Blog

Let’s talk about exams.

FCE…CAE…IELTS…

All a bad idea.

Here’s why: Read More >

Maybe you grew up in a city and never had this problem.

But if you grew up in a suburb, or in the country like me, then you know what it feels like to be a kid trapped at home.

Any time you want to go somewhere – to a friend’s house, to the store, to the playgroun – you have to ask, and sometimes beg, one of your parents to take you. Read More >

Café Grand Orient, Prague.

A few years ago.

I sat down with a new student and asked her about her English. Read More >

“Should I use his technique?”

My student was talking about A.J. Hoge.

A.J. is an online teacher, but unlike the sea of other English teachers on the internet, he’s the only one I recommend to students. Read More >

You know those big, yellow school busses in American movies?

Well, I used to take one of those to school every day.

And every morning, I had to walk from my house to the bus stop down the street. Read More >

#1 The Over-Teacher

Have you ever had a bad golf or tennis lesson?

A bad golf/tennis lesson is when the coach says: Read More >

“Can you issue an invoice so my company can pay?”

This is a question I get a lot.

My reply is, “Sure, but that’s not what you want.” Read More >

I’ve been wearing a lot of black lately.

It’s not a style choice.

It’s because my white shirts are usually unironed (I hate ironing). Read More >

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 >