Cafetalk 講師專欄

How an Alphabet Reform Shaped Modern Turkish

When people start learning Turkish, they are often surprised by how phonetic it is. What you see is...

Inspirational podcast on 'Haiku'

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

How to Feel More Confident in Online Language Classes

Many language learners think confidence is something you either have or don’t have. If you are shy,...

I didn’t adopt a cat… A cat adopted me.

I recently got a cat, but it happened in a very unexpected way. I have always loved cats and when I...

Confidence: The Unstudied Rule of English

There is a persistent illusion among many learners of English that confidence must wait for correct...

Daily English Upgrade #012: Tone Control — Polite disagreement (“I see your point, but…”)

Disagreeing politely is a real skill. Soft disagreement: I see your point, but… That makes sense, b...

28 Years in the Sky: Lessons from the Cabin Manager’s Seat

When you spend 28 years traveling the world at 35,000 feet, you see it all. I started my career as ...

Daily English Upgrade #013: Mini-Conversation — Asking for recommendations

A natural flow: ask + follow up. Ask: Do you have any recommendations? What would you recommend? Fo...

【一週兩次・讀台灣】徐若熙加盟軟銀鷹 喊話挑戰大聯盟

【一週兩次・讀台灣】 教科書を飛び出し、台湾の「今」を知り、生きた台湾華語をマスターしませんか？ 毎週2回、最新の台湾ニュースを題材に、台湾特有の文化、時代を映す言い回し、そして興味深い社会現象を...

New Business English lesson: Making Small Talk and Networking

Great business relationships start with small talk.   If your small talk is smooth and natural, it ...

聽力不用完美，先聽懂「關鍵字」就好

  ---日本語版はスクロールダウンしてご覧ください。---   我碰到學生告訴我，自己對聽力不太拿手，時常聽不懂。 其實這個狀況不只是正在學習新語言的學生，連母語者都可能有這種情況。例如，對話內容...

How to Feel More Confident in Online Classes

Remember how tricky it was to learn how to ride a bicycle? After a few weeks of unsteady riding , s...

【一週兩次・讀台灣】台中男持棍毆打黑狗 動保處獲報收容安置

【一週兩次・讀台灣】 教科書を飛び出し、台湾の「今」を知り、生きた台湾華語をマスターしませんか？ 毎週2回、最新の台湾ニュースを題材に、台湾特有の文化、時代を映す言い回し、そして興味深い社会現象を...

Daily English Upgrade #014: Pronunciation — L/R quick wins (light/right, glass/grass)

If L/R is difficult, don’t aim for “perfect.” Aim for clear difference. Practice pairs (slow → norm...