Cafetalk 讲师专栏

真(zhēn)让(ràng)人头(réntóu)大(dà)??

汉语hànyǔ的de音调yīndiào本来běnlái就jiù很难hěnnán学xué了le，可是kěshì有些yǒuxiē音节yīnjié还hái会huì变调biàndiào，真zhēn的de让r...

The Art of the Brave Word: Finding Your Voice Across Worlds

Have you ever felt like Bilbo Baggins stepping out of the Shire for the first time? That tiny flutt...

Daily English Upgrade #002: Micro-Pattern — “The main reason is…”

  This pattern helps you sound clear and organized: Pattern:The main reason is + (noun / clause). ...

Daily English Upgrade #007: Pronunciation — PREsent vs preSENT (stress changes meaning)

Quick pronunciation win: stress can change meaning. PREsent (noun) = a giftpreSENT (verb) = to show...

【一週兩次・讀台灣】台美關稅敲定15% 美認同「台灣模式」供應鏈合作

【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...

The Turkish tense that shows you how you know

Have you ever seen people online calling Turkish “-miş” the “gossip tense”? It went viral for a rea...

A New Adventure in Teaching

Hello to all students (and fellow teachers)! I hope 2026 is treating everyone kindly. I’m still new...

The dimension of my spot in the land of resurrection

The Crowd's Collective-yet-individual Consciousness in the Land of Resurrection How the collective...

More winter weather words

Photo: Snow piled high on a car on my street Once again I’m sipping on tea and looking out my wind...

THE SILENT SECRET: Winning "Best Thriller Screenplay" in Los Angeles!

Hello everyone, and welcome back to the cafe! I’m still pinching myself as I write this. As many of...

English Idioms Challenge - Week 2

Hey all! This is the second weekly English learning challenge: to try & use this idiom in your ...

Daily English Upgrade #005: Better Questions — “What’s your take on…?”

  Want smoother conversations? Ask better questions. Instead of: “Do you like it?” Try: What’s your...

What Teaching English Taught Me

 Why Did I Became a Teacher? Motivation / Career / Learning The simple answer is...   I became ...

Daily English Upgrade #006: Mini-Conversation — Small talk opener + 2 follow-ups

Small talk gets easier when you stop trying to be “perfect” and use a simple flow. Opener: How’s yo...

Daily English Upgrade #003: JP Trap Fix — “I’m agree” → “I agree”

Quick fix that instantly makes you sound more natural: √ I agree. (Correct)X I’m agree. (Incorrect)...

Daily English Upgrade #008: Say It Better — “Maybe” (natural softening phrases)

“Maybe” is fine — but these give you better control. Soft “maybe”: Maybe. It depends. More natural:...

Daily English Upgrade #004: Tone Control — “Send it today” → “Could you send it today?”

Same message — very different feeling. Direct (can sound too strong): Send it today. Neutral / pol...

When and why did I decide to become a teacher?

I decided to become a teacher when I realized how much fulfillment I found in helping others learn ...

SHOWREEL

Hello everyone, and welcome back to the cafe! I’m still pinching myself. As many of you know, I’ve...

Daily English Upgrade #009: Micro-Pattern — “What I mean is…”

Great when you want to clarify (and sound calm). Pattern: What I mean is + (clarification). Example...

☆ Grammar Challenge ☆ January Grammar Clinic Quiz ☆

It’s already February, which means the January Grammar clinic has closed.  I’d like to thank everyo...

給中級學習者的口說進化課：寫作

  學了兩、三年的中文，你是否常煩惱： 雖然日常交流沒問題，但一遇到複雜的話題，就只能用簡單的詞彙和斷斷續續的短句？ 其實，想要突破口說的瓶頸，其中一個祕訣就在於「寫作」。 寫作並非只是為了把字寫漂...

用(yòng)汉(hàn)语(yǔ)介(jiè)绍(shào)自(zì)己(jǐ)

如rú果guǒ有yǒu1-2 分fēn钟zhōng的de时shí间jiān，你nǐ会huì怎zěn么me样yàng用yòng汉hàn语yǔ介jiè绍shào自zì己jǐ呢ne？If you had ...

Not Cold, Just Considerate: Japan’s Silent Rules for Language Learners

Japan can feel incredibly welcoming—and sometimes strangely hard to read.   You didn’t do anything ...

10 Grammar Conflicts That Can Cause Confusion

Misunderstandings often happen as a result of a breakdown in communication: what the speaker said v...

When and why did you decide to become a teacher?

Rather than simply becoming an instructor, my wish to teach on CafeTalk stemmed from a desire to pr...

Short BBC documentary videos with subtitles - 短いBBCのドキュメンタリービデオ

https://www.bbc.com/reel/ BBC Reel is a collection of short documentary videos from the BBC about v...

Daily English Upgrade #010: JP Trap Fix — “Discuss about” → “Discuss”

Quick fix: √ discuss + topicX discuss about + topic Correct examples: Let’s discuss the plan. We di...

French the language of love

  I've always loved languages, and French is a favorite. I decided to become a French tutor during ...

Filming March 6th to 14th in the UK: Working on "Little Bits of Me

Hello from the set! The energy here is incredible. As I mentioned in my previous "Cafe talk" posts,...