[#teachers + #languages + #motivation] We all need a little motivation - especially at the end of any kind of project or phase. You know, like the current academic year.
Working in International Education, especially in the UAE, it’s both fun and helpful to know different ways to motivate learners in different languages. And when I get curious about languages, something I love to learn is how to cheer someone on.
Here are some ways to motivate that I’ve come across and use from time to time depending on the audience:
1️⃣🔥JIA YOU! 加油！(Mandarin)
2️⃣📣YALLA! (Arabic)
3️⃣✊🏽AJA AJA HWAITING! (Korean)
4️⃣🙌🏼COME ON! (English!)
5️⃣🗯️‘HOWAY THE LADS! (Or HOWAY THE LASSES - for a group of girls) (Newcastle/Geordie)
#1 in Chinese is my favourite for meaning: (the two characters literally stand for “add oil”! I think it’s such a good metaphor for when you’re cheering someone on).
#5 in Geordie is the most recent addition to my list. My #UncleLew just taught me this one - see video. That was fun 😁
About #4 - in English, I find there isn’t really a set phrase for cheering on. Some languages like Chinese have fixed phrases for the act of cheering on and others don’t. I’m curious about which ones do….
✨At the end of this Academic Year, consider the above my motivational cheers for everyone wrapping things up and getting to the finish line. HOWAY THE LADS! ✨🙌🏼📣✌️
💬💭#overtoyou: can you help me add to this list? Do you have any motivational phrases in other languages or even in English that you tell yourself, your learners, or others? Yalla! I welcome you to share. All languages welcome!
P.S. For those following the journey - we have reached Vancouver by road🍁. Next stop: back to Dubai. 🇦🇪🙌
📸: My #UncleLew taught me this while we were in Banff a couple of days ago.
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