“I want” can be a popular request from students, but when teaching it there are a couple of important points to keep in mind. First of all, depending on the students’ native language “I want” can sometimes have two very different meanings depending on what follows it. For example in Japanese “I want something” is…

With over a thousand people a day on the phonics page alone, I feel quite a big responsibility in what I introduce there. Unfortunately quite a few teachers and parents are under the mistaken impression that phonics means “taking a letter and seeing what sound it makes”. That’s not what phonics means. Phonics actually means…

Today’s new worksheets are a set of dice for most of the songs. “But most of them have 8 answers, how can they fit on a die?” you may ask. Well most of them are funky 8 sided dice! Many kids haven’t seen 8 sided ones before so get quite a surprise when they are…

A big new update is underway. The biggest change you’ll like (hopefully!) is with the new songs pages. Now instead of just mini cards and the occasional worksheet, you’ll be able to access the A4 cards in pdf format, colour and black & white mini cards, individual lesson plans in English and Japanese plus printable…

Terrie’s Take has an article this week showing how the worldwide obesity problem has well and truly reached even Japan. I can quite sympathise, during the Winter I get seriously fat from sitting down doing computer work all day. Of course in the Summer it all falls off (well most of it), from doing Genki…

Lots of people have been asking for a printable version of the Genki Phonics page. So I’ve just uploaded a set of Phonics Posters along with the Phonics “Islands Game” and the Phonics “Snakes & Ladders Game”. The Phonics Page is hugely popular especially in the States at the moment, so all three printables are…