Disturbed - The Sound Of Silence

Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence

In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
'Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence

"Fools" said I
"You do not know, silence like a cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you"
But my words like silent raindrops fell
And echoed
In the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the signs said
"The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls
And whisper'd in the sounds of silenceWriter/s: PAUL SIMON 
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Joe Bonamassa - "Drive" - Live At Carnegie Hall: An Acoustic Evening

Joe Bonamassa - "Drive" - Live At Carnegie Hall: An Acoustic Evening

My music...

Talk about your feelings...

"A man worth being with is one… That never lies to you Is kind to people that have hurt him A person that respects another’s life That has manners and shows people respect That goes out of his way to help people That feels every person, no matter how difficult, deserves compassion Who believes you are the most beautiful person he has ever met Who brags about your accomplishments with pride Who talks to you about anything and everything because no bad news will make him love you less That is a peacemaker That will see you through illness Who keeps his promises Who doesn’t blame others, but finds the good in them That raises you up and motivates you to reach for the stars That doesn’t need fame, money or anything materialistic to be happy That is gentle and patient with children Who won’t let you lie to yourself; he tells you what you need to hear, in order to help you grow Who lives what he says he believes in Who doesn’t hold a grudge or hold onto the past Who doesn’t ask his family members to deliberately hurt people that have hurt him Who will run with your dreams That makes you laugh at the world and yourself Who forgives and is quick to apologize Who doesn’t betray you by having inappropriate conversations with other women Who doesn’t react when he is angry, decides when he is sad or keep promises he doesn’t plan to keep Who takes his children’s spiritual life very seriously and teaches by example Who never seeks revenge or would ever put another person down Who communicates to solve problems Who doesn’t play games or passive aggressively ignores people to hurt them Who is real and doesn’t pretend to be something he is not Who has the power to free you from yourself through his positive outlook Who has a deep respect for women and treats them like a daughter of God Who doesn’t have an ego or believes he is better than anyone Who is labeled constantly by people as the nicest person they have ever met Who works hard to provide for the family Who doesn’t feel the need to drink alcohol to have a good time, smoke or do drugs Who doesn't have to hang out a bar with his friends, but would rather spend his time with his family Who is morally free from sin Who sees your potential to be great Who doesn't think a woman's place has to be in the home; he supports your life mission, where ever that takes you Who is a gentleman Who is honest and lives with integrity Who never discusses your private business with anyone Who will protect his family Who forgives, forgets, repairs and restores When you find a man that possesses these traits then all the little things you don’t have in common don’t matter. This is the type of man worth being grateful for." — Shannon L. Alder 71 likes	Like Liked! view quote
	"Do Something! I was sitting on a plane after a long, tiring business trip. I was a bit grouchy and irritable because the rigorous schedule I had made for myself left me exhausted. Looking to not talk to the person next to me and simply endure the flight, I decided to open my newspaper and read about what was happening in the world. As I continued to read, it seemed that everywhere I looked there were stories of injustice, pain, suffering, and people losing hope. Finally, fueled by my tired, irritable state, I became overcome with compassion and frustration for the way things were. I got up and went to the bathroom and broke down. With tears streaming down my face, I helplessly looked to the sky and yelled to God. “God, look at this mess. Look at all this pain and suffering. Look at all this killing and hate. God, how could you let this happen? Why don’t you do something?” Just then, a quiet stillness pacified my heart. A feeling of peace I won’t ever forget engulfed my body. And, as I looked into my own eyes in the mirror, the answer to my own question came back to me… “Steve, stop asking God to do something. God already did something, he gave you life. Now YOU do something!" — Steve Maraboli (Life, the Truth, and Being Free) 62 likes	Like Liked! view quote
	"Honestly, I cannot understand what people mean when they talk about the freedom of the human will. I have a feeling, for instance, that I will something or other; but what relation this has with freedom I cannot understand at all. I feel that I will to light my pipe and I do it; but how can I connect this up with the idea of freedom? What is behind the act of willing to light the pipe? Another act of willing? Schopenhauer once said: Der Mensch kann was er will; er kann aber nicht wollen was er will (Man can do what he will but he cannot will what he wills)." — Albert Einstein 38 likes	Like Liked! view quote
	"I hurried to the southern corridor, relieved when I was safe in the blackness there. Relieved and horrified. It was really over now. I'm so afraid, I whimpered. Before Mel could respond, a heavy hand dropped on my shoulder from the darkness. "Going somewhere?" I was so tightly wound that I shrieked in terror; I was so terrified that my shriek was only a breathless little squeal. "Sorry!" Jared's arm went round my shoulders, comforting. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." "What are you doing here?" I demanded, still breathless. "Following you. I've been following you all night." "Well, stop it now." There was a hesitation in the dark, and his arm didn't move. I shrugged out from under it, but he caught my wrist. His grip was firm; I wouldn't be able to shake free easily. "You're going to see Doc?" he asked, and there was no confusion in his question. It was obvious that he wasn't talking about a social visit. "Of course I am." I hissed the words so that he wouldn't hear the panic in my voice. "What else can I do after today?It's not going to get any better. And this isn't Jeb's decision to make." "I know. I'm on your side." It made me angry that these words still had the power to hurt me, to bring tears stinging into my eyes. I tried to hold onto the thought of Ian - he was the anchor, as Kyle somehow had been for Sunny - but it was hard with Jared's hand touching me, with the smell of him in my nose. Like trying to make out the song of one violin when the entire percussion section was bashing away... "Then let me go, Jared. Go away. I want to be alone." The words came out fierce and fast and hard. It was easy to hear that they weren't lies. "I should come with you." "You'll have Melanie back soon enough," I snapped. "I'm only asking for a few minutes, Jared. Give me that much." Another pause; his hand didn't loosen. "Wanda, I would come to be with you." The tears spilled over. I was grateful for the darkness. "It wouldn't feel that way," I whispered. "So there's no point." — Stephenie Meyer (The Host (The Host, #1))

Inquiry-Based Learning: Developing Student-Driven Questions

As a language teacher, I use all kinds of tricks just because making students speak and building their self-confidence in keeping the conversation going is the most essential for me. When I teach Polish, my foreigners and I have to speak only Polish, and also my English classes are run wholly in English. I teach without a bridge language. This way they are required to forget about native language and start speaking as well as thinking in a foreign language. Thinking in a foreign language, this is basically what I want my learners to achieve. My students learn the language in different contexts, mostly singing phrases, expressions, collocations, idioms, phrasal verbs also telling stories. Moreover, I prompt them to speak to everybody, even to themselves in a foreign linguistic communication. Consequently, they can communicate as well as discuss a variety of beautiful narrations. Many teachers spend most of their time altering each other’s errors.
Nevertheless, I correct only fundamental mistakes, as I don’t want students to stop talking. I also encourage my learners to listen to songs, see flicks with captions in a language they learn, read a lot and then forward.

Slog's Dad

Slog's Dad
Slog's Dad is a story by the renowned British author David Almond and is the third of the BritLit kits produced by Russian teachers under the guidance of Alan Pulverness from NILE (Norwich Institute of Language Education). This BritLit kit is aimed at developing interest in and motivation for reading, based on creative exploration of the literary text.
Topic
Magic
Level
Upper-Intermediate / B2+
Age
14+
Aims

1. Pre-reading activities activate language and cultural knowledge necessary for understanding the story, as well leading into the genre of magical realism.
2. While-reading activities are designed to encourage predicting and interpreting, which are crucial for building up motivation for reading.
3. After-reading activities are focused on the style and themes of the story, which provides a good opportunity for the development of reading skills, as well as prompting imagination and creativity.

The ‘kit’ is aimed at developing interest in and motivation for reading, based on creative exploration of the literary text.

Pre-reading activities activate language and cultural knowledge necessary for comprehending the story, as well leading into the genre of magical realism.

While-reading activities are designed to encourage predicting and interpreting, which are crucial for building up motivation for reading.

After-reading activities are focused on the style and themes of the story, which provides a good opportunity for the development of reading skills, as well as prompting imagination and creativity.

The ‘kit’ was designed by Russian teachers and methodologists under the guidance of Alan Pulverness,  Assistant Academic Director, Norwich Institute for Language Education, UK.

By;

 Elizaveta Bogdanova Ludmila Borbotko Olga Romanova Svetlana Sokolova Olga Sventsitskaya Ludmila Talsi Marina Vorontsova

 Tell a fantastic story

 Sample story: Once a baby was left at home with its sister, Anna, who was only 5 years old. Their parents went to the supermarket to do some shopping. Anna was playing with the baby when she heard a dog barking outside. She opened the window and looked out. There was a rabbit being taken for a walk by Mr Fletcher, who lived nearby. Oh, the rabbit was so lovely that Anna couldn’t but show it to her little brother. She took him to the window. It was not very difficult. Then she put him on the window- sill and… the baby… fell down from the fifth floor! Guess what? He landed right on the fluffy rabbit … safe and sound!

Why You Need To Include Narrative In Your Online Learning

Why You Need To Include Narrative In Your Online Learning:
Want to know why you need to include Narrative In Your Online Learning? Check all the reasons why you need to include Narrative In Your Online Learning.

By Juliette Denny

April 4, 2017

Storytelling is my primary teaching approach.

The main benefit to using narrative in training is that stories are easier to remember

 It just involves creating a story in your mind containing all the elements you want to recall.

The ancient memory recall technique that’s still used by majority of teachers and students is not effective at all.

Memorizing isolated vocabulary doesn't  make any sense.
Students should learn the language in the natural contexts, with the expressions, the phrases, and idioms.

 

Halina, English teacher from Poland - italki

Halina, English teacher from Poland - italki

I am an enthusiastic online non-native English teacher. To make it clear, I teach Polish as a foreign language and English.

I have been teaching English online since 2010. I have taught children as well as adults. I have a master’s degree in education from the University of Wroclaw, Poland, Philology, Linguistics Jul 1974.

After 40 years of teaching, I grow into an experienced online professional tutor. I specialize in Conversational English. I also prepare, for variety tests, including the Cambridge and Oxford standardized exams.

I have learnt a lot from my online friend Dr. Nellie, who has been giving me wonderful opportunities to join her online courses as well as online conferences.

Thanks to her as a passionate English teacher, I take advantage of new technologies. My approach is Teaching English with Technology. I use blended learning, flipping the classroom, learning by teaching or encouraging change from passive to fully active learners are significant implements in my teaching/ learning.

The view from my balcony.

Halina's Online English Classes

https://ostankowicz.wordpress.com/2017/01/10/the-essentials-about-halinas-teaching/

SlideTalk Video: New Year Celebrations in Poland

SlideTalk Video: New Year Celebrations in Poland

New Year in Poland- Customs and Traditions

    

The Central European country of Poland celebrates its New Year on the date of January 1st. The time in and around New Year is excitedly awaited by everyone in the Poland. New Year’s Day, out of its traditional relevance, is also called as St. Sylvester’s Eve.

According to legends, it is associated with Pope Sylvester I, who supposedly caught a dragon named Leviathan.

On the first date of the year of 1000, the dragon was able to get himself liberated from Pope Sylvester’s regime and went on to demolish land, people, as well as set fire to the heavens. However, the dragon was later caught again, and the world still survived itself on the New Year’s Day. In the commemoration of the same, people started celebrating and rejoicing the New Year’s Day as St. Sylvester’s Day.

New Year Celebrations in Poland

The New Year celebrations as made in Poland are regular in some ways, and complete unique in some others. Festival time during New Year in Poland is prominently about spending some good time with close friends and family members at home while spreading happiness and cheer.

Many others wish to do the same by planning an outing, or a night party in a famous night club, discotheque, or a pub preferably offering something more than usual on New Year’s Eve. The pop concerts, which most of the time are open air concerts, are also organized in many places in Poland and are attended by thousands and more.

A bottle of champagne is necessary to be toasted at midnight in the family party, street party, or any other common or uncommon place where the place is going on. Some of these parties are so prominently classic and vibrant that one might lose an entry in any one of them if one starts planning any time later than the month of September.

So, one need to have reservations far ahead of time, if one wishes to be in those big-time classic parties. Those holding private parties make sure to have great dinners with equally beautiful dishes on the platter, necessarily including sausages and bigos.

There are some who wish to get close to nature during the time of New Year. The preferred places are the marvelous Tantra Mountains, from where one can see the beautiful sunrise of the first dawns of the New Year rising over the mountains range. Also, since it is the time of the year when Poland is in dry cold weather, with a little powdery snowfall, many people loves to spend their New Year’s time in skiing or sledding. Some people plan to have a loose party in a forest, by putting up a bonfire, and singing and dancing around it the whole night.

Traditional New Year Celebrations in Poland

For the fact, even in the present time, only affluent families living in Poland can have those special New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day celebrations. Therefore, one can find the majority of the people spending the time getting glued to a television set, which on a special day is telecasting special programs.

However, the core of New Year celebrations in Poland quotes that no one should be lonely for the day. It is not necessary the way they celebrate it, but the important thing is that one has to feel good and be optimistic. There is also a tradition of wishing at least one person good by saying, “do siego roku,” which refers to “I wish you well.”

Also, there is an important tradition of smudging windows and doorknobs of the house with tar, or to hide pots that were left drying on a fence. Doing all such things is traditionally believed to symbolize for driving out the old year, and welcoming the New Year. Some parts of the country have people baking donuts, with the belief that it will ensure abundance of wealth in the coming year.

http://www.123newyear.com/newyear-traditions/poland.html

Individual English Lessons with Halina

Feel invited to my English Online classes.

• Are you nervous about communicating in English with foreign colleagues?
• Do you have a good command of English, but feel like your flexibility may be lacking?
• Would you like to learn how to sound more natural when making small talk and discussing problems?
• Do you feel the need to improve your conversational skills?

If you responded "YES" to any of these queries, then join up right away!

I give English one to one tutoring classes as well as ONLINE English Courses.

I understand what YOU need to succeed with English. I know the essential skills you need to develop to become an effective communicator in English.

My classes are for students who want to use a most proficient approach to get fluent in English fast by practicing English Skills. Training is a subconscious process and is faster than conscious learning.

Being able to communicate effectively is the most important of all life skills.

Communication is simply the act of transferring information from one place to another, whether this is vocal,  written, visually or non-verbally (using body language, gestures and the tone and pitch of the voice). 

How well this information can be transmitted and received is a measure of how good our communication skills are.

Training your English communication skills can facilitate all aspects of your life, from your professional spirit to social gatherings and everything in between. 

Conventional methods of learning English exemplify passive learning with a limited success rate. I firmly believe in Active Learning of English Skills which is much more effective than passive learning.

These are the primary disadvantages of passive English learning

1. The major weakness of passive learning is that it splits the language into different components – reading, writing, listening, grammar, and pronunciation – which you try to learn separately.

2. When learners are not actively involved in the class, they continue to think in their native language. Whatever the instructor explains to them, they try to interpret it in their mother tongue. It becomes nearly impossible to process the information intuitively or spontaneously.

3. Because learners aren’t taught to think in English, they are unable to communicate in English.

Active learning helps students start speaking English confidently in less than a year.
Active learning is more than just listening: it involves the active participation of students. They must use the language all the time and be emotionally involved in the process.

We need the conversion from Passive Learning to Active Training English Skills

As a language teacher, I use all kinds of tricks just because making students speak and building their self-confidence in keeping the conversation going is the most essential for me.
When I teach Polish, my foreigners and I have to speak only Polish, and also my English classes are run entirely in English. I teach without a bridge language.
This way they are required to forget about native language and start speaking as well as thinking in a foreign language. Thinking in a foreign language, this is simply what I want my learners to achieve.
My students learn the language in different contexts, mostly singing phrases, expressions, collocations, idioms, phrasal verbs also telling stories. Moreover, I inspire them to talk to everybody, even to themselves in a foreign language. Consequently, they can communicate as well as discuss a variety of beautiful narrations.
Many teachers spend most of their time altering each other’s mistakes.

Nevertheless, I correct only fundamental errors, as I don’t want students to stop talking. I also encourage my learners to listen to songs, watch movies with subtitles in a language they learn, read a lot and so forth.

1. The most significant is to deliver comprehensible input. We improve the language when we understand it.

I am very much against the support in the native language.

2. Learners spend more time dynamically speaking English when we change them, for working students.
I also create an environment for gaining all language skills – reading, listening, speaking, writing, and pronunciation at the same time. Learners experience everyday situations again entirely in English.

3. The mobile is an obvious choice for delivering information. It affords pupils access to reading material both in the course of instruction and after the course of study. It covers support for sharing sessions with friends or teachers, which is essential for digital learners.

The lessons added by a teacher allow building an active connection between everyone.

As a result, I as an English teacher achieve a constant change from passive learning to the active, improving English skills.

Halina's Voki

http://www.voki.com/site/pickup?scid=13363521&chsm=78fffdfe4f4bc496f06c5bb8bc22e7da

English Teaching Online

I firmly believe in Active Learning of English Skills which is much more effective than passive learning.

My classes are for students who want to use a most proficient approach to get fluent in English fast by practicing English Skills. Being able to communicate effectively is the most important of all life skills.

 

I would be interested in connecting and talking to you.

I specialize in Conversational English Online courses.

Moreover, I have been successfully preparing for English exams since a long time ago.

 Why don't you check my profile here or just Google me?

Look forward to hearing from you.

Greetings,

Halina Ostankowicz – Bazan

Halina's Voki

https://vhss.oddcast.com/admin/homepageTM.php

English Teaching Online 

I would be interested in connecting and talking to you.

I specialize in Conversational English Online courses.

Moreover, I have been successfully preparing for English exams since a long time ago.

 Why don't you check my profile here or just Google me?

Look forward to hearing from you.

Greetings,

Halina Ostankowicz – Bazan