The Lighthouse Newsletter

Navigating your Way to English Fluency

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What is the key to fluency?

In the English language teaching world, the term “unlocking” gets thrown around a lot—unlocking your English, unlocking your fluency, unlocking your ability to communicate. And while I love the idea, I’ve noticed that English learners are still asking the same big question: What’s the key to lea...

Mar 24, 2025 communicate fluency phrasal verbs tools unlocking

Is love the secret to fluency?

I’ve been slowly making my way through a fascinating book titled Love to Learn: The Transformative Power of Care and Connection in Early Education by Isabelle Hau, the Executive Director of the Stanford Accelerator for Learning at Stanford University. Although I’ve only just started chapter one,...

Mar 17, 2025 fluency learning love safe place

Are phrasal verbs that important?

I still can’t wrap my mind around the fact that I’m about to release a course on something that used to terrify me… phrasal verbs (e.g., figure out, look forward to, put up with, etc.)! Talk about a plot twist. You might be wondering—why phrasal verbs? With so many other aspects of English to fo...

Mar 10, 2025 confidence native speakers phrasal verbs transformation upcoming course

What Birthdays Teach us about Learning English

If you’ve been following me on social media for a while, you’ve probably heard me mention more than once that I always wanted to start a newsletter. I love reading newsletters from people I admire, and I also happen to love writing... a newsletter seemed like the perfect fit! However, it wasn’t ...

Mar 03, 2025 birthdays fun gifts phrasal verbs traditions

Understanding Idioms Through Context

This past week was cold and icy… I think winter can be over now! Anyway, my husband also had some really busy days at work. In one of his text messages, he mentioned that he had "hit the ground running." My first reaction? Wait… did you fall on the ice? He laughed and said, No, it’s just an idio...

Feb 24, 2025 context curiosity discovery idioms

Speak Without Getting Stuck

This is another newsletter post inspired by your questions! The other day a dear Instagram follower asked for tips on how to speak without getting stuck. To answer this question, I decided to rewatch a video I posted on my YouTube channel almost 6 years ago! It's an old video, but it's still sup...

Feb 17, 2025 confidence language chunks practice preparation speaking

Learning to Talk about Difficult Moments in English

Sickness swept through our home over the last couple of weeks—first, some kind of respiratory bug and then, to top it all off, a nasty stomach bug. Let me tell you, life with two young kids and sickness is not fun. There were sleepless nights, piles of laundry… you know what’s like, right?! All ...

Feb 10, 2025 illness phrasal verbs real life

Native Speakers Create New Phrasal Verbs

The other day, I was working at the library—our favorite spot for me to work on our upcoming phrasal verbs course while Jonathan (a.k.a. my husband) watches the kids—when I saw something that immediately made me smile: a sign that said "Read your heart out." A few years ago, I probably would ha...

Feb 03, 2025 context core meaning create phrasal verbs

A New Way of Seeing the Present Perfect

Phrasal verbs might be one of the most confusing parts of the English language for many students, but do you know what really takes the cake? The present perfect tense (e.g., I’ve just started working on a new course on phrasal verbs). Wait… let’s pause for a second and clarify something. There’...

Jan 27, 2025 past simple present perfect verb aspect verb tense

Confessions of a Phrasal Verbs Lover

They’re everywhere! I open the fridge to pick up a glass jar of olives, and there it is—I spot "to round out." I go outside for a walk and see a sign that says, “Clean up after your dog.” I grab a package of cookies that says, “Peel off the seal.” Another day begins, and my husband shaves his b...

Jan 20, 2025 always learning phrasal verbs

Real-Life English: Learn Phrasal Verbs by Reading about My Week

This week was a bit chaotic. Having two very young kids—a two-year-old and a two-month-old—catches up to you (this means to reach a point where you feel the effects of something, like exhaustion). One day, I had tried all sorts of activities to help my bored two-year-old find something to do, an...

Jan 13, 2025 learning phrasal verbs real life simplicity

New Year, New Phrasal Verb

Happy New Year! 🎉 In this first post of The Lighthouse for 2025, I wanted to share how I’ve been keeping up with my goal to become a better listener and take notes on how people use phrasal verbs in everyday conversations. We had a funny start to the year—our car broke down! While my husband wa...

Jan 06, 2025 core meaning phrasal verbs read up

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The Lighthouse Newsletter

Navigating your Way to English Fluency

The Lighthouse Newsletter

Navigating your Way to English Fluency

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