Cafetalk Tutor's Column

Talking about insults in English

Nobody likes to be insulted, and most people don’t want to insult others, but insults occur all the...

Quick tips: how to say it's hot

The summer heat has arrived, and everyone is talking about 30+ degree temperatures. So, how can you...

Beating the heat

Photo by Sebastian Coman Travel on Unsplash   Canadian summers have been getting warmer, and even i...

Summer is here

The dog days of summer (the hottest, most uncomfortable part of summer in the Northern Hemisphere) ...

Happy Canada Day!

Photo by Jason Hafso on Unsplash   July 1st is Canada Day. It is a federal statutory holiday that c...

A week in Nova Scotia: Part 2

In addition to Halifax, I also spent some time at a house in the countryside and visited several sm...

A week in Nova Scotia: Part 1

Photo: A beer flight with my ex-coworker at the Good Robot brewery in HalifaxI’ve just returned fro...

Quick tips: to be cool/down with something

I was listening to a song yesterday and heard a useful phrase that you’ll probably never find in a ...

Talking about fire in English: Part 2

In this brief follow-up to Part 1, I will introduce just a few more words for talking about fire in...

Talking about fire in English: Part 1

In my recent post titled Canada on fire, I mentioned that Canada has been experiencing unprecedente...

Canada on fire

Photo: Toronto skyline (June 6th)Over the past week or so, there have been an exceptional number of...

Can you still smile?

Smile coach Keiko Kawano teaches students at a smile training course at Sokei Art School in Tokyo, ...

Quick tips: wanna, gonna, hafta, sorta, etc.

As most of you probably already know, sounds often blend together in spoken English. “Want to” soun...

Quick tips: how to say “nothing”

Did you know that there are actually many ways to say “nothing”? Some of the alternatives include z...

The Sunday scaries

Photo byJen Theodore onUnsplash Have you ever heard of the Sunday scaries? It’s that feeling of an...

Collectables

Do you have a collection? I’ve had many in my life! When I was young I collected everything from ro...

Pigeon dad

Photo by Mauro Tandoi on Unsplash I didn’t think I’d ever be a dad, but I kind of feel like one the...

Even more good tunes

I'm not really sure who my favourite music groups are these days, so I took a look at what I've lis...

Quick tips: play vs. go vs. do

This week’s column topic is What was your favourite outdoor activity in school?, so I’d like to tak...

What was your favourite outdoor activity in school?

To be honest, I can’t remember doing many outdoor activities when I was a student. In elementary sc...

LEGO: Toy? Model? Hobby? Investment?

As many of you already know, one of my favourite hobbies is building LEGO models. I’ve talked about...

Talking about birds in English

In a recent post, I mentioned that a pair of pigeons have made their nest on my balcony, so today I...

Reading list

Although this week’s theme is your favourite book, it’s tough to choose just one book, so today I’l...

My new neighbour

Photo by Sneha Cecil on Unsplash   Two days ago, I heard a lot of cooing (the sound made by a pigeo...

Quick tips: rent vs. hire

“Rent” and “hire” are similar verbs that both involve the exchange of money for the temporary use o...

The start of spring…

is still a long way off in Canada, but here’s how we’ll know when it arrives: The sun returns! Wint...

Thundersnow

A huge blizzard is hitting Toronto tonight and we’re expecting up to 25 cm of snow. This is normal ...

Talking about allergies in English

As spring approaches in some parts of the world (not Canada!), I've noticed more and more people su...

15-minute cities

Photo by Zach Vessels on Unsplash   I came across an interesting CNN article this morning about how...

Quick tips: if worst comes to worst vs. if worse comes to worst

“If worst comes to worst” means “if the worst possibility occurs” or “if the situationdevelops in t...