Atomic Homework

A few weeks ago I had a consultation in my apartment.

It went well, and he wants to start my program.

But the problem is he wants to start in the absolute worst month for English. Read More >

A friend was at my apartment on Sunday and we were talking about Duolingo.

(If you’ve never heard of it, it’s one of the many “learn a language for free” programs available online.)

He’s using it for German. Read More >

Have you ever driven a Lexus?

(Don’t worry, I haven’t become a car salesman.)

Last week when I was back home in the US, my father let me use his Lexus. Read More >

Looking out the window of the plane last week I could see a lot of nothing.

Just miles and miles of nothing.

Yes, there was snow and mountains and rivers. But nothing else. Read More >

I met an English teacher at a party last weekend.

Of course, her method was classic “classroom-style.” (grammar, text books, etc.)

But, at the same time, she was very professional – she spent a lot of time preparing her lessons – and her English was very good – she was a Czech native speaker. Read More >

I hear a lot of people say they don’t like Sundays.

Especially Sunday evenings.

Maybe it’s because in the morning they have to return to a job they hate. Read More >

A reader wrote with this question:

“I have learned English for many years. I known about grammar, but I can’t speak. My mouth can not open when I want to talk. I think about everything in my brain. However, I can’t make a sentence. What do I do?”

This reminded me of a famous quote by the American baseball player and coach Yogi Berra: Read More >

“What happened to your leg?”

I was walking with a limp and I guess my friend noticed.

“A clown was chasing me with a chainsaw and I whacked it hard against an operating table.” Read More >

Do you believe humans can learn languages naturally?

Or do you believe someone has to teach us languages?

I believe how you answer this question will predict if you will become fluent or stay stuck at intermediate. Read More >

I was having lunch with a Romanian friend.

I said “The waiter’s a knucklehead.”

She said, “What does that mean?” Read More >