Say it with… pins
Jennifer was asking about pins on my Facebook page... so here are some English expressions that include pins (or needles!). Let me know if you think of any others. PDF version to print or download
Say it at… Halloween
Just squeezing this in following the Halloween weekend, with phrases that are connected with Halloween themes. If you can think of any others, let me know in the comments! And click the button below for a printable version. PDF version to [...]
Say it with… apples
Still doing loads of walking, and I have to say I'm very proud that I've managed a daily average of 10,000 steps since the beginning of July! Hurrah! It'll be interesting to see whether I can keep it up as the days get colder and darker. One of the great things about doing the same [...]
Say it with… hats
I love to go for walks in the woods, and one of the first paths on my favourite route is called the “Hutpfad”, or hat path. One day I’m going to find out whether there’s some local history behind that name. So as I was walking along the Hutpfad, I started thinking about phrases [...]
What to do if you see a snake – or how to translate jokes
My kids are growing up bilingually, and I can remember when my daughter became aware that you can’t always translate things word for word into another language. Or that if you do, you might not get the reaction you were hoping for. She wanted to tell my mum a joke she’d heard at nursery and, knowing [...]
World Environment Day
It’s World Environment Day and so here’s a picture of… a doughnut! Why a doughnut? The doughnut model was first introduced by Kate Raworth in 2012 as a framework to bring together the social and environmental aspects of sustainable development. The doughnut helps us visualise two sets of boundaries that we need to stay inside if [...]
Conversation, connection and language-learning
“Je m’appelle Jane.” You know how with some friends you remember the first time you met them? This was one of those moments. And it was also the moment when I first became truly aware of all the power and magic of learning a foreign language. I was thirteen or fourteen, on a camping holiday with [...]
Have you met… Kirsty Major?
How accessible is your website? I wasn’t planning to write another post just yet, but I’ve just seen that today is Global Accessibility Awareness Day. Which means that it’s the perfect time to launch my “Have you met…?” series and introduce you to the wonderful Kirsty Major. You might have heard me mention Kirsty before, as [...]
The pretzel principle: Tips for natural networking
This was originally written for the Standing Out group on Facebook and was published there on 29th May 2015, five months after I set up my translation business. I just rediscovered the text and wanted to share it here too. Enjoy! ******************************************** When I left my corporate job to go freelance, I invited my colleagues to [...]
Virtual coffee break: Deepen connections and expand your network
After a good conference or event I'm always motivated and full of new ideas. I like to make the most of that by going through what I've learned and thinking about how I can apply it to my work. And I make sure I follow up with contacts made at the event to get to know [...]