Cafetalk 讲师专栏

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...

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...

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,...

Asian Food in Africa

When I first started watching Asian dramas on TV, I was slowly introduced to Asian food. I had neve...

Inspirational podcast on 'Haiku'

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

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...

From Words to Confidence: Your English Journey Starts Here

English is more than grammar and vocabulary — it’s a bridge to people, opportunities, and confidenc...

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...

不冷淡，只是更體貼：給語言學習者的《日本無聲規則》

i日本常常讓人覺得非常友善——但有時也會「難以讀懂」。 你並沒有做什麼「壞事」，但氣氛卻微妙地變了。沒有人直接說什麼，可你就是能感覺到空氣中有一個無聲的訊息。 這正是我創作 Podcast《Japa...

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 ...

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 #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...

The Fresh Cilantro and Basil Story

The Fresh Cilantro and Basil Story (Vocabulary list at the end) Chapter 1: Cilantro Cilantro, in pa...

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...

It is Time For Tea!

Did you know that 'it is teatime' , can mean different things, depending on where you live in the U...

【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...

Confidence: The Unstudied Rule of English

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

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 ...

The Director of Your Own Life

Pull up a chair, grab a coffee, and let’s get real for a minute. After the whirlwind of filming my...

Daily English Upgrade #011: Business Skill — Clarifying in meetings (“So you mean…?”)

In meetings, clarity beats “perfect English.” Clarify: So you mean (that)…? Do you mean (that)…? Co...

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...

French the language of love

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

☆ 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...

What Teaching English Taught Me

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

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,...

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...

10 Grammar Conflicts That Can Cause Confusion

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

【一週兩次・讀台灣】詐騙包裹手法翻新 專家提醒留意賣家名稱與包裹外觀

【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...

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...