Holiday season is upon us. The biggest change to a holiday dinner isn’t vegan turkey but the complete addiction to mobile technology. English-speaking improvement takes a hit when the phones come out.
Instead of dinner talk with long-lost aunts, uncles, and cousins, the ubiquitous head-down pose of people grabbing a glance at social media feeds live alongside the nonstop photographer who captures every drop of spilled gravy for future embarrassing (and boring) social media posts.
“Yes grandma, the world has changed.”
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The technological world engulfs all. Step into a Starbucks or McDonalds anywhere in the world and what do you see? Twenty people intently staring at mobile devices.
Some believe English-speaking improvement is so 20th century, an outdated form of communication.
Unfortunately for those who hold fast to this conviction, normal life requires English-speaking improvement. Family, work, friends, and school force the technology addicted along with the quiet and shy to come out from behind their phones sooner or later.
Westerville, Ohio resident John McGory understands the global impact of mobile technology on English-speaking improvement. He has spent the last six years teaching English to college freshmen at Jianghan University in Wuhan, China.
“New Chinese students’ basic English speaking skills started to decline while addiction to their phones increased. They need remedial help, I thought so do a lot of other people,” McGory said.
To combat the decline in speaking skills, he just released a book, Seeking Balance: The ultimate English-speaking guide for the shy, foreign, or frustrated.
“Much of the world has lost its balance when it comes to speaking. People rip others on hidden Twitter feeds but lose their jobs when speaking the same ideas in public. A thoughtful and honest speaker balances technology use, emotions, and ideas when communicating.”
To help speakers gain footing McGory uses the Chinese concept of yinyang.
“A struggling speaker’s balance wavers when conflicting emotions, such as nervousness versus calm or positive versus negative, collide. Yinyang teaches opposite forces are not in conflict but are complementary, interconnected, and interdependent. Yinyang treats nervous and calm as one.”
The book walks readers through ways to English-speaking improvement using ten common situations, model conversations, and suggested activities. Other chapters cover the importance of body language, talking strategies, a personal talking improvement plan, and 365 talking tips.
“I’ve taught oral English for six years at a 25,000-student university. My belief is most conversations fall apart because people wonder, ‘What do I say?’ or ‘How can I talk when I’m this nervous?’ This book’s focus on yinyang looks to help people answer these questions to improve spoken English,” said McGory.
The author, a longtime central Ohio resident, says the self-help book eyes helping speakers improve relations with friends and family. He says the book contains numerous ways for parents, grandparents, or friends to build a conversation with the shy, foreign, or frustrated.
“Poor speaking skills hurt relationships. Personal connections lose balance when one person talks and the other doesn’t. Seeking Balance gives people a working guide to find common conversation ground.”
The book can be found on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, iTunes, and KOBO.