CwS: Why you should stop “working hard”

[1 minute read] (ESL learners – click on the bolded words to see explanations and notes. Try the exercise at the bottom after! 🙂 ) What does CwS mean? It stands for Conversations with Students. This means this post is based on a thoughtful discussion I had with one of my incredible students as part of an English…

3 tips and quotes to let go of control and find peace in daily life

[4 minute read] (ESL learners – click on the bolded words to see explanations and notes. Try the exercise at the bottom after! 🙂 ) One thing is particularly frustrating about life: it doesn’t always go the way you want. We have all these painstakingly thought-out plans, we spend hours assessing and analyzing, and life so rudely disregards…

The best tips for preparing conversation-based language lessons

[5 minute read] (ESL learners – click on the bolded words to see explanations and notes. Try the exercise at the bottom after! 🙂 ) Can you possibly love languages without loving conversation? Speaking is the very manifestation of a language. Stop speaking, and you’ll quickly lose the language too. It’s therefore crucial for language lessons to include…

The most powerful message on goals you’ll ever read

[2 minute read] (ESL learners – click on the bolded words to see explanations and notes. Try the exercise at the bottom after! 🙂 ) First, let me start by saying that the message is not by me — I’m not writing this just to toot my own horn. It’s something I read on Instagram, by…

Are You Missing Out? Yes, and Here’s Why It Really Doesn’t Matter

[2 minute read] (ESL learners – click on the bolded words to see explanations and notes. Try the exercise at the bottom after! 🙂 ) If you are one of those people who constantly worry that they are missing out… If you peruse social media like a cat ready to pounce and frantically call up all your…

Five Ways to Stay Motivated While Learning A Language

(ESL learners – click on the bolded words to see explanations and notes. Try the exercise at the bottom after to keep them in your memory! 🙂 ) I’ll admit it: I’m a language freak. Heck, I’ll shout it from the mountains, even! I love languages. I love learning them, I love using them, I love scratching…

Why Envy Is Actually a Good Thing

[2 minute read] (ESL learners – click on the bolded words to see explanations and notes. Try the exercise at the bottom after! 🙂 ) Envy. The ol’ green-eyed monster. It’s been berated, dismissed, and shunned in every possible way, from its aforementioned nickname, to its inclusion as one of the seven deadly sins. Granted, envy does lead…

Look for Love Like You Look For Music

[2 minute read] (ESL learners – click on the bolded words to see explanations and notes. Try the exercise at the bottom after! 🙂 ) Love can be found in a million different ways, in a million different places. From dating apps to standing in line at the supermarket, and every place and moment in between. With…

How to Become Better at Anything

(ESL learners – click on the bolded words to see explanations and notes. Try the exercise at the bottom after! 🙂 ) There are a great many things that humans strive for, but they can probably all be summarized under a single common heading: development. The unrelenting desire to improve—to be better, stronger, richer, happier—is the propeller…