I was encouraged to participate in the course by positive feedback…
The Tell Me English Language School has been operating since 2014, running courses for children, teenagers, adults, and even for companies, stationary in Warsaw and online. It also organizes language camps: summer camps and winter holidays. Generally speaking, every RPG fan, regardless of age and place of residence, will find something for themselves here. Of course, I had heard about the school before I started classes, and what’s more, only positive opinions – both from my friends from Tawerna’s editorial office and from other participants of the courses. The time has finally come for me.
… as well as my personal motives.
I admit that since the beginning of the pandemic I have been staying at home for a long time, so far I have stayed at remote work, which is why I still feel unsatisfied with contact with people and now I really appreciate every opportunity to meet new interesting people, especially those with similar interests, such as fantasy or RPGs. In the meantime, while looking for a new job, I also discovered how important it is to be able to speak English fluently. It turned out that even in the profession of a programmer, when recruiting for most companies, technical knowledge is not taken into account at all, until the candidate successfully passes the test interview in English. After a few phone calls, I realized that my English wasn’t as good as I thought at first…
“You learn it for the fifth year at school and on courses and everything is like blood in the sand”
I have been learning English for many years: I had my first lessons in kindergarten, I graduated from a language school, I passed my high school final exams, I went on short trips to England several times, I watch TV series, movies, listen to podcasts and audiobooks in this language every day – it surrounds me everywhere. I know him almost perfectly from the theoretical side and I also consider my vocabulary quite good. However, when it came to conversations, I had problems putting together the simplest sentences and remembering even the most basic words or phrases. I think that the old school methods of learning English are outdated and do not keep up with new trends, technologies and a rapidly changing world. So it is worth reaching for something new that will allow for live interactions and better remembering of knowledge, especially the practical one,
Personally, I often explained my “reticence” by saying that I am not very talkative in any language at all (even Polish). As an introvert, I never liked speaking up in large groups of people, especially when talking about topics that didn’t really interest me. And I think I finally found something suitable for me after all these long years.
„Somewhere I belong”
During the Tell Me course, I found exactly what I needed: a small group of people sharing similar passions, mutual respect and acceptance, and a great game master who constantly stimulates our imagination and gives us a lot of space for creativity. Lessons were never “over-talked” by the teacher, which, as I have heard from friends, sometimes happens in other schools. Here, each of the students always has plenty of time and situations to, for example, tell what their character is doing at the moment or simply play their part during the conversation. We have great freedom and we are open to even the craziest ideas. Although, of course, there are also moments when someone would like to do something stupid or too dangerous and then the host asks if we are sure about it.
The world and the story
From the very beginning of the course, we have a lot of freedom of choice. We can decide together which world we will play in. The school is ready to offer us different settings, tailored to the interests of students. In our group, the leader proposed a magical fantasy world in the Bronze Age. None of the participants objected, so we stayed with it and we do not regret this choice. The atmosphere of our classes (apart from cool people) is also created by background music and graphics, depicting, for example, various characters: inhabitants of our village, hunters, druids, all kinds of magical creatures and unusual landscapes. In the game, we are a group of young people who are tested and embark on a journey to an unknown magical land, where they have to prove their worth and, at the same time, can learn a lot from the characters they meet there. I think it suits our team.
However, each group will have a different storyline. Before starting the course, everyone fills out a survey of interests, giving, among others, favorite themes from popular culture. Storyteller (Teacher Tell Me) adapts the adventure to the interests of the course participants, thanks to which everyone can find something for themselves. During the game, we create the story together, making each game unique.
Learning by playing
In addition to the fact that we primarily practice conversations, during some activities in the game we also get language exercises using specific grammar structures or phrases. It doesn’t happen very often, though, so it doesn’t disrupt the action itself, while reminding us that we’re on course. In addition, sometimes we get homework, which, I admit, I expected a bit more often. However, I understand that it is more valuable to inspire adult students, after all, to reach for the various materials they need (I think that everyone will also need a slightly different vocabulary due to their interests or profession) than forcing them to do anything outside of the course time, . Personally, I like to combine business with pleasure, so I have a learning format where sometimes I don’t even remember that I’m learning, works very well. I strongly encourage you to test for yourself whether it is also the right form for you. All details about the Tell Me school and courses can be found on the websitehttps://tellme.edu.pl , where you can even make an appointment for your first free lesson.
