Hi everybody!
It has been an intense but productive day.
The first two sessions have been hard work: collocation and dictation. We have practised a wide variety of activities to teach collocations. They are pretty hard for the students (and sometimes for us, too). We have come to the conclusion that it's much better to reinforce some of the collocations they know and try not to overwhelm them.
We have been speaking about the Dictation Revival. Valerie suggests adding an element of competition in some of the proposed tasks and exercises in order to encourage students and get them actively involved in the process of learning. We have done rich and varied exercises: listening to riddles, drawing, telling crazy stories...
The high point has been the last session, my favourite one: songs and their learning potential.
I strongly believe they are great resources. In fact, songs can help us to reinforce grammar, to wide vocabulary, to speak about the main topics or simply to have fun.
We have learnt to the rhythm of Elvis Presley, Avicii or Bette Midler.

I didn't tell you that I'm living this experience with my family. For that reason, in our free time we have to find a balance between their demands and our interests. Surprisingly, sometimes they coincide, like today...We have had a different and lively afternoon: the enjoyable visit to the captivating Popeye Island Village in Mellieha. It is a place for the young and for the young at heart.

• "I yam what I yam and tha's all what I yam." -- Popeye the Sailor

Good night!