Holidays

As we can all see and (hopefully) feel, summer time is coming soon. It is a season when we can spend more time relaxing and we usually spend the time with our family and friends or make new friendships. We also have an opportunity to try new things like extreme sports, exotic foods, culture or even a foreign language. 

Everyone has their own goals concerning where and how to spend holidays. Some of us love the mountains and others always go for the sea. There are people who cannot imagine spending a holiday in their own country, while others would never allow anyone to talk themeselves into going abroad. 

That is the reason why you should stop for a while in order to think about the place that will fulfil your requirements if you do not want to make it another torture instead of sheer enjoyment.

If you are keen of nature and you need some peace and quiet, relaxing by the lake will be the best solution. On the other hand, there are people who always look forward to experiences full of adrenaline and cannot imagine lying on the beach interchanged with slow relaxing swimming. 

No matter which type of holidaymaker you are, we are going to point out some popular destinations:

1. Madagascar

2. Zakynthos (Greece)

3. Gordes (France)

4. Amsterdam (the Netherlands)

5. Turin (Italy)

6. Hamburg (Germany)

7. London (England)

When you go abroad, it is good to know at least some useful phrases in order to be able to communicate in the most common situations. However, you can decide to learn the foreign language that is used by people living in the country that you want to go to. In that case, we highly recommend you try one of these solutions:

Our modern e-learning platform and chat for learning foreign languages: 

Direct Language Hub http://dlhub.eu/eng/ 

Direct Language Speech Trainer – a pronunciation app and interactive coursebooks: http://www.dlapp.eu/ 

Have a nice holiday! :)

Let's chat !

There are many ways that allow you to study or improve a foreign language you are learning. You can use various apps, attend classes or benefit from online courses. Of course if you do so, your goal is probably to achieve the ability to communicate with foreigners by understanding what they say and expressing your own ideas, emotions and thereby – your attitude. 

If you don't have the opportunity to talk face to face with foreigners, you can use the advantages that the Internet provides. For example, chatting with people can help you develop your language skills. 

You can now enjoy using the multilingual chat provided by the Direct Language Hub e-learning platform [www.dlhub.eu/eng/]. Once you have registered, you will be allowed to start a real conversation in a foreign language (there are ten to choose).

What do you need to do in order to start? You should first launch the chat by using the icon located in the top right-hand corner. Than select an avatar and a username that suits you best and fill in the information concerning your mother tongue and studied language as well as the level. It would also be good to add some information about yourself in the description so that other users are more willing to talk to you. 

After that you can start searching people who speak the language that you would like to practise. In this way you will collect a list of contacts easily. Of course, you do not have to be available all the time, so it's possible to set your status: available, busy or switched off. You are also able to change your data in the "Settings" section. 

If somebody makes you nervous, angry or you are just unwilling to talk to them, you can block them by using the tab "blocked contacts". You decide :) 

Do not hesitate! Join the chat and start improving your language skills! :)

Naturalization

There is no doubt that the opportunity of choosing where to live nowadays is greater than ever. There are many factors that make us choose the particular place we live such as career perspectives, the climate, the environment, access to varied entertainment or the distance to our immediate family and relatives. Additionally, it is not only a change of city which is taken into consideration but more and more often it is a change of country. Not only do people want to change the place they live, but a growing number of people want to gain citizenship.

Of course, there are a lot of important requirements concerning obtaining another nationality. For instance, when it comes to the USA, you can visit a special website 'U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' (https://www.uscis.gov) where you can find the information about the naturalization process. There are some significant advantages of American citizenship. The first one is you are able to get a passport so that you can travel. You will also be allowed to vote in elections and even run for office. If you have a family, it will be easier for them to emigrate and for your children born abroad to obtain citizenship.

In order to become a U.S. citizen you need to be 18 years old at the time of filling in the application form. A further requirment is the ability to write, read and speak English and to have a basic understanding of the history of the government. You should also be a person of good moral character, who simultaneously obeys the rules and ideas of the U.S. Constitution.

The first step in the naturalization process is filling in the N-400 application form. The second prerequisite is that you have to be living in the United States as a legitimate permanent resident for 5 years, or 3 years if your spouse is a U.S. citizen. You are obliged to stay (physically) in the USA for at least 30 months out of the 5 years immediately predating the day of filling in the application form. You also need to take English and the U.S. Civics exams, and at the end take the Oath of Allegiance to the United States.

As you can see, you have to put a lot of effort into it but if you do, you gain many opportunities when you make such significant change to your life.

Find a school in your town.

Our publishing house was established in 2008 as Direct English Publishers offering language schools ‘Direct Method for English’ – a modern coursebook for learning English by means of the direct method. 

At present, students of language courses in over 34 countries are using the latest edition of the coursebook ‘English designed with Direct Method’ and also such coursebooks as Direct Kids, Business, Get Down to Business and Advanced, as well as courses for learning German, Spanish, French, Russian and Portuguese.

ENGLISH   GERMAN   SPANISH   FRENCH   RUSSIAN   PORTUGUESE

It is worth pointing out that Direct Language Lab coursebooks can be bought only by school owners who want to provide their students with the direct method as a way of teaching. If you are interested in the language skills of English, German, Spanish, French, Russian or Portuguese you can easily find a school in your town. One has only to click on the link: http://www.dllab.eu/list-of-schools and select appropriate country from the list.

The 10 weirdest Guinness World Records

Two weeks ago we celebrated Guinness World Records Day. As you probably know, most of them are quite strange, funny or even scary. On that occasion we have decided to write about the ten weirdest - for us. :) So, ladies and gentlemen – here they are:

1. Longest distance pulled by a horse - full body burn.

It was achieved in 2015 by Josef Tödtling from Austria (500 metres).

2. Most clothes pegs clipped to the face in one minute.

In 2012 Silvio Sabba from Italy was able to endure the pain of 51 clothes pegs on his face.

3. Largest hairy family.

So...you think that you've got problems with shaving? Believe us – it could be worse. The Mexican family is known to be the most hairy family in the world. (98% of their body).

4.Farthest eyeball pop.

Yes, even looking at this picture hurts us. Just imagine: your eyes 12 mm beyond your eye sockets. This record was set by Kim Goodman in 2007.

5. Longest fingernails on a single hand – ever.

The challenge for every manicurist: Shridhar Chillal's left hand. Each of his fingernails is longer than 

160 cm!

6. Farthest distance to blow a pea. 

If you think that blowing out candles on your birthday cake is something exhausting, take a look at this young German. In 2014 Andre Ortolf was able to blow a pea at a distance of 7,51 m!

7. Stretchiest skin.

So, we could say that "being stretched" takes on a whole new meaning. ;) This record was achieved by Garry Turner in 1999 in the USA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f46SpiboAew

8. Most human targets hit with plungers in one minute.

Gerhard Donie form Germany has beaten...himself! In 2010 he threw at people one plunger more than before (15 plungers).

9. Most Smarties/M&Ms eaten in one minute blindfolded using chopsticks.

Maybe it wouldn't be a great challenge for Asian people who are accustomed to eating with chopsticks, but to everyone else – yes, it is a challenge. Ashrita Furman from the USA was able to eat 20 M&Ms in such a way. The record was beaten in 2011.

10. Oldest male stripper.

As we can see, nothing is ever a problem. Even when it comes to our age. ;) Bernard Barker was the oldest male stripper at the age of 60. Unfortunately he died of cancer at the age 66.

Source: http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/

Free online courses

Students of the following coursebooks can use free online courses as support for their study at the language school:

- English designed with Direct Method Books 1-6 

 

- Teens English dw DM Books 1-3

- Español dw DM Libro 1-4 

- Deutsch dw DM Buch 1-3.

All that students need to do is:

- go to the website www.dlhub.eu and find the online course with the same title as their coursebook,

- use the discount coupon from the coursebook to obtain free access to the online course.

The online courses have been designed to revise and consolidate the material from the lessons at the language school. They are not self-learning tools, which means that they cannot be used in place of a normal language course at the school.

Each exercise is ascribed to a particular unit in the coursebook and students receive many extra hours of learning free of charge!

How to start using the online course:

1. REGISTRATION. Visit the website www.dlhub.eu, choose the LANGUAGE of the website (click on the flag at the top of the screen), register a new account and click the ACTIVATION LINK received by email.

2. GAIN ACCESS. After logging into the program, go to the COURSES FOR BOOKS menu and click the DISCOUNT COUPON button next to the online course with the same title as the coursebook.

3. DISCOUNT COUPON. In order to use the course for free, find the discount coupon printed in the coursebook, type it into the field DISCOUNT COUPON, accept the Terms and Conditions and click on the NEXT button.

How to start learning:

1. START YOUR COURSE. After logging into the program, go to the COURSES FOR BOOKS menu and click the START YOUR COURSE button.

2. LEVEL. If you wish to use a level higher than Book 1, first click the SETTINGS button, then choose the appropriate level e.g. BOOK 3 and click SAVE.

3. REVISION. After clicking START YOUR COURSE, the student will be in the REVISION mode, in which the program automatically displays the tasks solved under the passing score during the previous visit (these tasks are displayed in red in PROGRESS).

4. NEW MATERIAL. When revision is finished, the program automatically takes you to the NEW MATERIAL mode, in which you solve new tasks (starting from the place where you stopped during the previous visit).

Enjoy your courses on the Direct Language Hub platform!

http://dlhub.eu/eng/ 

Direct Language Hub. Online e-learning platform.

Language courses available at Direct Language Hub have been developed by a team of methodology specialists and native speakers with long-term experience in teaching foreign languages with the use of various methods and new technologies. Thanks to DLHub you can choose a professional course in English, German, Spanish and French. Each course has a description that makes it easier to choose the one that will meet your expectations. The main advantages of our courses are:

• various accents - you will learn to understand people from different regions of the world;

• a smart plan - the excellent arrangement of the DLH courses will help you study languages in the best possible way;

• not too little - not too much - the DLH courses and all their associated features, such as the dictionary, have been designed specifically for the purpose of this program; that is why you can study exactly what you need;

• intelligent revisions - you don’t need to plan your work; in the revision mode the program will tell you which exercises need your attention; when the right time comes, the program will suggest switching to the new material mode;

• intuitive - the DLH courses are fun and easy to use;

• task diversity - you will never get bored as the program enables you to practise the most important language skills in a variety of ways;

• read, look, listen, write - all practical exercises in one place; designed in such a way as to make studying pleasant and effortless;

• extensive material - each component of the course makes up a piece of the puzzle necessary to make a foreign language complete;

• questions and answers - the direct method allows us to reflect the natural way of communication;

• direct method - the DLH courses are based on the direct method, which is a quick and effective approach to learning and allows anyone to achieve amazing results.

                       

Now you have a chance to win one of our courses! What are the rules? You will have to fulfil the following requirements. You have to: 

• join our fanpage on Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/DirectLanguageHub/

• send an email to directcontesthub@gmail.com with the answer to the question: Why is it worth learning foreign languages? 

• the prizes to be awarded are: a 10-month course* for two winners, a 5-month course* for three winners and a monthly course* for four winners 

• the contest starts on 25th October, 2016 and ends October 31st, 2016 (inclusive) 

• if you win, you will be expected to create account on our e-learning platform (http://dlhub.eu/eng/) and send us the email address, for which special free access will be activated 

• the winners and their answers will be announced on 2nd November, 2016 at the following web page 

GOOD LUCK !  :)

*access to all the online language courses available at www.dlhub.eu

Yes, you can. You can make time.

If you are one of those people who seem to be in a rush all the time, you probably can‘t imagine a situation that would allow you to find a few hours to go out to attend a language course. Maybe you work too hard and spend too much time in the office or perhaps laziness is a friend of yours, forcing you to put off all those things you know you should do in favour of doing something else that gives you an excuse for not doing the things you should do - you know what I’m talking about because we’ve all done it ;) It can also be a frightening experience and very hard to learn among other people you don't know but if you want to learn a new language or improve your foreign language skills you can choose... an easily accessible online course. There are many advantages of learning in this way, especially if you prefer learning by yourself.

Our online courses allow you to learn in any place and at any time because they have been designed to be used on mobile devices. These courses can also help you manage your time better thanks to revision exercises that have been built into the course. You’ll never have to make up an excuse for not doing your homework again! 

Everything is presented very clearly. All online courses are based on the direct method so you learn by reading, looking, listening and writing. Just take a look at the video below to find out more about the advantages of Direct Language Hub's courses: 

As you can see, there are a lot of various exercises that make our online courses attractive – not boring. If you’re worried about prices – they are attractive, too! :) You can choose the English, German, Spanish or French course on our online platform. There are also various accents, levels and topics. Thanks to the description of each course you shouldn't have any doubts as to which one will be the best for you. Direct Language Hub's courses have been developed by specialists, so they won't let you down. See for yourself:

                                   

So, if you are looking for a professional online language course, take a chance and check out our offer now: http://dlhub.eu/eng/

10 Simple Ways to Relieve Everyday Stress

Our life passes one day at a time and if we are truly honest with ourselves we have to admit that everything in our life seems to go by faster and faster than it used to. We are expected to fulfill and cope with everything at the highest level, which creates a whole lot of unwanted stress almost everywhere: at school, at work and even at home. There are some people who are energised by stress but unfortunately, most of us feel the negative effects of it. Don't be led astray by thinking that there is a way of eliminating stress completely from your life. Stress is something that we all have to learn to deal with. We have got 10 tips below to help you choose the most effective way to cope with stress in your life. Here we go! :)

1. BE ORGANISED

The first and maybe the most important factor that affects our stress level is time pressure. When we have too little time to do something we can start to feel restlees or it even makes us hit the panic button. So, it's better to plan your daily routine to help avoid stressful moments.

2. THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO

We are sure that there have been many situations where you expected the worst but it didn't happened. What's the point of imagining these useless and stressful situations? Yes – there is NO point. Starting today, promise yourself not to create the next off the wall, worst-case scenario.

3. THE POWER OF HERBS

If you think that you are not able to handle nerve-racking situations without some kind of healing supplements, take advantage of herbal teas! Try to avoid taking pills because this can become addictive, which could be bad for health. Melissa tea, on the other hand, isn't. ;)

4. LET'S COLOUR!

Have you heard about relaxing colouring books? You do not have to be an artist to enjoy colouring these kinds of books. It's just about playing with colours and forgetting about your problems for a while. Does it work? Why don't you find out for yourself? Maybe it's exactly what you need to calm your nerves.

5. WRITE IT OUT

Sometimes stressful situations generate negative thoughts, which, in turn, create negative emotions that increase our anxiety. It's extremely harmful to your health to keep such feelings bottled-up inside. You can easily get rid of them by writing them down on a piece of paper and throwing it away. It's very relieving because you do not need to stop yourself from expressing anything. It's only for you.

6. GET ENOUGH SLEEP

Remember that your body cannot function well if you don't get enough sleep. When you sleep the brain organises all the information while you recover. Without sleep, your stress levels increase because because your body never gets a good chance to concentrate properly on the solution.

7. EXERCISE

Exercise has been medically-proven to be a great way to manage stress. Even by doing simple sporting activities, our mood can be changed for the better and it allows us to make better decisions concerning our daily challenges.

8. OFFLOAD YOUR WORRIES ON TO SOMEONE

If you have a real friend, then defeating stress is simple. You are able to offload these worries without even knowing it simply by speaking them. But, remember it should be someone very close to you, not just any Tom, Dick, or Harry. They ought to know you well enough to feel comfortable being objective during such a stressful situation in order to calm your nerves. Sometimes your friend only needs to remind you about your inner strength and that can be enough to calm you down.

9. MINDFULNESS

Notice that very often our stress is caused by thinking about the past or the future. We regret not doing something or not doing it in a different way. We worry about future situations that will probably never happen. The key is being focused on the current moment. It refreshes our brain, our thinking and keeps useless and stressful thoughts away from us.

10. DO NOT CONTROL EVERYTHING

Just remember that you can't control everything in your life but you can control your attitude to things that happen to you. Learn to treat difficult situations as an opportunity to succeed, instead of reacting with stress and anxiety. Most of the time things aren’t as bad as they seem!

HAVE A PEACEFUL DAY ! :)

The enthusiasts of teaching

It may seem that THIS kind of problem only concerns people who are going to learn a foreign language. It is of course the question of HOW to do it, no matter whether you wish to master English, German, Spanish or any other language. When you want to learn something new or just improve your foregoing skills, you always look for the most efficient way to do it. 

But what about people whose job and passion is to transmit their knowledge to other people? Yes! They always look for the best way, too. As you probably suspect, there is not one 'perfect' way of teaching. There are many different factors such as the teacher's skills, disposition, experience and attitude towards students and – last, but not least – THE METHOD of teaching. 

You should check up on various methods in order to find out which one is the most suitable for you as a teacher as well as effective for your students or customers. We would like to present to you a tried and tested method of teaching languages: the direct method, on which the coursebooks published by the Direct Language Lab team are based.

The basic purpose of this method is to encourage students to overcome their fear of speaking, from the very first lesson. Just take a look at the video below to find out more about the direct method:  

Direct Language Lab publishes direct method coursebooks for teaching languages (English, German, Spanish, French and Russian) with carefully selected subject areas, interesting questions and useful vocabulary. Students can also practise the correct pronunciation and revise the material at home or on the go, thanks to MP3 CDs which accompany coursebooks. Watch the video to find out more about our books for different languages and age groups:

The direct method is used by language teachers and learners all over the world. The materials for teaching designed by Direct Language Lab are currently available in language schools in over 30 countries. Thousands of satisfied customers are the best proof that the Direct Language Lab coursebooks based on the principles of the direct method bring expected results to both students and teachers.

BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH

You may think that knowing a foreign language is a trouble-free way to express your thoughts to foreigners. You may also believe that knowing a certain language perfectly, guarantees you that you will understand your foreign friends. But... the same language doesn't always mean that it's the same all over the world - unfortunately. 

British English and American English is a classic example of this: when it comes to vocabulary and different mindsets between the two. It is said that American people are rather sociable whereas British people seem to be more withdrawn and reserved, but should we really rely on this stereotypical view? Maybe Americans are more courageous when it comes to achieving professional success. They are more self-confident and believe that they can achieve whatever they set their mind simply by working hard. 

But look at such Brits as actress Emilia Clark who plays Daenerys Targaryen - one of the main characters in the well-known series "Game of thrones", or comic Rowan Atkinson – famous for his role as Mr. Bean. They aren‘t boring or cool, are they? :) But even stereotypical aspects don't always seem to fit. There is a lot of truth in the belief that it can be difficult for Brits and Americans to understand each another. It's often because of different vocabulary, pronunciation or... slang. 

As you can see in the interview below, it can sometimes be a great source of fun. So, let's see what kind of slang words Hugh Laurie and the famous TV personality Ellen DeGeneres served to each other.

FLOSSING (AmE) – it's showing off

CHINWAG (BrE) – to chat

BADONKADONK (AmE) – it's an extremely curvaceous female behind

CHUFFED TO BITS (BrE) – to be really pleased, excited

SHAWTY (AmE) – veeery veeery attractive girl ;)

So, it's quite funny and sometimes astonishing especially when it comes to every-day use of the same language. However, slang is slang so it has the right to be different and sophisticated. But what will you say if you find out that there are over 21 various accents all over the world? You can listen to them just in video below (you can start from 0:30):

So it's good to become familiar with various accents to be able to understand people using English in all corners of the world. But the most "difficult" thing is definitely the vocabulary.

As you can see, learning a foreign language is something perpetual. But as we wrote here www.directlanguagelab.blogspot.com on our blog, there are many ways to make it easier. So, don't waste your time. Start improving your English (or any other language) so you can communicate clearly with both Americans and Brits! :)

10 Tips to Learn a Foreign Language Effectively

As we wrote in our very first post it is definitely worth learning foreign languages. But the question that always arises is HOW? How can you learn new words without allowing them to go in one ear and out the other, and how is it possible to know you are going in the right direction and making progress? Here our 10 tips to help you know how!

1. BE SYSTEMATIC

Yes, we agree. Being systematic can be difficult at times because of the lazybones inside all of us from time to time. Being systematic also seems like something just for students because they don’t have to think about responsibilities at work, running after the children, feeding the dog and so on but as they say where there’s a will, there’s a way. It is much more effective to study small chunks of information frequently than a lot of material in one go. Studying 15 to 20 minutes a day is less tiring and much more satisfying than a 3-hour cram session. This kind of systematic learning makes information easier to take in and makes learning a foreign language a truly pleasant experience.

2. WATCH FILMS

Have you got a favourite film? So, why not try to watch it in your new favourite language? Watching a film you love will help you focus on what the characters are talking about and inspire your curiosity. If understanding the original language seems too much of a challenge then you can always switch on the subtitles and write down the new words and phrases you learn. At the beginning it can be quite difficult but you will be SO happy and satisfied when you see how far you come with each little step. Additionally, we can assure you that you will soon start finding it easier to understand TV journalists, radio commentators and other films in your chosen foreign language.

3. USE FLASH CARDS

Forgetting words that you have just learnt over and over can be very frustrating. We have all experienced having a word on the tip of the tongue but not being able to quite remember it. It’s not very convenient to carry a thick notebook everywhere you go or to go through your wordlist to find the word you are looking for. Using flash cards is the answer. It doesn’t matter whether they are in paper format or whether you use an app. It is a matter of personal preference. By using flashcards you are able to group them into categories like people, numbers and jobs or even known, still learning and difficult to remember. Find the solution that meets your needs.

4. PLAY COMPUTER GAMES

It is a great idea to connect nice things with useful things. If you have a computer game that you can’t live without try playing it using a version in a foreign language. It is said that the Final Fantasy series of games is a computer game of choice for learning a foreign language. Can anyone here admit to it? It is a similar method to watching your favourite films. Learning happens naturally when it is connected with something you love doing.

5. READ BOOKS

If you are a book worm there is no better way to learn a foreign language than by reading a good book. You can find many interesting books that have originally been published in another language. You can also start with simple books in order not to discourage yourself for reading. Most importantly, while reading you don’t need to know all the words. It is important to understand what the book is about rather than every word. There will always be words that you haven’t learnt. Try to understand the context of the book and you will start to see a noticeable increase in your language development.

6. JOIN INTERNET FORUMS

If you enjoy connecting with other people online you should seriously consider taking advantage of internet forums. You can chat with people all over the world without the fear of communicating in another language. You will definitely improve your writing skills and enrich your vocabulary at the same time. It will likely give you more self-confidence and motivation to continue working on the language.

7. WRITE A LOT

You may not be interested in writing about things that make you feel bored. But what about writing down the daily events in your life in a journal? Or maybe writing a blog would be something pleasant for you? You could write about fashion, the environment, an eco-lifestyle, politics or cosmetics. In fact the list of things that might interest you is probably endless. It is a great way of developing your thinking and writing skills in a foreign language and is perfect for developing your vocabulary.

8. WHAT THEY ARE SINGING ABOUT ?

All of us have a favourite song, singer or band. Trying to understand what they are singing about is not only fun but perfect for learning idioms, phrases and vocabulary used in everyday life by young people. If you like singing you can also try to remember the lyrics and impress your friends by showing them you can sing a song in a foreign language. Even if they don’t like your singing, you will be able to understand what the song is about and feel like a rock star at the same time… ;)

9. GROUP MEETINGS

If you live in a city you may have an opportunity to join various groups of people who meet, just to talk in foreign languages. The biggest advantage of this is that you learn to think in that foreign language and speak in natural and fluent way. You stop being afraid of using perfect grammar and you focus on communication. The most important factor is not to be afraid of speaking. Thanks to that, you won’t be learning things off by heart but you will be picking up new words and phrases by simply listening to what other people are saying. They will probably feel as scared as you in the beginning but this may soon turn into a wonderful relationship.

10. TRY DIFFERENT TYPES OF TEACHING

We can advise you of many ways of learning foreign languages but you are the only person who really knows what kind of impulses really work on you. Maybe you are not good at managing your time, so it would be better to join a private language school. The education market offers various ways of studying. If you like to have direct contact with people, learn by practicing and have the opportunity to study all the necessary skills (writing, reading, speaking, listening, grammar etc.) then you should seriously check out our method ;)

Hong Kong Educational Fair

Some time ago we had an opportunity to take part in Asia’s leading education show - Learning and Teaching Expo. Hosted in Hong Kong and supported by the Education Bureau of the HKSAR (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region) Government, this fair allows people from all around the world to familiarise themselves with the most innovative methods and ways of teaching. It’s a great opportunity to present educational products, exchange ideas, share experiences and interact with other people from within the industry.

We took this opportunity to showcase our coursebooks which have attracted considerable interest from many of the participants from around the globe. It was such a pleasure for us to talk to so many people from different countries. Even more exciting was the fact that many of them had heard about the effectiveness of the Direct Method as a way of teaching foreign languages - so nice that it has assured us that it is worth continuing to develop.

Looking for inspiration, we decided to talk to other suppliers about innovative teaching techniques and the use of technology. It was exciting and allowed us to gain more experience, knowledge and form some new friendships.

Apart from all these things, we were in Hong Kong. There was no possibility to avoid beautiful places situated in this large and vibrant city. There’s no way to express our enchantment with everything we saw. That is why we have decided to add a few photos to this text.

So, if you’re a person who has a job connected with teaching or supplying education products, we can highly recommend taking part in such a fair. It’s not only a fulfilling experience, but you can also raise your awareness of developing educational technology. It is also quite a good opportunity for providers to find out about today’s needs for educational systems, which can allow them to improve their products and open themselves up to new ideas. We strongly recommend this fair ! :)

Is it worth learning foreign languages?

There is no denying that we are living in a period of history where time is of the utmost importance. Our hectic pace of life forces us to dedicate our time to ‘to-do’ lists and priorities during the day. Our ability to effectively manage our time depends largely on our ability to communicate. 

At present, this ability is not just limited to our social skills within the society and culture we belong to, but it now takes on a more global dimension. This means the necessity of communicating with people from countries all over the world and from all walks of life from – generally in another language. It is therefore choosing a foreign language to study – English, German, Spanish... In fact, all foreign languages can open up a doors of opportunity, and not just from a professional point-of-view. So, why is it worth learning foreign languages? Here are ten real reasons: 

1. Educate yourself anywhere in the world

What could be more interesting than studying in your own country? Studying abroad. Knowing a foreign language makes it possible to experience living and functioning in an unknown environment. In addition to that, getting a foreign university diploma can be your ticket to greater professional opportunities. 

2.Work wherever you dream.

Knowing foreign languages increases the chances of securing a really satisfying job – anywhere in the world. Is that tempting enough for you?

3. Take full advantage of the internet.

The Internet is a gold mine of information and entertainment. By knowing foreign languages, you are able to challenge ideas and freely exchange opinions with players from all over the world, buy products from different parts of the planet such as eBay, Amazon or Etsy and follow the lives of international celebrities, thanks to social media outlets like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

4. Stay up-to-date

That enigmatic name of a company or product, mysterious abbreviations like YOLO or owner’s manuals in English, German, Spanish, Russian, French – all languages except yours. All these things cease being a mystery to you when you are open to learning foreign languages.

5. Make an impression on tourists

Imagine going to a foreign city as a tourist and one of the residents greets you in your own language. Wouldn’t you be pleasently surprised? Of course, you would. Foreign languages are a great choice for anyone who runs their own business – especially restaurant and hotel owners wishing to charm their foreign guests. 

6. Travel without restrictions.

Knowledge of foreign languages works very well for those who love travelling on their own, providing a certain sense of excitement to the trip. A lonely journey without the knowledge of the local language can end badly, especially in the back streets of a remote city that you have never been to.

7. Why have a translator?

In other words, knowing a foreign language allows you to do things on your own. It gives you the uncanny ability to hold direct talks with your foreign customers, partners or work colleagues and it is the perfect solution for those who appreciate their independence and feeling of being in control of the situation.

8. Love has many names.

Volim te, I love you, Ich liebie dich, Szeretlek, Kocham Cię… Arturo, Makary, Alisa, Taylor, Kasia. Who knows, who the love of your life will be? Nowadays, couple of different nationalities is not so uncommon. Instead of just exchanging a romantic stare, you will be able to exchange romantic words, too!

9. Being one with culture.

Being familiar with a foreign language you love means you don’t have to wait around for that book you’ve always wanted to read to be released in your language. You don’t have to stress out when there are no subtitles available for an interesting interview on YouTube. You can happily understand what your favourite singer is actually singing about. There are only pluses! 

10. Be open to experience.

By learning a foreign language, you not only expand your ability to communicate with others but you also increase your own world perception by getting to know other ways of life, personal values and customs – helping to make your life complete.