In this episode, Noriko and Michael talk about the elephant in the room. This idiom, “the elephant in the room,” means a topic that is something we should talk about but, nobody is willing to talk about, because they are little uncomfortable talking about it. The elephant that we are going to talk about in this episode is competition. We also talk about standardized testing; both the importance of it, and in some cases, why it may be unnecessary. We also chat about how someone’s test score can improved significantly when they focus more on speaking and using English than focusing on practicing for the test. We hope you enjoy this episode and look forward to hearing your comments!

Naho and Michael talk about birds! Swallows make nests in the eves of homes in Japan…do you know why? Naho explains this interesting Japanese cultural point. And of course, there’s a tongue twister! Check it out!

Noriko and Michael talk about how rhymes are an important part of English, especially in songs and children’s books, like Mother Goose. Rhymes are fun for kids to say and that’s why books like Mother Goose and Dr. Seuss are so popular with kids!

Hi Everyone! Here is Naho and Michael’s second podcast! In this episode, we’re going to talk about the school sports festival, the tongue twister Betty Botter, and Michael’s corny joke!The tongue twister for today goes like this: Betty Botter bought some butter, But, she said, The butter’s bitter; If I put it in my batter It will make my batter bitter. But, a bit of better butter, that would make my batter better. So, she bought a bit of butter better than her bitter butter, And she put it in her batter And the batter was not bitter. So, ’twas batter Betty Botter Bought a little better butter. Originally written by Carolyn Wells served here for educational purposes only.

Welcome to Episode 2. Today, Noriko talks about how things got started with Naho and her adventure using and having fun with English at home. We learn that babies don’t care which language mommy is speaking, because the bond between mommy and child is strong. Babies zone in on their mommy’s emotions and feelings which opens the door to language learning.

Hi Everyone! Here is the second type of podcast we are presenting. Each week we will present one podcast with Noriko and Michael who will talk about teaching & learning English at home. The second podcast, like this one, will feature Naho and Michael chatting, showing you some jokes, tongue twisters and more! In this episode, Naho and Michael are going to chat a bit about life in school and everyday life as an elementary school student and present some English jokes and a tongue twister. The tongue twister for today is called Chicken in the Kitchen and it goes like this: There is a chicken in the kitchen and his chin is itchin’.

Welcome to our very first English at Home is Fun podcast. In this podcast, Michael and Noriko talk about how the met on Instagram and Noriko’s experience learning English including studying abroad, roommate troubles as an international student and Noriko’s English teaching experience in Japan. Then, Noriko tells us her adventure of raising her daughter, Naho, using both English and Japanese. Now Naho is 9 years old and naturally bilingual. We then talked about the importance of communication over perfection and that being able to communicate is more important than trying just to speak correctly. If you know anyone who might be interested in this English language point, why not help them out! Just share this lesson with them. Thanks for studying today!