Why Choose REAL Language Practice
Last night I got rescued.
My canoe capsized in a fast-flowing river and I was immediately dragged downstream.
My rescuer quickly reached me and made sure my airways were open and I was breathing. He threaded a leash under my arms, secured it to his boat, and towed me to my own overturned canoe.
Paddling alongside, he manoeuvred us into an eddy (calm water), where he tilted my upside-down boat until it angled back into the water.
I know all this detail because it was a simulated rescue.
John is training for a canoe leader certificate.
- He has studied this style of rescue online.
- He could have practised the move in a warm swimming pool.
Theoretical study and warm swimming pools are not enough.
He needs to know how it feels to fight the river’s flow and battle the weight of water-laden clothing and cold, because that’s how he’ll be ready for anything.
Why did I volunteer? (I did ask myself this shivering later).
I’m a canoe club member
Some people can drive the van. Others can repair boats. Being a lifeless body is the first way I’ve found to contribute.
I help people on quests
Helping people reach their goals is what I do as an English coach every day.
Few of the people I help actually want to “learn English.” It’s a tool for communicating with their community, making their mark in the world, and getting things done.
When certified, John will share the river with a lot of people. I was happy to help.
John might need to save a life
Practising this manoeuvre repeatedly means he’ll get it right if he needs it.
He’s training his muscles to remember the sequence, even when his mind is under pressure.
Learning in non-stressful conditions means you can still access your skills when it matters.
About REAL Language Practice
Only using your second language in a classroom is like John only practising in a swimming pool.
You’ll improve a little, but when it’s real, you won’t be ready.
People often get a shock when they travel and realise that spoken English doesn’t sound like what they learned.
You don’t want to deal with that in a work meeting, or when responding to questions during a presentation.
You need to become familiar with real spoken English, through real practice.
With one hand, he hauled me onto the flat surface of his boat, then tilted my canoe towards his and slid my motionless body across.
It went smoothly, except for the moment my bottom got stuck entering the rescue boat.
That’s when I started to giggle.
I did give an extra wiggle that a truly unconscious person wouldn’t manage, but to be fair, if I had been unconscious, he would have hauled me in however he could.
Neither of us wanted that.
I know all this detail because it was a simulated rescue.
John is training for a canoe leader certificate.
He has studied this rescue online. He could have practised it in a warm swimming pool.
But theoretical study and controlled conditions are not enough.
He needs to know how it feels to fight the river’s flow, manage the weight of waterlogged clothing, and deal with the cold.
That’s what prepares him for the real thing.
About REAL Language Practice
Flip your classroom English into language you can use.
Come and refine your English in Scotland with real language practice*!
My holidays in Scotland give you REAL language conversation.
And build that muscle memory with 1000 micro-moments of you being you in English.
It’s not empty practice: it’s people saying things you want to listen to, talk about and act on.
And they want to hear what you have to say.
Your knowledge, expertise, and opinions can support them.
Choose a hub: where what you’ve got to say matters (not just how you say it).
*A Note for Non-Swimmers
Don’t worry, on our language holidays you don’t have to jump in a river (but some people do!)
(We’ve been in and out of rivers, lochs and waterfalls all summer!)
You don’t even need to do water sports like canoeing or paddle boarding – all our language-building activities are optional and designed around you.
Making English Memorable
Further Information
I wrote more about this recently after a hill-based first aid course, where the training organisation had removed testing entirely. Their reasoning was simple: testing can get in the way of building real-world responses. You can read more about that here.