Same same, but different. “English is sooo simple”, said no student ever! This is what you get when a language begs, borrows and steals from other languages. So you end up with a jumbled mess that has words that sound the same but are spelt differently or words that are spelt the same but sound … Continue reading Homonym, heteronym, homophone, what-in-ym? A dive into English language classifications

Engage your learners with the best TED Talks in the ESL classroom for a more dynamic lesson and learn other tips for modern language learning.

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was … Continue reading Language learning: Be doers of the language, not just hearers

Throughout my time teaching, nothing has frustrated students more than “I don’t know the word for…” or “I forgot the word for…” This gap in knowledge is simultaneously infuriating and humiliating to students. Many students to whom I teach and with whom I speak correlate their poor English speaking skills to a lack of vocabulary. … Continue reading How to learn new words, and make them stick!

Brick-by-brick, percentage-point-by-percentage-point, and non-cashable-investment-by-non-cashable-investment: push to improve yourself every day.  

Your learning won’t progress if you are “clock watching” and going through the motions. Put your full mind and effort into every task.

A good coach of any sport has several motivating cliche’s ready in their coaching vocabulary. We call these coachisms, and any good coachism will motivate you to perform at your best not only in practice or a game, but in life, too. Ones like “focus on the little things” or “let’s take this one game … Continue reading If you’re on time, you’re late

A good coach of any sport has several motivating cliche’s ready in their coaching vocabulary. We call these coachisms, and any good coachism will motivate you to perform at your best not only in practice or a game, but in life, too. Ones like “focus on the little things” or “let’s take this one game … Continue reading Do your work early

A good coach of any sport has several motivating cliche’s ready in their coaching vocabulary. We call these coachisms, and any good coachism will motivate you to perform at your best not only in practice or a game, but in life, too. Ones like “focus on the little things” or “let’s take this one game … Continue reading If it’s meant to be, it’s up to me