Who am I? - I am Tad Morgan, an American who is teaching English in elementary schools and junior high schools in rural Japan.

Why have you made UGoEigo? - While teaching in Japan, I have learned a lot about the problems of teaching and learning a language. I have also come to realize that many Japanese know some English, but lack confidence in their ability to use what they know. This is especially the case with speaking. The Japanese education system has usually put very little emphasis on the speaking component of language learning. As a result, most people do not have the practice required to gain confidence. I have developed a few ideas on how to fix this that I would like to share.

What will UGoEigo feature? - I am hoping to help visitors improve their English pronunciation using video ESL podcasts illustrating how to pronounce and speak English. I have noticed that many errors in pronunciation are the result of incorrect mouth positioning (tongue, lips, etc. in the wrong place). With close-up video and other instruction I hope each ESL podcast will help learners improve their pronunciation. This improvement will hopefully increase confidence and may even help improve listening abilities as they become more aware of the sounds of English.

Why “UGoEigo”? - “You Go!” is a colloquial phrase of encouragement, as in “You go, girl!” “Eigo” is the Japanese word for “English” (英語). Since my experience is teaching Japanese speakers, that is the focus here. But the material should be useful to anyone learning English. Put them together and change “You” to “U” and you get “UGoEigo”. Also the word “Go” reflects that the teaching materials here (such as these ESL podcasts) are designed to be used on-the-go with your iPod or PSP.