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This week, someone asked me if many English words originate from Greek? Here is my reply: As best I can tell, the breakdown goes something like this. English is about 50% Latin and 50% German.  But, that is very broad. The real story is a real mess.  🙂 I’ve heard...

While writing the Word Up series, I often consulted the book Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis.  (Unfortunately, I cannot recommend the book to students.  There are, oddly enough, too many innuendos in this book.)  In the introduction Mr. Lewis writes this:...

Last week I talked about French.  Even if you are older, you are likely not too old to learn French.  If you missed it, that tip (along with hundreds of others) is here: https://dwanethomas.com/tip-week-archives/ This week I am here to talk about German. I am not...

“Words matter. They help us define meaning. We think with words.  We learn with words.  Words are the fundamental tools we use for communicating.  If we use them well, we can cut and shape and polish our ideas precisely and beautifully.  If we use them sloppily we put...

Are you qualified to teach online?  Maybe.  Probably. What do I mean?  Maybe you have a degree in your chosen field.  Maybe you are certified in your chosen field. That's fine.  But, what if you aren’t? If you aren't certified, maybe you should consider certification....

Dr. Mary Hobson is one of my language heroes. Whenever I feel too old to learn a language, which is often, I read her story again.  It’s here: https://markrwayne.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-inspirational-story-of-dr-mary.html Dr. Hobson decided to take on Russian at age...

If I were starting over online, on the very first day, I would start with an email list. If you are starting out online, start building an email list.   Set up a free account with MailChimp, or Aweber, or with one of these guys:...

Spring break is coming up on my site. From April 4 through April 9 there will be no classes. I'm planning to drive out to Colorado to spend some time with my son.  I am also going to try, again, to learn to snowboard.  Because, I don’t want to admit I am getting...

Are you an AMC stubs loser? Sometime ago, my wife and I went to see the movie Reminiscence at our local theater. Since this post is not about the movie let me just say a few quick things about it. It was OK, I suppose. The movie did what it was supposed to do. It...

Last week, I received this note. Thank you thank you thank you!We are back to Classical Conversations after 2 years off.I hadn't expected to come back and your videos are a total life saver!I have a student in Henle 2 and Henle 4, and although it is too late for my...