My Life after CELTA

I had an appointment with the dentist. They had to replace the filling in my lower left seventh tooth. It wasn't bad at all, and I didn't feel any pain during the procedure, which was interesting as the first filling of this tooth had been the most painful eight years ago. What is more, there was this banter we had that made us laugh throughout the whole process. This dentist is a genius. The fifth lesson was relatively easy compared to the previous units; however, I still need to catch up with the listening tasks, only today, I wasn't in the mood to finish them. I had to plan and create a lesson for tomorrow for Ági and Roya, who would like to continue their English studies with me. I devised a pretty good lesson plan, and now I need to finalize it. Since they are strong B2+ - C1 level speakers, I thought I would create a lesson using the CAE book I bought ten years ago. There is another change in the weather. The temperatures were high today; however, the wind picked up a...

My certificate arrived today. I can't believe it. I'm over the moon; I'll pop out for some cakes. This little piece of paper is the beginning of something new and the end of a challenging period. CELTA wasn't easy for various reasons, but with hindsight, I'd do it again.  I progressed today by almost finishing the fifth unit in the book and the workbook. The listening tasks are waiting for me to get over with them, but apart from that, I'm good. I'll finish them tomorrow, provided that the dentist won't cause any pain which could knock me out. The weather is improving, although the rain makes it grey and depressing. Next week will bring some cold days, which is not good news considering that the roof guys are planning to install the new shingles. Anyway, they will fix the roof, and this is what counts.

After quickly going through the fourth lesson, I decided to start the fifth. And I didn't regret it. For the first time in my life, I was successful with the open cloze and gapped tasks, as I didn't make any mistakes. I was proud of myself and patted myself on my shoulders. I was over the moon. I plan to take more and more promising steps to consider myself ready to sit either a CAE or CPE exam soon. Anyway, I'll finish the fifth lesson tomorrow and focus on the other mistakes I've discovered and identified during the last two weeks. These are the following: using commas, relative clauses, and other minor errors that shouldn't be mentioned. The weather was much better today than yesterday. It was still cold and windy, but the temperature was higher, and the sun was shining a lot. We might even have +20°C on Friday, which seems crazy.

The fourth lesson was relatively easy. Although some of the new idioms I learnt were rather interesting, for instance, why would "put someone's nose out of joint" mean to annoy someone, or "to find someone's feet" become familiar with and confident in a new situation? However, I shouldn't be surprised, as I know every language has oddities. I remember watching a video on YouTube in which they were asking people from different countries about their idioms, and a Turkish saying caught my attention. It goes like this: " Burnundan Kıl Aldırmamak ", which is in English, "Not letting someone take a hair from your nose.", and which means "To not take criticism." Why? Why would a hair from my nose mean that? Anyway, I need to do some revision tomorrow, but if things pan out, I can continue with lesson numero cinque. The weather was terrible today. It was cold and windy, and we even got snowstorms. I know it's the end of March wh...

As for my studies: I managed to stick to the plan, which was great. I almost finished the fourth lesson, but there are many new words and idioms to memorise, so there is a lot of work to do. I had a chat with chatGPT about the possible use of "recommend to do something", which, according to the Ready for Advanced book, is grammatically correct. Maybe, but maybe not. I couldn't find any reassuring source explaining how that worked, so I must rely on Charlette's expertise once she's back. Frankly, it is scary to chat with AI. Its response time and confidence are baffling. It could be an excellent tool for giving help and assistance to those who want to learn. However, and there is always a "however", I'm sure no one knows its outcome and how it will manipulate and affect our lives. It wasn't long ago when the first mobile phone was available with suitcase-size batteries. Now the whole gadget fits in our hands, and one cannot only make phone calls b...

The weather was pleasant today, albeit windy and colder than yesterday. Nonetheless, the next few days will be freezing, the wind will pick up, and the temperature will drop significantly. Hopefully, this is winter's last unpleasant surprise. They've threatened us with snow and lots of rain, which is not something I'd expect after a long winter at this time of the year. Although I understand the whimsical nature of March and April entirely, so stiff upper lips. I made it, finally. I decided to go through the previous three lessons, and I did. It wasn't easy to start and keep the focus, but when I got the hang of it, I could hardly stop going through the units. I'm glad that I could finish what I had planned. Tomorrow I'll start a new lesson in the book, and I'll try to keep the schedule, although more relaxed than I'd done last week. This is my new rule of thumb.

I had to stay away from learning today. I knew I wouldn't be able to concentrate, so I let this day slip. I did a bit of revision, but there was no other English studying activity in my schedule. It was just as well. Tomorrow I'll make up for today's inactivity and thoroughly review the previous lesson to memorise the new words and check the tasks where I'd made mistakes. Today the weather was changing. The air got colder, the wind picked up, and the sky was cloudy. Unfortunately, we even had some rain, so the weather forecast was correct the other day. Too bad that it will get even worse, so next Wednesday will bring freezing weather coming from the Arctic. What a whimsical month this is.

I took a day off today. I needed it. After breakfast, I popped in the car and off I drove. I returned to one of my previous homes in Mátyásföld, where I"d lived from 1984-1997. It was a sort of reminiscing of the good old days, but it was also a sort of waving goodbye to the past. It wasn't sentimental but rather pragmatic and symbolic. After driving by the old house and noticing how much it and the whole area had changed, I returned home. On the way home, I stopped off at the SPAR to shop. I had a few sandwiches for lunch and a delicious cup of coffee and took Abby for her afternoon walk, which was alright. The weather was beautiful today; the highest temperature was +20°C. Too bad that tomorrow will bring significant changes, and winter will take over again. Well, this is it for today, but tomorrow I'll start the weekend review when I go through the previous lessons and make some plans for the next week. There is a street lamp across the field in front of a long block of...

I spent the whole day reviewing the previous lessons. I memorised the unknown words and phrases and checked the rest of the unfinished or not-yet-started tasks left from earlier. It went well, and now I have started to get the hang of learning alone on a different level, which includes meticulous planning, dealing with tasks, and structuring my time. However, I miss Charlette and her professional guidance. Anyway, the locksmith came over to finish the railing today. He showed up at 9 a.m. and finished the job at 1 p.m. Now the entrance finally looks nice. It took him a good few weeks to finish it, but he did it, and that's what's the most important thing. We had lentils for lunch with frankfurters. The meal was delicious. Then Ági met with two new students - both lawyers - and after she finished, we took Abby for a long walk. The weather was insanely good. Sunny, no clouds in the sky and the temperature was +20°C. Abby wasn't pulling the leash and returned immediately when ...

It's not so much about a lesson I learned today than the lesson I'd learned yesterday. Depending on the lessons' subject and the density of the units' curriculum, the fixed plan and schedule is something that only fools would pursue. While trying to analyse and assess how much time my self-education takes, I must keep learning and progressing. The constant readjusting seemed irritating initially, but it has become the essence of this journey by now, for which I'm genuinely grateful. It's a long road before the exam, but right now, my main focus can only be my studies and the obstacles I must overcome. As for my progress, I've noticed today how much easier I can solve the open cloze tasks than earlier when I had been struggling with this type of exercise.  Other than my studies, I've been watching many oriental food videos recently. One particular food caught my attention: lentils with rice and other veggies. I came up with my own version, which consisted...

I knew there was always room for improvement, but I never knew I could learn something new every day about myself and how my brain works. For instance, I understood the importance of tasks in a language book and why one should always deal with what writers had thought of their significance and usefulness. Even the seemingly irritating tasks have a purpose, so completing them is rewarding in many ways. I understood my progress and saw why the pre-planning strategy couldn't work. Learning is not something constant that one could expect daily, rather than something alive and constantly changing. Since I have time on my hand, I can easily use it as I wish; going through a lesson more than once or going back to a previous unit or a specific grammatical structure to master it is the real deal. I must give myself time to process the books I'd decided to study from, and I have to remember that the time I allocate for learning is not a useless activity. I'll give myself as much time...

My performance today was excellent. I stuck to the plan and managed to go through the second lesson in the 'Ready for Advanced' book. It contained some words that needed attention, but overall, I'm happy about the test and task results. Tomorrow I'll review the relevant exercises in the workbook, but I must adjust the plan slightly, though. The anticipated pace at which I'd thought I could progress must be reconsidered, and I have to devise a better schedule. The main issue I detected today is: being an autodidact meant so far that going through any language book was merely about dealing with texts and vocabulary and forgetting about the tasks and workbooks. There were better ways of learning, of course, but this is how it is now, and instead of moaning about it, I need to rectify my mistakes. I must slow down and give myself more time to study. I must allocate enough time to immerse myself in the world of quality learning to improve and prepare thoroughly for the e...

I did a bit of testing today and went through the first lesson in the 'Read for Advanced' book. It wasn't too complicated, but my pesky mistakes were highly annoying. But, apart from these annoyances, the unit was doable alone and easy to complete, so I'm looking forward to executing my plan, which will start tomorrow. The goal is to go through the lessons in both books in the morning, complete the exercises, and then do the listening and writing tasks. Grammarly and chatGPT should be involved in the task control phase as long as I'm learning alone.  The afternoon passed quickly. After preparing devouring lunch, I gave Ági a foot massage, and after finishing it, I had to pass out and sleep for half an hour. Then we took Abby for her afternoon walk, which wasn't too bad; however, her constant leash-pulling made it nightmarish. I still don't feel wide awake after the afternoon slumber, which is terrifying. But taking a nap seems essential nowadays, and I can...

I have a plan, so crazy that it might just work. I checked my books and tried to estimate how to proceed with my preparation, i.e which books should be the first and how to process the units, so the devised schedule is the following: Completing the 'Straight to advanced' and 'Ready for Advanced' books. They consist of 10 lessons and 5 review units each, so if I study intensively, I can finish these books in three-four weeks. Learning by heart the advanced phrasal verbs, idioms, and collocation books. (Plus the 'Don't get me wrong' pocketbook that contains brilliant idioms and collocations.) These books consist of 60 units each, so if I take three lessons per week, I can finish them by the end of August. Completing the 'Destination C1-C2' book. This is the toughest of all the previously listed books, including word formation, idioms, phrasal verbs, grammar, etc. I could go through this book while dealing with the 'Straight to advanced' book si...

My CELTA certificate has just arrived, which means the course is officially over! I'm over the moon! Actually, it hasn't arrived yet in our postbox; it's at the Spanish Language School, and they've just sent an email about it. Anyway, now it's official, I'm a qualified ESL teacher, which I still can't process and believe. Well done me... My head was all over my CAE and CPE preparation this morning. Due to the changed circumstances, I had to come up with a new plan, and I had a nice conversation about it with Ági. We thrashed out some ideas on how to proceed with the preparation. I spent the entire morning pondering on how to proceed and which books to pore over, but at least now I'm confident about the next steps. I was responsible for lunch today, so I made a simple spaghetti. While devouring the nosh, we watched our current favourite show, 'Below Deck'. Then we spent the whole afternoon sleeping and watching the last episodes. It was just as we...

It's been little more than four years since Myke passed away, and the wounds he left behind are still deep. They wouldn't heal. Time is clearly not an ointment that could remedy them. Not a single day has passed since without thinking of him. Some days are better, but other days are still painful. I know I should concentrate on how lucky I should consider myself to know him, and I do; however, his physical absence feels like a dagger entering my heart sharply, unmercifully. I haven't forgotten the sensation of touching or holding him in my arms while taking him to the attic where he used to sleep next to me - those days, we had a tatami on the floor, and his little bed was right next to me. On the occasions when Ági moved his bed because she was cleaning the room and forgot to put his bed back to where it touched my bed, he immediately adjusted it back to its original place so that he could be as close to me as possible. His life hadn't been easy before I met him. Being...

The main water pipe in the street burst this morning, so there hasn't been any water in the house since. It is vexing because there were several pipe bursts last year, and the water outage was not pleasant. There was a new water pipe installation five months ago somewhere in the vicinity, and they haven't been able to fix it since. They wrecked the road so much that cars needed to slow down to cross the small trench they dug for the pipe, which they hadn't been able to cover since. There is Hungary in the 21st century for you. I had to leave the house today because I felt like being in a cage. I did some shopping - bought some food for Abby - checked the mountaineer store, and took the picturesque road back home through the Pilis mountain. On the way back, I popped into the SPAR to buy some rice and bread and came home in time, right before Ági finished her lesson. Then we had a delicious meal, and while devouring the food, we watched another episode of 'Below Deck'...

Today is a national holiday here in Hungary, and the whole country celebrates the  Revolution of 1848 . Everybody wears the cockade, and there are historical movies and other documentaries on TV commemorating this memorable event. There are political rallies where the clowns talk to the mass and try to use the event for their political benefits. Real plonkers. As for our day, we didn't do much apart from chillaxing a bit, which was just as well. I wasn't in the mood to learn or fiddle with my English studies, so I let this day go completely. After having a tasty meal for lunch, I gave Ági a foot massage and watched the latest episode of The Mandalorian. It wasn't as exciting as the previous episodes, but I hope the next ones will improve. Then we binge-watched three episodes of the latest season of 'Below Deck'. What a lazy day we had. .. I feel a lot better today. My stomach could handle the fish we'd eaten for lunch, so I've got high hopes for my complete ...

Ági's books arrived today. What great news! ( The publisher's website .) I'm so proud of her! It's not a fairytale for little girls to read on a cloudy Sunday afternoon while sipping warm cocoa rather than a hardcore linguistic masterpiece. She'd spent a good few years researching and putting together the basis of her habilitation, which she could defend eventually with flying colours - meaning the final grade was the best possible with 100% - so hard work paid off, fortunately. We must celebrate it! I'll pop out for some cake... I turned the corner, am on the mend, and feel better. I'm not as fit as a fiddle, but I'm not as sick as a parrot. I wish I could be back on my feet. I'm not complaining at all, I merely miss my daily routine, which consists of learning, doing some sports, and being more active. Now I still feel like a retired moth living on rice... But enough is enough. Let's stop this moaning and celebrate the two-kilo weight I got rid...

After a terrible night on the sofa - I'd been awake till 4 a.m. - I woke up like a rag-doll at 6 a.m. when the alarm went off. Ági rushed down to check up on me, and, judging by her look, I must have looked like a sun-dried larva. My stomach is still unable to deal with anything besides bananas, potatoes and vegetable juices. However, I've been thinking of having a massive portion of Wiener Schnitzel for days. I wish I could sink my teeth into that beautiful slice of meat in the picture... We certainly must get a Wiener Schnitzel in Vienna during Ági's scholarship in May. Anyway, despite my dizzy head, I started learning, and I could finish the second and the review 1-2 units today. The CAE book (Straight to Advanced) doesn't seem too challenging; however, I mustn't be preposterous and complacent and I have to focus on completing the CAE exam with flying colours. There were a few unknown idioms and phrasal verbs, which imply that I mustn't forget how to proceed ...

This morning I woke up like a hungry wolf, I wanted to devour the whole world, and I was happy about the goods we'd ordered yesterday. I could contain myself and ate only one sandwich for breakfast and two more for lunch; however, the cinnamon and cocoa rolls did my stomach in after giving Ági a nice foot massage. I'm an idiot. A complete knob head. A failure incarnate. Now here I am with an upset stomach again. I don't know what got into me and why I lost my common sense. I should have known it much better. Now I'm sitting at my desk with a stomach so big as a Michelin mascot's suffering from my own stupidity. What a brilliant mind I have, don't I? Let's face it, I'm a twat...

This virus weakened me completely. I still feel under the weather and so powerless that merely taking Abby for her evening walk felt like a heroic struggle. The lack of food wasn't helpful either, I reckon. The three bananas and some cooked potatoes gave me little strength. Anyway, I feel hungry, which is a good sign, so hopefully, I'll get over this nasty virus by tomorrow. Till then, I'll put myself onto a charger during the night to be as right as rain. Apart from reading an article in English today on aperture.gg about how Earth is running out of time due to the dire side-effects of climate change, I couldn't study because I couldn't concentrate on anything, so I decided to watch a few silly movies in the afternoon. The first film was the exceptionally silly 'Underwater' about deep-sea scientists working on the bottom of the Mariana Trench. There was some catastrophe causing the whole station to collapse, induced by a monster, and the entire plot was abo...

I feel a bit better today compared to how I'd felt the day before. The night wasn't too bad, and I didn't even wake up. However, my energy level and mood, hand in hand, reached an all-time low which does my head in. I'm neither hungry nor thirsty, which is weird, so my menu today consisted of four bananas, some rice and a couple of pints of Isostar. I hope I get well soon. I took Abby for her afternoon walk, and I was knocking about like an old confused pensioner. What concerns me more is that Ági shows similar symptoms, so fingers crossed that she didn't catch this nasty virus. I reviewed the first lesson from the 'Straight to Advanced' book and am ready to continue. Nevertheless, the advanced phrasal verbs, collocations, and idioms books caught my attention, too. It is high time that I started to revise and finish them as well.  I read an interesting article today about the Pioneer plaques , more precisely  The Golden Records  sent to space a couple of dec...

I had one of the worst nights ever yesterday. It started with a slight pain in the stomach which became agony seasoned with cold chills and fever. Apparently, I got some virus and could only lie down in a baby pose. The content of my stomach wanted to come out urgently, but it wasn't clear on which end. Right now, I feel like a retired slug crawling on its own saliva. I was awake till 2:30 a.m., then I passed out, I guess, but when I came to, it all started all over again. Brilliant. Ági told me that her students were complaining about the same condition, so apparently, this disease is spreading nowadays. I couldn't concentrate on my studies, so I saw it better to sleep. I passed out several times during the day, but it was just as well. I hope to get well soon... I've recently discovered an artist on YouTube, Peter Sheeler , who paints watercolours. I know nothing about art or painting, but I love this guy's style and the images he paints. This is my current favourite:...

I've just come back from the dentist's. Panic over. It wasn't as painful an experience as on several occasions when I'd brimmed my thong. There are five more teeth they need to work on, which means five more panicky events in the dentist's chair. Well, this guy is the best dentist I've ever met. He tells jokes that one can laugh their heads off. And the worst part is that I cannot reply or say anything with my mouth wide open and his hands fiddling with the drill and other paraphernalia. I can only squeak and gurgle, which makes the sound of the saliva ejector even more ridiculous. Brilliant. I started to pore over the 'Straight to Advanced' book. Despite finding the book not that difficult, I'm glad that I began with the C1 level, so I'm confident that I can successfully prepare for and sit a CAE exam soon. There are a couple of topics I must work on, but the overall impression is promising. It's good to have some confidence booster... Well,...

I checked the CAE test exam yesterday, and I must say John was right. It is difficult, and I'm willing to sacrifice a couple of months to prepare for this exam instead of striving for unachievable and unrealistic goals. I checked the Cambridge website, and according to the current CAE exam regulations, one can achieve a scale score of 200-210 (grade A), which states that one's demonstrated ability at level C2. Should I pass the CAE exam with flying colours, I'll still go for a CPE exam just for the sake of doing another exam :) The difference between the CAE and CPE exams is profound, but I don't need to rush, fortunately. Anyway, I went to pick up the books I'd ordered yesterday, but when I got there, I found a note on the closed door saying 'The shop is closed till 13:00 due to an electric outage'. I was fuming. They could have added this tiny piece of information to the order confirmation letter, which only contained the following: you can pick up the ord...

Charlette replied yesterday, and fortunately, all is well over there. They were deep in the Amazon rainforest, hence the hiatus in communication. Their next stop is in Chile, so they hope to get better internet service there and start giving classes soon. Fingers crossed. Today I had a nice lesson with John, although the venue was unique as I was in my car during class. I had to take Ági to Budapest because she was presiding over a national academic competition, and parking in the big city is relatively expensive and, at the same time, impossible. Anyway, we (John and I) agreed on preparing for a CAE exam first to see my weakest areas and, after completing it, aiming for the CPE. Actually, one can pass the CAE exam with flying colours aka 'PASS A', meaning the level on the Advanced Exam Certificate will be C2. It seems to me a reasonable and challenging, but doable plan. John recommended a couple of books which I'll pick up tomorrow. Fortunately, they have all of them at th...

My English level is far from C2, let alone being able to sit the CPE exam anytime soon. It's around C1 at best, and it still needs a lot of hard work and study, but I'm ready to burn the midnight candle. On the other hand, Ági's right; I'm a bloody genius for completing the CELTA course with my exceptionally unique English background. However, let's not sit on my laurels but realistically assess all the necessary tasks to sit a CAE and a CPE exam. I'm terribly curious about what John will tell me tomorrow. Btw, he is the next teacher candidate with decades of exam preparation and teaching experience. Still, I hope Charlette is alright and will return to continue our lessons eventually. Today was a lazy day again, but I don't mind it. I needed some me-time, so after sleeping in (I woke up at 7:30 a.m.), I decided to do some sport after breakfast and browse the internet afterwards. During training, I watched one of my most beloved movies: Cut it short, by Bohu...

We went to check an outlet on the other side of the capital. I wanted to buy a new pair of trousers, but after getting there, I realised I didn't need one, so I didn't want to splash out (a new phrasal verb I learnt today, thanks Ben ) any money just because we were there. After knocking about for half an hour, we decided to grab some food at one of our favourite street food places, so off we went to the downtown area of Budapest. As we couldn't find any parking lot, we headed for home. Even though we didn't buy anything and the weather was rather windy, spending some time outside the house was good. After coming home, we sat in front of the telly with the junk food we'd bought at KFC and, while we were watching another silly episode of Below Deck - a pathetic reality show about the crew on a yacht - we devoured our nosh. I then gave Ági a nice 1-hour 40-minute long foot massage and continued watching that silly series, and then I passed out. These weekend afternoon...

I made some progress today, although most of the phrasal verbs in the book weren't unfamiliar. I decided to extend my vocabulary by looking up all the meanings of these phrasal verbs, which proved to be tedious labour. It went well though, so there is nothing to complain or moan about. The weather is still lovely. It feels like spring; however, the weekend brings some changes in the temperature, and the nights will be freezing again. I hope it won't last long. This morning I went out for a short ride because I couldn't spend any more time inside. What an exciting life I lead, don't I? Abby didn't feel well yesterday. The side effects of her eye drops had a detrimental impact on her physique and mood, and we were highly concerned about her well-being. We decided not to give her these drops anymore, and it worked. Luckily she feels much better, is livid and ready to run. I even took her for a long walk which she enjoyed very much. Since Charlette hasn't replied to...

Today was one of those days when I couldn't buckle down to any studying-related activity. More precisely, I couldn't study as much as I planned early in the morning when I'd woken up with a start at 5 a.m. I remember having so many lovely thoughts and plans, and they all seemed doable. However, as the weather improved and the temperature increased, we all started feeling that well-known spring fatigue that made us exceptionally sleepy. If I'm being honest, I managed to go through two units from the phrasal verb book, so I shouldn't moan about it, but despite my efforts, my progress seemed a tad slow. I'm still waiting to hear from Charlette, and I hope they are alright. Oddly, she hasn't replied yet to my previous emails; however, I get that the internet service is not the best in that part of the world. I hope I haven't offended her in any way. Besides that, I've felt like a bird in a cage lately. I must go out and be away from home for a while. It ...

I'm still fiddling with 'GO' as a phrasal verb. The abundance of prepositions and their different meanings make it a tad slow to process them, but I'm okay with the slow progress. I have plenty of time, and the main goal is to learn as much and as thoroughly as possible. I had excellent introductory lessons with Issaiyanee yesterday and Raylene today; they both seemed knowledgeable and reliable. Suppose Charlette has difficulties returning to our classes or won't be able to offer any more lessons, either Issaiyanee or Raylene might be an ideal teacher with whom I could continue my CPE exam studies. Fingers crossed that Charlette will return. I miss her classes terribly, especially after going through her previous lessons today (we had almost 80 lessons during the last one and a half years). The weather is improving, and the bright hours are getting longer. Spring is around the corner, undeniably. The only negative aspects I can think of are the imminent time setting...