METHOD
speak (v): to talk or say things
mind (n): the part of your brain that thinks and remembers
from Oxford Wordpower dictionary
What does “Speak your mind” mean?
From Yahoo Answers:
“It means to say exactly what you are thinking.”
“’To speak your mind’ means to express what you really feel and think.”
Speak Your Mind. Isn’t that what everyone would like to be able to do in the language they are learning? Of course, speaking your mind can be very simple: ‘yes’ and ‘no’ is straight talking but no one would want to remain at that level for long.
What do you need to be able to speak your mind?
words
You need words – the most important part of a language. The more words you know, the more you can understand and the more precisely you can express yourself. With Speak Your Mind you learn new words every lesson, systematically.
grammar
You need grammar if you want to communicate clearly and easily. With clear practical explanations, relevant examples and regular focused practice over time, grammar becomes familiar – and an aid to communication – not an obstacle.
practice
You have words and you have grammar – all you need is the magic ingredient that can make all this ‘real’: practice. Without the right practice you’ll probably not feel at ease enough to speak, and who learns a language not to speak it?
results
Speak Your Mind is all this – a complete programme of structured interaction that teaches you new words every lesson. With spaced lesson-to-lesson revision and recycling, you learn words and grammar naturally, without boring or repetitive memorisation exercises.
And speaking? Well, you couldn’t get much more English into a lesson, and with teachers who really want to make the lesson as relevant to you as possible, lessons become productive and enjoyable too.
Speak Your Mind Lessons
Real English
Always and only with expert English-speaking teachers, the lesson draws you in to a series of mini-conversations which give you continual chances to learn and practice new words and new grammatical structures in context. The teacher is always there to guide you try out new language in conversation – the teacher encourages and corrects your mistakes.
Complete English
Listen, speak, read and write — this is the natural order in the language learning process and this represents the priorities in class. While the focus is on speaking, each lesson provides space for a variety of reading or writing activities – this prepares you for English in your place of work or for your place of study.
Effective English
Studying something today doesn’t mean you will remember it next month or next year. What you learn with Speak Your Mind stays with you. ‘Use it or lose it’ – with Speak Your Mind each lesson recalls the new words and grammar from the lessons that have come before. This ‘frequency of use’ gets your memory working and means that you really do learn in class, even for people who can’t find time to study at home.
Confident English
The complete Speak Your Mind course follows a carefully designed programme which ensures that lesson after lesson you can see the progress you make in English. You learn more every day, just as your sense of confidence grows week after week.
More English — less time
It’s a fact of life — learning a new language, especially as an adult, doesn’t happen from one day to the next. However, thanks to the design of the learning programme and the organisation of lessons, learning times can be considerably reduced. Just to give you an example, on average a beginner reaches European level A2 in 120 hours compared to the 200 hours that aren’t normally considered necessary (see Certification).
ABOUT US
35 years committed to developing and refining a unique methodology and original materials to create a programme for learners that unites substance in results with a lightness in process.
When teacher and trainer Iain McInally, together with co-founder Monica Moro started work on what is now Speak Your Mind, it wasn’t just to be different for difference’s sake.
“Too many people were tired of traditional methods or disappointed by language courses but failed to deliver convincing results. Many people were looking for something new – something that would work for them.”
Interest in the results achieved in the first school in Italy began to spread, sparking the creation of a small but expanding network of independent associate schools. From the pioneers in Spain and Japan in the early-90’s, Speak Your Mind has been used in nine countries, proving its appeal to students of diverse backgrounds and confirming its successful formula for schools at international level.
Over this time we have worked towards creating a whole new vision of a school – a place that really is ‘simply different’. An environment where comprehensive and integrated procedures and best practices really aid the classroom teaching to assure high standards and positive outcomes for the people who come to learn.
Do you want to know more?
Do you want to try the Speak Your Mind method?