(( LESSON 50 !! ))

It was a lonely evening for me...Way back in November 2006...when I was sitting in my big apartment in Baotou-China, trying to think of something to do.. Then it came to me....an idea! Why not make a short video English lesson? I had created a Youtube channel a few days before and had only posted a couple of videos on to it. For this video, I could imagine that I was the front of a classroom full of students, talking to them about learning English. It seemed like a good idea...and the perfect way to pass away a quiet evening.

So I went ahead and filmed it. My first attempt was not very good. I felt nervous doing it and certainly looked it. I had done no preparation for it and in the video I talked about some simple ways of improving speaking skills and English in general. I did a quick edit and posted it onto my Youtube Channel.

The following day I checked my YouTube channel. I was surprised to find that my little lesson had received quite a few views. So I went ahead and made another one. This time I talked about ways of saying hello. This video also attracted many viewers and I got the feeling that there was a large potential audience out there searching for material they could use for practicing their spoken English with. I made seven videos in total, before returning to the UK in February 2007.

In April 2007, I made Lesson one of what would slowly become my vast catalogue of English teaching videos. Move on 26 months and here I am, having just completed Lesson 50 !

During this time I have gradually refined and taught myself the methods of video production and editing techniques, as well as my presenting skills. My aim is to constantly improve my abilities and strive for perfection. Of course due to the fact that I do everything by myself, mistakes sometimes happen. But I always try to learn from these errors.

In lesson 50, I visit the City of Lichfield to take a look around its beautiful Cathedral and to visit the birthplace of a man who became famous for creating the first definitive version of a Dictionary of English. He was also a man whose wit and words of wisdom, made him a national celebrity. Which was quite amazing, when you consider that it was around 300 years ago. The man in question is Samuel Johnson. This lesson is a little different from my other ones and the documentary style may not be to everyones liking.

After this lesson has been posted, I will begin to remake some of my earlier lessons, which now look a little amateur in production quality, not to mention my terrible presentation. These new lessons will be in HD and will have subtitles. The lessons I will be remaking are...

Lesson-2.

Lesson-3.

Lesson-4.

Lesson-5.

Lesson-6.

Lesson-7

and Lesson-8.

I will be taking a short holiday soon, here in the UK, at the end of this month, so that should give me some good filming opportunities. Hopefully the weather will be OK.

You may have noticed that I have stopped using the Twitter service. Sadly I do not have enough time to keep updating it, so it has had to go. I must get into the habit of updating this blog more often instead, although I'm still uncertain as to exactly how many people actually read my ramblings.

OK lesson 50 is now officially available 8-))

Ta-ta for now.

(Misterduncan) .........................................................................................