On teaching the English language: How can we open doors for Saskatchewan’s immigrants?

IT was one of those rare days when you wish you’d just stayed in bed . . . I had invested more than due diligence in writing a talk on workplace preparation that I was booked to deliver. But when the day finally arrived, everything seemed doomed to fail.

I arrived early at the venue where I was registered to speak on a panel, since the location (a historic church) was new to me. The organizer had given me a street address but no further details. I was aware that talks in this particular series recurred throughout the year, often without much organization. So I entered the door marked “public” (not the one marked “church”), intuiting that would be wisest: this was a weekday, secular presentation.

That was my first (and huge) mistake.

I found myself in a large and well-lit church hall with a rickety table and a few old metal chairs. No one was there. My watch now showed that the panel would start in 15 minutes. So I pushed further into the building to find the right room.

I tried all of the six doors available in the hall. All but one was locked. The only one that did open was a storage closet, stacked high with ramshackle furniture. In the same corner, I found one final door, marked in large and ominous black stencilling: “Danger: Do Not Enter.” The intensity of the sign (words and printing) made me stop and respect it.

(photo credit M. Nunzio)

Looking around desperately,  I heard only crickets!

I tried to call the organizer on my smartphone, thinking that he’d given me the wrong address or at least could redirect my search. But he was out-of-the-office, leaving only voicemail.

By now, some 20 minutes had passed and still no one had appeared. I felt chilled, as it was a blustery, early winter day and the large hall wasn’t well-heated.

The only human I saw took the form of a caretaker—a dour-looking, wizened, old man–who entered the hall by the same doors I had used, picked up one of the chairs and exited the same way. He seemed skittish.  When I shouted after him, the only response was the metal clank of the door closing behind him.

My anxiety had now risen to the point that I didn’t think to leave and instead try the “church” entrance. But, in an effort that some would have tried earlier, I tested the door marked “Danger.” I grabbed the handle, fearing the outcome. But to my surprise, the door gave way and I immediately felt a swoosh of warm air and heard the bustle of an administrative office.

“Do you need help?” inquired a middle-aged woman, who resembled a young Miss Marple. She seemed unaware that I’d just crossed a forbidden doorway. When I explained that I was trying to find a workplace preparation panel, her eyes widened and she pointed to a new room, saying: “Well, it’s just through there, dear. But you’re very late. They may soon be done!”

Exasperated, I rushed through the door and sure enough, the second speaker was well into her talk. Both she and the first panelist, neither of whom I’d met before, looked up and scowled. The first speaker whispered furiously to me: “We’re nearly done!” The audience of nearly 100 threw daggers with their eyes. My anxiety and anger started to morph into rage.

And then, in what seemed only a single breath, my turn came. I dropped everything except my notes and introduced myself, saying: “I’ve spent the last half-hour in an adjacent room, looking for you all and only found you moments ago—by crossing through a door marked as “Danger: Do Not Enter.”

Several in the audience gasped as I spoke and then nodded warmly back to me. Clearly I hadn’t been the first to “get lost” in this old and inhospitable space. But no one had changed the signage! I made a “throwaway” attempt at humour by saying I’d been trapped in a re-enactment of both the Chronicles of Narnia and Harry Potter.

Once my and others’ upset abated, my talk went very well.  A full discussion followed. I grew calm enough to engage and noticed a high number of visible minorities in the room, some of whom could have been newcomers to Canada, years before, as my late father once was. (But I did make a mental note to update the organizer and the church administration that better signage and directions were urgently needed!)

Looking back on that ill-fated afternoon, I remember feeling as though I was a lone survivor in some gothic  novel (or, as one of the speakers said, an episode of “Mr. Bean,” without the slapstick humour). The feeling that I was utterly alone in a strange and unwelcoming space was overwhelming.

That feeling must be like what newcomers endure when they first arrive in Canada—some without many (or any) contacts or context to help them. Even if they (and their papers) are prepared; even if they’re poised to start a business or take a job; they often get stuck in the preliminaries, sometimes finding no one to explain, much less, advise.

I felt some of the desperation newcomers describe, when they fear they’ll lose the right to stay in Canada, to build safe and productive lives for themselves and their families.

As an English-as-a-Second Language teacher (ESL), I’ve taught learners based all over the world, teaching them the language and cultural skills they need to unlock doors in inhospitable spaces.

And I encourage economic immigrants to keep trying to find the “right way” to build their lives in Canada. Sometimes, when every last option has been exhausted, they may have to take a risk by trying a door that forbids entry.

In the absence of support, wouldn’t the greater risk have been to return through the main door and go home, losing the opportunity to contribute?  Or to wait, passively (in limbo), in the first empty hall where I’d been, where no progress would ever come?

Thankfully, a gateway through such impasses and obstacles can be found through clear and comprehensible English language skills.

As I tell my students, cultural and entrepreneurial values matter. And my purpose as an ESL instructor is to share both of those, while I teach “bread and butter” grammar, syntax and pronunciation skills (i.e. listening, speaking, reading and writing). My goal is to explain as part of my teaching.  And then I refer them to legal and policy experts who can advise them on their immigration matters.

As the audience discussion that followed our wobbly panel that day, our communities benefit when  outsiders bring their knowledge and questions.

I’ve taught local newcomers whose lives improve, as their language skills do—even though the doors they first found were locked.

The better their English language skills, the stronger their resilience to push through misadventures and overcome barriers to success. At a time when career-oriented, economic immigration to Saskatchewan (and to Canada, overall) is declining, I can attest to the inspiring nature of the lives and skills these newcomers share . . . .

But for now, I must run.

I have some doors to unlock and a few misleading signs to paint over.

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Are there economic immigrants in your circle who need to improve their English skills? Please let me know! I’d be delighted to hear from you.

Fed up with sugar addiction? Meet the Canadian entrepreneur who dissolves it, in this month’s issue of ‘Tell Your Story Newsletter’

September 2024 Vol 6 Issue 9

Tell Your Story Newsletter (TYSN):
Teaching English as a Second Language
Let us help you tell your story!

Welcome Mid-September, 2024!

Enduring record-breaking heat in much of Saskatchewan last weekend (September 6th to 8th), many Saskatchewanians gleefully restored our summer clothes and sandals to the fronts of our closets!

Along with a life-long friend and her family, I observed one of those “dog days of summer” at the annual Broadway Avenue Street Fair! The street’s shops and many artisans’ booths sold beautiful items of textiles, wood and jewellery that were particularly wonderful to behold.

But with the drop in temperatures that have followed, most of us feel that summer is now over.  The shortening of daylight hours is already appreciable. And yet, the start of a new program and school year has brought a spring to my step, even in these challenging economic and political times.

How are you living this new season, good reader?

One of the greatest joys of mid-September is that it marks the time for one of Saskatoon’s largest entrepreneurial gatherings, the annual Raj Manek Mentorship Program Banquet. This year–the program’s 28th–the business community returned to Prairieland Park, to hear an inspiring keynote conversation with Canadian entrepreneur, Tara Bosch, founder of “SmartSweets.”

Did you miss the banquet and want to catch up? Or is it new to you? Keep reading: this issue is for you!

In “Article One, I feature highlights from that inspiring interview with Tara Bosch, hosted by CTV journalist (and perennial emcee), Jeff Rogstad.

Then, in this month’s “Storytellers’ Corner,” I feature part three of a series on Latin terms to know and use! These “should” be used playfully in the classroom or boardroom, or else you may meet resistance (haha)!

And in “Shop News,” I acknowledge some of the wonderful industry of mentors, peers and clients in my network.

Local writer and woman leader, Linda McCann, recently blogged on “the promise of September”:

“It’s a time to reflect on the desires of our hearts and the longings of our souls, as we consider the months ahead . . . . September has always held a special promise, even in the most challenging times. It brings the anticipation of a harvest, the start of a new school year, reconnections with friends and fresh opportunities for learning. It’s also a time to walk in nature, savouring the changing colours, scents and sounds of this abundant season.”

Whether you’re criss-crossing the province, country or globe on business or personal ventures, or whether you’ve returned home after a summer (vacation) away, I wish each of you that awareness of September’s “promise” and “abundance.”

Whether savouring locally made pizzas and soups at Christie’s “Il Secondo”; a last mouthful of summer’s sweetness at Beppi’s Gelato; whether opening a new novel by a (perhaps local) favourite author . . . . or simply treading, with a beloved friend or pet, our leaf-strewn Meewasin Trail . . . may you live this new season with renewed energy, purpose and optimism, faithful readers.

As McCann reminds us, there will be both “challenges and gifts” in this new year, just dawning.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Shih
Principal
Storytelling Communications
www.elizabethshih.com

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IN THIS ISSUE:
→ARTICLE 1: “Fed up with sugar addiction? Meet the Canadian entrepreneur who dissolves it, in the 28th annual Raj Manek Mentorship keynote address”
→STORYTELLERS’ CORNER: Six more Latin terms that everyone “should” know (part three)

SHOP NEWS
ABOUT US

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Article One: “Fed up with sugar addiction? Meet the Canadian who dissolves it, in the 28th annual Raj Manek Mentorship keynote address”

The 28th Annual Raj Manek Memorial Banquet was held last Tuesday evening (September 10th) at Prairieland Park, featuring a keynote interview with Tara Bosch, the Vancouver-based Founder of “Smart Sweets.”

Influenced by an “unhealthy relationship with sugar” as a teenager and by kitchen-table wisdom from her grandmother, some 20 years ago, Bosch began to research the damaging and widespread health effects of sugar. She then founded the first confectionary company to address the need to vastly reduce sugar, creating a recipe for gummy bears (and others followed) that
were the world’s “first candy [to] kick sugar.”

And Bosch didn’t stop there. She has rapidly become a global leader in what she describes elsewhere as “pushing back on foods with excess sugar.”
Her vision is of consumers who can “live their best lives by giving them the choice to kick sugar.”

Bosch has also pioneered “Bold Beginnings,” an entrepreneurial accelerator that brings “six to eight women entrepreneurs from all corners of North America to Vancouver,” to compete for a $100K investment in their startup.

Through what she describes as an arduous journey, Bosch has found much success! She was named Ernst and Young (EY)’s Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year Award (2019), one of both “Inc” and Forbes magazine’s “30 Under 30,” and has received numerous other awards from the likes of “Entrepreneur magazine,” “Business Insider,” The Bank of Montreal (BMO), and
“SmartSweets” distributor, Whole Foods.

Only four years after launching “SmartSweets” from her basement, Bosch sold it for $360M, with herself as majority owner!

So, I highlight here some of Bosch’s testimony and journey to make “smarter candy” to “better her community and herself”:

• Bosch’s business started with her wish to end “the silent epidemic of sugar in our country’s candy aisles.” As a child, she said: “candy was my thing. It brought joy and love until my teenage years, when excess sugar made me feel bad about myself and my body image.”

•She was spurred on to change that “unhealthy relationship to sugar” when her “Oma” (her grandmother and childhood best friend) told Bosch how much she regretted having consumed “too much sugar” in her lifetime.

• At the same time, Bosch consciously chose a niche with the most “radical value”—weight watchers who needed low-sugar treats. She simultaneously worked to make”SmartSweets” high in fibre, to add to its nutritional value.

• Bosch laments that food manufacturers target consumers’ “bliss points” – the combination of sugar, salt and fat that addicts children through their tastebuds. Virtually every food product in the supermarket intentionally contains (unhealthy) sugar —and Bosch knows that change is an uphill battle.

• She says she “wanted to create a community around sugarless eating,” and she has succeeded.

• Bosch says she “leveraged scrappiness of what was available to [her],” reading food science journals, accessing knowledge online and by “cold contacting people on LinkedIn,” many of whom were willing to share 10 minutes of their time, when she was honest and clear about her motives.

•She didn’t hesitate to enlist colleagues in the same business accelerator she was in, tech start-up people, as her candy taste-testers.

• Bosch advocates for “being honest about yourself, knowing both your strengths and your weaknesses.” She advises us to use experts to support you in those weak areas, as she assembled “a team of people who were smarter than I was.” Similarly, she brought on a COO as a “people leader,” who had run Starbucks and Lululemon, and who fostered a woman-focused culture to sustain the business. That kept the challenges of sustaining
growth from “draining [Bosch’s] cup.”

• Bosch acknowledges that start-up life saw her oscillate “between a pit of despair one day,” to a high, like” serendipity,” the next.

• To try to level out those extremes and to stay motivated, Bosch used (and recommends to entrepreneurs) a spreadsheet to track each day’s successes, whether big or small (“micromoments”). These moments can create “mind fuel” by keeping you aware of even incremental progress. For instance, if someone on her contact roster simply opened an email from her, she’d record it as a “win.”

• “All challenges are opportunities in disguise,” Bosch says. Some days involve “climbing a high mountain, but something magical lies just around the corner.”

• Bosch says in her work now, she “normalizes self-doubt, imposter syndrome and insecurities that all entrepreneurs face,” especially women. Therefore, she maintains gender parity on her board and keeps the executive team at “SmartSweets” 85% female. A further 80% of the company’s employees are female. Bosch says that shared and conscious vulnerability can become a form of strength.

“Think BIG” and let that goal subvert your fears and doubts of how you’ll get there. She said that mastering your fears allows you to tap into limitless potential.

• Remember, though, that “money is not a ‘why’ deep enough to take you through all the tough days.”

• So, don’t keep family at bay: Bosch has since added a three-year old daughter to her family, as well as several dogs and cats, all who remind her of the importance of being compassionate, kind and of seeking “lightness,” or happiness, whatever the challenges of entrepreneurship bring.

• Following the example of her COO (Cindy), Bosch urges us to respect the lives and schedules of mentors, collaborators, colleagues and staff, by being and keeping on time when in meetings and at events.

• Bosch also urges entrepreneurs to leverage government programs (e.g. debt protection and fundraising) that we’re blessed to have available to us, in Canada. (“SmartSweets” manufacturing headquarters remains in Vancouver).

• Bosch sold “SmartSweets” in 2020 for $360M at the age of only 29 but continues as its founder.

• After Malcolm Gladwell’s book, The Tipping Point, Bosch says: “It only takes 1000people to start a movement.” This is what she led “SmartSweets” to create.

• Since then, she has launched a business incubator called “Bold Beginnings” in North America, which offers a $100K award to help women entrepreneurs learn “they are infinitely capable”: she urges women to apply at  BoldBeginnings.com

• Bosch says that when crises arose (such as losing her manufacturer, 20+ years ago), she finally “gave up the problems to a larger force than [herself]” and remained “thankful to have the opportunities [she’d] had.”

• It’s hard not to wonder and imagine what future ventures lie ahead for this plucky, resilient and inspirational entrepreneur.

• Bosch’s creativity in devising methods to keep her mind and spirit strong through the most harrowing of entrepreneurial days is remarkable—and commendable! Even the names she’s given to her pet cats and dogs come from TV and movies, reflecting some of her irreverent spirit. (In the long-distance interview with Rogstad, Bosch’s cat Tarzan briefly stole the show.)

• So, if you’re a reader of business success stories, be sure to add Tara Bosch of “SmartSweets” to your list! Her own “lightness” illumined the evening of the 28th Raj Manek Memorial Banquet for hours (and over the social media that followed, too).

• As a leader, Bosch has said that she “is wildly passionate about empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs,” believing that “their big impact vision are needed more than ever before in the world.”

And now it’s your turn:
To join in the work and successes of the Raj Manek Foundation, please consider this your invitation! Visit www.manekmentorship.com for more details on monthly seminars and annual networking events.

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STORYTELLERS’ CORNER . . . .

 

 

 

STORYTELLERS’ CORNER: Six Latin terms that everyone “should” know
(part three)

The online editing website, Grammarcheck.net, recently published a list of 60 Latin terms that “everyone should know.” The latter claim may be a tall order, given that most writers and editors younger than 45 have not found Latin offered in Saskatchewan’s primary or secondary schools (although that changes at the university level).

But setting aside the perennial debate of whether Latin should still be taught to children, I suggest that numerous Latin terms are (or can become) recognizable, even to non-specialists.

And using such terms can create subtlety in our spoken and written word–and, maybe some fun, too?

This month, here are six more terms to recognize and enjoy:

(13) Curriculum vitae (C.V.) –“A formal resume.” (e.g. “Please submit your curriculum vitae for the HR Manager’s position.”)

(14) De facto—“In fact.” (e.g. “The neighbourhood is de facto segregated.”)

(15) De jure – “By law.” (e.g. “In some countries, women are granted de jure equality with men, but the day-to-day experience is much different.”)

(16) De novo – “From scratch.” (e.g. “The judge ordered a trial de novo after the first trial.”)

(17) E pluribus unum – “Out of many, one.” (e.g. “The US motto, E pluribus unum, reflects the country’s diverse makeup.”

(18) Ergo – “ Therefore.” (e.g. “He is a hard worker; ergo, he will succeed.”)

Do you have any favourite Latin terms or stories of people using them?
Please write in; I’d be delighted to hear from you.

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SHOP NEWS:

Following the introduction and “Article One” of this issue, you won’t be surprised that at the top of this month’s entrepreneurial news is my thanks to the organizers, mentors and proteges of the Raj Manek Mentorship Program (RMMP), for their dedication to personal and professional growth, across our province.

The Raj Manek Foundation and Mentorship program is based on a wonderful immigrant’s, and immigrant family’s, success story: the late Raj Manek Sr. settled his family in Saskatchewan, following globe-crossing ventures from his birthplace in Kenya, to the UK, later, Inuvik, the Northwest Territories, and finally, Saskatoon.

Special thanks go out again, to the Manek family, Kanchan, Raj Jr., Sona and Kinjal Manek for tirelessly preparing and launching another year’s remarkable networking banquet.

And the dedication of many mentors for another year ignited or rekindled connections, in a collegial, encouraging and generous environment.
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My professional, personal and long-term thank you goes (of course) to Monica Kreuger, Founder and Chief Visionary Officer, of the Praxis School of Entrepreneurship. As my long-time mentor and advisor (some 10 years!) through the RMMP, Monica has shared with me dozens of mentorly conversations and discussions, which have broadened my outlook and helped me to foster resilience.

The Praxis School of Entrepreneurship, where I taught business communications (2017-2020), and trained as a startSMART participant (2018-19), is undergoing invigorating change in its training opportunities for entrepreneurs, across all sectors, through a new, online network.
So December will mark the start of the final cohort of Praxis’ 30+ year, “startSMART” program, whose facilitation and content will be transformed in new dimensions and offerings. Stay tuned to learn more about this transformation!

So if you (or someone you know) has a business idea they have long pondered, wait no longer! Contact startSMART program administrator, Elaine Mantyka, at (306) 664-0500, so you can begin planning your business before the program and the year 2024 close!
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On the networking front, I’ve enjoyed talking with “Table 35,” a group of women entrepreneurs named after the table where we met at last spring’s gala of Women Entrepreneurs of SK (WESK). We took a summer break, but plan to reconvene for camaraderie and conversation shortly.
Many thanks to fellow entrepreneurs, Suzanne Anton, Keshia Gamola and Sandra Miller, for participating in the early summer. It was great to see Sandra at the Raj Manek Banquet last Tuesday night!

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Special thanks go to my French ESL student, Eliane, who lives south of Paris, for recently graduating from my language classes, after sharing nearly two years of spirited English language conversations, over italki.com.

Eliane and I have discussed the Arts, including opera, classical and popular music, literature, film and television, and shared life experiences working and travelling in our different corners of the world. I will miss our weekly discussions a good deal and wish her all the best.
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Thanks also go out to both my IT consultant, Jordon, and to my bookkeeper, Heather, for assisting me so fully in recovering many records, after an equipment failure in late August.

Both have been attentive to detail and highly skilled in showing me the needed changes, for which I am grateful.
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Thanks to my editing client, Greg Gilroy, retired Saskatoon Transit driver, for hiring me to edit his memoir–a legacy document that collects stories from Greg’s 32+ years as a bus driver, in an ever-changing (and challenging) environment.

I’m grateful to Greg for staying open to the “edits” I’ve made on a book whose publication will be his long-term “dream.”

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Thank you to my valued colleagues Ashleigh Mattern and Lenore Swystun, whom I’ll join in conversation this winter about “Communication in an Age of AI.” We’ll meet, along with co-host Christina Cherneskey, on local CFCR radio’s “Civically Speaking.”

We’ll discuss ways that AI is affecting our businesses (especially language learning) and I look forward to the discussion!
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And on the topic of AI and training, I’d be remiss if I didn’t also thank Montreal-based, English copywriter and coach, Nick Usborne, for his monthly Facebook events, where former students of his “Futureproof Copywriting” course (me included) discuss the nature and applications of AI.

Nick is generous and thoughtful and I appreciate his encouragement as we strive to be “Humans in the loop.” He recently said that “AI is not a Frankenstein,” and that the best way to avoid such an outcome is by curating and setting limits on what we do with it and how.

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And a final “thank you” goes to American sales and marketing coach, Jennifer Darling, who shared her “Storytelling for AI” workshop with me and other communicators, last week.

Darling’s model for turning personal experiences into scintillating marketing material is not totally new to me but is powerful and will transform some of my blogging and newsletter-ing work.
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There are always new entrepreneurs to promote and new people to thank for their interest and support. Please share your stories and acknowledgements with me, for future issues.

But for now, this is a wrap for mid-September!

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ABOUT US:
Between 2011 and December 2018, Elizabeth Shih Communications chronicled the stories of B2B marketing and communications on the Prairies and across the country.

Effective January 1, 2019, I rebranded as “Storytelling Communications.” I help new and economic immigrants to get better jobs or secure better contracts by improving their English skills. And I also help individuals and companies to tell their legacy stories.

Interested in learning more? Please contact me through my CASL-compliant
website (www.elizabethshih.com).

After I receive your message, I’ll be pleased to discuss projects with you!
Please visit my website for more information (www.storytellingcommunications.ca).

Language teachers, academics, copywriters (and others) take note: Artificial Intelligence need not be our “Frankenstein”

Cal Newport is a computer scientist whose books and interviews are great for cutting through the “noise” about digital tech in our lives.

In this age of Artificial Intelligence (AI), he doesn’t believe that language instructors, academics and copywriters, web designers (amongst others) will become categorically redundant, although AI is already changing the nature of our work.

AI  will be similar to the dawn of the internet (some liken AI to the discovery of electricity)– It need not become our “Frankenstein.”

Here’s a helpful interview Newport gave last June, on the bigger picture of where AI is today and where it’s going.

What length of holiday is best? An answer in the mid-August issue of TYSN!

August 2024 Vol 6 Issue 8

Tell Your Story Newsletter (TYSN):
Teaching English as a Second Language
Let us help you tell your story!

Welcome Mid-August, 2024! 

The moderate temperatures of early August and the rain that fell on August 6th were welcome relief to many Saskatchewanians, following weeks of high heat without precipitation.

Mid-August is peak holiday time for many of our province’s residents, entrepreneurs and their clients. My recent social media feed has featured exuberant photos of travel, events and holidays spent with friends and family.

And for good reason! This time in the calendar is nearly perfect
for relaxing and recharging before another program year starts.
In keeping with holiday times, I’m sharing simpler pieces this month to be consumed on the beach or on a golf course, in a cabin or in a fishing boat, or wherever you find yourself situated, good reader.

In Article One, I feature a timely question: What length of (summer) holiday is best? Some might quip, “the longer, the better!”

But the specific answer from “Forbes” magazine and other online sources might surprise you.
In this month’s “Storytellers’ Corner,” I feature part two of a posting on Latin terms to know and use in the classroom or boardroom–and to do so playfully, if possible.

And in “Shop News,” I share some developments in our local network, including an upcoming networking event, as September dawns.

Enjoy these dog days of summer, good readers! Whether you’re criss-crossing the globe, taking a staycation, or working now to take your holiday next winter, I hope you’ll appreciate these last few weeks of summer.
Whether as simple as savouring locally made ice cream or gelato, or walking a pet at River Landing, I wish you all much pleasure in these “dog days” of summer.

May you shore up much energy and joy for the new program year ahead.

Sincerely,
Elizabeth Shih
Principal
Storytelling Communications
www.elizabethshih.com
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IN THIS ISSUE:
ARTICLE 1: What length of holiday is best?
STORYTELLERS’ CORNER:
Six Latin terms that everyone “should” know (part two)
SHOP NEWS
ABOUT US
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Article One: What length of holiday is best? Here’s an answer . . .

Entrepreneurs and business people have long discussed just how long our annual (usually summer) holiday should be.

While some may fantasize about taking multiple weeks away, most of us remain deeply invested in our businesses or jobs, so that we check messages and monitor urgent developments even when we’re out of our offices.

The decision of how long to get away tends to depend on factors such as our progress on projects, finances, how we choose to spend the holiday and the availability of family and friends to meet up with.

Virtually all studies on workplace holidays have focused on the lives of “day-job” employees and not on entrepreneurs, the latter which leave much under-acknowledged experience for future publication.

Dutch employees, who were interviewed in 2011-2012 for (the aptly named) “Journal of Happiness Studies,” took longer than 14-day holidays and reported on different criteria throughout and after that length of time.

These employees reported that “health and wellness increased quickly during vacation, peaked on the eighth vacation day and had rapidly returned to baseline level within the first week of work resumption.”

Holidays of longer than eight days did not produce longer-lasting effects when employees returned to work.

Similarly, a 2009 study from the “Journal of Occupational Health” concluded that vacations continue to have “positive effects on [the] health and well-being” of employees, “but these effects soon fade out” when they return to work.

Surprisingly, there have not been many publications that address or analyze the “fading out” of holiday-related positivity. There have also been studies that analyze holiday time for entrepreneurs.

But from the perspective of employees or workers, several findings on how to optimize holiday time have emerged:

(1) Perhaps most obviously, holidays boost employees’ spirits both prior to and after their occurrence.
For instance, in the weeks leading up to holidays, employees found that “stressful experiences had less of an elevating effect” on their heart rates, as they conducted regular duties. Employees absorbed less mental and physical stress than usual, as they waited to get away.

After they return, employees reported feeling better for varying lengths of time, between one week and “around one month.” However, after that time, employees all returned to baseline levels of mood and performance. Even if the vacation had been three weeks or longer, the “elevating effect” always fades.

Researchers in the “Journal of Psychology and Health” report that it is not clear how much longer after they return to work that some employees enter burnout; however, sprinkling “a few different eight-day holidays annually lower . . . risk for developing metabolic syndrome” and other life threatening illnesses. (“Metabolic syndrome” increases the likelihood of heart disease,
diabetes and stroke.)

But businesses or companies seldom allow employees to take multiple eight-day breaks throughout a program or calendar year.

(2) Summer holiday plans usually need to be made the January before, to set aside several days. Career advisors recommend adding two days for travel, one on either side of your break, in order to get the most out of your time off.
But, as Alex Ledsom writes, in an article in “Forbes” magazine: “If you leave [your holiday] too late” in the summer, “you’ll feel battered by the time it arrives.” At the same time, however, if you take your holiday too early, you may struggle to endure the rest of the calendar year.

(3) In recent years, Europeans report having 25+ days of annual paid leave, as full-time employees. By contrast, in the US, which historically used to offer longer holidays than Europe (between the 1970s and the year 2000), 28 million employees had no paid time off (2023). And in 2022, non-governmental employees in the US received only 11 to 20 days of annual paidvacation days, depending on years of service.

Additionally, in 2018, 52% of US employees reported working for short periods while on holiday (e.g. answering emails and joining conference calls) and a total of 765 million vacation days went altogether unused. In some industries (e.g. engineering), employees have even been called back to work mid-way through holidays, if their expertise was required at a critical juncture.

Regardless of how many days off you book, career counsellors recommend planning them early in the New Year, so as to include public/statutory holidays. If a government holiday falls on a Thursday, writes Alex Ledsom, plan to take off the Friday after it, to reach the weekend that
follows.

(4) The trend (at least in the Western world, but also, likely, beyond) of taking a fewer number of paid vacation days, the reality that employees often work part-time while on holidays and the advent of Covid, all have blurred the boundaries between work and home life. Therefore, career counsellors argue that it is more important than ever to plan to spend plenty of time with
family and friends, and with as few interruptions from work as possible, when you do take time off.

All of the above points can intensify when applied to entrepreneurs, whose self-employment is even more likely to eclipse our need for rest, relaxation, family and friends. Entrepreneurs have no “paid” days of vacation and often do not plan for holidays, for fear of losing clients and contracts. Time “off” may be irregular snatches of time taken between those contracts.
Furthermore, responsibility for recruiting and paying for staff and for attending to overall business considerations can escalate stress beyond that experienced by (non-entrepreneurial) employees. . . . Yet, these different kinds of workers should not compete in what Seth Godin calls a “race to the bottom.”

What is the bottom line on taking holidays? Employees and entrepreneurs of all varieties all need to take breaks for mental and physical health. Eight days at a time is a healthy duration of time.

If you can do that twice per year (or miraculously, three times?), you’ll be ahead of the game. But if we deny our human need for rest, our long-term employability or the viability of our businesses, not to mention our health and families, will certainly suffer.

And now it’s your turn: Do you find, as an employee or an entrepreneur, that you need more time off than you usually get?
What about eight days as a length of holiday?
How and when do you plan to take holidays that restore yourself and your family?

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STORYTELLERS’ CORNER . . . .

STORYTELLERS’ CORNER:  Six Latin terms that everyone “should” know (part two)

The online editing website, Grammarcheck.net, recently published a list of 60 Latin terms that “everyone should know.” The latter claim may be a tall order, given that most writers and editors younger than 45 have not found Latin offered in Saskatchewan’s primary or secondary schools (although that changes at the university level).

But setting aside the perennial debate of whether Latin should still be taught to children, I suggest that numerous Latin terms are recognizable, even to nonspecialists. And using such terms can create clarity in our spoken and written word–and maybe some fun, too?

This month, here are six more terms to recognize and enjoy:

(7) Anno domini (A.D.) –“In the year of the Lord.” (e.g. “The Middle Ages started around A.D. 476.”)

(8) Ante bellum—“Before the war.” (e.g. “One can visit many ante bellum plantations in Savannah, Georgia.”)

(9) Ante Meridiem (A.M.) – “In the morning.” (e.g. “The class is scheduled for 10:00 A.M.”)

(10) Bona fide – “In good faith.” (e.g. “The organization is a bona fide charity.”)

(11) Caveat emptor – “Let the buyer beware.” (e.g. “Caveat emptor is a principle that buyers should be aware of potential faults in [something].”)

(12) Circa – “ Around/Approximately.” (e.g. “The Great Pyramid of Giza was finished circa 2560 B.C.”)

Do you have any favourite Latin terms or stories of
people using them?
Please write in; I’d be delighted to hear from you.
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SHOP NEWS:

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you to folks of Saskatoon and area who volunteered their time for the annual Saskatoon “Ex” (Exhibition) at Prairieland Park, this year.

The “Ex” featured new rides like “Hurricane,” “X-Drive,” “Frenzy” and “Rock Star”; musical acts by Amanda Marshall and Tom Cochrane; festival “eats” like Spudnuts and Doukhobor bread.

Altogether, the fair had many gems on offer.

But it was also a reminder of the need to keep our children and youth safe, as an assault to a young woman that occurred on fair grounds will now enter our justice system.

My colleague, friend, and community developer, Laura Van Loon, volunteered as a Health and Safety nurse in another part of the fair, donating the honorarium she received for the work to Saskatoon’s Soroptimist group.

This group appropriately works toward helping women who are escaping sexual exploitation to find hope.

In light of ever-present concerns about girls’ and women’s safety at large public events, Laura’s service and the work of the Soroptimist group warrants mentioning.

Thank you, Laura!
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On the networking front, a group of women entrepreneurs (including me) who were seated together at the last gala of Women Entrepreneurs of SK (WESK), have taken a summer hiatus, but plan to reconvene for camaraderie and conversation this fall.
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The 28th Annual Raj Manek Memorial Banquet will be held on September 10th at Prairieland Park, featuring keynote speaker, Tara Bosch, Founder of “Smart Sweets.” Influenced by an “unhealthy relationship with food” as a teenager and by kitchen table wisdom from her grandmother, Bosch researched the damaging and widespread health effects of sugar. She then
founded the first confectionary company to address sugar reduction, creating a recipe for gummybears as “the first candy that kicks sugar.”

In an interview in “Small Business British Columbia” (SBBC), Bosch says that she didn’t stop there. She has rapidly become a global leader in “pushing back on foods with excess sugar.”

Her vision is of consumers who can “live their best lives by giving them the choice to kick sugar.”

Bosch took her pioneering company from first year sales of $2M to fourth year figures of $125M. The business later sold for $360M, with Bosch remaining as majority owner.

She has also pioneered “Bold Beginnings,” an entrepreneurial accelerator that brings “six to eight women entrepreneurs from all corners of North America to Vancouver,” to compete for a $25K investment in their startup.

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to hear Tara Bosch’s story, live in Saskatoon! I hope to see you at the Raj Manek banquet on September 10th!
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Special thanks to my French student, Eliane, who shared with me some of the lesser known but spectacular features of the 2024 Jeux Olympiques (“JO”) held in Paris, recently.

Although the games brought plenty of inconvenience to local Parisians, Eliane shared for me the “back stories” of delights occurring apart from the many sporting competitions.

For instance, she described the engineering behind the opening ceremony’s “silver horse galloping the Seine River,” drone-delivered fireworks, and a haunting performance at the games’ opening ceremony by Celine Dion of Edith Piaf.

Piaf’s beloved “L’Hymne a l’amour” resonated on so many levels for the French setting of the “JO”–for historical losses of France as a homeland; for the losses of a lover; of one’s health (Dion has been fighting neurological disease); and of sporting losses for many athletes, who nonetheless competed at (arguably) the greatest sporting event in the world.

There are always new entrepreneurs to promote and new people to thank for their interest and support. Please share your stories for future issues.
But this is a wrap for mid-August!

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ABOUT US:

Between 2011 and December 2018, Elizabeth Shih Communications chronicled the stories of B2B marketing and communications on the Prairies and across the country.

Effective January 1, 2019, I rebranded as “Storytelling Communications.” I help new and economic immigrants to secure better jobs or contracts by improving their English skills; and I help individuals and companies to tell their legacy stories.

Interested in learning more? Please contact me through my CASL-compliant
website (www.elizabethshih.com).

After I receive your message, I’ll be pleased to discuss projects with you!

Please visit my website for more information (www.storytellingcommunications.ca)

 

Language learning begins in the womb: what medicine can tell us about early language and sound acquisition

 

 

 

 

For English language teachers and learners–and really, for anyone who values the written and spoken word . . . Medical evidence shows that when babies are born, they “cry with the accent of their mother tongue.”

This article by neuroscientist Darshana Narayanan shows how the importance of reading, speaking and singing to an unborn child in utero can no longer be refuted.

What do you think about pre-natal language development? Would you (did you) read, speak or sing to your unborn children?  . . . What language did you use?

Please write in; I’d be delighted to hear from you.