Our New Social Programme Organiser Has Arrived.

We are delighted to welcome the lovely teacher Catherine Barker to her new position as LSI Portsmouth's Social Programme Organiser.  She has taken over from Belle who has changed positions in the company.  LSI Portsmouth has a fantastic social programme for our students, visiting many different places on the south coast, and as you can see in the photos below, the students certainly have fun!
We know that Catherine will do a fantastic job, as we can already see the evidence in the photos, and wish her all the very best.

British Culture - British Humour - That Very Strange Thing!

Continuing our series on British Culture: 

British Humour

Humour is important in every country and the UK is no exception. However, to truly understand a country’s humour and how and why it is used is not easy. In Britain humour is an important part of life and can be found in just about every situation, no matter how difficult that situation might be. So, what is British humour and how can we best understand it?

British humour comes in many different forms. It is often very sarcastic, ironic or self-deprecating (making fun of oneself); at other times it is slapstick (being clumsy / talking about embarrassing events); sometimes it can be dark; it can even be quite vicious. Most people in Britain expect to hear and use humour on a regular basis and hope that others will understand them when they say something funny. British humour is often very subtle. Perhaps one of the best pieces of advice to understanding British humour is to remember that sometimes the speaker does not want you to take what they have just said literally. So, if someone says to you ‘I really like your new jeans’, try to listen for their tone of voice and not just the words they’ve used. It may be that they really like your jeans or perhaps they do not like your jeans at all!

The British will often use humour as a defence mechanism. If they have done something wrong, forgotten or lost something, or cannot think what to say, they will often make a joke about the situation. The listener may or may not join in, but would be expected to understand why the joke was made.

Humour is frequently found in the work place. The British will often use humour to diffuse a tense situation and to limit confrontation, especially in a meeting or a negotiation, or when giving problematic information during a presentation. Some non-native listeners may feel that the person who is speaking is not taking the situation seriously enough. In fact the opposite is true. Employees like to make jokes about their boss, often right in front of them. As long as the joke is not too harsh, the boss should except it. Even in a place like A&E (Accident and Emergency) in a hospital lots of humour is used to lighten the mood.

Try not to react badly if you are the recipient of the joke. Laugh at it and make a joke back. The first speaker will expect it. Even if the joke is not aimed at you, remember to join in the laughter. What is important to note is that if someone has made a joke at your expense, it means that they like you!

Of all areas of humour there is one that is perhaps most associated with the British, the understatement. So, if it is pouring with rain a British person might say ‘I suppose the weather could be a bit better’. Or if there is a hundred people in a queue someone could say ‘Well, there’s hardly anyone in this queue’. Now that really is funny!

We are Looking for an Intern

Fantastic Opportunity! We are looking for new interns.  This is a great opportunity to improve your English language and get experience working in a busy International School.

There are two options:

1. Half day of English lessons at LSI for free (either mornings or afternoons, depending on work needs) + Half day internship work experience at LSI
2. Full-time internship work experience at LSI + £50 weekly allowance

Please see the above for more details and get in touch with us if you would like more information.

Learning Is Fun!

Sometimes our students send us photos - that are just a joy to look at. Raphaela Sonderer recently sent these lovely pictures of Jon D's students having great fun, we thought we'd share them.