By: Phillip Mattie As much as I enjoy poetry, and as much as I recognise the artistry and talent of the many fantastic English speaking poets that have come about, I don’t think many students share my sentiments—not that I blame students in any way; poetry in high school is force-fed, and so there isn’t … Continue reading “Poetry Made Easy: Analyzing Common Organizational Patterns”

Preparing for another semester is like cooking a meal that you know isn’t going to turn out the way you want it. Sure, you’ll still get steak, but

By: Phillip Mattie Presentations are a difficult trial for even the most seasoned veterans. They require research, thought, and excellent organization. However, even when these things are thoroughly completed—your research carried out, your main idea concreted, your organization refined—your presentation may still be left wanting, absent of verve, void of entertainment. Presentations are difficult not … Continue reading “Tips for a Great Presentation”

By: Phillip Mattie Are you bad with names? Do you forget dates and times when you don’t write them down? Or maybe, on a larger scale, you can’t pick out details in larger seminars, remember information, or adequately summarize what was said. Often, people chalk these problems up to a “bad memory.” I will tell … Continue reading “Becoming a Good Listener”

By: Phillip Mattie Canada has become so much more than a bilingual, French/English country, so much so that we have within our borders speakers of so many different languages that there is a special “other” non-official languages section in the Statistics Canada website containing a population of over two million people[i]—a stunning figure, especially when … Continue reading “English for the ESL Student”

By: Phillip Mattie We are all born with brains that have yet to be filled with knowledge and ideas, have yet to be molded by language and made to communicate. And so, naturally, the more aged human beings (that’s polite talk for old people) among us have a distinct brain advantage over younger generations: They … Continue reading “Ignorance and Education, Yin and Yang”