Zoni Blog | Student Life

Carolina Ruiz Echeverri, Colombia
ESL 818, Flushing campus
Teacher: Patricia Griffith

During the last month, something happened to me that changed my mind. Although I have been studying English since April, on November 9, I started to realize how important the TOEFL class is for my process of learning English. This is the thing for which I am grateful within the past month.

In the last two weeks, I have learned many new things. For example, now I know that each section of the TOEFL has some skills, and in this class, we learned how to work with each of them. Equally important, we studied the different kinds of possible questions for each section, such as speaking, reading, listening and writing.

You never know beforehand how studying in the TOEFL class can help you to improve your knowledge of English. My first assignment in class was a “reading pre-test.” What a surprise! When I made just 10 out of 23 points, that was sad for me, but when we reviewed question by question, I learned how to find the answers without having to know the subject or to study the passage thoroughly.

During the second week, we practiced with a “speaking pre-test.” I just can say that when my teacher asked me for the first time, my mind was totally blank. I couldn’t speak and that was very embarrassing. Additionally, every person had 15 seconds to prepare the answer, and 45 seconds to speak consequently, that minute was the longest in my life.

After I realized that I was improving my knowledge of English, I noticed that everything had become easier for me, because I really understand and like my teacher’s methodology.

My teacher’s method of teaching the TOEFL class is the best way for students to be prepared and do very well on the TOEFL test. First of all, she explains how to have our mind clear and calm for a test, doing some yoga exercises for breathing and meditation. If you are calm during a test, you can develop your self-confidence, which is what you need to get a good grade. Furthermore, practicing with my classmates also helps me in my preparation, because they give me feedback. For instance, they always tell me the points that they think I should improve and this helps me to be prepared for different kinds of questions.

To sum up, my reasons why I am so grateful within the past month are as follows: I improved my knowledge of the English language with the methodology that my TOEFL teacher has been using. I want to conclude by saying that right now I am so happy because in just one month I have learned a lot of valuable things and I am looking forward for the rest of the class to successfully complete this course as well.

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By Zoilo C. Nieto, President and CEO, Zoni Language Centers

Me: This year, I need to eat healthily to lose weight, to control my excessive spending, to stop arriving late everywhere, to stop being selfish, to organize my closet, to stop putting off my dentist visit, to quit smoking.
Tricky Me: What if you fail? What if you get a lot of stress and anxiety? No one appreciated your efforts last year. In fact, your Ex was the first one to make it difficult for you.

Me:Can I at least try this time? My Ex dumped me last year for someone else because I was too chubby. I learned the lesson.
Tricky Me:Yeah, but your Ex had a personal agenda and knew what was at stake when you both met.

Me:Yeah and I did try to make it work. I even tolerated the moodiness from time to time.
Tricky Me:What if you just pretend to seriously commit to resolutions this year?

Me:Yeah, but I may not achieve anything.
Tricky Me:No, no. It is like taking it day-by-day as a compromise. You just want
to try hard without giving up on going to the movie theatre, eating out or
watching TV to relax after work. You don’t want to give up on good food or a Saturday night out for a drink with “Peter Pan,” and you don’t look forward to plain vegetables or a sore body after working out.

Me: Wow! It seems to be a lot to sacrifice. Right?
Tricky Me: It is about trying to achieve these New Year’s resolutions, but you will not get
caught off guard if you don’t. At least you will know that you tried.

Me: Yeah sounds like a compromise, and I can write them down to put some pressure
on myself.
Tricky Me: You can’t write them down because you may not achieve them. But the idea is to feel good about yourself at the end of the process.

Me: Mmm! And this way, I don’t feel guilty no matter what happens.
Tricky Me: All right. I am glad you got it. It is time for me to fade away, but remember I
am always behind your ear in case you need me.

Here it comes, the “Tricky Me” or “self talk” taking place in our lives when many times we don’t even realize that we have internal conversations with our subconscious; yet this Tricky Me can focus on the negative and dominate our perception of reality creating “misperceptions.” Sometimes we are so used to this Tricky Me that we just don’t think it is happening. Continue Reading →

How extracurricular activities shape the way ESL students learn English.

I live in New York. I love to party. It’s the city that never sleeps. It’s the melting pot of culture and people. So it was no surprise that Recently, I stumbled into an art gallery, where a local artist was showing his work, and bumped into a school mate of mine from my country. I was there with two friends of mine, who are American. We talked and I invited my friend to join us as we went to Brooklyn for another friend’s house party. He agreed, and we started out for the nearest subway. One of my American friends suggested we get something to eat first. So we decided to eat Thai food. None of us is Thai, but we all agreed that we liked Thai food. We laughed and talked for about an hour before we got to the restaurant and before our food came. By the time we finished it was pretty late, so we quickly paid for our food and left for the House party in Brooklyn.

On the subway we talked laughed and people watched. My old school mate and I talked and laughed like we were still in school and we hadn’t seen each other for four years. We finally got to the House party it was a large raucous affair with loud music and crazy people. My friends and I had a good time meeting new people and dancing. They had a Dj and a microphone and some of the people began to read poetry and Rap. I even did a Rap that I had done and practiced in my English class at Zoni Language Centers. I was nervous but I was filled with the energy of the party and I just went for it. It was a great success for me, although not as technical as the Americans who did it. They congratulated me for my audacity. My friend from language school was also surprised. I made a mental note to continue writing Raps and poetry in English, even though it is difficult at times, but it was worth it to have gained the respect of my American peers. The party died down and my friends and I decided to head home. We left the party together. My American friends lived in Brooklyn so they left in a taxi, which they shared, to their homes. My friend and I walked to the subway and went back to Manhattan to Times Square, where my friend would take a bus to New Jersey and I would take a train to Queens. Before my friend left he thanked me for taking him to the party and for showing him such a good time. We laughed about some of the things we saw and experienced that night. One funny thing we realized was that the whole night we hadn’t spoken in our native language.

Later, as I sat on the train I thought about that. I had spoken English the entire night and even when I met someone from my country I still spoke only in English. I was very happy with myself. I am happy to have chosen the language school as a right place to learn English in New York. All my hard work and studying was paying off. I thought that I would never get to this point but I was here. There is still a lot to learn and practice I’m sure, but with discipline and my friends I now that I’m getting better. It’s like my Teacher always says “Practice, practice, practice, practice everyday, practice makes perfect, practice everyday.”