good idea to work with the text this way.
After listening, I've read about half of the chapter. I think I'll finish it tomorrow. And after that I will work with vocabulary.
That's all for today. I'll write tomorrow. 
 

December, the 1st

Well, the day is almost over and I have to sum up.
First,  I've been talking to Jeffrey for the first time today! We've been talking (for the most part that is he who has been talking) for about half an hour. It was really great. I like his pronunciation very much. I hope we will talk now and then.
Secondly, I listend to two episodes of Luke's English podcast. They were numbers 86 and 87. They were pretty good.
Number 86 was about criminal law, it had some legal English. I've decided to copy the vocabulary fro, his site.
VOCABULARY
Homicide = The killing of another person
Suicide = The taking of one’s own life
Murder = An intentional act of homicide
Manslaughter = An act of homicide which does not include intention, but for which the defendant is responsible. E.g. A man gets drunk and drives home. He can’t control the car and so he kills a pedestrian.
Attempted murder = The crime of attempting to kill someone, but failing
Involuntary manslaughter = An act of manslaughter in which the person is guilty of killing someone but they didn’t want to and did it completely by accident
Mitigating factors = These are factors which make a crime less serious. E.g. in an act of murder if the murderer is not of sound mind, or if they kill the person because they are forced to.
Aggravating factors = These are factors which make a crime more serious. E.g. if an assailant or attacker uses a weapon, or if a murder involves excessive cruelty or pre-meditation.
Assault = The crime of hurting someone, usually physically.
Aggravated assault = More serious than assault because this involves a weapon or serious physical damage.
Commit = A verb used with all the above-mentioned crimes. E.g. to commit murder, to commit suicide (not technically a crime). It just means ‘do’ but it’s the appropriate term when referring to crimes.

In episode number 87 Luke and his cousin presented 6 phrasal verbs and 6 idioms. It was a kind of a game when they were talking and you had to catch these verbs and idioms in their chat. I have to admit that it was rather difficult.
The 6 Phrasal Verbs
(Luke’s phrasal verbs all begin with the letter L)
To lapse into something “I lapsed into a dream” -to go down into a different state
To let up “The snow just doesn’t let up” -to stop
To lust after something “They always lust after a big news story in the paper” -to really want something in a sexual way
To lash out at something “They lash out at criticism” -to react aggressively to something
To leaf through something “It’s nice to have a cup of tea and leaf through the paper” -to slowly turn the pages of a book or paper
To laugh something off “They just laugh off the criticism” -to deal with criticism by just laughing about it
The 6 Idioms
(Oli’s begin with the letter M)
To be no match for someone/something “This boxer is no match for Mike Tyson” -he’s not as good as Mike Tyson
To take matters into your own hands “He took matters into his own hands” -to take control of a situation yourself
To get a dose of your own medicine “He’s going to get a dose of his own medicine tonight” -to experience for yourself bad things which you normally do to others”
To take a trip down memory lane “Looking at those old photos made me take a trip down memory lane” -to make you remember something
To make a mental note “When you have an iPhone you don’t need to make a mental note” -to remember something
To take the mickey out of someone “They kept taking the mickey out of me for my new haircut” -to make fun of someone, to tease someone.

Thirdly, I've listened to the first chapter of 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'. It is read by Stephen Fry. He reads just wonderful. I'll definitely go on listening to this audiobook. Unfortunately, I haven't managed to read a lot but only two  pages of the third chapter.

Fourthly, I have done Unit 8 from 'A good turn of phrase' or, to be more precise, the second part of it. Sometimes it is difficult to understand if these idioms are used nowadays or they are old-fashioned. 
 
Finally, I think that today was a very good day. I know that I have to work hard every day in order to get good results, that is why tomorrow I will keep on doing this.

My resolutions

I have finally decided to create this blog in order ro prepare for my CAE exam. I realize that I really need more practice for that. I don't know if it would be interesting for you to read this blog. First of all I should write it because it is really useful for me.
It is the first of December today. The winter has finally come to Siberia. I'd like to pass my exam on the 13th of June 2017. I'll do my best to pass it with good result. I need to get an A mark. It means that I must work hard.
So, here are my resolutions:
1. I will write something in my blog everyday about what I have done, have learnt and so on.
2. I will read for about half an hour every day and work with new vocabulary.
3. I will finish 'A good turn of phrase' (idioms) by the end of December.
4. I will listen to some podcasts when driving to work and back home.
5. I will do an exam sample once a month.
I think that is enough. It is better not to give a lot of promises, even to yourself.
Now I have 193 days before my exam. I must use this time wisely, I cannot just waste it.