1-Follow the instructions on the exam paper.
2- Don't communicate with ocher candidates. You could be asked to leave for cheating.
3- Before you start, read the exam paper carefully. Don't waste time copying the questions.
4-Planning is essential if you are writing essays. Spend 5-10 minutes making notes.
5- Have a positive attitude. You are being examined on what you know, and this is your chance co show it. And it will be a relief when it's all over

English Mini Lessons

How to sit written exams

Most learners get confused with these three because they all involve travel. But they don’t mean the same thing. Let me explain.

Go Steps English

'went', 'have been' and 'gone'

This is a reading from the Aozora Bunko "香水紳士（Kosui shinshi）" with some expressions changed to easy Japanese for learners of Japanese.
The reading is followed by explanations of the story and vocabulary. Please use it to study Japanese listening comprehension.

.｡.:*･ﾟ＋.｡.:*･ﾟ＋.｡.:*･ﾟ＋.｡.:*･ﾟ＋.｡.

青空文庫「十年」より、日本語学習者向けに一部の表現をやさしい日本語に変えて、朗読しています。
朗読の後にストーリーや語彙の解説があります。日本語のリスニングの勉強にお役立てください。


OYASUMI にほんご

#9　Perfumed Gentleman（香水紳士, Kôsui shinshi）

Crowds of people queued up at Australia's Royal Sydney Botanic Garden on January 23, with some people waiting as long as three hours.

And for what?

A very smelly flower.

The titan arum, known as the "corpse flower," is a tall, pointed plant that releases an unpleasant smell when it blooms. The smell has been likened to things like decaying flesh, gym socks or rotting garbage.

The endangered plant is only found in the Sumatran rainforests in Indonesia, where there are thought to be fewer than 300 of them. It only blooms every 7 to 10 years in its natural habitat.

"The fact that they open very rarely, so they flower rarely, is obviously something that puts them at a little bit of a disadvantage in the wild," said Sophie Daniel from the Royal Sydney Botanic Garden. "When they open, they have to hope that another flower is open nearby, because they can't self-pollinate."

The flower at the botanic garden is the first to bloom there in 15 years, and she's been named Putricia — a combination of "putrid" and "Patricia" — by her fans.

Putricia's online fandom grew quickly and globally. A 24/7 live stream established by the botanic garden drew close to a million views in under a week, and people on social media planned to hurry to the garden as the plant opened. In just 24 hours, Putricia's bloom — and her stench — would be gone.

As she opened, the plant heated to 37 degrees Celsius to better spread her scent. In the wild, the smell tricks pollinators into landing on what they think is rotten meat and spreading pollen between flowers.

Up to 20,000 people filed past for a moment in her pungent presence, leaning in for a sniff or taking selfies.

It was difficult to say why the flower attracted such a following — but perhaps the answer lay in the "reverence" viewers felt in the presence of "such an amazing living being," Daniel said.




Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

Crowds Gather in Sydney for Smelly Flower

Sometimes it's not easy to take care of our pets, especially when we are busy or traveling. In this episode, Karen and Baiwei talked about various pet services on the market nowadays. 

Chillchat (Learn Chinese and Chill)

备受宠爱的宠物 The Pampered Pets

In this episode, I read a simplified version of "A Medical Case" by Mikhail Zoshchenko. You’ll hear slow, clear Russian, learn new expressions, and answer a few questions to check your understanding. Great listening practice for A2–B1 learners. Let’s learn Russian, word by word!


Слово за словом с Дашей

Медицинский случай (A Medical Case) А2 - В1

ベルギーの新しい働き方とは週の勤務時間を変えずに、１日に働く時間を増やすことで、週４日勤務を可能にする、勤務時間外の上司からの連絡を拒否できる、というものです。
この働き方について生徒と話していて、気づいたことがありました。

まず、一つ目はこの働き方ができる職種は限られるということです。サービス業の人や医療に関わる仕事をしている人は難しいと思います。
二つ目は、その人の体力によってできる人とできない人がいるという問題です。週に40時間働いている人が週４日勤務にする場合は１日に約10時間働く必要があります。週に10時間働くのは体力的に難しい。長時間働くと集中できなくなり、効率が悪くなるという人もいると思います。

「勤務時間以外の上司からの連絡を拒否できる」というルールについてもできる職業とできない職業があると思います。

でも、こういう選択ができるようになるということはとても素晴らしいことだと思います。この新しい働き方ができるようになって生活が楽になったり、ストレスが減る人もいると思います。
みなさんは週４日勤務ができるようになれば、やってみたいですか？
もし、勤務時間外に上司からの連絡が来たらどうしますか？

勤務時間：きんむじかん　working hours
勤務時間外：きんむじかんがい　out of working hours　
上司：じょうし　boss
連絡：れんらくcontact
拒否（きょひ）する：refuse
職種：しゅくしゅ　Type of occupation
職業：しょくぎょう　occupation
医療(いりょう)に関（かか）わる仕事（しごと）をしている人：medical workers
週4日：しゅうよっか　four times a week
体力的に：たいりょくてきに　physically
集中する：しゅうちゅうする　focus
効率：こうりつ　efficiency
長時間：ちょうじかん　for long hours
素晴らしい：すばらしい　great
楽（らく）になる：get easy
減る：へる　decrease

Nihongo Short Story by Noriko

ベルギーの新しい働き方について、みなさんはどう思いますか？(For advanced learners)

This is a short Persian podcast for elementary learners about two friends that are planning to go for a walk in the park.

TheFarsiPod

7. Everyday activities: go walking

Two corvesations: 

1- Recados Domésticos

2- En el Aeropuerto

This podcast is to improve your listening and vocabulary