2 years down...many more to go!

I don't know about you, but it feels like just yesterday when I wrote this post, celebrating one year of YES and giving you a bit of a sneak peak behind the scenes of the blog. Well, here we are again, this time, 2 years down - this is an informal expression used to show how much time has passed since the beginning of something, and is usually followed by another phrase to say how much more time will pass until the end of something. So, 2 years down, and hopefully many more to come for YES! Here's a shout out to my dedicated readers, thank you all for your support, sharing my posts and for just being awesome!

Without students, teachers would be bored

Teaching can be challenging, but I always like to take some time at the end of a school year to reflect on the year's successes (and failures), and just the other day I was thinking about how much my students make me smile. If you think about it, us teachers spend most of our time thinking about our students - planning activities for future lessons, coming up with suggestions and recommendations to practice outside of lesson hours, answering messages and emails, not to mention all the behind the screens administrative work that involves, well, our students! This year, I'd like to share some of my favorite quotes and comments from my students as a way to say thank you for making me smile, even on the longest of workdays.

So Claire, how long have we been seeing each other now?

This made me giggle to myself, because in English, this expression is generally used to talk about a romantic relationship😂.

-Davide, 10

I don't know how to explain it, but you just put people at ease.

-Rita, adult

You're sooo much better than the new English teacher at school.

-Davide, 10

Can we do another hour?

-Aurora, 8

Taking lessons with you made me feel completely capable of talking to my daughter's host family in the USA.

-Paolo, adult

Maria Giovanna really looks forward to your lessons! We're going to continue all the way to University!

-Daniela, mother of Maria Giovanna, 10

There are more, but these are some of the one's that I have written down in my handy dandy lesson planner. These little comments, perhaps seemingly insignificant, really make a teacher's day, so thanks again to all my wonderful students, and even if you aren't my student and you just share my blog posts, thank you, it really means the world to me.

Have a great summer!

Like last year, the blog will be taking a rest for August, and will be back with recharged batteries in September. I'll be doing a tiny bit of travelling and a whole lot of gardening over the next few weeks, as well as preparing everything for the new school year, which will take off on September 4th. So, without further ado, enjoy your holidays, and see you soon!

Glossary

• shout out: an informal way to mention or call attention to someone or something

• awesome: the best synonym in English for great

• to see someone: if you say, "we are seeing each other", in English, it means that you are dating

• to put someone at ease: an idiom to say - to help someone relax or feel comfortable

• handy dandy: an informal and fun way to say very useful

• to mean the world to [someone]: an idiom to say - to be very important

• take off: in this context, it's an idiom to say - to begin/start