I’m now back in the UK, I’ll still be working on GE all through until March when I get back to Japan, but for now the shows, tours and seminars are over.

2002 was just a crazy year, what with being jetted off to Hollywood and everything, and although 2003 wasn’t quite as glamorous it’s been very busy and it seems we’ve moved on quite a way. Highlights have been the Tokyo Bookfair (with the VIP passes), the Key Note Speech at Kobe and all the tours. We have taught thousands of teachers and 10s of thousands of kids, probably more than anyone else in Japan. We also did a lot of work with JALT and I had the first presentation in Korea which was great. Products wise we’ve only had the Picture Card packs and the DVD out this year, but I have spent an enormous amount of time on the website. To be honest I probably shouldn’t have put so much on the site, as that’s not what pays the bills, but for the people who support us so much I really want to give as much back as I can.

But next year will see a whole new range of products and hopefully a bigger step on the road to making GE a household name in Japan. One big problem this year has been that teachers use Genki English loads ( just about everyone has the CDs) but the average person on the street doesn’t know yet. Plus the fact that lots of people use the ideas eventhough they officially teach for the big English companies who then take the credit!! Parents are the key to success of any education project, so one aim for next year is to let everyone know about GE, and to motivate your average guy and girl on the street to be genki about English and the World. Hopefully the DVD will play a big part in this as it’s the first product where you can really feel the genkiness.

And of course you, the teachers who use Genki English, are the key to the future and I want to do all I can to help you out. So keep your comments coming in on the surveys and let me know what you want.

2004 is going to be a wicked year, let’s make it as fun, as Genki and as successful as we can! Confidence is the key; if you think you can do it, you can!

Be genki,
Richard