This book offers an autobiographical reflexive approach to foreign language education. It offers unique ways of developing vocational language teaching as an integrated holistic approach combining language contents with vocationally relevant topics and the interactive, dialogical processes of working in language classes. It is presented in a "common sense" way and accessible to non-native English readers.

“Ellen Galinsky—already the go-to person on interaction between families and the workplace—draws on fresh research to explain what we ought to be teaching our children. This is must-reading for everyone who cares about America’s fate in the 21st century.” — Judy Woodruff, Senior Correspondent for The PBS NewsHour Families and Work Institute President Ellen Galinsky (Ask the Children, The Six Stages of Parenthood) presents a book of groundbreaking advice based on the latest research on child development.

A beautifully illustrated book that covers the essential life skills that kids need to know Discover how you can become the awesome person you want to be with this guide to essential life skills for kids. This life book tackles the difficulties that kids face and helps prepare them for whatever the future may hold. Inside the pages of your essential life skills book, you’ll discover: • Life skills education is an important topic, especially for children, as highlighted by the World Health Organization (WHO) • Beautiful illustrations accompanied by stunning photography help to engage readers to digest complex topics like understanding body language and decision making • Topics that drill down into all the different aspects of life skills education for 7–9-year-olds, such as communication, solving problems, making decisions, understanding yourself and others, critical thinking skills, and coping in difficult times • Practical advice on how to think up solutions for difficult problems, how to work with other people as a team, and how to write a feelings diary using mindfulness An illustrated guide book for kids that includes practical advice and real-life examples that teach problem-solving, how to make good decisions, and excellent communication skills. Kids will learn how to better understand themselves and others, as well as create coping strategies for difficult situations. Kids can work through engaging activities like making mind maps, thinking about body language, and putting themselves in someone else’s shoes. Developing life skills not only leads to better prospects at school and in a future career, but it also gives young people higher self-esteem to aim for a bright, secure and happy future.

Introduces drama strategies for language teachers to maximise learners’ engagement, retention and development of personal and social skills.

Forget the 10,000 hour rule— what if it’s possible to learn the basics of any new skill in 20 hours or less? Take a moment to consider how many things you want to learn to do. What’s on your list? What’s holding you back from getting started? Are you worried about the time and effort it takes to acquire new skills—time you don’t have and effort you can’t spare? Research suggests it takes 10,000 hours to develop a new skill. In this nonstop world when will you ever find that much time and energy? To make matters worse, the early hours of prac­ticing something new are always the most frustrating. That’s why it’s difficult to learn how to speak a new language, play an instrument, hit a golf ball, or shoot great photos. It’s so much easier to watch TV or surf the web . . . In The First 20 Hours, Josh Kaufman offers a systematic approach to rapid skill acquisition— how to learn any new skill as quickly as possible. His method shows you how to deconstruct com­plex skills, maximize productive practice, and remove common learning barriers. By complet­ing just 20 hours of focused, deliberate practice you’ll go from knowing absolutely nothing to performing noticeably well. Kaufman personally field-tested the meth­ods in this book. You’ll have a front row seat as he develops a personal yoga practice, writes his own web-based computer programs, teaches himself to touch type on a nonstandard key­board, explores the oldest and most complex board game in history, picks up the ukulele, and learns how to windsurf. Here are a few of the sim­ple techniques he teaches: Define your target performance level: Fig­ure out what your desired level of skill looks like, what you’re trying to achieve, and what you’ll be able to do when you’re done. The more specific, the better. Deconstruct the skill: Most of the things we think of as skills are actually bundles of smaller subskills. If you break down the subcompo­nents, it’s easier to figure out which ones are most important and practice those first. Eliminate barriers to practice: Removing common distractions and unnecessary effort makes it much easier to sit down and focus on deliberate practice. Create fast feedback loops: Getting accu­rate, real-time information about how well you’re performing during practice makes it much easier to improve. Whether you want to paint a portrait, launch a start-up, fly an airplane, or juggle flaming chain­saws, The First 20 Hours will help you pick up the basics of any skill in record time . . . and have more fun along the way.