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Seminars and Workshops
given by David Bolton for non-native speakers of English
All of my English-language seminars and workshops have been designed with several
goals in mind: - to help intermediate/advanced learners of English further improve their English
in an entertaining way, while using it in a meaningful context - to teach the participants useful psychological skills that they can use not only
for language learning, but in just about any area of their lives - to add a meaningful back-end offering to the activities of any language school,
or to give companies the chance to offer their personnel a great educational
opportunity Normally held in English (though I also give the events in German or Spanish, upon request), these seminars and workshops, though informative and entertaining for native English-speakers, are mainly designed for the large, and ever-increasing number of non-native speakers whose level permits them to understand English pretty well, even if their speaking abilities may be lacking. I speak a bit more slowly than I would with an English or American audience; I explain any unusual vocabulary that may crop up, and give occasional grammatical explanations whenever appropriate. But these events are far more than just a chance for the participants to improve their English.
Take a look at the themes I offer to get an idea of the practical skills and useful knowledge your students will be able to acquire...
List of Workshops and Seminars
(as of June 2009)
"Successful
Public
Speaking" (workshop)
How to
overcome your inhibitions - the secrets of effective communication -
how to give
an interesting talk. In this workshop, each participant who
so desires gets the chance to practice speaking
to the group. But don't worry: the atmosphere is very relaxed, and I
see to it that everyone has a lot of fun!
***
"How to find a Job" (workshop)
Not only the habitually jobless need to learn how to find meaningful employment. More and more people who are already working occasionally need to change their job, and are faced with the question:
What can I do to improve my chances of finding a good job, one that will not
only offer me the money I desire, but will also give me a maximum of personal
fulfillment?
When a company calls me for an interview, how should I prepare for it?
This workshop casts light upon the common mistakes people make when searching for employment, and shows not only how to avoid such pitfalls, but also touches such vital areas as... - How to recognize your own greatest strengths, and formulate them effectively
- Learning how you can contribute to your future employer's business, and give
yourself the edge - Presenting yourself in the best possible light when you apply for employment -
without lying! You can improve your chances of getting a job - even a better one than you
previously would have dared hope for - by following the plan that this workshops offers.
***
"The Keys to
Learning"
(seminar)
Why is it that some people seem to be
able to learn better than others? Is it only a
question of "intelligence"? As a matter of fact, why is it that any one
individual can learn some things very well, but is terrible at
learning another subject matter? Why is the cultural level
of our young people sinking so drastically, and what are our schools
doing wrong?
What do
you need to be able to learn very quickly, and to remember what
you've learned?
This seminar will answer these questions, and more: it will show you how you
can improve your learning ability, no matter what the topic!
***
"The
Dating Game: How to
Find a Romantic Partner"
There are many people today who don't have a romantic
relationship, and they often ask themselves why: is there something
wrong with them? I don't think so!
In this workshop,
you will discover that most probably, you've simply been going about
things the wrong way, and making some
common mistakes. That's the bad news. the good news is that you can
correct these mistakes, and learn
how to find that special someone in your life. Some of the
techniques
I'll reveal here may seem
unusual, but believe me, they do work!
***
"Making your Relationships Work" (workshop).
Simply finding a romantic partner does not, of course, ensure happiness. More and more relationships, even ones that may have begun on a bed of roses, eventually wind up on a rocky coast: misunderstandings, lack of communication and deeper personal conflicts within one or both individuals can have a devastating effect on their relationship, leading to emotional distress, arguments, and eventual separation. "What did I do wrong?" each may ask when the dust has settled.
We will examine the causes of such human disasters, and above all, I will show how they can be successfully dealt with, or even avoided altogether. A workshop that anyone who has had problems in their relationship/s will not want to miss!
***
"Understanding
Western
Humor" (seminar)
One of the many striking differences between western and
Japanese culture
is our humor. For the Japanese, it is often difficult or even
impossible to comprehend why we in the
west find certain things funny. In this seminar, I talk about
the elements of western humor (using American, German, British and
Spanish humor as examples), and explain
what makes us laugh.
If you are a Japanese who deals with westerners,
whether in business, or in your
private life, you will find this seminar invaluable in helping you to
understand the minds of us "mysterious
foreigners".
***
"The Roots of
Happiness"
(seminar)
Today, we in the first-world countries live in a society more
privileged than any in
the past. We enjoy political and individual freedom, our health system
is far in advance of what it was even
a few decades ago, there is food for everyone, there are more forms of
entertainment than one can
count, Internet presents us with an entire new world of
possibilities...
How is it possible,
then,
that there are so many people that are unhappy?
Here I examine this topic, one that is perhaps the most
important in all our lives. This seminar incorporates
insights from sociology, psychology and philosophy, but is not
theoretical, for its main theme is the truly essential
question: what
can you do, starting right
now, to be happier,
and to lead a more fulfilling life?
***
"Prophesy, Clairvoyance, Oracles: Help or Humbug?"
Many are the people today who turn to fortune-tellers and psychics to get a peek into their future. Is it really possible for some people to tell us what life has in store for us? Having researched this area rather extensively, I am able to offer some valuable insights, yet what you hear may surprise you, for the phenomenon of clairvoyance cannot be explained simply, but rather, it gets to the root of our misconceptions about what the future actually is. This seminar serves as a mental stimulus for both skeptic and believer, while challenging some of the notions that each group holds so dear.
***
"Religion
in Modern
Secular Society"
Many
Europeans (and Japanese) are often surprised at how many Americans
actively
practice a religion. What is it about religion that allows it to
survive even in a so-called "enlightened" society? And above all: could
there really be something at the root of religion, some basic truth
that is eternal, and that
many people instinctively intuit? No matter whether you are religious
or not, this seminar will help you to
better understand the phenomenon of religion. Of course, I won't
pretend to be able to give any final answers -
not even the greatest philosophers of the past have been able to do
that - but I will shed some light on
certain aspects of religion that you may not have thought of before...
***
"Politics: Right,
Left, and how we get there"
(seminar)
Many people think that "right-wing" and "left-wing" are
modern terms, reflecting differences of opinion
that have arisen in the last couple of centuries. Not so! There were
extremist "communist" movements in ancient Greece, and of course,
right-wing despotism also has its roots in the distant past. In
addition to
looking at the phenomenon of "right" and "left" from an historical
perspective, we will go into something much more basic and essential:
What are the factors that make a person tend to
one side or the other of the
political spectrum? Is deciding to be "right" or "left" really a result
of objective thinking, or could
it be that our political ideas are formed by psychological factors that
have nothing to do with reasonable thinking?
This seminar/discussion may challenge some of your
beliefs, but it will
be sure to open your eyes as to why many people think
the way they do where politics is concerned!
*********
If you would like to be informed as to the
date/place of any of these seminars or workshops, just write me at
dbolton99b@yahoo.es,
and I'll keep you up to date.
Oh, and if you haven't already, don't forget to get your copy of my free
language-learning E-book.
Just click here:
"The Secrets of Successful
Language Learning"
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