This is an old episode we recorded during the National Day holiday.

Here comes part 2. Finally!!!

Hello everyone, and welcome back to Messy English Chats! I'm joined by my incredible son, Pineapple. We've been waiting a long time to record this special episode, as Pineapple accomplished something truly remarkable this summer: he won a gold prize – the first prize – in a big English competition in Beijing! I couldn't be prouder.

For this episode, we're diving into his competition journey, specifically showcasing his prepared speeches from the first two rounds. You'll hear him bravely recite several of his orations, many of which delve into Chinese culture and traditions, often featuring his popular robot friend, Sparky.

As you'll notice, it's getting "messier and messier" as the night goes on. Pineapple is quite tired, and his voice isn't sounding quite right, but he's a true champion for sharing these wonderful speeches. We'll go through the rest of his 25 prepared speeches in the next episode. So, settle in, and enjoy Pineapple's triumphant (and sometimes sleepy) tales!

In this episode, recorded over a month ago, Daddy coach Toby tries to prepare Pineapple for a big English competition. Tune in to revisit their challenging and fun training session!

This is about the shortest episode ever. Recorded on Jun 28, 2025.

Welcome to another episode of Messy English Chats! In this episode, I prompted my son, Pineapple, to share the events of his day. We covered a lot, starting with his morning routine.

Pineapple then recounted playing Chinese chess, a game he'd only recently learned, and winning. He also described an impromptu "sock bowling" game he invented, using a sock as a bowling ball, which sounds quite fun.

The highlight of his day seemed to be at the Neighborhood Center, where he met friends from school and played a lively game of cat and mouse. The day concluded with friends vanishing as the center closed, marking a truly wonderful and adventurous day for Pineapple.

Another rambling "walk & talk" episode.

Hello everyone. Welcome to another episode of Messy English Chats (MECs) where we take our chat on the road! We recorded this one while walking after dinner, which turned out to be quite an adventure. As always, we tried playing our game: talk only in English and explain words if we can't remember them.

You'll hear about the interesting sights we encountered, like people boating on the river with yellow headlights, and a kindergarten that Pineapple found a bit "scary" because of its booming purple lights. We also discuss Pineapple's amazing homework success today (finished in like 10 minutes!) compared to past struggles with writing compositions, moments where maybe I didn't handle things perfectly. Oh, and we made a pit stop for a new Transformer toy! Join us for this messy mix of walking, talking, and English practice.

Hello everyone. Welcome to another Messy English Chats episode. This Walk-and-Talk episode finds Toby and his seven-year-old son, Pineapple, reflecting on their recent experiences from the May Day holiday. Recorded on the last day of the holiday, May the 1st, while in Central Park, they look back on their adventures. Pineapple shares how sad he feels about the holiday ending and going back to school. The conversation covers a challenging hike on the first day of the holiday at Qionglong Mountain, where they faced thirst, tired legs, and even got separated from mom. They recount trying to find water and navigating the mountain using a map on a phone that showed their positions and mommy's position. They also touch upon other parts of the holiday, like playing with grandma, meeting cousins and receiving a gold Lego toy, and Pineapple's recent Go lesson where he won four out of five rounds. They also talk about observing people running circles in the park and Pineapple's enjoyment of buying and looking at the instructions for a new Transformers toy.

Join Toby and Pineapple, for a new episode of Messy English Chats. In this episode, We engage in a "story relay". This format involves taking turns to tell a story, with no idea where the narrative will go, making it entirely impromptu. The story we create together in this relay is titled "The Adventure of Caterpillar".