Author Archives: andreaheald

In today’s video, we kick off the new year with the idiom “learn the ropes”! This idiom is widely used and means to learn how to do something, or to acquire special skills.  An apropos phrase for a new beginning, I hope we will all have an opportunity to learn new ropes for opportunities inContinue reading ““Learn the Ropes””

When it comes to learning a language, finding your voice can be challenging. It’s as if you dropped your voice behind somewhere and are picking up pieces of it again, here and there, and using it tentatively for fear of dropping it again and making a mess of things! We are used to speaking ourContinue reading “Voice”

Sometimes we feel overwhelmed by our desire to improve. The overwhelming feeling comes from, I suspect, the speed that we expect the improvement to occur. Our patience tends to run out if results are not realized quickly. The other thing we tend to do is take on an excessive amount of “improvement” that we cannotContinue reading “Habit”

The image today reminds me of the inscription “roots and wings” carved into a bracelet given to me by my parents before I left for a backpacking trip to Europe in my early twenties. The metaphor, “roots and wings” I have learned since, is quite popular. I had always cherished it as the wise wordsContinue reading “Savvy”

From Latin “inspirare”, meaning, to breathe into. A beautifully elegant verb that comes to us ready to glide off the tongue with ease. It contains that onomatopoeic sigh in its “s” which demonstrates the very breath! And then, a satisfying pop of the “p” that launches us to dive into and languish in its finalContinue reading “Inspire”

Thursday is derived from Old English Thu(n)resdæg meaning “day of thunder” after Thor, the Germanic god of thunder. I love that about English; the words we use derive from everywhere and “everywhen”! Finding connections and meaning through the everyday use of words can be a rewarding intellectual and cultural experience. So, on this Thursday, I hopeContinue reading “Thor’s Day”

Hi everyone. I’m excited to start my own website! My passion is teaching English. I am a professionally recognized teacher (Excellence in Teaching Award, 2017), I have conducted workshops and presented at TESOL/TESL conferences, I have attended TESOL seminars in the US and Canada, and wrote my M.Ed. thesis on Teaching English through Drama atContinue reading “Launching my site!”