My Life after CELTA

The wind roared ferociously through the night, rattling everything in its path. At 3:00 a.m., the intensity reached a point where I felt like I was on a freight train journey. After enduring another night of tossing and turning, waking up as the exact alter-ego of Karl Pilkington was a shocker. I was in a quandary. Was it a part of a nightmare, or was I truly transforming into an old, hysterical geezer? I hadn't expected this at all. While I enjoy watching his shows, particularly "Idiot Abroad", discovering his grumpiness within me was rather terrifying. Fortunately, the early morning breakfast brought a smile on my face, and by the end of the much-needed liquid black gold, the thick grey maze sojourning in my mind vanished into thin air. The rest of the day proved to be highly productive. I experimented with prompt writing again and could come up with some useful ones. Crafting three essays, completing my homework, and outlining my upcoming lessons, I was on cloud nine, ...

After opening my beginner student's next lesson - which I wrapped up the other day - I found it somewhat incomplete. Therefore, I added some new material to it that I thought might be useful. I rehearsed it afterwards and it seemed satisfactory.  Then, I asked ChatGPT to create another lesson for me to practice words, phrases, idioms, and phrasal verbs that are not outdated or archaic but rarely used and can potentially be part of the CPE exam. It came up with an interesting story and a simulated real-life conversation, both containing unusual words and expressions. I still need to figure out how reliable these texts are, and the best possible way to do that is to check the words in Google's Ngram viewer. It tells you how often people use a specific word, and it even draws a timeline indicating its prevalence.  The weather was interestingly shite today. The morning was chilly, and even though the temperature wasn't as low as two days ago, it felt unusually cold due to the N...

It took me a day to complete my next student's syllabus. After checking up on how to proceed tomorrow, we agreed to review and add only a few new things to the lesson. So, with this in mind, I did the following: Creating the structure of the class. Filling up the vocabulary review section with words from the previous lessons, particularly the ones she had difficulties with. Adding the transcript of the latest listening exercise to practice reading. Creating the clarifying section, in which we can go through the topics she had issues with. Creating a new vocabulary, in which I hid a couple of words she could be familiar with to increase her self-confidence. And finally, the tenses part, in which we'll clarify the simple past and future tenses.  Once the structure was ready, I could fill them up with content. Even though I had several ideas on how to make it more effective, I had to contain myself and prune the extensive amount of new information. I tremendously enjoyed the proce...

After ruminating on my next class, the thought of simplifying the lesson struck me with the force of a cartoon anvil. (I stole this metaphor from J. K. Rowling's commencement address.) Even though my initial plan seemed bulletproof, I had to admit I was wrong. With this and the principle of "less is more" in mind, I carefully restructured the plan, took away words and rephrased instructions. The spruced-up plan seems challenging, even with these modifications. I'll need to put the finishing touches to the plan, but it only will require thirty more minutes. Fingers crossed that they'll like the class. We had to run a few errands today, so we jumped in the car and drove off. The shops are brimming with the accessories of the commercial version of Christmas. The musac in the shops is Christmasy; they play the same tunes over and over again. The decoration is overwhelmingly Christmassy: there are little lights and candles everywhere, the manifestation of some stoned d...

I'm still not willing to adjust myself to the whims of daylight saving time. With this in mind, I woke up at 5 a.m., which is 6 a.m. from my point of view. Anyway, after devouring my pancake breakfast and slurping down the much-needed coffee, I completed my beginner student's lesson plan. Putting together a lesson per se is not challenging. The most difficult part of this process is to make the class interesting enough so that it can serve the student's needs. Since we had seven lessons already, a great review would be a good idea, which could not only help her memorise the words but also allow me to create sentences with the words she learnt so far.  I had a dentist's appointment today. During the last ten months, the dentist replaced several 30-year-old fillings and a bridge. He always made it sure that I felt comfortable and stress-free. The constant banter we had during these occasions took away my fear and anxiety, so apart from a healthy tension before and during ...

The battle between summer and autumn is still going on. Even though the mornings are chilly, the days are far warmer than the average temperature around this time of the year. No wonder Abby and I passed out after my English lesson. She was snoring like a raging boar, and I fell into a coma-like state. When we finally woke up, it was already 4 p.m. It was high time to take my high tea. Anyway, my English class was fantastic, like always. Charlette is the best teacher I've ever met, and her approach to teaching, particularly my education, is one of a kind. I feel lucky to meet her and honoured to learn from her. I couldn't get the great breakthrough I had been waiting for before I met her, but her guidance and tailor-made lessons ensured my progress. I'm totally grateful for her! I must plan my next lesson for the A2 level group. I think I'll challenge them a bit harder and bring them another listening exercise we can dissect and talk about. They enjoyed it two weeks ago...

After an interestingly bad night's sleep, my day was surprisingly okay. However, I'm still trying to figure out what I would have done without my espresso, but I shouldn't dwell on it, I reckon. Anyway, I was rather productive before lunch. I finalised the lesson plan for tomorrow, and before I knew it, my stomach sent me signals poking me to prowl for the next meal.  Frankfurter was my best choice today, and I even gave Abby some. The after-lunch espresso saved my beacon and enabled me to take Abby for her afternoon walk, during which I heard so many strange stories from one of our "dog-friends" that I almost fainted. When we returned home, I tried to sit back and relax, but it dawned on me that the plank in the back garden was waiting for its third layer of paint. So, with this in mind, I hurried into the back garden and started my shift in the DIY gild. It took me an hour to complete the job, but the plank looks amazing now.  Sitting in the living room to have ...

Why stop at the already completed tasks if someone could find others to fiddle with? Waking up after a short-lived, not-so-great night's sleep, I hurried to grab something to eat. Once the espresso met the breakfast, my mind was ready to deal with the mundane staff. I called the gas man - gosh, this sounded like I had to phone someone having severe bowel issues - and arranged a check-up on the boiler. The closest date he could give us was 16 November. I described my experiences with the boiler, and he reassured me that everything was okay. After I hung up, my mind went into planning mode. First, I had to plan my day, then the lesson I would like to teach the A2 level group, and finally, the rest of the day. It was already lunchtime once I completed the first half of the lesson plan, so I hurried to the kitchen and prepared some pasta. Another espresso after the meal did the trick. I was ready to deal with a presumptuous bank clerk, the craftsman store, and the DIY afternoon. When t...

Autumn has arrived. We couldn't keep the window open in the bedroom because of the cold last night. However, I miss it terribly, as well as the TEVA sandals and shirts while taking Abby for her walks. Anyway, after waking up - it took me an hour to finally drag myself out of bed - I stumbled down to the kitchen from the attic to grab something. Fortunately, Ági fetched buns from the local bakery early in the morning, so I had fresh bans with butter, cheese, and ham.  Once I finished devouring the nosh, we switched on the central heating because of the significant drop in temperature we experienced. Ági was in charge of the radiators, and I had to supervise the process in front of the boiler. When we switched on the boiler yesterday, it produced something unusual with all those drippings by over-pressuring the system. Luckily, things panned out perfectly; there was no dripping or excessive pressure elevation, so the house was warm and cosy. I'll still call the guy to check the b...

Before another weak attempt from summer to bring back the warm days, autumn showed its strength last night. We woke up to a chilly morning today. I had to put on an extra layer when I took Abby for her morning walk, and I didn't mind it.  My level of productivity soared today. After breakfast and slurping the much-needed coffee, I completed my beginner student's lesson plan. I think I made an excellent plan. It focuses on pronouns - as we discussed the other day - and gives her plenty of opportunity to practice using them. I had to drink another cup of coffee after we devoured our lunch. But it gave me the strength to rush to the basement and complete the job I'd started yesterday. I haven't finished it yet, but I'm on it, and tomorrow I can complete it. The weather is windy and cold. It rained a bit, but it hardly will solve the problem of arid soil. Still, autumn has made its entry, although in a peculiarly feeble way. I'm not saying that we should get the ful...

The world has turned upside down. It has never been a peaceful place. Even nature and the animal kingdom are brimming with fights for survival, territory, and just for the sake of it. One might think humans are much different, and common sense would inhibit such horrendous acts, but no. We are no different, however much we want to cloak our bloody history. It has never ceased to amaze me how nefarious people can be.  I'm sorry for this gloomy intro. The unexpected and sudden war in Israel made me think about how close we are to Biblical times. There have been sundry portents indicating that humanity is heading towards its extinction. The ongoing Ukrainian and the recently unleashed Israeli wars make everyone uneasy; no wonder I'm not in the mood for writing.  Anyway, my day was great. I could complete the A2 group's lesson plan, and I even began to put together my beginner student's next lesson. Besides planning, I could find time to learn as well. I reviewed my previou...

I was far more conscious about what to wear when I took Abby for her morning walk today than yesterday. The winter socks and pants with the fleece jacket protected me from the cold morning air. I was proud of myself for having such foresight. Even with the early morning prudence, I couldn't bring myself to continue the DIY session by sandpapering the wooden fence. I simply didn't see myself doing it. Instead, I buckled down to prepare the next lesson for my A2 group. Boy, was I happy about it? Completing the lesson plan gave me so much strength that I made up my mind and cleared the hallway in the basement. When I applied a chlorine-based liquid to the walls to remove the mould patches, I realised the walls weren't in bad condition. I was over the moon because it meant I didn't have to worry about removing the plaster and re-plaster them again. I can complete the job by applying a thin layer of spackling paste and painting the walls, which seems like child's play. I...

After a not-so-good night's sleep - I had a terrible dream; a lion wanted to chase me down and eat me - I woke up like a log. Little did I know about how chilly the outside temperature was when I took Abby for her morning walk. Both of us hurried back home. It took me two hours to create the lesson plan before my dentist's appointment, but I did it eventually. Since my temporary bridge had fallen off yesterday, I went to the dentist without it. Anyway, I'll have a new bridge next Wednesday if things pan out. I had a lesson with Ági's student this afternoon. I enjoyed the class and hope the students were also content with it. But the afternoon traffic is lethal. On the way home, there were numerous collisions, and I even saw two cars in the ditch. Crazy drivers should stay indoors. The weather is changing. It's still not typical of October, but the first signs of autumn are visible. The foliage is not as fresh green as it used to be during summer, and the nights are ...

The railing in the front garden is ready, and it looks fantastic. The locksmith came around 9 a.m. and finished the job at 6 p.m. In the meantime, I could prepare my next lesson with my beginner student. In the afternoon, I had to drive to buy some screws, but since I screwed up the first purchase - I only bought half of the requested amount, which I still need to figure out why - I had to drive in the afternoon jam to buy another batch. Anyway, the main thing is that the railing is ready, and who cares if I had to go to and fro twice? The weather is still baffling. The highest temperature was around +25°C, meaning I could wear my beloved TEVA sandals and shirt. I really enjoy this late summer, although the calendar has a different notion of the actual season. According to the latest forecast, the weather will be similar in the next ten days, so the late summer is on our side. I still need to correct some glitches on the fences, so the high temperature is precisely what we need.

We sold the bikes for a reasonable price. They called us from the shop, and since the amount they offered for the bicycles was within the price range we had thought the bikes would sell, we made a deal. Bye-bye-bikes! This piece of news compensated me for the not-so-good night's sleep. I woke up twice. Anyway, with the money in my pocket, we returned home, and Ági had a class, and I finalised the Saturday class lesson plan. Although it doesn't contain over-complicated tasks, the synonym-finding part is quite challenging, so to be on the safe side, I checked every possible synonym. The rest of the day passed quite quickly. Apart from the normal schedule - lunch, foot massage, dog walking - nothing else happened. Despite the high temperatures, the weather is getting worse. The morning was okay until 2 p.m., then the wind picked up, and the temperature started to ascend, which made the air so humid that even sitting and doing nothing made us sweat. According to the weather forecas...

Unsere Gedanken sind in Österreich momentan. We look forward to our first holiday in 25 years starting on the 14. 08. 2023. Well, not the first vacation, obviously, but the first without any hindering relatives or remodelling/repainting/revamping the house. The plan is to spend six days in Wien as our Headquarters and randomly visit neighbouring cities. We'll see how things pan out because Vienna is a bustling city with many touristy places, so we might only drive to the city centre and take long walks there. My English study consisted of planning the next class and correcting errors with ChatGPT. First, I finalised the plan, enhanced the tasks, and tailored the smooth transition from checking the homework to the actual lesson. I enjoyed it. After I asked ChatGPT to provide me with random sentences containing various mistakes, I had to detect and correct them. It went well, and I was pleased with my performance, apart from one tiny mistake. The weather has changed. The morning was ...

I have posted 150 entries so far - including this one - so it's quite a jubilee. 🍾🥂 After a terrible night's sleep, I woke up like someone pressed by a 16-ton weight. I can't sleep in a sauna. Anyway, I prepared my usual breakfast, cinnamon pancakes. After devouring the nosh and helping Ági with her MacBook, I moved my headquarters to the balcony and finished the lesson plan. I hope Ági and Roya will find the class engaging. I prepared lunch, fish fingers with rice and tzatziki, and once we munched the meal, we were ready to take Abby to the "dog-sitter". We wanted to know if she was compatible with this new situation. We want to spend a couple of days in Austria, and right now, it is impossible to travel with Abby. Even the slightest change in her daily routine makes her nervous, so a new location would certainly mix the neurons in her wee mind. We feared how she would behave, but she took the "get-to-know-the-others" well. She wasn't the centre o...