My warmest wishes and best hopes for all of you who have trusted me with your English language journey. I’d like to share a few fascinating facts from 2024:

• The average number of classes per week dropped from 40 to 35. The change came out of the need to protect my emotional and mental health. In other words, I did it to prevent burn out… and it worked! :)

• I created 75 videos for Instagram and about 50 for YouTube.

• On the topic of videos, I managed to finish the Alphabet Advent video series. You can check out all 26 short lessons on YouTube.

• The Podcast launched in September. There are now 10 published episodes. The 11th should appear in the next few days.

• Ukraine continues to be the country from which the largest number of students has found help in The Corner. I don’t know what I did to deserve this wonderful community. дуже дякую.

• The second largest number of students comes not from a country; rather, a language: Spanish. Students from both Latin America and Spain counted for a significant number of my students in 2024. Having said that, students continue to arrive at The Corner from nearly all parts of the world. I’m amazed at the list of countries that you all represent.

• Referrals. A number of new students in 2024 came to The Corner thanks to others referring them to me. I cannot overstate what at honor it is to receive a referral. Remember! If you refer someone to me (and they sign up for classes), you both will receive a free lesson. :)

• I celebrated the second year of working with my good friends at Lighthouse Immigrant Advocates. Lighthouse is an immigration law office dedicated to providing the highest quality legal services to people at the lowest possible price.

• I enjoyed working twice each week with the lovely team of accountants and tax professionals in Barcelona. This next year should be even more fun! :)

• On the topic of professionals, the number of new students seeking help with their professional English continued to grow. Creating professional CVs and giving successful interviews are challenges in any language. I confess that helping to write CVs and to prepare people for the job interview experience are my favorite parts of this job.

In the next few days, I will send out another email containing a survey. The goal of the survey is for me to learn how to best help you in 2025. While I have been proud of our shared successes, there will always be opportunities to improve. I would very much appreciate if you could take 5 minutes from your day to share your thoughts with me.

Hi, everyone. I took most of last week off from work. It was exactly the correct decision. I used that time to think deeply and to re-structure my daily habits. Ooooh… have I ever explained that word: Habits? I should… but not right now. :)

Your scheduled classes will resume as normal. However — there are two important details:

1) Daylight Savings Time ended in the United States on November 3. The time change could have affected your class time.

2)  I did have to make changes to some classes due to some personal responsibilities.

Please double-check your calendar (or contact me directly) if your class schedule does not look right.

The election damaged my faith in the American voter… but, my faith in and appreciation for you all never changed. I read every message of kindness that people sent through email and text. They were enormously helpful during a difficult time.

Being a teacher brings me enormous joy. I have never regretted leaving behind a career in IT or a comfortable job at the university. Each class reminds me that I made the right decision to focus on you all, to assist with your challenges, and to do everything possible to help you reach your dreams.

I may not say this enough, so let me say it now:

Thank You. Everyone.