Conversation club – grow in confidence to speak English

(Click here for information in Romanian).

Do you wish that you had more opportunities to practise speaking English?
Do you feel nervous when you have to take part in spontaneous conversations in English?
Do you stay quiet because you don’t feel confident enough to share your ideas sometimes?
Do you wish that you could be yourself more when you’re speaking English so that people get to know the real you?

I’m a language learner as well as an English teacher (German and Romanian are my main additional languages and I’ve had experience learning several others). I’ve always found that speaking is one of the hardest skills to develop, mainly due to my lack of confidence at the beginning. However, I know that it’s important to spend time improving your speaking skills if you want to get to know other people and communicate effectively in the other language.

I’ve found that the best way to do this is in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, where you’re not surrounded by peers or colleagues. That’s why I’ve set up the conversation club meetings – to provide a welcoming space for people to practise their spoken English – with me and with other learners. We have three groups, so whether you run your own business, you want to develop your language skills for work, or you just want to develop your general speaking skills, we can find a group with like-minded people for you.

What will you get?

There will be two events each month, so you can choose the one (or two) that are right for you.

Each conversation club event will be a one-hour meeting on Zoom where you’ll have the opportunity to speak in English, meet new people, and learn new things. Ultimately the sessions will give you the space to develop and empower you to use English more confidently at work or in your free time.

English for general conversation
English for business owners

How much does it cost?

Your first three participations are sponsored by the club, so they won’t cost you anything. After that, you can pay a small seat reservation fee or you can do something that will support the club. So after your three free sessions you can:

Pay the £5 seat reservation fee.
Invite your friends – for every time a friend attends their first meeting, a free participation will be added to your account.
Offer to do a short presentation for the group (maximum 10 minutes, topic to be agreed, no more than once every six months).

The meetings

English for general conversation

We’re meeting on Wednesday 17th Mayat 18:00 GMT (19:00 CET, 20:00 EET).

We’ll have a general topic for our discussion each time.
You’ll have a chance to share your thoughts and ideas with the other participants, or to listen at first if you feel more comfortable doing that.
You’ll be able to learn new words and practise using them.
I’ll be there to facilitate the discussion or to help out if you have questions or you want to know how to express an idea.

English for business owners

We’re meeting on Tuesday 16th May at 10:30 GMT (11:30 CET, 12:30 EET).

We’ll discuss a topic connected with running your own business. There will be a short presentation or something to learn.
You’ll have the chance to ask questions, share your experiences, and learn from the other participants.
You’ll be able to expand your business vocabulary and use it in a real situation.

How does it work?

The meetings are free, but there are limited spaces so that we can keep the groups from becoming too large and impersonal.

It can be daunting coming to an event in an additional language for the first time. You can use the form below if you have any questions that you would like to ask me.

You don’t have to say a lot at first. I will usually ask everyone to say one or two sentences so we know who’s in the meeting, but if at first you want to listen more than you speak, that’s fine as well.

These events are for you if

You feel nervous when you speak with new people in English.
You are looking for opportunities to speak English outside of work.
You want to meet with other people who have English as an additional language so that you can grow together.
You want to feel more confident about taking part in spontaneous conversations.
You worry that you might not understand what other people say.
You are looking for somewhere where it’s ok, and even encouraged to make language mistakes – because that’s how we learn.

They are not for you if

You are looking for an English language course (have a look at my home page for the range of courses that I offer, but this is a conversation meeting).
You know that you won’t be available when the meetings take place.
You are looking for events for children.
You aren’t willing to listen to others and learn along with them.

Would you like to join us?

If you’d like to come along to one of my English conversation club meetings, , fill in the registration form to reserve your place. Places are limited, so be sure to reserve yours before the event fills up!