What the whiteboard said — speaking that grows day by day, Yen-Ju Pai's second piece
In her first piece, sent in September, Taiwanese student Yen-Ju Pai admitted that at the start she was so afraid of her English that she could barely open her mouth — and that she came to see the teachers wanted confidence from her, not perfect grammar.
Yen-Ju's first piece — teachers fix your confidence, not your grammar
A month later the second one arrived. It is much shorter. But one phrase has changed.
"The teachers are professional and very patient, my speaking is getting better day by day."
From "scared" to "day by day". This piece is about what sits in between.
How many chances to speak
"The professional one-to-one lessons give me lots of chances to speak English…"
Yen-Ju is on TALK4 Hybrid A: four one-to-one periods and two group periods a day. In a one-to-one room nobody can answer for you. When the teacher asks a question, the only person who answers is you. Four times a day, with four different teachers, that situation repeats.
In the end, speaking improves in line with the number of times you open your mouth. No amount of reading a grammar book raises that number. Lots of one-to-one simply means that number is guaranteed, every day.
Patience — what was left on the classroom whiteboards
Three of the photos Yen-Ju sent were of classroom whiteboards.
"Even if I'm small, I know I'm enough." "Be the best color you can be." "You are much more than good enough."
Not grammar notes, not word lists. They are English sentences, but what they say is it's all right. These three photos show what a classroom feels like when it waits for a student who stumbles. That is what "patient" looks like.
Sentences built one-to-one, used in front of a group
Group classes are capped at eight and centre on presentations. The sentence you practised alone one-to-one now has to be used in front of several people. Even the same sentence makes you nervous again when the listeners change. Getting past that once a day is what "improving day by day" actually consists of.
The accommodation is comfortable too
"…and the accommodation is comfortable too."
A short line, but not a light one on a 20-week course. TALK's dormitory is two buildings, Golden Tree (Single, Double and Family rooms) and Main (3+1 and Quad rooms, adults only), both condo-style with kitchens.
And at the weekend — the Clark Food Festival
"Yesterday I went to the Clark Food Festival — so many local snacks and lively stalls, it was so much fun!"
Chih-Jen, another Taiwanese student, went to the same festival and wrote about the festival, the market, and friends who leave first. Six periods of speaking on weekdays; at the weekend, more speaking in front of the stalls.
The words "day by day"
Speaking does not suddenly open up one morning. It grows from how many times a day you opened your mouth. The month between Yen-Ju's two pieces is that number adding up.
When you choose a school, ask "how many minutes a day will I actually be speaking?" That number is more accurate than any brochure line.
If you want the details
Enrolment, start dates and quotations for Talk Academy are handled by our partner agencies in each country. Tell them your level honestly, and how many weeks you can take.