From the screen to the forest.
Walk & Talk
"Improve in English, be more in nature, awaken more creativity, more movement". Harmony Academy has found a solution so that you don't have to find a compromise on how to make time for these resolutions. She combined them into one activity called Walk & Talk. You will be in nature and at the same time speak English. You will solve creative tasks and you will not even notice that you will walk even 6 kilometers. You can find answers to some of the questions about learning English in nature in the following interview with Jana Chynoradska, director of Harmony Academy and the Learn & Lead innovation center.
When learning English in nature, the eyes, mind and body will relax, we will be able to be together with friends or family or meet new people. At the same time, we will strengthen our English. But do you think we can fully concentrate in the forest and while walking to be able to have a conversation in a foreign language if we are not yet completely at home in it?
Certainly yes. Especially nowadays, which is oversaturated with technology and we are forced to work online during the day. Today we know that every single person has different types of intelligences. The more we know about ourselves and are able to manage and develop ourselves effectively, the better and happier life we can have. This type of learning English is especially suitable for those who prefer to learn in motion (spatial or physical intelligence). It is also a suitable alternative for those who purposefully seek nature for inspiration, rest and relaxation. The more comfortable and natural the environment in which a person learns (not only) a foreign language, the more effective and faster the result you will achieve.
"Learning a foreign language effectively is not about learning vocabulary, but about being able to communicate one's purpose to others."
When teaching in the classroom, even online, we have online dictionaries, interactive whiteboards and exercises. And what about in the forest, what if the internet on our mobile goes out and we can't find the right word?
That is a good observation! And what would you do if you were in a foreign country and saw "only" people around you? You'd ask someone wouldn't you? This concept of learning and developing English helps, among other things, to develop interpersonal relationships and communication as such. It teaches us cooperation and an active approach to problem solving. Right in the forest, with others you will experience dynamic learning without stress and unnecessary memorization. Lightly and naturally in communication with others. Learning a foreign language effectively is not about learning vocabulary, but about being able to communicate one's purpose to others.
The best way to learn a foreign language is to use it, which we will do very intensively with Walk & Talk, but who will guide us if we run out of grammar or use the wrong connections?
Walk & Talk is a well-thought-out methodological process, during which the emphasis is on the fluency of speech, not its accuracy. This is important and certainly has a place during our English walk, but you can find out whether or not someone will understand you directly in the open dialogue. You will be able to help and support yourself in finding answers to questions that will be the subject of targeted creative activities. At the same time, each participant will have the opportunity to spend one-to-one time with the tutor, during which they will receive individual care and support.
How do you choose sites for walks? Is there a place where we can send you some tips for future Walk & Talk trips?
We choose places for Walk & Talk based on a recommendation and we are very happy to welcome tips and advice from our friends, acquaintances or members and our students. Since January 2022, we have been preparing the Walk & Talk Challenge, during which places will be selected around Slovakia. One of my coveted foreign tips is picturesque Scotland, so time will tell how we will be able to get closer to it and realize the international Walk & Talk abroad in 2022.
You've moved teaching from classrooms to screens, and now you're heading to nature. What other surprises are you planning?
Yes, we are moving classical teaching to new environments and gradually introducing new programs that aim to help people increase their self-esteem and develop their English potential to the maximum. Together with them, we are building their new international identities that will help them to assert themselves at home and abroad. Since December, we have been launching our first "half marathon", the details of which we will present soon!
And what would you say to potential candidates at the end?
I would like to add one more essential piece of information. The whole Walk & Talk concept is based on the current international project "Transformation of a traditional language school by means of a business model innovation", which is our initiative in the Erasmusplus program. We are in the middle of it and we have collected data from surveys and analyses of both students, customers of language schools, as well as their managers and owners themselves. Clearly, from these surveys comes the fact that people want to learn English associated with movement and personal development. Therefore, this step forward of ours is based on data processed with us by the expert team of the Faculty of Management and Economics at Tomáš Bata University in Zlín and, together with teams of language schools from Croatia, Latvia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, is working on the creation of a new model for the functioning of the language school, which will successfully transfer it to the post-covid era.
And if the weather permits, it will also be possible to bonus swimming in the Orešanská dam😊.
Registration is in full swing and I personally look forward to seeing every single participant now! The new Harmony Academy is all about challenges that will empower you and move you forward.
Do you have an idea for a place for the next Walk & Talk trip?
Write to us at: info@harmony.sk
Thank you for the interview and inspiration. And if you would like to join and improve your English on the move, in the forest and with an experienced language tutor nearby, you can register at this link. See you already on 20.11.2021 in the Little Carpathians.
