Back in the days when I had to take several trains and buses just to get to my workplace, commuters leaning against subway doors with crumpled paper-back novels were a common sight. When I see people sitting in bus stations nowadays, they are mostly staring into their gadgets. The crumpled paperback novel is being replaced…
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Building a Personal Brand: Social Shouldn’t Mean Shameless
Online classes and social networking seem to go hand in hand. Class discussion forums, when written well, are a lot like blog posts. Sites like OnCourse, when designed well, mimic a lot of the functionality of Facebook, with user profiles and smooth integration between chat and messaging. Engaging class discussions can continue smoothly via Twitter,…
Language Learning
Turning Tutors into Millionaires: The “Celebrity Teachers” from Hong Kong
What if Lady Gaga helped your child to prepare for that next English test? Imagine hiring Justin Bieber for an hour of homework help. How much would they charge for one lesson? But in Hong Kong, it’s not that the stars are teaching. Here, the teachers themselves are the stars. They earn up to $1.5 million…
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Three Ways to Leave a Legacy in the Land of Online Learning
In my last post I talked about the fundamentals of becoming an online teacher without supporting huge investor-fueled teaching platforms or business practices you don’t agree with, don’t understand or simply don’t care about. Today I want to talk further about how you can establish your own legacy instead of indirectly fueling an impersonal brand…
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Introducing The Japanese Culture Blog
Japanese is a means to an end. No one sane studies Japanese for over a dozen years, becomes a professional translator, and learns all the complexity and nuance of this language because the language is fun. Yes, it is a great challenge, and it is very interesting, but that wasn’t the point. The language is…
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Facts and Futenma
Futenma (kanji: 普天間) is the name of the big American air base on Okinawa that has been the subject of much political controversy in recent years. The current Prime Minister of Japan, Yukio Hatoyama, has decided, under heavy, even overwhelming American pressure, including a personal visit by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, to allow American…
Discover Dino lernt Deutsch: the German story series for beginners that will help you learn German in no time.
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Japanese Keigo (Respectful Speech)
The Japanese language has the interesting and curious trait of actually varying the forms of verbs used in otherwise normal, standard sentences to convey greater politeness and respect. This is often done in business, particularly in hospitality; however, “polite” speech is also the standard form in classrooms, on news broadcasts, and so forth. Japanese Keigo…
archived
Looking for Justice – A Parable
They speak about someone who lost his way. And as the evening approaches he reaches a great cave. He enters the cave and the cave is filled with candles. He turns around, squints his eyes and aks, surprised by the way his voice sounds in the hollow of the cave: “Hello! Is there anybody here?”…
archived
How To Learn Japanese
There are many schools of thought for how to learn Japanese. Allow me to briefly present mine. #1: Settle On A Goal If your goal is to know a few cool words to impress your friends, you do not need to learn very much. If your goal is to hold a brief oral conversation with…
archived
Want To Study At A Japanese University?
If you’d like to study at a Japanese university, read on. If you don’t… read on anyway! You might find this interesting. At the present time, Japan is undergoing a chronic shortage of students for its well-respected universities. (Most of you will have read one of the numerous news reports in recent years concerning Japan’s…
archived
Sun Tzu: Ancient Wisdom, Relevant Today
Sun Tzu was a general in ancient China, known almost exclusively for writing the book known in the English language as “Sun Tzu’s The Art of War.” This book has been exhaustively studied by great generals of Chinese, Japanese, and in more modern times, European and American fame. Today, the book is studied to some…
