The Blog

An interview with the "Let's Master English" podcast

This week, I was interviewed for a podcast called "Let's Master English". The host, Coach Shane, is a really smart guy and easy to talk to.

We talked about how I got started with PhraseMix, some of my recommendations for language learners, describe my idea of "bottlenecks" in language learning,...

Bottlenecks

In English, the word "bottleneck" describes something that slows down a process.

Think about the shape of a wine bottle. The bottom part is wider, but in order for the wine to pour out, it has to pass through the narrow "neck" of the bottle. This limits how quickly you can...

What's funny to you in English?

When I was in college, I studied the plays of William Shakespeare. Shakespeare is probably the greatest writer in the English language, but he wrote several hundred years ago. So some of his plays can be hard to understand for modern English speakers.

The comedies were especially hard to...

The Phrase Mixer is awesome.

I hope you don't mind me bragging.

I've recently updated the Phrase Mixer, the tool that lets PhraseMix Premium subscribers review PhraseMix English lessons. If you've never used it, try out the limited Phrase Mixer sample version for free.

The Phrase Mixer is something I thought of many years...

Don't just learn. Overlearn.

If you're just reading each PhraseMix lesson, you're doing it wrong.

A story

I used to teach at an English conversation school in Japan. The students were mostly Japanese housewives and businessmen who came in two or three times a week.

There was one student who had been coming to the school...