Know Howe for English! - Recently Updated Pages

Working with the BBC

KnowHowe — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 14:38:07 CST

From Pitch to Profit
Everyone with an innovative business idea needs to be able to "pitch", in order to attract investment. Hundreds of budding entrepreneurs have pitched their ideas to the "Dragons" (five super-wealthy entrepreneurs seeking to invest their cash) on Dragons' Den - the BBC's business venture capitalist programme.

Pitch for Youdodoll

Pitch for Hungry House

Listen to BBC Learning English on Dragons Den.

Tips for Entrepreneurs
Richard Branson and Virgin
The Apprentice

Mamma Mia, they're back!

Know Howe Blog Abba Forever

Thanks to Mamma Mia their music is back for good! And talking of the Dancing Queens, we've dug up an old ABBA interview, so you can hear their delightful Swedish English!

For all British TV listings subscribe to Radio Times.

Annual subscriptions
(51 copies) - ordered
on online, sent to you in Germany, cost £108.

You can easily order it on line!

Create Your Own BBC Homepage!

Tim Howe Workshops for Teachers

Podcast Top Tip!

Americana: inside the USA

Billed by the BBC as "An insider’s guide to the stories shaping the USA today".

Matt Frei is a German journalist based in Washington for the BBC. He speaks perfect English!

Every Sunday presenter Frei is joined in the Washington DC studio by a panel of guests for a thought-provoking mix of discussion, reportage and eavesdropping on American airwaves.Recent episodes have covered Obama's love of golf and why some Americans think he's in the White House illegally.

Get the weekly podcast Americana

More news is good news
Anyone who's seen "7 Tage 7 Köpfe" can probably imagine the format of the Original BBC Show

Hosts and guests on the show have included Bob Geldorf, Tim Rice and even former (emphasis on former!) prime ministers! All at HIGNFY

Radio 2's new-look
website -with museum-piece double-decker bus!

Most important skill: Did you know we spend 45% of our time "just" listening"? That's an awful lot of learning time! To help you get the most out of this here are some of the best BBC sites for hearing English.

Learning English

News broadcasts make particularly good listening practice, as they are generally spoken much slower and clearer than other programmes. Words in the News
News about Britain Business Daily Talking Business
BBC WORLD

What's on?

Once my favourite music station. Some of the presenters could do with having their egos scaled down (the name Jonathon Ross springs to mind). And a lot of the music (Madonna, Pixie Lott.....) is duplicated on the sister channel Radio One.

Considering the BBC is funded largely by compulsory licence fees (a bit like Gemagebühr, except that all money goes to the BBC) that seems rather wasteful!

Some shows like Good Morning Sunday are quite good though, with a nice wide range of tunes.
Compare it with Radio One, which sounds more like drunken furniture removers scraping a sofa up the staircase.

What's on?

A-Z directory
From Our Own Correspondent,
Excess Baggage
Woman's Hour

Know Howe's BBC Favourites

FOS now!

KnowHowe — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 23:00:17 CST

So this is where I teach most of my classes at the moment.
Aha! A building that looks more like RTL'S Big Brother home than school premises.To be honest though, the container's actually rather warm and cosy! That might have something to do with the rather cranky heating system, however...

To all FOS students reading this: The aim is to fill "FOS now!" with useful downloads - stuff you can practise on at home, maybe. Like material I'll be posting at 11. Klasse.

Which at the moment is rather empty! So If you have any suggestions on what reading or listening material you'd like to see here then just let me know in class, OK?

Extra Reading Tip of the Month!
Focus on Success; Unit 3: Keeping Fit After hearing so much about the stunning landscape of Scotland, with all its opportunities for keeping fit, you'd probably think the Scots are a healthy bunch. Well not exactly. According to Scotland sick man of Europe, published in Scotland's leading online newspaper, this country has one of the worst health records in the developed world.

11. Klasse

KnowHowe — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 22:51:29 CST

Extra reading materials
Room for your suggestions!!!!!

Know Tim Howe for English

KnowHowe — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 22:40:58 CST

For learners and teachers of English

Happy Christmas to all students and colleagues!

Get to Know Howe Now!

Get to Know Howe
- last Christmas

Get to Know Howe in November

Get to Know Howe in October

"Bells of Christmas" by Chris de Burgh.

Talking of Christmas, here's my favourite song this year. Yes, I know, it's not exactly an original chorus-line ("Have a merry Christmas everyone!") and it's full of heart-string-pulling peace and goodwill. But, heck, it's Christmas and it certainly fills the gaps between Wham's "Last Christmas."

Hope you like it too!

Know Howe for English. All you need this Christmas is Know Howe

Show off your English

Ten Tips

Working with the BBC

Writing Tips

Presentations - without pain

Fachoberschule

Speak colourful English!

Get a pay rise

Ten Tricks

British Culture

Brit Pop

English Training
Telegraph Blog
Howe Reports

Know Howe Now!

KnowHowe — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 13:48:39 CST

Lessons with Tildy	Practice makes perfect. Or as you say in Bavaria "Uebig macht ois Moister!" Isn't that right?! You know how it is though - the more you read English, the easier it becomes to speak the language: And the more confident you are, the better it sounds too! I've been learning a lot about practising to be perfect (well. almost perfect..) myself recently, as little Matilda goes from strength to strength. Whether it's nappy changing, learning the latest nursery rhymes, or ooohing and aaahing, just to entertain her. Sheer practice (with loads of trial and error!) has thrown me into senior league in the baby world. So, if you're struggling with your English at the moment, take heart: The more you work at it, the better you'll become. Oh, and if that doesn't work for you, here's one small consolation: Cramming English vocabulary sure beats nappy changing half way through the night!

Lessons with Tildy

Practice makes perfect. Or as you say in Bavaria "Uebig macht ois Moister!" Isn't that right?!

You know how it is though - the more you read English, the easier it becomes to speak the language: And the more confident you are, the better it sounds too!

I've been learning a lot about practising to be perfect (well. almost perfect..) myself recently, as little Matilda goes from strength to strength. Whether it's nappy changing, learning the latest nursery rhymes, or ooohing and aaahing, just to entertain her. Sheer practice (with loads of trial and error!) has thrown me into senior league in the baby world.

So, if you're struggling with your English at the moment, take heart: The more you work at it, the better you'll become.

Oh, and if that doesn't work for you, here's one small consolation: Cramming English vocabulary sure beats nappy changing half way through the night!

BA Students

KnowHowe — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:54:34 CST

Topical articles linked to the BA course in Business Administration.

Central Banking, Money and Taxation

Should banks be forced to publically disclose
their bad debts?
UK house prices suffer biggest fall since 1992
Financial crisis hits homeowner spending.
UK consumer borrowing hits 5-year high
Banks Bid for Green Credentials

Are we heading for a cashless society?
Are bank manager bonuses responsible for credit crunch?

The economic cycle
Part of the problem is that the adjectives used to describe the downturn tend to be über-emotive. It is "miserable" or "gloomy"
news when house prices fall or the Bank of England raises interest rates, whereas a rise in retail sales is regarded as a major "boost" to the economy. Full article at Yes, we’re heading for recession

Entrepreneurs

Chad Hurley and Steve Chen - mastermind duo behind You Tube

Free Trade

"The WTO and a system of global trade rules is the only way that we will resolve questions of commerce and equity, trade and development in the global economy."
Peter Mandelson, the EU Commissioner for Trade
Read full article

Free trade is our only way forward
Also by Peter Mandelson

The Free Trade Debate
Notes from Wikipedia - good overview

Globalisation is good for Britain

A year at Gymnasium

KnowHowe — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:41:48 CDT

Last year I returned to full-time school teaching after over a decade pursuing other projects, such as translating, university lecturing and in-house company training. Here's a short account of my experience. Applying through the Kultus-ministerium, I was offered a post as “Aushilfslehrer” for one year at the Hallertau Gymnasium Wolnzach. The school’s some 1120 pupils come from an expansive rural catchment area, spanning northernmost Oberbayern. Having subbed a few odd lessons there the previous year, I already knew my way around the place. English only I felt immediately at home in the school, especially with Year 11. Work at this level is all topic based: one week we’d be debating the causes of global warming and the following week we’d be arguing the pros and cons of capital punishment. I particularly enjoyed teaching the art and literature part of the course, in which we studied the superb“The Secret Life of Bees”, read and wrote poetry together, and also discovered the delights of Banksy’s guerrilla art. Feeding back, pupils seemed to appreciate the wide opportunity to speak in these classes. Some even said that having the lesson all in English felt just like being in England. Others, perhaps justifiably, made the point that that certain aspects, such as grammar, needed explaining in German too. Unbearable masses The 14-15 year age group, however, were a little more difficult to teach. Whilst charming as individuals, they were, at times, quite unbearable “en masse” (soon confirmed to me by even their parents!). And although most were dab hands at gap-filling exercises, they’d fall to pieces when required to put together a grammatically correct sentence in free speech or writing. This problem prevailed throughout the school but, given the “gang mentality” of so many 9th year pupils, was perhaps my greatest challenge in the middle school. Crowded house Halfway through the year we became a “Seminarschule”, welcoming 14 young, predominantly female, and rather pretty, trainees. Unfortunately the school’s already seriously overcrowded staffroom, and overstretched facilities (some 80 colleagues competing for just three photocopiers and one coffee machine!) virtually capitulated under the extra pressure. Endless tests Although I happily resigned myself to endless queues for coffee and photocopies, the testing and marking load was something different all together. With each class doing three to four Schulaufgaben a year, plus a steady flow of Stegreif-aufgaben, and constant oral grading, testing has to be the greatest bugbear of every Gymnasium teacher.	Virtually every single weekend was spent hunched over marking or setting assessment tests. Everything, however, went on hold when our first child was born early December. Goodbye stunts From then it was life in the fast track, racing home every middday to entertain Matilda, before locking myself away till bedtime to prepare lessons and the mark those never-ending tests. Before I knew it the Abistreich (the jokes final-year pupils play on the rest of the school) had come round, with all the teachers being marched into the main hall (revamped as a Roman Olympic arena). There we were coerced into performing assorted crowd-pleasing stunts, like catwalk modelling and chariot racing. Having just been served free beer and brezels by Dirndl-dressed Schülerinnen, all I can remember was sheepishly whipping a much older female colleague pulling me on a skateboard for a chariot, and veering off into the crowd at the last bend. Elton John duo In a more sober moment, several weeks later at the Schulfest, I found myself casting all caution to the wind. Duetting with a Referendarin I karaoked around on stage to Elton John and Kiki Dee at the school’s very own “Sucht den Superstar” contest. At least though I didn’t have to stand up in front of the pupils in class again: my time was up. Mixed feelings Stepping onto the stage on the final day to receive my goodbye present – a white rose – I had mixed feelings. Sad, on the one hand, to be leaving such a friendly and supportive bunch of colleagues. And sure I would also miss the daily banter with the pupils. Yet as from the introduction of G8 in the forthcoming school year the school would allow only those with the Zweites Staatsexamen to teach the Studienstufe.. This included Year 11, which I had enjoyed so much. Unequal opportunities It seems a shame denying eldest pupils access to a native speaker, just because this teacher's home qualifications don’t match German requirements. And whatever happened to equal work opportunities throughout Europe? The prospect of relegation to the lower school just to keep my post did not appeal. Recommend experience More and more Grammar Schools in Germany are recruiting teachers with qualifications from other countries (P.G.C.E., in my case). And although “Aushilfe” teacher pay lags well behind the earnings of permanent staff, I’d heartily recommend the experience to anyone curious about what makes a German Secondary School tick. Who knows, if you play your cards right you may even be entrusted with the Studienstufe. But just mind how you go on the beer and brezels on leavers’ day. Read the full article published in the Weekly Telegraph More Howe reports

Last year I returned to full-time school teaching after over a decade pursuing other projects, such as translating, university lecturing and in-house company training. Here's a short account of my experience.

Applying through the Kultus-ministerium, I was offered a post as “Aushilfslehrer” for one year at the Hallertau Gymnasium Wolnzach. The school’s some 1120 pupils come from an expansive rural catchment area, spanning northernmost Oberbayern. Having subbed a few odd lessons there the previous year, I already knew my way around the place.

English only
I felt immediately at home in the school, especially with Year 11. Work at this level is all topic based: one week we’d be debating the causes of global warming and the following week we’d be arguing the pros and cons of capital punishment. I particularly enjoyed teaching the art and literature part of the course, in which we studied the superb“The Secret Life of Bees”, read and wrote poetry together, and also discovered the delights of Banksy’s guerrilla art.

Feeding back, pupils seemed to appreciate the wide opportunity to speak in these classes. Some even said that having the lesson all in English felt just like being in England. Others, perhaps justifiably, made the point that that certain aspects, such as grammar, needed explaining in German too.

Unbearable masses
The 14-15 year age group, however, were a little more difficult to teach. Whilst charming as individuals, they were, at times, quite unbearable “en masse” (soon confirmed to me by even their parents!). And although most were dab hands at gap-filling exercises, they’d fall to pieces when required to put together a grammatically correct sentence in free speech or writing. This problem prevailed throughout the school but, given the “gang mentality” of so many 9th year pupils, was perhaps my greatest challenge in the middle school.

Crowded house
Halfway through the year we became a “Seminarschule”, welcoming 14 young, predominantly female, and rather pretty, trainees. Unfortunately the school’s already seriously overcrowded staffroom, and overstretched facilities (some 80 colleagues competing for just three photocopiers and one coffee machine!) virtually capitulated under the extra pressure.

Endless tests
Although I happily resigned myself to endless queues for coffee and photocopies, the testing and marking load was something different all together. With each class doing three to four Schulaufgaben a year, plus a steady flow of Stegreif-aufgaben, and constant oral grading, testing has to be the greatest bugbear of every Gymnasium teacher.

Virtually every single weekend was spent hunched over marking or setting assessment tests. Everything, however, went on hold when our first child was born early December.

Goodbye stunts
From then it was life in the fast track, racing home every middday to entertain Matilda, before locking myself away till bedtime to prepare lessons and the mark those never-ending tests.

Before I knew it the Abistreich (the jokes final-year pupils play on the rest of the school) had come round, with all the teachers being marched into the main hall (revamped as a Roman Olympic arena). There we were coerced into performing assorted crowd-pleasing stunts, like catwalk modelling and chariot racing.

Having just been served free beer and brezels by Dirndl-dressed Schülerinnen, all I can remember was sheepishly whipping a much older female colleague pulling me on a skateboard for a chariot, and veering off into the crowd at the last bend.

Elton John duo
In a more sober moment, several weeks later at the Schulfest, I found myself casting all caution to the wind. Duetting with a Referendarin I karaoked around on stage to Elton John and Kiki Dee at the school’s very own “Sucht den Superstar” contest. At least though I didn’t have to stand up in front of the pupils in class again: my time was up.

Mixed feelings
Stepping onto the stage on the final day to receive my goodbye present – a white rose – I had mixed feelings. Sad, on the one hand, to be leaving such a friendly and supportive bunch of colleagues. And sure I would also miss the daily banter with the pupils. Yet as from the introduction of G8 in the forthcoming school year the school would allow only those with the Zweites Staatsexamen to teach the Studienstufe.. This included Year 11, which I had enjoyed so much.

Unequal opportunities
It seems a shame denying eldest pupils access to a native speaker, just because this teacher's home qualifications don’t match German requirements. And whatever happened to equal work opportunities throughout Europe? The prospect of relegation to the lower school just to keep my post did not appeal.

Recommend experience
More and more Grammar Schools in Germany are recruiting teachers with qualifications from other countries (P.G.C.E., in my case). And although “Aushilfe” teacher pay lags well behind the earnings of permanent staff, I’d heartily recommend the experience to anyone curious about what makes a German Secondary School tick.

Who knows, if you play your cards right you may even be entrusted with the Studienstufe. But just mind how you go on the beer and brezels on leavers’ day.

Read the full article published in the Weekly Telegraph
More Howe reports

Howe Reports

KnowHowe — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 12:21:04 CDT

Tim Howe beat the bureaucracy to become one of the few foreign language teachers in a German school.

Read Tim's Telegraph article To Sir with beer and bretzels

Watch out, they're all about....

I meet up with the man behind the "Feeling of Freedom" that's sweeping the country.

Caution, naked cyclists passing ahead

Bag a bargain with German recycling>>

Germany's recycling system is one of the most complicated in the world.

A dozen different colour-coded boxes for all your rubbish - you need an instruction manual to work out what goes where!

Yet it functions with all the precision of a Swiss narrow gauge railway.

Howe's Careers:
Audimax:
Goodbye Deutschland - Pflicht oder Kur?
Unicum:
Brain Drain auf Zeit
Weekly Telegraph:
Young Germans rush abroad
Finding strength in numbers

A while back I was drafted in to write "gastronomic reviews" for the monthly "Munich in your Pocket".
International eateries in Munich

Travel reports
Inn Town - Wasserburg
The Munich Wanderers
Passau
Winter sports in Bayrischzell
Bad Tölz

Life in Germany
Watching the Germans
Travel Light

Public holidays
May be Good

Did you know that 2008 was International Year of Languages?

But do Brits need to speak other tongues if every one else speaks English?

How British schools celebrated the event.

How do you make a German laugh?

Seriously, why do Bavarians laugh only when they've "a Mooaß" in their hand?
And how to make yourself laugh at German humour?

Find out what Anglo-phones think about the Germans at Toytown Germany and why we secretly like living in Germany:

It's net gain for sociable expats living in Germany >>

Lost in Translation?

Good translation practice has changed little since Bill Murray & Scarlett Johansson had their famous fling.

How to get started in the profession of

Translating & Interpreting>>

Book Reviews

Petite Anglaise
The Tender Bar
Rogue Trader

My irregular Blog

You Know You're ... When....

Keep Britain British!

Workshops

KnowHowe — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 04:10:25 CDT

Tim Howe was born in Eastleigh, England.

Tim started out as a German teacher in the British state school system.

His decision to switch to EFL abroad was largely driven by the promise of better weather and a free ski pass.

This took him to a private school on Lake Geneva and was followed by a post in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, retraining Maths professors to teach English.

Since gaining a degree in Translating and Interpreting from Bath University Tim has worked in house with language services of major companies and interpreted at international trade fairs.

Tim's family home is in the Hallertau, Lower Bavaria. Tim teaches up to Fachabitur and delivers in-company training and workshops in English.

Business Workshops
Effective Presentations
Meetings and Negotiations
Telephoning Skills

Workshops for Teaching Organisations
English Through The News
Literature & Film In Class
Time Savers, Fillers and Motivators

New:
Was - schon wieder ein Rollenspiel? or Making Role Play More Meaningful

Teilnehmeranzahl (min.): 8.
Kursgebühr: auf Anfrage. Ermäßigungen für Lehrervereine/Special rates for teachers' organisations.

Writers' Weekend
For native speakers of English and CEF level C.
Your chance to hone up your penning skills with lots of practical tips. Whether you want to write for profit or pleasure, or simply make your student handouts sound snappier.

Location: Will vary every time!
If participants are scattered around the country we'll try for as central as possible.

knowhowe@live.de

Know Howe Now - Message from Tim

Former Editor of Melta News, Tim is an active member of MELTA - Munich English Language Teachers' Association.

Get to Know Howe in October

KnowHowe — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 12:20:10 CDT

Back to school,
Sept. 2008

Funny how you forget what school's like, if you haven't been there a long time, isn't it? I've just returned to full-time school teaching after several years in Business English.

Back "at the chalk face" all of a sudden is like being parachuted into the middle of a Grand Prix circuit, and told to mind out for passing vehicles.

I'd totally forgotten what a noisy place school is, for a start. That really struck me at lunchtime today, as I collapsed in a corner of the classroom and listened to the elephant-like stampede of some 500 pupils out in the corridor.

If you'd told me they were handing out 100 € notes to the first pupils through the front doors, I'd have believed you.

But no, they were simply making a beeline for the canteen, lured no doubt by the smell of fresh-baked pizza.

There's a lot of things I like about this school though. It's so much better organised than anywhere I've taught in England.

There the first part of each lesson invariably involved coercing pupils into not climbing out of the windows, clearing up their crisp bags from the floor and rubbing obscenities off the blackboard.

Here in Germany pupils are assigned classroom "chores" in pairs on rota basis.

Responsibilities include opening the windows (for so-called "Stoßlüftung" - lovely word), sweeping the debris away from around your feet and handing you the class registration book (thoughtfully opened at the right page, naturally!). That means as a teacher you can simply get on and teach.

That said, whilst I've been writing this I've been putting off preparing tomorrow's lessons. And correcting some 30 exercise books. Some things in teaching never change.....

Know Howe at Christmas

KnowHowe — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 12:12:16 CDT

Bath time with Tildy. Wherever you are, whoever you celebrate Christmas with, I wish you a really happy one!	What is Christmas for you? Decorating the tree? Roasting chestnuts over an open fire? A stolen kiss under the mistletoe, maybe? The Christmas Story, of course, tells us Christ came into our world as a helpless baby to save us all from sin. I've always struggled a bit with the idea of sin. What is "sin"? And what, in these days of round-the-clock fun and entertainment, actually qualifies as sin? Maybe best not to know too precisely! Whatever, the gift of life is something exceptionally special. Something which, during "time out" over Christmas, we have a wonderful opportunity to reflect on and appreciate more than we'd normally do. For my family the miracle of child birth takes on a very special meaning this Christmas, as we celebrate with our darling little daughter Matilda, born 2 December.

Bath time with Tildy.

Wherever you are, whoever you celebrate Christmas with, I wish you a really happy one!

What is Christmas for you? Decorating the tree? Roasting chestnuts over an open fire? A stolen kiss under the mistletoe, maybe?

The Christmas Story, of course, tells us Christ came into our world as a helpless baby to save us all from sin. I've always struggled a bit with the idea of sin. What is "sin"? And what, in these days of round-the-clock fun and entertainment, actually qualifies as sin? Maybe best not to know too precisely!

Whatever, the gift of life is something exceptionally special. Something which, during "time out" over Christmas, we have a wonderful opportunity to reflect on and appreciate more than we'd normally do.

For my family the miracle of child birth takes on a very special meaning this Christmas, as we celebrate with our darling little daughter Matilda, born 2 December.

British Culture

KnowHowe — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 05:37:38 CDT

"One of the freedoms of the English is the freedom from culture" Lord Goodman

What food smell reminds Brits most of Britain? No, not bacon and eggs and not toast and marmalade - even though the Queen is said to dearly enjoy all these for breakfast. According to a recent study, it's good old fish and chips. Britons judged the mouth-watering aroma of fish and chips to be even better than the scent of clean sheets. 53 per cent of people felt happy when they caught a smell of their favourite scent, while 46 per cent said it relaxes them. Pet hates Relaxing? A bit like a nice cup of tea, really. The survey found that our most hated smell is that of public toilets. Other hated smells include body odour, bad breath, babies’ nappies and cigarettes. The survey's Top Ten smells also included freshly cut grass, frying bacon and a roast dinner. And - right alongside fish 'n' chips - lemon zest. Not surprisingly, really: The study was conducted by Finish Lemon Sparkle dishwasher products.		Every breath you take Sting's immortal words,of course. Bless him. Yet little did he know that good breathing is heavenly. Breathing techniques used by Gregorian monks are known to lower stress and blood pressure. As one professor at the London School of Economics says: "Research shows that regular breathing associated with chanting can have quite a significant and positive physiological impact." And British businessmen are already flocking to the School's therapeutic courses, as pictured here at an after-work deep-breathing party. Sounds like something overworked, stressed-out students also might want to try out. Do you think traditional treatment is more effective than expensive modern drugs? Have you any stress-beating techniques that you would suggest stressed business people adopt? More British Culture Culture Club - Do's and Don'ts in Britain

What food smell reminds Brits most of Britain?

No, not bacon and eggs and not toast and marmalade - even though the Queen is said to dearly enjoy all these for breakfast.

According to a recent study, it's good old fish and chips.

Britons judged the mouth-watering aroma of fish and chips to be even better than the scent of clean sheets.

53 per cent of people felt happy when they caught a smell of their favourite scent, while 46 per cent said it relaxes them.

Pet hates

Relaxing? A bit like a nice cup of tea, really.

The survey found that our most hated smell is that of public toilets. Other hated smells include body odour, bad breath, babies’ nappies and cigarettes.

The survey's Top Ten smells also included freshly cut grass, frying bacon and a roast dinner. And - right alongside fish 'n' chips -
lemon zest.

Not surprisingly, really: The study was conducted by Finish Lemon Sparkle dishwasher products.

Every breath you take

Sting's immortal words,of course.

Bless him.

Yet little did he know that good breathing is heavenly.

Breathing techniques used by Gregorian monks are known to lower stress and blood pressure.

As one professor at the London School of Economics says: "Research shows that regular breathing associated with chanting can have quite a significant and positive physiological impact."

And British businessmen are already flocking to the School's therapeutic courses, as pictured here at an after-work deep-breathing party.

Sounds like something overworked, stressed-out students also might want to try out.

Do you think traditional treatment is more effective than expensive modern drugs?

Have you any stress-beating techniques that you would suggest stressed business people adopt?

More British Culture
Culture Club - Do's and Don'ts in Britain

Teachers Corner

KnowHowe — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 04:33:50 CDT

Notes from the staffroom

Teaching Resources

If you're hunting for bang-up-to-date video material for your Business English classes, check out The Apprentice (official website). Coupled with my own recordings of the programme, I've found these make good case study material – particularly for classes on Meetings & Negotiations and Presentations. And with the last-but-one series ending on a rather sour note, you could also tie it in nicely with business ethics: Pros and cons of lying on your CV.

A propos cheap tricks - i f a student hands you a report that looks too good to be true - chances are it is! Finding a cure for copy and paste in the Guardian Weekly suggests practical ways of encouraging your students to produce more of their own work. Highly Recommended Books:

50 Ways to Improve Your English Using the Internet and Task-based Teaching
English-English Dictionaries

Subscribe to Telegraph Education feed

Don't miss Tim Howe Workshops for Teachers

Know Howe for English

All you need is to Know Howe

Writing Tips

KnowHowe — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 04:30:34 CDT

Seven Golden Rules

You know what you want to say, you just don't know how to say it?

Students often say essay writing is the hardest bit of their course –
the part they least enjoy. But follow just a few simple steps and you'll find writing much less difficult – and more enjoyable.

1. Before you start writing note 5-10 keywords and pick your “best” one. This one will start your discussion

2. As you write your introduction, try to build this “best” word into one sentence, which will tell the reader what you intend to do and why.

3. A good introduction often needs an at least one of the following: anecdote, description, question, striking statistic/fact:

Did you know 20% of Americans believe the sun revolves around the world?

4. Your body should begin the first idea in support of your thesis. Follow this with further sentences in support of your thesis. Give examples, comment on/ analyse/compare their significance! Unless you are weighing up pros and cons try to focus each paragraph on just ONE idea.

5. Your conclusion should reflect what has been stated and proved, without repeating it word for word. It should end with a statement or idea that leaves a strong impression and provokes further thought. This can be an outlook or message.

6. When you have finished the essay check that it is □ focused □ logical □ clear □ relevant □ well structured (with signposts!)

7. Finally, check for □ Spelling and punctuation! □ Style. Formal text does NOT use slang like "wanna" and "gonna".

Easy when you know how
(and Know Howe!):
Your Seven-Step Guide to Writing

Whether you write only a commentary, summary or full essay, you always need

An introduction - A body - A conclusion

You may be required to do at least one (and often all three!) of these:

- ANALYSE

What is the topic about?
What do you already know about the topic?
What might your theme, thesis or argument be?
How might you structure the topic?

- COMPARE

Where are the similarities? Or differences?

- COMMENT

What is the importance and meaning of the topic?
You can also express your opinion (critically, if you want).

Even if your essay is not a pro/contra type it's good to demonstrate that you 've considered the alternatives. That shows you are capable of holding another view on the subject!

Related Know Howe

For summary writing and pdf print out see attachments below.
Analysing a report

Power without Point

KnowHowe — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 05:44:09 CDT

Process over product?

PPT is a triumph of process over product. Knowing what you are doing is more important than getting the right answer.
Some 15 years ago powerpoint was a new and much-admired presentations tool. I remember going to a presentation and asking the host afterwards how he'd managed to create such lovely slides.

Things have changed a little since then. Nowadays we tend to talk more about Powerpoint Poisoning.

The following comments are from a former consultant to the McKinsey Group, who nicely sums up the dangers of being too enthusiastic about powerpoint:
"There is nothing I hate more than bulleted text slide after bulleted text slide. There are only two possibilities from these slides: Either they are easy to read, but then their message is so generic as to be meaningless; or they contain real content, making them hard to read in a presentation."

All I can say of Power Point is use it but don't abuse it.

The Power Point Song
Awful melody but makes a good (power)
point:
If you don't wanna be power point pricks*
Avoid the power point tricks!
* not so nice word for "idiot".

Educational enhancer or complete disaster?
A university lecturer argues why he'd ban power point presentations from university classes.

Power Point Hell_BBC Tips
Sales Presentations with power point

Presentation Study Guide
Pep up your presentations
Know Howe's ppt. show on effective delivery

Effective Presentations

KnowHowe — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 05:41:48 CDT

Good presentation skills - crucial in all areas of business and a key factor in whether we succeed or not. Recent research shows that 14%
of Germans need to give presentations in their jobs. And 28% need to listen to them!

A well organised presentation with a clear structure is easier for the audience to follow. Learn at least your introduction and closing words by heart. Then learn how to adapt your structure to the audience. Remember the rule:

Beginning
Body
Conclusion

Familiar? You'd be surprised how many presenters ignore this simple rule!

The beginning should introduce the subject and give a brief idea of what's to come. A bit like a contents page in a book.

The body should be the contents page in more detail. Follow the rule of three. Three separate points are probably enough in a short presentation: Who/What? How? Why?

The conclusion is what the audience will remember most easily. So it should be a summary of the main points.

Audio Tips

Start with a splash! Good opening techniques
Why Plan B is so important! Introducing Presentations*
Describing Visuals Using Your Voice

Video Tips

How to give a good presentation
A simple but useful video made by presentation students in London.
What an awful presentation!
How many errors can you spot in this presentation?
What to do with my hands?
Good Question! This one-minute clip has the answer.

Related Know Howe

Useful Phrases for your Presentations
Less nervous and more confident presentations
Pep up your presentation
Describing Graphs
Do we need Power Point?
Study Guides

Howe's Workshops for Teachers

Gymnasium 11 Kl.

KnowHowe — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 02:05:17 CDT

Get to Know your Dictionary - Media Quiz

The following class handouts are now available as attachments at the bottom of this page:
Character anlaysis - Practice questions for test - Structuring an essay- task - Structuring an essay - solution

Our set book in this year's 11. Klasse charms, teases, mystifies and entertains all at once.
The plot in a nut shell (or beehive, if you prefer): 14-year old run-away girl and her “big momma" maid flee home and law, ending up on bee farm overseen by black Madonna doll.

Know Howe's customer review

Know Howe

KnowHowe — Thu, 28 May 2009 22:47:13 CDT

But do you Know Howe to ?

What's Know Howe?

Know Howe for English - forgive me, but like many Brits I love a good pun -

is crammed with useful tips on how to polish up your reading, listening,
writing and speaking skills.

Listening to the BBC, Song of the Month, Class Room Discussion, Presentations, Idioms and Learning Tips will help you pick up everyday English and increase your vocabulary in a fun way.

Why Know Howe?

English is a world language. For business and socialising.

The Internet is saturated with tips and tricks on how to improve your English.

It's a treasure trove of information.

But if you don't know exactly what you're looking for it can also be a minefield!

So where to start?

Hands off Google search engine, please.
And welcome to Know Howe. All you need is Know Howe!

Who's Know Howe?

Who's Know Howe for?

Students, business people, teachers - anyone who's interested in learning or teaching English!

How to Know Howe?

Easy!

- Just click "Watch" under More Tools. You'll receive all updates!

- Once you sign up I'll mail you regular updates too - so you miss nothing!

- Just keep watching our Home Page!

Know Howe for English

All you need is Know Howe

Song of the Month

KnowHowe — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 13:15:29 CDT

Storming back into the public eye some two years ago, Yusuf Islam (or Cat Stevens to his older fans) has not lost a single speck of spark in his crème-caramelly voice.

"Thinkin' 'bout you" is every bit as good as classics like "Morning has broken", "Father and Son", and "Wide World." If you don't know them your mum and dad certainly will.

There’s no reason why you’d ever want to go to Bishopbriggs. On the outskirts of Glasgow, this sorry-looking commuter town, where it always seems to be drizzling, is probably the last place you’d seriously consider visiting on a tour of Scotland. Unless of course you were looking to catch up with his young lady.

21-year old Amy Mcdonald was born, bred and - although she now could easily afford to leave - still lives in Bishopbriggs. And her tower-block flat (above) has become something of a local tourist attraction.

Macdonald's folksy lyrics are based on real life issues and situations.

Her song Footballers' Wives, for example, is based on British tabloid obsessed culture. Amy: “The footballer’s wife thing is part of this horrible obsession in Britain we have with celebrity".

In Poison Prince - the last fifth release from her debut album - McDonald focuses on pop-star drug addiction.

35-year old Kate Rusby is an English folk singer and songwriter from Barnsley, South Yorkshire. She is regarded as one of the most famous English folk singers of the day. In 2001 "The Guardian" described her as "a superstar of the British acoustic scene."

Rusby comes from a family of musicians. After learning to play the guitar, the fiddle, and the piano, as well as to sing, she played in many local folk festivals as a child and adolescent, before leading all-female Celtic folk band The Poozies.

In 2006 her rendition of Village Green Preservation Society (Know Howe's favourite video version).
rocketed her to the top of the charts.

If you've ever stopped to wonder what it means to be British, this song might provide a few answers.

See how many different typical "images" of Britain you recognise.

"We are the Skyscraper condemnation affiliate

God save tudor houses, antique shops and billiards......"

Pop veteran Cliff Richard almost topped the singles charts for the 15th (!) time. His 50-years-in-the-business celebration song “Thank You for a Lifetime” peaked at number three.

Pity. The tune certainly ticks all the right boxes: A cheery chorus line suspiciously similar to Abba’s “Thank You for the Music”, backed up by lyrics that would make even Barry Manilow cringe: “All I gave you was a life time but you gave me the time of my life”. Pass the Tempos, darling.....

Song of the Month Archive

The British icon has achieved the unique feat of scoring Number One hits in the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. Look out for both CD single and new autobiography My Life, My Way!

Tims Video Box

Radio 2 Play List

Song Archive

KnowHowe — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 00:09:12 CDT

Celt Celebrity

There’s no reason why you’d ever want to go to Bishopbriggs. On the outskirts of Glasgow, this sorry-looking commuter town, where it always seems to be drizzling, is probably the last place you’d seriously consider visiting on a tour of Scotland. Unless of course you were looking to catch up with his young lady.

21-year old Amy Mcdonald was born, bred and - although she now could easily afford to leave - still lives in Bishopbriggs. And her tower-block flat (above) has become something of a local tourist attraction.

Macdonald, who started playing on-stage acoustic gigs at the age of 15, says her main influences include Travis and The Libertines. Singing in folksy style with Celtic intonation, her lyrics are based on real life issues and situations.

Her song Footballers' Wives, for example, is based on British tabloid obsessed culture. Amy: “The footballer’s wife thing is part of this horrible obsession in Britain we have with celebrity".

In Poison Prince - the last fifth release from her debut album - McDonald focuses on pop-star drug addiction.

With sales of over 600, 000, the album This Is the Life, makes Amy the biggest female singer/songwriter to emerge in 2007. After touring Britain and Europe for 18 months, Mc Donald is now taking "continental" Europe by storm too.
Blimey, they're even playing her on Bayern 3!

Footballers' Wives
This is the Life

My personal favourite is Let's Start a Band. It's fever-pitch emotion pure, with a haunting trumpet arrangement.

Tims Video Box
My Top 20 old and new! See what's hot - or not!

I love Music

Back to Song of the Month

Dancing Queens

Britain might not have spawned John Travolta,
but it was responsible for letting the Bee Gees loose on the world. 70s music was every bit as cheesy
as this tepee wearer.

But this 70's tune's a real exception: A lovely seasonal song - Forever Autumn, from Justin Hayward.

Whatever happened to those dreamers?

Asks Jack Savoretti in this beautiful song

There was a politician, men of the cloth, painters and poets,
Starting a revolution, without even knowing,
Making the world around us,
Saying so much about us,
still they have so much to tell."

An advert for the gerund or just a very good piece of music?

Savoretti has been called everything from a "scruffy Bohemian matador" to a "confused cross between Neil Diamond and Simon & Garfunkel".

Recognise her?

35-year old Kate Rusby is an English folk singer and songwriter from Barnsley, South Yorkshire. She is regarded as one of the most famous English folk singers of the day. In 2001 "The Guardian" described her as "a superstar of the British acoustic scene." In 2007 the BBC website described her as "The first lady of young folkies".

Kate Rusby comes from a family of musicians. After learning to play the guitar, the fiddle, and the piano, as well as to sing, she played in many local folk festivals as a child and adolescent, before leading all-female Celtic folk band The Poozies.

In 2006 she reached Number 6 in the UK Top Ten with "All Over Again", a duet with Ronan Keating. In the same year her rendition of The Kinks' The Village Green Preservation Society was used as the theme tune to the BBC comedy Jam and Jerusalem.

An album titled Awkward Annie was released on 3 September 2007. Her version of Village Green Preservation Society (Know Howe's favourite video version) is included as a bonus track.

Images of Britain

See how many different typical "images" of Britain you recognise.

"We are the Skyscraper condemnation affiliate

God save tudor houses, antique shops and billiards

Preserving the old ways from being abused

Protecting the new ways for me and for you

What more can we do

God save the Village Green"

Full Song Lyrics

Know Howe for English! - Recently Updated Pages

Working with the BBC

FOS now!

11. Klasse

Know Tim Howe for English

For learners and teachers of English

Know Howe Now!

BA Students

A year at Gymnasium

Howe Reports

Workshops

Get to Know Howe in October

Know Howe at Christmas

British Culture

Teachers Corner

Know Howe for English

All you need is to Know Howe

Writing Tips

Power without Point

Effective Presentations

Gymnasium 11 Kl.

Know Howe

What's Know Howe?

Know Howe for English - forgive me, but like many Brits I love a good pun -

is crammed with useful tips on how to polish up your reading, listening, writing and speaking skills.

Listening to the BBC, Song of the Month, Class Room Discussion, Presentations, Idioms and Learning Tips will help you pick up everyday English and increase your vocabulary in a fun way.

Why Know Howe?

English is a world language. For business and socialising.

The Internet is saturated with tips and tricks on how to improve your English.

It's a treasure trove of information.

But if you don't know exactly what you're looking for it can also be a minefield!

So where to start?

Hands off Google search engine, please. And welcome to Know Howe. All you need is Know Howe!

Who's Know Howe?

Who's Know Howe for?

Students, business people, teachers - anyone who's interested in learning or teaching English!

How to Know Howe?

Easy!

- Just click "Watch" under More Tools. You'll receive all updates!

- Once you sign up I'll mail you regular updates too - so you miss nothing!

- Just keep watching our Home Page!

Know Howe for English

All you need is Know Howe

Song of the Month

Song Archive

is crammed with useful tips on how to polish up your reading, listening,
writing and speaking skills.

Hands off Google search engine, please.
And welcome to Know Howe. All you need is Know Howe!