NOVEMBER COMPETITION!
We all know how difficult it can be to stay motivated when learning languages, so this month, English In A Teacup is holding a little competition for its listeners. The winners of the competition will get a personal shout out on the podcast and will also get to decide the next topic for Season 2 of my podcast coming out in December. 
To join, send me a message on italki and I will send you the form to fill in. 
In this week's episode of English In A Teacup, we will be continuing with the topic of inversions as well as learning how to write letters.  For students preparing for advanced-level exams (CAE, CPE, IELTS, etc.), it is important to know about inversion and how to use it in the writing sections. To help us with the subject is our fine English lady, Miss Finesstocrat, who will be writing her own letter to a travel agency to complain about her holiday from hell. How did she get on? Let’s put the kettle on and find out!

ENGLISH IN A TEACUP

EP7: MAKING A COMPLAINT (B2-C2)

How to study:
1. Listen first without reading.
2. Repeat each sentence aloud.
3. Replace Yuli’s information with your own.
4. Give your full introduction at the end.

Transcript / Useful model:

你好，我叫 Yuli。
Nǐ hǎo, wǒ jiào Yuli.
Hi, my name is Yuli.

我是中国人。
Wǒ shì Zhōngguó rén.
I’m Chinese.

我住在法国。
Wǒ zhù zài Fǎguó.
I live in France.

我是中文老师。
Wǒ shì Zhōngwén lǎoshī.
I’m a Chinese teacher.

我喜欢旅行。
Wǒ xǐhuan lǚxíng.
I like traveling.

我在学法语。
Wǒ zài xué Fǎyǔ.
I’m learning French.

很高兴认识你。
Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.
Nice to meet you.

Now replace the information with your own and introduce yourself in Chinese.

Daily Chinese With Yuli

How to Introduce Yourself in Chinese

How to study
1. Listen once without reading.
2. Listen again with the transcript.
3. Repeat the sentences aloud.

Transcript

大家早上好。
Dàjiā zǎoshang hǎo.
Good morning, everyone.

这个周末，我们在鲁昂。
Zhège zhōumò, wǒmen zài Lǔ’áng.
We’re in Rouen this weekend.

我们来看我老公的爸爸妈妈。
Wǒmen lái kàn wǒ lǎogōng de bàba māma.
We came to visit my husband’s parents.

鲁昂在法国的西北部。
Lǔ’áng zài Fǎguó de xīběibù.
Rouen is in northwestern France.

我们住在法国北部，靠近比利时。
Wǒmen zhù zài Fǎguó běibù, kàojìn Bǐlìshí.
We live in northern France, near Belgium.

我公公婆婆的家离我们家有点儿远。
Wǒ gōnggong pópo de jiā lí wǒmen jiā yǒudiǎnr yuǎn.
My in-laws live a little far from us.

开车要两个半小时左右。
Kāichē yào liǎng ge bàn xiǎoshí zuǒyòu.
It takes about two and a half hours by car.

我很喜欢来这里过周末。
Wǒ hěn xǐhuan lái zhèlǐ guò zhōumò.
I really like spending weekends here.

第一个原因是，我们可以一起吃饭。
Dì yí ge yuányīn shì, wǒmen kěyǐ yìqǐ chīfàn.
The first reason is that we can eat together.

有时候我做中国菜，有时候我婆婆做法国菜。
Yǒushíhou wǒ zuò Zhōngguó cài, yǒushíhou wǒ pópo zuò Fǎguó cài.
Sometimes I cook Chinese food, and sometimes my mother-in-law cooks French food.

我公公和我老公负责收拾桌子。
Wǒ gōnggong hé wǒ lǎogōng fùzé shōushi zhuōzi.
My father-in-law and my husband are in charge of clearing the table.

第二个原因是，我可以撸猫。
Dì èr ge yuányīn shì, wǒ kěyǐ lū māo.
The second reason is that I get to pet the cats.

他们家有很多猫。
Tāmen jiā yǒu hěn duō māo.
They have a lot of cats.

他们一家人都很爱猫。
Tāmen yì jiārén dōu hěn ài māo.
Everyone in their family loves cats.

第三个原因是，我可以练习我的法语。
Dì sān ge yuányīn shì, wǒ kěyǐ liànxí wǒ de Fǎyǔ.
The third reason is that I can practice my French.

我公公婆婆的英语不太好，所以我们只能用法语聊天。
Wǒ gōnggong pópo de Yīngyǔ bú tài hǎo, suǒyǐ wǒmen zhǐ néng yòng Fǎyǔ liáotiān.
My in-laws don’t speak much English, so we can only chat in French.

我们一般星期五晚上出发。
Wǒmen yìbān Xīngqīwǔ wǎnshang chūfā.
We usually leave on Friday evening.

Complete scripts and video versions: find “Daily Chinese With Yuli” on YouTube.

和家人过周末 | A Weekend with My Family

How to study

1. Listen once without reading.
2. Listen again with the transcript.
3. Repeat the sentences aloud.

Transcript

大家早上好。
Dàjiā zǎoshang hǎo.
Good morning, everyone.

今天是8月20号。
Jīntiān shì bā yuè èrshí hào.
Today is August 20th.

现在是8点05分。
Xiànzài shì bā diǎn líng wǔ fēn.
It’s 8:05 now.

今天我8点起床。
Jīntiān wǒ bā diǎn qǐchuáng.
I got up at eight today.

现在我要刷牙、洗脸。
Xiànzài wǒ yào shuāyá, xǐliǎn.
Now I’m going to brush my teeth and wash my face.

这是我的电动牙刷。
Zhè shì wǒ de diàndòng yáshuā.
This is my electric toothbrush.

我们开始刷牙吧。
Wǒmen kāishǐ shuāyá ba.
Let’s start brushing our teeth.

我们先挤一点牙膏，按这个按钮，然后开始刷牙。
Wǒmen xiān jǐ yìdiǎn yágāo, àn zhège ànniǔ, ránhòu kāishǐ shuāyá.
First, we squeeze out a little toothpaste, press this button, and then start brushing.

左刷刷，右刷刷。
Zuǒ shuāshuā, yòu shuāshuā.
Brush on the left, brush on the right.

刷完牙了，现在我们洗脸。
Shuā wán yá le, xiànzài wǒmen xǐliǎn.
We’re done brushing our teeth. Now let’s wash our faces.

这是我的洗脸巾。
Zhè shì wǒ de xǐliǎnjīn.
This is my face towel.

我们把毛巾弄湿，然后擦擦脸。
Wǒmen bǎ máojīn nòngshī, ránhòu cācā liǎn.
We wet the towel and then wipe our face.

再把毛巾洗干净。
Zài bǎ máojīn xǐ gānjìng.
Then wash the towel clean.

我的头发有点乱。
Wǒ de tóufa yǒudiǎn luàn.
My hair is a little messy.

我要梳一下头发。
Wǒ yào shū yíxià tóufa.
I need to comb my hair.

这是一把小梳子。
Zhè shì yì bǎ xiǎo shūzi.
This is a small comb.

从上往下梳。
Cóng shàng wǎng xià shū.
Comb from top to bottom.

我的头发有点干。
Wǒ de tóufa yǒudiǎn gān.
My hair is a little dry.

Complete scripts and video versions: find “Daily Chinese With Yuli” on YouTube.

跟我过一天 | A Day in My Life · Slow & Natural Chinese

Hello! I’m Yuli. 😊

This is a Authentic Chinese listening episode.

How to study:

1. Listen once without reading.
2. Listen again with the transcript.
3. Notice natural expressions and sentence patterns.

Transcript:

我们每个人身上好像都有一些标签。
Wǒmen měigèrén shēnshàng hǎoxiàng dōuyǒu yìxiē biāoqiān.
It seems that every one of us carries certain labels.

对我来说，其中一个标签就是：我会说好几门语言。
Duì wǒ láishuō, qízhōng yí ge biāoqiān jiùshì: wǒ huìshuō hǎojǐ mén yǔyán.
For me, one of those labels is: I can speak several languages.

我的母语是潮汕话和普通话，我也会说粤语。
Wǒ de mǔyǔ shì cháoshànhuà hé pǔtōnghuà, wǒ yě huìshuō yuèyǔ.
My native languages are Teochew and Mandarin, and I can also speak Cantonese.

除此以外，我还学过几门外语：英语、日语、泰语和法语。
Chúcǐyǐwài, wǒ hái xuéguo jǐmén wàiyǔ: yīngyǔ, rìyǔ, tàiyǔ hé fǎyǔ.
Besides those, I have also studied several foreign languages: English, Japanese, Thai, and French.

英语是我现在最常用的外语；日语以前学得比较好，
Yīngyǔ shì wǒ xiànzài zuì chángyòng de wàiyǔ; rìyǔ yǐqián xué de bǐjiào hǎo,
English is the foreign language I use most often now; I used to be quite good at Japanese,

我考过日语能力考试 N1，不过现在已经生疏了很多；
Wǒ kǎoguo rìyǔ nénglì kǎoshì N1, búguò xiànzài yǐjīng shēngshū le hěn duō;
I passed the JLPT N1, though now I have become much rustier;

泰语只有初级水平；而现在，因为我住在法国，法语成了我最需要学习的一门语言。
Tàiyǔ zhǐyǒu chūjí shuǐpíng; ér xiànzài, yīnwèi wǒ zhùzài fǎguó, fǎyǔ chéng le wǒ zuì xūyào xuéxí de yì mén yǔyán.
my Thai is only at a beginner level; and now, because I live in France, French has become the language I most need to learn.

回头看，我发现这几门语言不仅出现在我人生的不同阶段，
Huítóu kàn, wǒ fāxiàn zhè jǐmén yǔyán bùjǐn chūxiàn zài wǒ rénshēng de bùtóng jiēduàn,
Looking back, I realized that these languages have not only appeared at different stages of my life,

我最早学的是英语。
Wǒ zuìzǎo xué de shì yīngyǔ.
The first one I learned was English.
Complete scripts and video versions: find “Daily Chinese With Yuli” on YouTube.

一门语言，可能会改变你的人生 | A Language Can Change Your Life

Hello! I’m Yuli. 😊

This is a Intermediate Chinese listening episode.

How to study:

1. Listen once without reading.
2. Listen again with the transcript.
3. Repeat the sentences aloud.

Transcript:

我的母语是潮汕话和普通话，我也会说粤语。
Wǒ de mǔyǔ shì cháoshànhuà hé pǔtōnghuà, wǒ yě huìshuō yuèyǔ.
My native languages are Teochew and Mandarin, and I can also speak Cantonese.

除此以外，我还学过英语、日语、泰语和法语。
Chúcǐyǐwài, wǒ hái xuéguo yīngyǔ, rìyǔ, tàiyǔ hé fǎyǔ.
Besides those, I have also studied English, Japanese, Thai, and French.

英语是我现在最常用的外语；日语以前学得比较好，
Yīngyǔ shì wǒ xiànzài zuì chángyòng de wàiyǔ; rìyǔ yǐqián xué de bǐjiào hǎo,
English is the foreign language I use most often now; I used to be quite good at Japanese,

我考过日语能力考试 N1。现在我住在法国，所以我正在学习法语。
Wǒ kǎoguo rìyǔ nénglì kǎoshì N1. Xiànzài wǒ zhùzài fǎguó, suǒyǐ wǒ zhèngzài xuéxí fǎyǔ.
I passed the JLPT N1. Now I live in France, so I am studying French.

我小学五年级开始学习英语。
Wǒ xiǎoxué wǔniánjí kāishǐ xuéxí yīngyǔ.
I started learning English in fifth grade.

我的成绩一直很好，所以我也越来越喜欢英语。
Wǒ de chéngjì yìzhí hěn hǎo, suǒyǐ wǒ yě yuèláiyuè xǐhuan yīngyǔ.
My grades were always good, so I liked English more and more.

不过，那时候我学习英语主要是为了考试。
Búguò, nà shíhou wǒ xuéxí yīngyǔ zhǔyàoshi wèi le kǎoshì.
However, at that time I mainly studied English for exams.

虽然考试成绩不错，但第一次真正用英语和人交流的时候，我还是很紧张。
Suīrán kǎoshì chéngjì búcuò, dàn dìyīcì zhēnzhèng yòng yīngyǔ hé rén jiāoliú de shíhou, wǒ háishì hěn jǐnzhāng.
Although my exam scores were good, I was still very nervous the first time I really communicated with someone in English.

后来，我去日本留学，认识了一些来自不同国家的朋友。
Hòulái, wǒ qù rìběn liúxué, rènshi le yìxiē láizì bùtóng guójiā de péngyou.
Later, I went to Japan to study abroad and met friends from different countries.
Complete scripts and video versions: find “Daily Chinese With Yuli” on YouTube.