Cafetalk Tutor's Column

New swan buddy

A few days ago I went for a swim at the "Starnberger See". It's a pretty big and famous lake (See) ...

Juhannus: The Finnish Midsummer Celebration

Juhannus, the Finnish Midsummer celebration, is a magical time when the sun barely sets and nature ...

Longest day of the year

Hello! I am a Japanese language teacher, Muu..Today, June 21 2024, is the summer solstice. It is th...

2024 is the year of Imaginary Friends...

What if I told you imaginary friends are real? And when their kids grow up, they're forgotten. Man...

Canadian sweets: Nanaimo bars

Dating back to 1953, the Nanaimo bar is a Canadian dessert that is named after the city of Nanaimo ...

Expanding Vocabulary Through Contextual Learning

A robust vocabulary is crucial for achieving a high band score in “Lexical Resource”  in the IELTS ...

English Grammar Quiz!

Dear Cafetalk Community,How are you? I heard it's warming up in Japan and it's already hot! I hope ...

The Secret To Becoming A Better Speaker? Write More.

Believe it or not, there are specific parts of the brain that work the best when you engage in writ...

Summer Special

I Have had a crazy year, but now school has finished hopefully things will be calmer.Come join me f...

Sticky toffee pudding - a British dessert

Sticky toffee pudding is my favourite British dessert, and one of my all time favourite British foo...

Nostalgic Delights: Classic British Sweets from the 1970s

Nostalgic Delights: Classic British Sweets from the 1970s The sweet shops of the UK in the 1970s we...

Ukrainian sweets

Ukrainian sweets   Sweets are not only a source of pleasure for the taste, but are also considered ...

Achieving Grammatical Range and Accuracy in IELTS - Complex Sentence Structures

One of the key factors in achieving a high band score in the IELTS Writing and Speaking tests is th...

The OG Indian Candy

Sweet Paan Candy (or Paan Pasand Goli) is one of the oldest hard candies in India. It is believed t...

Favorite book to read on the summer solstice（MOOMIN ）／夏至の日に読みたい本

I have loved Moomin novels since I was a child. There are 9 books in total. Since Moominvalley is l...

The Perfect Beach Read: "Bechamp or Pasteur" by Ethel Hume

Summer is here, and with it comes the age-old tradition of choosing the perfect beach read. While m...

German breakfast - Deutsches Frühstück

Have you ever tried German breakfast?Maybe you have heard that Germans eat a lot of bread (Brot). A...

IELTS CRITERIA 4 - Pronunciation Mastery: Intonation, Stress, and Rhythm

Achieving a high band score in the IELTS Speaking test goes beyond having a good vocabulary and gra...

An evening on the beach.

Personally, I find beaches to be the best place to read a book in the evening light. Usually it's h...

Mastering English Through Visual Engagement

Discover the power of visual engagement in our specialized classes: Picture Description Practice an...

Phrasal Verb - to take off

Image: Mohamed Hassan, pxhere   Phrasal verb:  to take off  [intransitive verb - no object]   1) To...

Absorbing reading – Riddle of the Sands

This exciting spy novel by Erskine Childers can be read anywhere – but it is especially suited to t...

Hydrangeas are in bloom!

Hello! I am a Japanese tutor, Muu.As I wrote in my last column, June is the rainy season called "Ts...

Self-introduction v.2.0

When you look at tutorials for 自己紹介（じこしょうかい; self-introductions) in Japanese, you might see somethi...

Detective books - fun to travel with to the beach or on any holiday!

I love to take a book with me when I go travelling, however, often I find it difficult to concentra...

Celebrating 700 lessons on Cafetalk

I am celebrating the milestone of teaching 700 lessons online for several reasons. Firstly, this ac...

Why You Are Not Succeeding in English

Learning a new language is a challenging journey, and English, with its nuances and complexities, c...

Rainy season is coming (梅雨がやってくる)

Hello! I am a Japanese language tutor, Muu.. It's been cloudy and rainy in my city so far. June is...

Iriya Morning Glory Festival “Asagao Ichi” ／ 団十郎（Danjuro）を手に入れること（入谷朝顔市）

My summer plan is to buy Danjuro at the Asagao Festival. Do you know about Iriya Morning Glory Fest...

The mislaid sacrifice

The Inner Dialogue With Mystery    Looking  from a distance, I see the  door  of prosperity She sai...