This is my first post in Whatís For English. Writing this post reminds me a little of the start of rehearsals for a play or the first day of an English class.

When I was in university, I studied theater. When we prepared a new play, we had to rehearse the play. We’d have rehearsals. Often the first rehearsal was especially difficult. The actors and director would all feel awkward around each other. So we said, “the  purpose of the first rehearsal is to get to the second rehearsal.” In other words, there was very little you could accomplish in the first rehearsal. The actors would introduce themselves. You would find out who was playing which character. Maybe you could read through the play. But it was only in the second rehearsal that you could start doing any work.

When I started teaching, I soon realized that the first class with a group of students was like a first rehearsal. I could learn the names of the students. Everyone would introduce themselves. I would ask some basic questions to get a sense the students’ English level. And I would describe some of the goals of the class. But there was very little actual work that could be done until the second rehearsal –  I mean –  class.

This first post is a little bit like a first rehearsal or a first English class. All I can really do is introduce myself, but I can accomplish very little.

So you have joined me, here, at What’s For English. I’m Gerald Wright. I’m an English teacher and communications skills trainer living in Tokyo. Over the past 20 years or so I have worked inside Japanese corporations, designing training programs and supporting employees in their English communication. In my career I have worked almost exclusively with adult learners who use English as an important part of their professional life.

I have designed this website, blog and podcasts to provide learners like you with something interesting to read and listen to regularly. I don’t expect you to come here in order to “study” English. But I hope if you read what I write and listen to what I say regularly, your abilities in English will grow and you will gain the confidence to explore the media that native speakers use.

But more about all this in my next post!