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My captains

There are many people that I admire, some real and some fictional. I’ll introduce one of each today...

Spring holidays in Canada

Photo: LEGO Brickheadz Easter ChickAfter Valentine’s Day is over, the next holiday that people star...

Using motion verbs in English

There are a couple of ways to express motion in English. One way is to use a simple motion verb wit...

Thanks for 1,000 lessons!

I recently completely 1,000 lessons and would like to thank all of the people who have taken lesson...

Confusing negatives in English

Recently, I wrote about perseverance in studying, and I used a confusing negative sentence (see bel...

Hang in there!

Photo by Candra Winata on Unsplash Persistence/Perseverance is, in my opinion, the most important f...

Good habits

Good habits can reduce stress in your life and help you think more clearly. I believe that I have t...

Talking about habits and routines in English

This week’s column topic is How do you keep your schedule?, so for anyone studying English, here ar...

Is it wrong or is it new English?

Native speakers of every language make plenty of mistakes.  In English, there has always been conf...

2022 Playlist

Photo: Best of alexrainbirdMusic // Vol. 6 (800k Subscribers Playlist) These days, there are four k...

Teaching styles and learner expectations

Teaching styles and expectations can be very different in different cultures. Some teachers prefer ...

Short videos for listening practice in English

Today I’d like to share some resources for interesting short videos for English listening practice....

Talking about resolutions in English

Many people have been talking about their New Year’s resolutions recently, and I’ve had some great ...

Life without a cell phone

Photo: Raffi - BananaphoneIt’s rare these days to meet someone who doesn’t have a cell phone. For m...

New Year’s resolutions

Photo: Kingston, Ontario When it comes to making resolutions for a new year, I like to plan someth...

Indoor winter activities

"Canoe Lake" painting by Darrell Bush It’s been pretty cold in Toronto recently, and Covid-19-rela...

2021 in review

Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash The beginning of 2021 was a very uncertain time for me (and most...

Thanks and happy holidays!

Hello everyone! Time really flies and the end of 2021 is fast-approaching! I would like to say a bi...

Talking about how things are made in English

This week’s column topic is What is the best Christmas dish in your country/area?, and lots of peop...

Winter weather words in English

Although today is an unusually warm day in Toronto (15°C), we’ve had plenty of snow already, and I ...

This is how I spend my time in winter

Photo: Santa enjoying some mince tartsOne thing I always do: Snow brings out my inner child, and ev...

Christmas music

Christmas is a month away and there's plenty of Christmas music playing on the radio and in stores,...

Canadian jokes

Most jokes about Canada and Canadian culture are about the snow, the animals, hockey, or people bei...

Complimenting in English

This week’s column topic is The best compliment you have ever received, so for anyone studying Engl...

Why Tipping is An American Custom

The topic of tipping often comes up in my Welcome to Canada lesson and also when I discuss the topi...

Happy Halloween!

Halloween was mostly cancelled last year, but now it’s almost here (in Canada at least) and it’s ha...

I’m a forest person!

I’m not a mountain person because there are no mountains anywhere nearby and I’m not a beach person...