Well folks, it's the weekend again, already. Not sure about you, but I've found that running a YouTube channel while working a full time job can keep the days a flying by. Have you ever thought of starting your own channel? If so, what would it be about?

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We only published three videos this week in an effort to slow things down a little. I myself have been feeling just a touch of burn out and so I figured we would dial back a little on the video output. However, that didn't mean we weren't still PRODUCING videos. Read on...

1. 请注意倒车！(Qǐng zhùyì dàochē) Watch out! Car is coming! - So this is very common to hear in China as it is the sound of a small vehicle backing up. I first remember asking about what these vehicles were saying when I travelled across Xinjiang the first summer break I had here. One lady told me but it would take YEARS for me to actually HEAR the words being spoken. Now I know: 请注意 (Please pay attention) 倒车 (car/vehicle is coming). It would take more years to learn the characters and, tbh, not sure I'd be able to write them out either. Maybe we should do a test?
2. Join the Email list! - So this was a simple announcement in regard to this email list. It currently only has 27 views but a 100% approval rating (with two likes total!) No sign ups have resulted and I also suspect that YouTube didn't really bother pushing this video out very much given its "sales-y" nature. Anyway, glad you're here. ;)
3. Should you read EVERY SINGLE LETTER?! - A short video about skimming and scanning a page of text, primarily online. I don't know about you but I find that if I'm still learning a language (Hello Mandarin, Russian, even Ukrainian), it takes me a long time to read through a text. So that raises the question: do you HAVE to read every single letter in order to learn the language or are there some that you can gloss over?

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A couple of interesting comments on the vlog this week, one coming in late in the week about the DELTA course:

"Hey Steven, it would be nice if I could have all my time and money back from Module 1 and Module 2.

Never needed DELTA to be a head teacher in any of the places I have ever taught.

Advise your followers that it isn't for everyone. If a person really wants to broaden their understanding and expertise in teaching English to second language learners, go for an MA in TESOL, NOT DELTA."

To which I responded:

"Thanks for the response! I'm in the midst of revising this topic and doing a bit of explanation of the different ESL certificates out there. You're not the first to say that the DELTA is not all that it's cracked up to be, and I know of at least a few people who have chosen the MA in TESOL for exactly the reason you mention. 

Although I failed the M1 exam, I didn't find it a waste of time as it did give me a deeper look at what goes into teaching theory and language acquisition (I actually read some of the textbooks instead of practicing the exam... which might be why I failed?) I have not done any other Modules as I think that if I really want to do them, I can do them later on. But, as you have mentioned, the DELTA really is NOT needed for many positions and more than a few people have said that the diploma is basically unrecognized outside a few select areas, the Middle East being one area that it IS looked favourably upon.

Thanks again for the input!"

And another, by the same user:

"I almost forgot to mention, if anyone is adamant to pass the DELTA, do NOT take a course - total waste of money. Buy the books and study on your own!"

And my response:

"I think a lot of people who take the course say the exact same thing! But they say it after having taken it!

I agree with you that people can pass the exam by studying on their own, if only because it eliminates the rush of getting through the course and knowing there is an exam at the other side of it. That being said, the course is good for people who either know what to expect and just want some guided practice, or for people who want that feedback of what the DELTA life is like. 

I myself found my tutor rather distant and assuming. He liked the really good students (there were a couple of them), but the others he didn't really bother with too much, most likely because he was also going through a bit of a career change.

If anything, I suggest people find the reading list for the modules and do some Google searches to find the "big websites" that talk about the DELTA, and go from there. Skip the course if it's not being paid for by your company (mine did).

Thanks again for the input!"

We are currently working on a video about the different ESL qualifications that we hope to have up shortly. Although I don't cover the DELTA too much in that video, it will be targeted more for people just starting out or thinking of starting out in the ESL world.

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We'll leave it there for this week! I hope you're well out there. Please get in touch if there's anything we can help out with in your language journey. We are working on some long form videos, particularly a Mid-Year Review, that should be up shortly. I know we wrote in last week's email that it would be up shortly but then... I spotted an error. So revisions were necessary.

And if you have any ideas for topics we should cover on the channel, please let us know as it would keep things fresh and relevant for everybody!

Thanks for reading,

Steve

Here's this week's podcast recording!

LISTEN NOW!

PS - Oh, and one note about last week's post about the disliked video... turns out the upload didn't work properly and so the video was damaged for the last half of it. Maybe that's why it received so many dislikes? Here's an update: