Fish Could be Spelled "Ghoti"? — Why English Spelling Doesn't Match Pronunciation
An old joke about English spelling goes, “You can spell fish ‘ghoti.’ Just take the ‘gh’ from ‘enough,’ the ‘o’...
- Curiosity
All Articles
How to Get Shy Students to Warm Up to You 🙈🙉
You’ve probably realized that many of our students are shy. This is partly cultural; East Asians (i.e. most of our...
- Online Tutoring
Smart Expressions for Providing Reasons, Predictions, and Recommendations
Everyone wants to sound smart. Yet, when we speak a foreign language, our ideas get watered down by simplistic language...
- Conversation
- Vocab & Expressions
Smart Expressions for Voicing an Opinion
Have you ever noticed that some students always use the phrase “I think …”? Or maybe you’ve noticed a student...
- Conversation
- Vocab & Expressions
"Safety Country"? "Hand Phone"? "Fighting"? — Funny Phrases Our Students Use and Why
“Japan is a safety country!” If you’ve taught English to Japanese students, you’ve probably heard “safety” used this way. But...
- Vocab & Expressions
Important Things to Know Before Teaching Japanese Students 🇯🇵
Japan takes the word, “non-confrontational,” to a new level. At my university in the US, I sometimes attended lectures in...
- Online Tutoring
Why Our Students Lack Confidence
You may have noticed that many of our new students aren’t total beginners. They know vocabulary and grammar — just...
- Beginners & Kids
How We've Grown Through Online Tutoring
When we interview tutors for this blog, many of them mention how they've grown personally and professionally. As the saying...
- Online Tutoring
Don't Know the Answer to a Student's Question? Try These Strategies.
Your student asks a question. You don’t know the answer or can’t answer right away. Do you: Secretly look up...
- Online Tutoring