Dear Cafetalk Community,

how are you doing? I hope your day is going well. I'm always hoping for the best in all your daily endeavors. I won't go into specific detail, but some of my students are getting very good results with attaining their aspirations. I'm so happy that many of my students' attempts at achieving their specific goals are coming to fruition --> *primarily based on their ability to speak more than one language! Some of my students speak more than two languages, and their dedication and hard work has really paid off.

For example, one of my students has been accepted to attend an International University, another student's English abstract was accepted for a medical presentation abroad, another student secured employment at one of the biggest banking institutions in Asia, and yet another won an English Speech contest in Japan. I am impressed with the type of people who are attracted to the Cafetalk language-learning community.

It's rewarding to feel like I had even a little part of their awesome accomplishments. I'm sincerely happy for my students as I watch them move forward in life in a positive and upwardly direction. I noticed that all of my students are dedicated, determined, persevering, and very hard workers. Like the great basketball player, Michael Jordan, who practiced daily, these personality traits seem to be the most effective and beneficial for personal advancement.

[My teaching style:]

I wanted to explain a little about my teaching style. Just as every student has their own learning style: visual, auditory, or kinesthetic (or tactile), I believe in Benjamin Franklin's quote above. I think that the more I involve my students in my lessons, the more they will advance in their English skills. In order to involve the students, I use exercises, discussions, listening, reading, and of course, speaking strategies. These activities will retain the content of the English materials. That's why I try to combine a little of everything in each lesson.

I believe that English casual conversation or discussions are always fun and good practice to build your speaking skills. At the same time, I believe there are many other methods of teaching that are equally as beneficial to learn English. I try to capture the "likes" and "dislilkes" of each student and incorporate those preferences in my lesson plan for them. The challenge is to meet each student at their individual level, so we are "on the same page." (American idiom --> please see the meme below. It means that "we agree" or "we are thinking in the same way").

The most important point is that I am able to meet each student at their individual level, and help them advance to the next level. Every student is different and learn at different speeds. Although the tutor may have a more difficult time creating new worksheets for every lesson, I believe the exercises help involve the student so that they can retain and memorize the material.

For instance, if you simply read something in English, you may not retain or even understand it completely the first time. As another instance, if I ask you to listen to some dialog, you may forget it right away. As a result, if you are required to use your brain and complete the exercises (as simplistic as they may seem sometimes), the chances are much better that you will remember what you learned for much longer. 

I hope I was able to explain my teaching philosophy above. In any case, I should "cut to the chase" (--> American idiom --> please see meme below), and let you know that I am a flexible English tutor and can accommodate whatever learning style you prefer (within reason, of course). I can customize your English lessons and everyone is welcome --> from 3-yrs-old to 103-yrs-old students! It's never too early or too late to learn English! Let's improve your English together! I will "involve" you in learning the language using many fun and enjoyable methods!

Have a wonderful day! Sending positive thoughts your way! Wishing you all the best! See you soon!

PS: I also love the quote by Aristotle below about educating the mind. *Please take a look! Thank you for reading my blog!

Warmest regards,

Lady Ayame
(Patricia Ayame Thomson)