Happy 10th Birthday Genki English!

Genki English is 10 years old today! (Well, not quite, it was actually last week but I missed it due to having no internet in Australia!)

It was exactly ten years ago on July 27th 1999 that I first set up the Genki English website. Back then it was simply to upload all the games and activities I was presenting in training workshops (because everyone always lost the big piles of papers I used to hand out!) and for myself to look up ideas quickly before a lesson.

I just loved the fact that unlike paper we could have real photographs that moved! Which made the games really easy to understand. I didn’t have any songs at that time, so I was still struggling with kids forgetting everything for the next lesson, but the games were proving very useful.

Things sort of went on from there, I spent hours everyday adding new things to the site from every lesson I taught. Then eventually a year later it became my full time job, I started doing workshops in different places and that’s how we got to where we all are today.

If you’d like to marvel at the original gloriously tasteful flashing graphics front page then here’s the earliest menu I still have. The thing is that many of the games from that first edition are still staple favourites today!

Thank you to everyone for all your amazing support over the past decade (!) and here’s hoping there will be more amazing things to come in the next one!

Richard Graham

Hello, I'm Richard Graham. When I was a kid I found school to be sooooo boring... So I transformed my way of teaching. I listened to what the kids were really wanting to say and taught it in ways they really wanted to learn. The results were magical. Now I help teachers just like you teach amazing lessons and double your incomes!

11 Responses to “Happy 10th Birthday Genki English!”

  1. Margit

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
    Very “Happy” for everyone!!!

    Thank a lot!

  2. Flossy

    Happy 10th Birthday GENKI ENGLISH!!! What a amazing achievement this is Richard. I just love the first web page, it looks so different and almost old fashioned!! How technology has moved on with ipods, podcast, Youtube etc etc What will the next 10 years bring??

  3. gaz

    CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
    Heres to another 10!!

  4. Julian-k

    Happy birthday GE! Goes to show how much things can develop, doesnt it.

  5. Carol

    Happy Birthday to you GE!! I like the old game page with the cute animated gifs.

    The site has really evolved and I can’t even imagination what the next 10 years might bring!!

    Congratulations Richard and Bravo!

  6. Yumiko

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
    It was interesting to see the earliest page. It still looks great to me!
    Thank you for starting Genki English!!

  7. Rosebud

    Happy Birthday to You. Well done Richard for ten exceedlingly helpful genkienglish years. Here’s to another then with the astonishing leaps you have made.

  8. Julian

    Congratulations, Richard!

    From humble beginnings to being THE essential site for English teaching as it should be done.

    May your genkiness last another 100 years!

  9. June

    Happy happy birthday to GE and to Richard!!!

    It must have been such a dedicated work for you.
    Thank you for making GE!
    I hope you’ll continue your great work! I know you will and that I really depend on you!
    Thank you, again!

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