I stumbled upon this podcast, which reminded me how crucial it is to use good vocabulary, as @Andrzej Zieliński introduced a great method to do that to us, last Tuesday. I can't wait to join the second session.

DDM 1022 Assignment is now in the NEW COMMUNITY! ⚠️ COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, and your FILES should be attached BELOW ☺️👇🏻 👉🏻 Coaches @Vinnie Ki & @Clive Burton will stay on the lookout for your LTA recordings. Good luck! ☺️

Method for Enhancing Active Vocabulary by Andrzej Zielinski 1. pick the word that you want to make usable (preferably you feel some kind of likeness to it) - it can be a phrase, too 2. Look carefully how to say it, first slowly then quickly then at your normal speed - you gotta feel comfortable with it - no strain. 3. Get the meaning - do not translate, see the situation where you spot it 4.find two synonyms to your target vocab, one that you use and the other that you do not use. 5. Think about your real-life situation where you could use the target vocabulary (as well as the synonyms) and speak about that situation in English using all three vocabulary items. I especially want to highlight that point - you got to strap that word with the situation that you always remember, being it emotional, embarrassing, successful or whatever. The point is you remember it forever together with the strapped vocab! 6. Create a notebook divided into two columns. In one column write down the situation in the shortest possible way - only words that help you recall it- and a exemplary sentence with the two synonyms - without the target vocabulary. In the other column write only the target vocabulary and cover it so that you can't see it while reviewing. And that's it. 7. After some time look at your situation and see if the vocab keeps coming to you. @Andrzej Zieliński

Happy Birthday, Alex! May the river always run smooth for you! My best wishes to you! Happy Birthday! ❤️

I heard that more than 80% of Americans check their devices within 10 minutes of waking. Before they brush their teeth. Before they speak to their spouse. Before they're even fully conscious. The phone. And it gets worse. The average person unlocks their phone over 200 times a day. Surveys show over 70% of people respond to a notification within five minutes. No matter what they're doing. You can think of this as Digital Pavlovian conditioning. Remember the experiment? Pavlov rang a bell every time he fed his dogs. Eventually, the dogs salivated at the sound of the bell.. Even when no food came. They'd been conditioning. Their brains had linked the sound to the reward. And now? Every ping, every buzz, every notification... Releases dopamine in your brain. The same chemical that makes drugs addictive. Your phone has trained you. And you didn't even know it was happening. Every notification feels urgent. Even when it's not. This isn't an accident. Tech companies hired the best behavioral psychologists in the world. To design systems that turn every ping into an irresistible command. And it worked. Now your phone controls when you look, when you respond, when you feel that little hit of reward. You think you're checking your phone because you want to. But you're checking because you've been trained to. Like Pavlov's dog. Except the bell is in your pocket. And it never stops ringing. What do you think?