The English Ally

Before you blame the student, please check the instruction.

Some instructions can be ambiguous — and I can testify to this.

As funny and unrealistic as this student’s response looks, it exposes how easily communication can go wrong when there’s ambiguity.

As someone who studied Communication and took education courses, I understand how the way we frame instructions can influence interpretation and response.
Imagine giving an instruction like:

✏️ “Write poem in five lines.”

To you, it means “Write a five-line poem.”

To the student, it could mean something entirely different — and this photo says it all! 😅

Clarity is everything — in teaching, leadership, and communication.

Excuses Have the Best Sayings!🤦🏻‍♀️

Some people have excuses for mediocrity—and they don’t stop there. They even have sayings and proverbs to back them up!

🔹 Rome wasn’t built in a day – But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t start now.

🔹 Slow and steady wins the race – True, but are you even moving at all?

🔹 Better late than never – Why not aim for *better on time*?

🔹 Good things come to those who wait – No, good things come to those who work for them!

🔹 What will be, will be – That’s just an excuse for inaction.

🔹 Half bread is better than none – But why not strive for the full loaf?

🔹 No one is perfect – That’s no reason to stop improving.

While these proverbs have their place, they can also be used as crutches to justify mediocrity.

If you’ve been holding onto any of these, it’s time to replace them with a mindset of action, growth, and excellence.

What other sayings have you heard people use to excuse complacency? Let’s discuss! 👇🏽

I am Funmilayo Egbetola, The English Ally

Happy New Month to you all…

HAVE you ever heard of a bicycle with a sewing machine attached to it?🚲💡

✨ Let’s talk about the Day a Bicycle Made Me Think

One of the things I cherish about teaching is that it teaches me too. Every class has a way of surprising me with something new.

Just recently, I was taking my student through a reading comprehension passage on inventions.

We read about all sorts of weird and wacky creations, and then I stumbled on something I’d never heard of before: a family bicycle from 1939 with a sewing machine attached to it.

Yes, you read that right — while the family rode together, the mother could sit and sew.

I paused.

I couldn’t help but ask myself: why does she have to sew while everyone else is enjoying the ride?

Why couldn’t she just relax and enjoy the moment too?

The more I thought about it, the clearer it became why this invention never took off.

It completely missed the point of family time.

Leisure turned into labor, and instead of togetherness, it reinforced the idea that mothers had to “work” even during fun.

That little discovery reminded me why I love what I do. Teaching isn’t just about giving knowledge — it’s also about receiving it.

The other day, I learnt about how shampoo became a thing.

Each lesson teaches me something new, challenges how I think, and sometimes makes me smile at how far we’ve come.

And that’s the beauty of learning: it goes both ways. 🌱

28/30 in TOEFL Writing! ✍️🎉

When my student shared her result earlier this week, the writing score caught my eye the most.

Why? Because Writing is usually the lowest-scoring section — it’s subjective, demanding, and for many learners, the most dreaded of all communication skills.

That’s why seeing it as her second-highest score warmed my heart. 💙 It was proof that every correction, every comment, every rewrite we worked on together was worth it.

Moments like these remind me why I do what I do. Beyond exams, I aim to make English fun, practical, and confidence-boosting — and results like this are the sweetest “thank you” for the effort. 🥰💪

Now that she’s done with her classes, I’m open to taking on new students. 🚀

If you’re preparing for TOEFL, IELTS, SAT, OET, or any standardized English exam, let’s work together to make sure you hit (or even surpass) your target score.

I’m The English Ally — I bridge learning gaps in English, one learner at a time. 🌍

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