My first degree was interesting and I enjoyed it, but in the UK everyone goes to university at eighteen and I don’t think people are old enough to know want they want to do with their lives. I am 27, but when I was 25 I decided I didn’t want to work at the BBC any more and decided to study Brewing and Distilling at university, which means beer and whisky making. Now I have qualified and will become a brewer and make beer in England.

I had been an IELTS examiner for 10 years and have given face-to-face workshops for candidates at conferences in various countries. The picture shows one of the sessions I've given to a group of teachers. I have also seen many mistakes candidates make in their writing and speaking, so my lessons focus on moving students towards getting the score they need with IELTS.

I sometimes make suggestions and often look at the days news stories before the lesson and look for something that is appropriate for that student. We normally find an article very quickly and the student starts by reading the article to me. I pay attention to the student's pronunciation, rhythm, word stress, sentence stress and intonation.

私は、11歳からずっと日本のことが好きになっています。ポケットモンスターから始まってそこからほかの興味がでました。『日本のクリエティブ業界』というマスター学位では、色んな日本文化のことを学べました。例えば、文学、タレントの世界、沖縄、歴史的な話題などでした。クラスで生徒が少なかったですが、日本人の大山先生とカナダ人のジョナサン先生は本当に意気込みで教えました。

I would like to thank you for your efforts! By working hard to learn English, you become an inspiration to others (myself included!) not only with language study, but also with working to achieve your goals and being as happy as possible. I would love to help you whether you need rigid study for work or just want to relax and express your thoughts freely.

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！