Category Archives: Learning a language

Postcards from Umbria

PRACTISE YOUR ENGLISH and ITALIAN VOCABULARY with OUR POSTCARDS FROM UMBRIA

Did you know that 65% of us are visual learners? This means that we learn better when we see something in a visual format.

WHAT ARE THE POSTCARDS FROM UMBRIA?

Each postcard is a photo from Umbria and has three words in Italian and English. They are all related to things you’ll see on an Oakfield Umbria Language holiday, so this is a great way to practise your vocabulary before you come and stay with us.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

You can download our “Postcards from Umbria” here.
The postcards are clearly labelled so that you can easily associate the words with the photograph. By keeping the image in mind, it will help you remember the words.
To help reinforce the meanings, why not write your own example sentences using the words? Check them with us by sending an email to:

hello@oakfield.training

You can also use this booklet to test yourself, friends, colleagues or classmates to see how many expressions you can remember.
Once you’re confident you’ve learnt all the words, it’s time to find the opportunity to use them in a conversation or when you’re writing to someone.
Let us know how you get on!

Emma and the Oakfield Team

 

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HOW TO BEAT THE POST-HOLIDAY BLUES

 (BY PLANNING YOUR NEXT JOURNEY: A LEARNING JOURNEY)

It’s said that over 50% of people come back from their summer holiday suffering from post-holiday blues, especially if it was a particularly good or long holiday because when you get home, you realise how unsatisfied you are with your normal lifestyle compared to your holiday.
Are you one of these people? Are you suffering from the post-summer holiday blues? Did you travel somewhere exotic and have a really exciting holiday but now find yourself scrolling through your holiday snaps feeling like it was something that happened months and months ago and nothing can put a smile on your face? Did you try out a new activity that you loved but just can’t do it back home? Well then it’s time for a new adventure and a new journey and we’d like to suggest this is the perfect time to go on a language learning journey.

If you haven’t already seen Enrico’s video on our landing page, you’re may be asking yourself what a language learning journey is. Well, we believe that there are many similarities between a journey to a far-off land and a learning journey.
First of all, because most journeys (ignoring the one you have to do to go to work every morning) are great experiences. They can take you to distant places where you can have interesting encounters with local people and learn about new cultures. These journeys help us grow as people.
Learning a language always takes quite a bit of time until you feel comfortable with the basics, but after that you keep building on your knowledge until you reach the level where you feel you can communicate competently. That’s hugely satisfying and great fun too! You enjoy yourself while seeing the fruits of your efforts. Isn’t that the kind of journey you’d like to go on?
You’ll soon start to realise that your language learning journey is like a real journey. We say ‘travel broadens the mind’ but speaking another language also helps you grow as a person by giving you the tools you need to meet and talk to interesting people and learn about their cultures when travelling as well as providing you with the skills you need to perform better at work and be part of the success of the company you work for.
It’s also going to improve your brain! Research shows several cognitive benefits of learning languages: from having a better memory to being able to multitask and solve problems better – all of which can help you in your personal and professional lives.
There’s no getting away from the fact that learning a language can sometimes be a long journey with several milestones to reach along the way, just like a trip with several stopovers, when you think you’ll never get to your destination. Although your learning journey will never be as tedious as that daily commute to work, it will take time and effort. But, when you do finally get to these milestones, it’s the perfect moment to stop and reflect on what you’ve learnt so far. Don’t forget to congratulate yourself on your achievements and then start the next stage of your journey.

So let’s summarise the 5 main benefits of starting a learning journey right now:

1 It will enable you to travel more and meet new people
2 It will boost your self-confidence as you progress and make you feel good about your achievements
3 It will help enhance your career prospects.
4 It’s brain food: it helps improve your memory, your executive function, it keeps Alzheimer’s at bay
5 It will be fun!