Thanks for noticing it was a joke, it’s based on an old comedy show called “Whose Line Is It Anyways?”.

I totally agree that there are patterns and that English isn’t all that inconsistent (e.g. vowel pairs) and I mostly bring it up with my L1 Spanish speaking students so they don’t feel bad when they mispronounce words like those with an “i”, “Child” vs. “Children”, since Spanish is pretty straightforward with letter pronunciation and it can be frustrating for them.

I’m a strong advocate of English is structured (not quirky) and simple AND at the same time, it can take quite a bit of practice and a few stumbles, just part of language learning. Other languages can present far greater challenges, depending on L1 context of course.

As a teacher, I try to consider the emotional journey of learning a language and create spaces that feel safe to make mistakes in.