In conversation with Ainsley McDonald

What according to you is ‘Good communication’?

The sound and rhythm should flow, so learn songs, speeches, riddles, jokes, and even rap! Growing up, we used to play "round stories" in the car, one person would start the story with a sentence and the next person would add a sentence and so on, the stories didn't always make sense, but they were fun and we learned things along the way.

What should students who are learning English focus on?

Focus on increasing vocabulary, but also learn which words could be substituted for others. So many times, I've spoken to people whose second language is English and it’s very textbook. Some substitutes are just not understood.

Your top tips for learning English?

I had a star pupil, I taught her English root words - Latin and Greek root words. She was so smart! We would take apart a larger word and break it down and put it back together like a puzzle or an equation. Then start switching some pieces for others and seeing how the meaning of the word changed. For example, words like ‘antidisestablishmentarianism’; photosynthesis VS photography VS biography VS biology VS… etc.

Not just memorising definitions, but learning a 'cheat sheet' to English.

Ainsley McDonald is a trained English teacher who lived and worked in South East Asia for over 6 years. She currently is back home in Canada and works in real estate.