Ragsdale’s Conversation Emporium

Ragsdale’s Conversation Emporium is a personalized online academy offering honors-level English instruction in private and small-group settings. We serve motivated learners — from young readers to university-bound students — who are ready to be challenged and whose families expect both exceptional results and genuine care.

Everything we do is built around one belief: real learning happens when standards are high and the relationship between teacher and student is real.

Our Students

Our students are intellectually curious learners who are ready to be challenged — not just kept busy. They’re often ahead of their peers in English but haven’t had instruction that keeps pace with them. They want to read real literature, write with precision, think critically, and speak with confidence.

Many are working toward high-stakes goals: university preparation, language exam success, or competition-level performance. Their families are deeply invested in their education and value personalized, rigorous instruction over one-size-fits-all programs.

Meet Your Instructor

Rhonda Ragsdale | Founder & Academic Director

Rhonda Ragsdale is the founder and academic director of Ragsdale’s Conversation Emporium — International Honors Academy. She holds advanced degrees in History and Sociology from Rice University, a TEFL Advanced Certificate, and spent nearly a decade as an Associate Professor and online course designer at Lone Star College, where she was recognized for cutting-edge teaching methods by the Washington Post.

Since founding the Emporium in 2015, she has delivered more than 15,000 private and small-group lessons to students across North America, Europe, Asia, and beyond — helping them read more deeply, write more precisely, and prepare for the language exams and university ambitions they’re working toward. She designs all curriculum from the ground up, teaches every class herself, and genuinely loves the work.

Meet the Team