Walk & talk
Finding time for English
It’s not always easy finding time to improve your English, or even practice what you already know. Work, family, walking the dog, cleaning, shopping or even relaxing – the list seems endless! All this can leave little time for much else.
Helping to stay healthy
You may also be worried about not getting enough exercise. Working remotely as many of us now do, not leaving home for long periods of time, going no further than the kitchen or bathroom – it’s not good for our health! Research has shown that just too much sitting significantly increases the risk of many chronic diseases, including obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer.¹²³
Killing two birds with one stone
Don’t worry – no birds are hurt! This idiom simply means achieving two things with one action. And this is where Walk & Talk comes in. It’s no different to an ordinary English lesson – with the important exception that you’re not sitting! I encourage students to actually go for a walk outside, having the lesson as they do so. Or you may prefer to be even more active – running or cycling as we speak.
I will do the same. Every Walk & Talk lesson I am also outside, walking and talking to you. The only thing that might stop us is bad weather – your weather or mine. But I’m British, so it’ll have to be pretty bad weather to stop me! 🙂
You will need:
- a smartphone or small tablet
- Skype – either the app or via the website, available on your smartphone
- earbuds or headphones (preferably with ANC – Active Noise Cancellation – so we can both hear each other clearly!)¹
¹If buying new earbuds/headphones, make sure they have real ANC and not simply ‘noise suppression’ or similar, which may not be as effective. Look for a model with different modes for various conditions outside, e.g. blocking loud noise, wind noise reduction or hearing both me and external noise (e.g. cars) at the same time. Don’t forget to make sure they’re comfortable.
How it works
We go outside and start the lesson! But to be adequately prepared:
- decide where best to Walk & Talk – somewhere quiet, away from traffic or other noise. Perhaps a park or other open space, beside a river or in woodland.
- check the weather and dress accordingly.
- get to your Walk & Talk place before the lesson starts
- make sure you have easy access to your materials during the lesson (vocab revision, grammar, discussion text, etc). Either print them out, or upload them to a platform like Google Drive, or download to an e-reader app or send yourself an email with the materials attached – whatever works best for you.
Make sure your device:
- is fully charged (maybe take a power bank with you – Skype, document download and screen can use a lot of power!)
- has a bright enough screen outside to clearly see your materials
- has a good internet connection!
- works well with your earbuds/headphones (can you clearly hear me & can I clearly hear you?)
It’s a good idea to test all this with family or friends before the first lesson!
Price: €45 per 60 minutes