I am a full-time mum, which means that I work twenty-four hours per day. That's why every year I look forward to my summer holidays, which I spend on an intensive Czech language course at Czech Language Training. For you to understand, I spend it actively, as a teacher. After all, why go to Spain, Turkey, Brazil or even Israel, when representatives of these cultures can come to you in Prague? (I really had all these nationalities in my class during the summer holidays.)

This year we were also lucky with the weather — a really intense one — but fortunately our classroom has fans that evoke a sense of beach and ocean. For these cases, it is very appropriate to include activities such as paper domino, memory game or composing a cut-up article. The demanding nature of these activities immediately climbs up a level when students try to put the pieces together while chasing them flying around the classroom.

It is useful to adjust some basic phrases for the hot weather. For example the question "How are you?" we teach students besides the answer "Okay." also "I'm hot." Very important is the phrase: "I need some water," which most students mix up with "I need a beer." On very hot days, students often call for a break using: "Please break." Yet this must not sway the teacher.

Let's stop at the most frequent phrase "How are you?" Of course, at the beginning of the course students reply politely that they are well or even very well. Gradually they get bolder — by the end of the course they already have a headache or a hangover, especially those of the younger generation.

The worst case scenario is hearing the answer: "I'm sick / ill, I have a cold" to "How are you?" It is then clear that a snowball effect is underway. On the other hand, your students will expand their vocabulary under the title "At the doctor's".