Hi everybody, my name is Mimi. I’m 24, from Texas, and an avid language lover. I moved to Japan after graduation to teach English with the JET program and ended up in a small town in Kyoto teaching elementary school. I’ve been interested in travelling and learning languages since I was little, so I really enjoy meeting people from different countries and cultures and helping them communicate. I joined Cafetalk a couple of months ago, and it’s been a real pleasure getting to know the Cafetalk community!

私のレッスンでは、英語をおもしろくて分かりやすくするよう頑張ります。英語の勉強は、文法の規則と単語のリストをいっぱい覚えることではなく、コミュニケーションを中心とするべきだと思います。とは言うものの、詳細が変化をもたらすと信じています。ですから、私の生徒さんが言葉と表現の違いと使い方を良く把握できるよう頑張ります。要するに、私のレッスンは実用的で自然な使い方にこだわるフレンドリーで細かいレッスンだと言っていいと思います。

The English language does not have to be a difficult language at all. If students were to stop thinking so deeply about English, and just speak it in a conversational way, mistakes or no mistakes, they will soon all become better English speakers.

I will always make suggestions about additional tools that you can use to improve your level. This might be providing you the link to download the written transcripts of your favorite TV drama, informing you about news programs like CNN Student News or encouraging you to use the podcast on NPR (National Public Radio) and Voice of America.

ピアノの先生・作曲家として活動する傍ら、オンラインでもピアノ・英語・ドイツ語を教えている多才なorie講師のインタビューページです。アメリカへの留学経験も有り。ドイツでの生活や音楽家としての活動、外国語習得の秘訣などを取材しました！

Cafetalkの生徒の皆様こんにちは！生粋の日本人で北海道育ちのTokoと申します。阪には1年と少し住んだ事があります。それ以外には、カナダのブリティッシュコロンビア州とアルバータ州に住んでもう少しで15年になります。

最初はとりあえず暗記です。テキストを丸暗記しました。単語を覚えないと何もなりませんね。でも日本に行ったときは日本語力が足りなかったんですよね。でも怖がることなく一応喋ってみました。相手が聞き取れない時もありますし、理解できない時もありますけど喋ってみることが大事です。それと大事なことはマネすることですね。ネイティブの発音とインタネーションはもちろん、リアクションなども真似しました

I became interested in acting when I was around 9 or 10 and I did school plays throughout high school. So, it felt pretty natural for me to decide to major in Theatre Performance in college. After that, I took a break from acting to teach English in Japan, because I wanted to make money and travel around the world, but I even did a little acting in Nagoya. I played Ophelia in “Hamlet” for an English speaking theatre company called “Nameless Theatre”.

I have been tutoring both Russian and English since I was 16 years old. I have always loved communicating with foreigners, and talking with them made me think that one day I would want to make interesting lessons for foreigners where they could learn how to have a natural conversation.

After completing my degree, I decided to go to England to work and study more English. I started like many other French people I know working in hotels and restaurants. I completed and passed all the Cambridge examinations. A teacher of mine encouraged me to apply for a teacher training course and this was the best ever piece of advice I had!