カフェトーク講師コラム

Do you want to be blown away?

Do you want to be "blown away"? Maybe yes...or maybe no! It all depends on whether we are talking a...

Why are the younger generation saying 'No thanks!' to marriage?

I was fascinated to read the results of a recent survey about attitudes towards marriage.    If you...

Freddie Mercury and the Third Conditional!

Some of you might already know that I'm a huge Queen fan. Today (5th September 2026) is a very impo...

The 'To' challenge

Today I'm going to set you a quick writing challenge. All you need to do is write a few sentences u...

The Weekend Story Chain Challenge: Let's Play a Game!

The weekend is finally here, and I thought it would be fun to try something a little different an...

Did the England Football Team ‘Get Lucky’?

If you have been following the World Cup recently, you may have seen that England managed to scrape...

Do you have a treasured possession?

A treasured possession is something you own that is especially meaningful to you. It doesn't have t...

Are You Trying?

Today I'd like to share an example that popped up in one of my lessons recently: the word trying. M...

I'm Popular but not Common!!

I’m delighted to share the news that today marked my 500th lesson on Cafetalk, and I've now been aw...

English lessons without the lessons!

    Recently, one of my students said something that brought a huge smile to my face.  They t...

Let's stay in touch over Easter!

It's nearly time for my favourite annual event - attempting to eat my bodyweight in chocolate!    W...

**Useful** native phrases!

Idioms....phrasal verb...expressions - you might feel a bit overwhelmed at just how frequently you ...

Spring flowers

Walking in my local park recently has been a real pleasure because the spring bulbs are really bloo...

Happy Birthday to me!

It's my birthday!   No, not my actual birthday...unfortunately that falls in late December ;-)   It...

Inspirational podcast on 'Haiku'

I am a big fan of 'Luke's English Podcast' and think it's a great resource for upper intermediate &...

New Year, New Topics!

Happy New Year! I hope you have all had a good start to 2026. I am back at work and look forward to...

My Christmas Tree is up!

As the year draws to a close, I wanted to say a very warm thank you to all the amazing students I h...

Is the Japanese Prime Minister getting enough sleep?!

Last week I read an article in my favourite newspaper about Sanae Takaichi's sleep routine, and her...

New lesson! Let's describe a short video!

Many of you are already enjoying my popular 'Describe a Picture' lesson and realising the huge bene...

'Daylight Saving Time' in the UK!

  Next weekend, on Sunday 26th October, we will say goodbye to 'British Summer Time' and hello to '...

Daily English writing! Let's be penfriends...

CafeTALK...the clue is in the name, it's all about talking, right?    Well yes, I agree but I think...

Longer classes for more effective learning!

Since the demise of Skype, more students and tutors are preferring to use Zoom. I certainly find it...

Goodbye...

....no I'm not leaving! But it's goodbye to this tag:     Because I have just completed my first 6...

The surprising benefits of describing pictures!

Many of you who have taken lessons with me will know that I'm a big fan of incorporating photograph...

What's happening here?!

  Do you know what is happening in this photo? Are you intrigued to find out?  I have a new series...

Current Hot Topic - the M&S strawberry sando!

When I saw this week's Tutor Column theme 'What is a current hot topic in your country?' there was ...

Have you ever tried taking a dictation?

Cafetalk....it's all about talking, right? Well yes, but I believe that if you want to improve your...

First 100 lessons!

A huge thank you to all of my students who have helped me to achieve my first 100 lessons here on C...

Let's Celebrate!

2 reasons for celebration today! Firstly...it's the weekend! What do you have planned? Let me know ...

Make up....

So many English learners find phrasal verbs and prepositions difficult to master, and it's not surp...