Ask the average person what the most difficult kind of English to understand is and they’ll say “Scottish.”
(Unless they happen to be Scottish, of course.)
This isn’t a coincidence.
The difference in vowel sounds between English speakers and Scots …
You know that one person who always jiggles their leg under the desk?
That always annoyed me a little because I thought, “There has to be a more enjoyable way to get that energy out, like doodling or playing with …
You’ve prepared a lesson you think is captivating.
You could talk about it all day. Maybe it’s about traveling with dogs, the health benefits of papaya or robotics.
After the reading and exercises, it’s time for your first conversation …
Emailz!
Did anyone else watch Homestar Runner as a kid?
One of the characters, Strong Bad, used to answer emails by providing Dear Abby-esque advice or hilarious anecdotes.
While funny, Homestar Runner isn’t an accurate representation of email etiquette.…
Culture shock!
It sounds unpleasant, doesn’t it? Like getting electrocuted: painful and surprising.
While a new culture does take some adjusting to, it’s not always a bad kind of shock.
Sometimes it’s a pleasant sort of shock. Like, “Hey, …
Having a bad sense of direction isn’t just a nuisance.
It can be pretty scary.
I’ve gotten lost in drug dealer central, Mexico, and in a small town on the volcanic Ometepe Island, Nicaragua.
I don’t wish that on anyone, …
Call it the white board existential crisis.
You’re up there squeaking out (you know, with squeaky markers) the conjugations of a verb: past tense in red, present tense in green…
Your hand is writing on autopilot, and suddenly it …
Imagine that you’ve just gotten off the plane in a new city for a much-needed vacation.
You want to see all the landmarks. Go to all the great museums. Maybe take a nap eventually. But first—you’re starving.
You …
We live in a society with a perfectionism problem.
This can be a major roadblock if you’re a teacher trying to give feedback to a student who has internalized the perfectionist ideal.
Sometimes it even leads you to believe …
