“How can I remember new words?” “How can I memorise new vocabulary and make sure that I don’t forget everything a day later?” As an English language teacher, I hear questions like these from learners all the time, and as a language learner myself (currently studying Japanese), I’ve even asked them too. Learning and remembering…
5 Secrets From The Shallow End To Improve Your Listening
Do you like swimming? I do. I love being in the water. I’m a keen swimmer so I’m happy in the deep end, immersed in the water. I can move through it easily. When I got my swimming certificates as a kid, they said “Cara is swimming like a minnow” (a small, agile kind of…
How NOT to learn English
You probably have seen blog posts with titles like “Ten Tips for Writing Emails” or “Best Sites for Vocabulary Practice.” This time I decided to write about learning English from a different perspective. I’m going to give you five good rules to use if you want to be sure that you will NOT learn English….
“Why don’t my lessons sell?” – Marketing Tips For Online Teachers, Tutors and Trainers
A few weeks ago I did an intense 2-part #GetStrategy training for online teacherpreneurs, and one of the questions I received prompted this post: “I have no problem recruiting students on italki. Why can’t I do the same on my own site?” This goes in line with other questions I have been asked where teachers…
Build A Solid Foundation Before You Dive Into Online Teaching
Many people dream of switching their work online. While the benefits are definitely worth it (flexibility, no nagging boss or endless and pointless meetings, unlimited earning potential – among many things), a lot of people doubt whether or not they’ll be able to make it as a teacherpreneur. Do you know of one sure way…
Online Teachers: What are You Selling?
For Nike, it’s not just the shoe’s features that sell the shoe. (Source) Sales. That word you hated the moment your girlfriend began selling Avon, and you suddenly ran out of things to talk about unless you talked about cosmetics (Avon cosmetics, that is). The very reason you chose Humanities is so you would never…
Why Failing is Good for Online Teachers
Nobody likes failing. Whenever I think of some epic stories of failure I am reminded of the Wright Brothers attempting to launch the “Wright Flyer” for the first time in December of 1903. In my imagination I see a crowd of people gathered to see what was about to happen. Everyone is anxious. Here it…
How to Create Your Own Mission Statement as an Online Teacher
If you are already reading this article or felt a tingle of recognition or awareness upon spotting the blog title, then you already know that teaching is not a job, it’s a mission. You’ll be doing it every day for the rest of your life, so it IS your life. When you are asking yourself…
Creativity And New Technologies In The Foreign Language Classroom: A Practical Case
“Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel” – Socrates In his book Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative Sir Ken Robinson defines creativity as “the process of developing original ideas that have value.” In his opinion, to be creative means to play with ideas. Enjoyment and the…
3 Quick Ways To Get Into German Dialects
German is a language spoken by over 100 million people in the world, but did you know that Hochdeutsch is only one out of hundreds of dialects? Our country might be small, but its fractured history has led to the development of many varied regional identities and dialects. The German you are learning in Duolingo,…
8 Simple & Effective Strategies For Introvert Language Learners
Talking about being an introvert is a hip subject this moment in time. What made it so? Maybe it was the popularity Susan Cain’s book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking. Maybe it was the fact that taking the Myers Briggs test with your breakfast is a much touted…