– B2-C1 (intermediate to advanced) –

Practice Your Listening Comprehension

Practice Your Reading Comprehension

After months of hiatus, posting on breathing language’s blog has finally returned! You know what that means… Scheduling is now available on the platform!

You may be wondering, “Josh, what took you so long? You’ve been talking about this for forever!” Well, let me give you a little bit of the low-down…

DESIGN

As you may have noticed, we said “BYE-BYE” to the site’s old web design. No more BETA design here! We’re alphas now! * wink * Thanks to all of our BETA testers for their wonderful and honest feedback we were able to improve the platform’s modernity, flow, and cohesiveness. But that’s not all! We were also able to make it better reflect breathing language’s mission and values, which focus on simplicity, mental well-being, and encouragement in language learning–some would say it is a more holistic approach, and we think the current design reflects that holistic quality better. That is not to say that we can’t make further improvement, however, as website maintenance will be an on-going process. But we are proud of the way things have turned out. Speaking of which, let’s talk about some of them…

• the website has been optimized for mobile use, so you can now access the website on your cell phone

• content has been restructured to better reflect the user experience and page content priority

• descriptions of pages have been added for better clarity and accessibility

• anchor links organize pages with more copious content, allowing for easier navigation

• individual sections on web pages have been colour blocked for easier legibility, even for those who are colour-blind

• simpler font styling has been utilized to further increase legibility

• a stronger personalized presence has been incorporated into the website’s content via text and photography

FEATURES

Another noticeable change to breathing language is the amount of links in its menu. At once eight pages for you to enjoy is now sixteen (including the Home page)! Keep in mind that some of these, of course, are legal pages (e.g. Attribution, Privacy, Terms, etc.), but many of them are actually new features for you to enjoy and learn from. So, let’s explore them, shall we?

• Lessons: You can now schedule English lessons through our website. On the Lessons page you will find a list of all of our lesson types, including details regarding each one. Pricing is written in Canadian dollars (CAD), so lesson invoices will reflect this. Speaking of which… Invoices! For every lesson, or group of lessons, that you schedule, you will be sent a digital invoice via email. This will be done by PayPal, the free website that processes our lesson payment. Also, since you can schedule lessons through breathing language, you can equally view my teaching calendar when you are booking.

• Blog: If you’re reading this post, which I know you are–I see you!–then you might have noticed some changes to the Blog.

  The schedule of posting blog entries has changed. It will no longer be five times a week, but rather twice a week: every Tuesday and Friday at 6:30 AM (CST).

  In addition to the list of blog entries, you will see a “Most Popular Posts” section, which features the most visited and read articles on our site. Below this section, there is an archive, which organizes our blog posts into months of the year. This allows for easier navigation. Farther below on the page, the “Tags” section has seen an improvement in its organizational structure. You can use this section to find topics that you are interested in reading about. The larger the text is for a particular topic, the more blog posts are written concerning that topic. If you are unclear as to what each topic refers to, there is a glossary on our Blog Tags page.

  Lastly, you might have noticed an audio file on this blog entry. This is an optional feature for you to use if you are wanting to practice your listening comprehension skills. You can do so either by simply listening alone, or by reading along to the audio. This feature will be present on every blog post from now on.

• BookTube: For all those who have asked me over the years if I was going to start a YouTube channel, here you go! The time has come! I have entered the YouTube space. Or, more specifically, the BookTube space.

  Every Thursday a new video will be uploaded to my YouTube channel. These videos will feature bookish content, meaning content that is related to my love of literature. If you are wanting to practice your listening comprehension, or you are looking for a good book to read to improve your reading ability in English, then our BookTube page might just be the best fit for you. There, you will find a variety of videos: book recommendations, book reviews and discussions, book hauls, reading challenges, LIVE reading events, and more!

• Events: To attend or watch an event, this page lists both our current and past LIVE specials. Not all LIVE reading events will be recorded for playback, however, but the majority of our ESL Events will be.

• Resources: I love giving tips and other such advice on what tools to use for language learning. But there are a lot out there (and a lot of them are quite good)! So, in order to make your lives easier I have created a page that lists all my favourite Resources according to individual skill: reading, writing, listening, speaking, grammar, and vocabulary.

• Incubator: Behind the scenes, we are always working on something: lesson planning, website maintenance, blog writing, BookTube recording… But did you know that some of the things that we work on aren’t here yet. For example, did you know that I am writing a book? Products like this, including new features and services that are coming to you via breathing language in the future are listed on our Incubator page. If you’re curious what is to come, or you have your own ideas of what you would like to see, check it out!

• About: As expected, our About page is dedicated to informing you about what breathing language is, what services we provide, and who I (Josh) am. If you are interested in reading student testimonials, then you can also find them here.

• FAQ: This page functions in two main ways: 1) as a means of understanding lesson policies; 2) as a means of answering frequently asked questions so that you do not need to spend the time sending me an email. This being said, if the question or comment that you have is not listed on our FAQ page, then by all means, email away! I look forward to hearing from you and seeing how I can be of help to you.

• Contact: All communication from now on will be via email. If you are not a current student of mine, then I ask that you contact us via our Contact page, which now sees a simpler design.

• Support: If you are enjoying breathing language and its services and you are wondering how you can give back, then this page will help you find out how.

• Social Media: For those of you who frequent the world of social media, we have content curated especially for you to enjoy. You can find it on our following accounts: Instagram (blog features, LIVE teaching events, quick form media), YouTube (book recommendations and reviews, LIVE reading events, etc.), GoodReads (book database to help you find new books in English), Spotify (music and podcast playlists to help you practice your English listening), and IMDb (TV show and movie lists to help you find something to watch to improve your listening comprehension).

• Sibling Sites: Sometimes there are websites that are just too good to not mention. In our footer, you will find a list of those which we adore. These are sites that we strongly believe in and, therefore, want to support. While they may not be directly related to language learning, they are helpful resources in some language learners’ journeys.

  For example, Adamsdesk is an up-and-coming media group for tech enthusiasts and IT professionals. Consuming the content on this website will not only improve your vocabulary in the English language, but it will also teach you something valuable in the technology space.

  Being Baked, on the other hand, is more focused on your well-being, which is essential to consider while learning a language. If your mind is not healthy, then neither is your ability to learn. This company’s mission is a beautifully important one. And it is growing, like each and every one of us, daily.

• Attribution: We do not credit ourselves for anything that we do not create, which is why we have an Attribution page, a dedicated space to thank all the creators that we feature for their hard work and content.

• Terms: To better understand how to use (and not use) breathing language and/or its services, check out our Terms of Use page.

• Privacy: Every website, application and software uses your data to help facilitate their services. To learn how we do so, read our Privacy policies.

• Copyright: All content, unless otherwise stated, is created by breathing language. This is protected by Copyright law.

WHEW! That about sums it up. As you can see, I have been busy, as I have been doing this all on my own. It has been a journey, to say the least. But it has been a rewarding one.

Also, before I go, I just want to thank you all for your patience while I developed breathing language. I know many of you have been eager to see what I have been working on, but your patience with the process has been immensely appreciated. So, thank you!

Let me know in the comments below which of our new features and services you are most excited for (and which ones you are glad to see is back!). I look forward to seeing you around soon.

Here’s to happy learning! Cheers!