MIDWEST LANGUAGE SERVICES - BLOG
English and French Conversation Lessons
Are you interested in improving your English or French conversation skills? Do you want to learn to interact more naturally with native speakers?
We are hosting two new conversation courses for both English and French to help you reach your language speaking goals!
The English language conversation course will be taught by Lauren on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10:30-11:30am EST, starting Monday, May 2nd. This course is aimed at intermediate to advanced (B1-C2) English speakers. Topics covered may include:
American food and culture
American traditions and holiday customs
Hobbies
American Schools
American news media
Making small talk
Politely sharing opinions
Idioms and sayings
To sign up for English conversation classes, click on the following link! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/english-conversation-for-intermediate-and-advanced-students-b1-c2-tickets-324251844997
*The English conversation class is $10
The French conversation course will be held by Alexa on Friday, April 29th from 3:00-4:00pm EST. This class is aimed towards intermediate speakers (B1-B2). We will cover topics such as:
French culture and traditions
Common French phrases
Discussing how we are feeling
Politely sharing opinions
Descriptive vocabulary
To sign up for the French conversation course, click on this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/free-introduction-to-french-conversation-b1b2-tickets-324118325637
*The French conversation class is FREE
Online English Courses for International Business
Do you want to learn English, but you have a busy schedule?
Midwest Language Services, LLC offers several options for busy professionals like you.
Independent English Course Plans that you can take at your own speed from the convenience of your computer. This is ideal for people who want to practice their reading and writing skills.
Video English Lessons are available online on our YouTube channel and we will be adding more in the coming weeks. As we add more videos, the quality will improve. Also, please send us your feedback about what English lessons would be helpful to you. For example, do you want to learn English for the hotel and hospitality industry or do you need English to work for the automotive industry or at a restaurant?
Group English Lessons help students learn from their classmates. We currently offer online group lessons and hope that we can offer more in-person lessons at your place of business! Contact us today about having English lessons at your location whether you are located in Indiana or in another state or country.
Private 1:1 English Lessons are conveniently scheduled at a time that works for you and your instructor. We provide English assessments to check your current level and offer regular homework (if this works for your schedule) and we can retest you every three months, every six months, or once a year. We also offer TOEIC training for business executives and their families who are interested in taking this assessment that is known worldwide. In case you are not familiar, with it, it is the Test of English for International Communication. Although there are options to take the test online, we currently offer training for the listening and reading test, but recommend that everyone also learn speaking and writing skills to improve their ability to communicate.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) - Not Just Buzzwords
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are not merely buzzwords in your organization. You want to reach people in your community in their language.
How?
Let Midwest Language Services, LLC be your partner to help you with language training, translations, and interpretation services. Contact us at (317) 296-7997 or by email at info@midwestlanguageservices.com.
We offer Spanish classes for after-school programs and English classes for parents with limited English proficiency who need to communicate with teachers.
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We recommend that students meet for classes at least twice per week to help retain information and gain more practice speaking the language.
Language classes may start at a time that is convenient for you and your instructor with at least two weeks’ notice.
Spanish and French Lessons Now Available
Do you want to travel soon? Now is the time to brush up on your Spanish, French, or both. Register for private online lessons with a live tutor or take group classes at a time that is convenient for you.
Midwest Language Services was On-the-Air with Julie Metz
Julie Metz, Executive Director of the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce, interviewed Tanya Hoover, President of Midwest Language Services on Giant FM, 106.5 in Shelbyville, Indiana.
Tanya Hoover, President and Founder of Midwest Language Services, was invited to talk about her business on a radio show this morning that aired on 106.5 FM, The Giant. Executive Director of the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce, Julie Metz, invited Ms. Hoover to speak on the Chamber Chat radio show. While Tanya is not new to Shelby County, Midwest Language Services, LLC is. She started English as a Second Language teaching adult students from Yuma Industries when she started her business as a sole proprietorship nearly fifteen years ago.
A new English as a Second/New Language (ESL/ENL) class is being offered by Midwest Language Services in Shelbyville, Indiana that will meet on Thursdays from 11:00 AM to 12:00 noon for non-native speakers of English. For more details about this and other services Midwest Language Services provides, such as sign language (ASL) interpreting, document translations, and other interpreting services, please contact us at info@midwestlanguageservices.com or call (317) 296-7997.
Eikawa English Conversation Group
Join us for a weekly English conversation group that will meet on Thursdays from 11:00 AM to 12:00 beginning in March. The cost for each class is $12.50. We will meet at 735 Shelby St., Suite #106, Indianapolis, IN 46203. Class size is limited to five students.
Using Improvisation in the Classroom
I recommend taking an improv class for so many reasons, one of which is that some of the exercises can become great springboards for ideas to get students to speak in a group language class. Knowing how to read and write in a language is quite different from speaking it. This is especially true with some Japanese women I have taught. Although their spouses may have opportunities to use English in the workplace, many Japanese women I’ve met tend to befriend other Japanese whose husbands have been assigned to work in the United States. Making American or other English-speaking friends can be tough.
From what I have learned, the Japanese can read and write with a fair amount of clarity; however, forming spoken sentences doesn’t happen without a lot of thought first. Sometimes a series of imperfect sentences can communicate much more than a few perfectly constructed sentences. My goal is to create an environment in which students feel free to try to speak in front of their classmates and me with the understanding that they will be corrected afterwards so that they can ultimately improve and communicate more fluently. This has to be done carefully so the students are not discouraged from speaking at all.
One recent activity that I did with a group of four women was to role play buying a used car. First, I introduced some vocabulary. Next, we listened to a dialogue while reading the script silently, and then the students were paired off. Each person took turns with the role of salesperson and car buyer while reading the script aloud. Afterwards, I modeled how to act out the skit without the script and emphasized that the skit did not have to exactly match the original dialogue. (I chose the most advanced student who was the least shy to help model how to do this.) After we completed the demonstration, I asked the women to work their partner and take turns playing each role without a script. After some practice, it was showtime.
The grand finale was when I had the students speed up the performances from about five minutes to a time limit of three minutes. The result was that the students spoke more naturally, sounded more fluent, and were talking to an actual person while speaking. It wasn’t just reading from a script anymore. It was about interacting.
Improvisation is a part of daily life. We may have patterns that we use in different situations, but ultimately, we think of what we’re going to say depending on whom we are speaking with and what the situation is. Rehearsing is a good idea when stakes are high, but reading from cue cards is not nearly as effective as communicating with the person in front of you.
Register for New English Classes!
Register now for our upcoming ESL classes!
Have you tried to contact us about English classes but were only able to book private lessons? Now we finally have group English classes that will start November 6 at our location in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Our address is 735 Shelby St., Suite #106, Indianapolis, IN 46203. It is inside the Switchboard building at the corner of Shelby Street and Hoyt Avenue.
We have a Level 1 class that will meet on Tuesdays 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM.
November 6, 13, 20, and 27, 2018
Here is the link for Level 1:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/level-1-english-grammar-and-conversation-tickets-51591759341
Level 2 will meet on Wednesdays 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM.
November 7, 14, 21, and 28
Cost: $99
Visit our Eventbrite page to register. Here is the link for Level 2:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/level-2-english-grammar-and-conversation-tickets-51592641981
Beginner-Level Spanish Class - November 1 thru December 13, 2018
Visit our Eventbrite page to purchase tickets for this six week class that will begin November 1, 2018 for 1.5 hours on Thursday evenings from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM.
Register now by clicking on the link to our Eventbrite page.
