Sedgehead.com Translation Services

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To purchase a copy of my autobiography visit my Windsong page:

Windsong: (1952-1970), 85pp.

Ode to a Cold Night: (1970-1975), 145pp.

Reading material: Windsong.

For the first 30 minutes, I will read. You can listen and ask questions.

For the second 30 minutes, sStudents take turns reading. You can listen and ask questions.

You can read or listen (your choice). We practice difficult words.

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QQ call curriculum summary:

Read, explore and correct pronunciation, 60 minutes;

Topics discussed: normal English reading of my autobiography, Windsong

Minor adjustment to the specific time depending on the circumstances, this site is periodically updated, so stay tuned!

The calls and lessons are free if you use QQ for free (most people do) and the reading material is free to my students.

There is one downside. The calls are limited to the first 24 people who ask to attend the lessons. People come and go in the class, so I often create a new group once or twice a month. The lessons are on a first come, first serve basis.

Summary:

Since 2009, I've been teaching English on the internet using Skype (2009 to 2017) or QQ software (2018 and beyond). The software is free and the lessons are free. At first, I experimented with various methods. Over time, I realized my Chinese (and other) students mostly want to practice listening to natural spoken English and have a chance to have me correct their pronunciation After trying several methods, I found it works best if I read for 30 minutes. I often stop and ask if there are questions. While answering questions we discuss various aspects of life in the United States. During the second 30 minutes, I ask the students to read a paragraph at a time. Some only listen because they are shy or do not have a microphone. That's ok. My goal is to let the students do what they want, listen only, ask questions, or read.

One major question was What shall I read? That was fairly easy to answer. As a writer I write books. Mostly, we have used my autobiography titled Windsong. I started writing Windsong in 1981 and it has grown to more than 300,000 words covering my life from 1952-1995 and beyond. It is still being written. I start classes with Chapter 1 of the first book of Windsong (also called "Windsong"). My Chinese friends seem to enjoy hearing my stories of American life, so I keep on writing.

Follow-up notes: I reserve the right to cancel classes when I am busy or in China. For example, I cancelled classes for most of 2014 and 2015 before and during my first trips to China, and in the summer and fall when life got too busy.