Brief article regarding then president Joe Biden's cognitive health, following weak debate performance against Donald Trump. 

News in Hebrew with David Joseph

 President Biden's Cognitive Health: Selection from Yediot Achronot Israeli Newspaper

A typical Chinese new year tradition is to give the best wishes to others. In China, we call it "拜年". Come and learn how to say it with 唐帅! 


胡言乱语 Hoo's Talk

新年吉祥话greetings in Chinese new year

I get asked about idioms all the time. This is the second part of idioms related to efficiency. Sign-up for a class with me today. https://www.italki.com/en/teacher/8543771

All American Podcast 

Idioms (efficiency) part II.

槐树是中国北方常见的一种树木，它树冠宽广、枝叶茂盛。Pagoda tree are common in northern China. They have broad crowns and lush branches.
    槐树全身都是宝，它的花蕾、果实、树皮、树叶等都可以入药。Pagoda  trees are full of treasure. Their buds, fruits, bark and leaves can be used as medicine.
槐树开花是很灿烂的。The pagoda tree is very brilliant in bloom.


新鲜事儿（Anecdote）

七月槐花飘

This week, you’ll hear the rest of my conversation with Allyson Plumberg, Founder of Rooted Accents: Solutions for Accent Modification. This episode is part two of, “Want an American English Accent?  Allyson Plumberg Debunks Accent Myths.” So, if you haven’t listened to the previous episode, I recommend you check it out before listening to this one. 

While accent modification may seem elusive for many English language learners, it is possible! In this episode, Allyson shares some inspiring stories about clients who made major improvements to their accents. 

She also provides a lesson on how to make the voiced and voiceless "th" sounds and shares a wordlist with listeners to drill. 

Stay tuned until the end, where you’ll learn about three fantastic and free online resources to help with your accent modification efforts. 

Episode originally published March 5, 2021.

Original theme music by Lucas Knutter 

Read the transcript at https://www.express-to-impress.com/accent-modification/. 

Join the Express to Impress community on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/express-to-impress/.

See infographics for this episode on Pinterest at https://www.pinterest.com/ExpresstoImpress/_created/.

Express to Impress

What Did You Say? Accent Modification Tips From a Speech-Language Pathologist

【スクリプト】
こんにちは～！マルハバ！サウジの日本語の先生、佳子です＾＾
みなさんー！お元気ですか？私は元気ですよ～！今日は「サウジでインターナショナルスクール探し」についてお話ししたいと思います。

息子が今年の8月から小学1年生になるので、先月からインターナショナルスクールを探しています。日本と比べてサウジには多くの外国人が住んでいるので、インターナショナルスクールが多いです。私の家から車で30分以内で行ける範囲でインターナショナルスクールは約30校見つかりました。これは、インド人向け、フィリピン人向けのインターナショナルスクールや女子だけの学校を除いた数です。
サウジの多くのインターナショナルスクールや私立学校は幼稚園と小学校が一緒になっています。大きな学校だと高校まであります。ほとんどの学校は小学1年生から男女別々のクラスになります。小学校4年生くらいから、男女別々の校舎で学びます。また、幼稚園と小学校だけの学校だと、女子は6年生まであるのに、男子は4年生や5年生までしかない場合もあります。小学校1年生から男女同じクラスで学べる学校は極わずかのインターナショナルスクールだけです。
校舎は大小様々、ピンからキリまであります。体育館やグラウンドがない、家みたいな学校から、フル設備のTHE学校という感じの学校、構内の装飾があまりないシンプルな学校からカラフルな装飾がある学校までいろいろです。
そして一口にインターナショナルスクールといっても学校によって国籍の割合は大きく異なります。ほぼサウジ人の学校、サウジ人以外のアラブ人や南アジア人やナイジェリア人が多い学校、欧米系の学生が多い学校。誰と学ぶかも大事ですよね。
多くのインターナショナルスクールはブリティッシュカリキュラムかアメリカンカリキュラムを採用しています。私が調べた約30校のうちブリティッシュが70%くらいでした。我が家は少なくとも子供が高校を卒業するまではサウジに住む予定なので、絶対アメリカンとかブリティッシュとか決めるのが難しいです。でも、知識やテスト重視のブリティッシュよりはアメリカンカリキュラムのほうが息子に向いているかなと思っています。
また、必須の英語、アラビア語の他に第3言語を学ぶ学校もあります。なぜかフランス語が多いです。息子は家庭で日本語も習得しないといけないので、まったく息子に関係のない第3言語を小学生から学ぶのはちょっと大変だと思い、第3言語必須の学校は候補から外しました。
インターナショナルスクール選びって本当に難しいです。公立学校とは違って学校それぞれにいろんな特色があって悩みますね。でも何とか第一候補を決めました。今月から入学試験に向けていろいろ準備をしたいと思います。
それではまた！マア　アッサラーマ！


Japanese with Yoshiko（スクリプト付）

第33回：サウジでインターナショナルスクール探し~Looking for an International School in Saudi Arabia~

Transcript: https://www.patreon.com/posts/zhong-wen-shi-95740701?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

Lily's Chinese 对话

20240213高尔基致罗曼罗兰的信

Today's topic is, how to be more confident when speaking in meetings.

Some of you might know this already but my full time job is working with non native English speakers, one to one, on video calls to improve their confidence and ability when using English at work. And the number one thing that people tell me they need to improve is their confidence in meetings! How can I become more confident in meetings, how can I express my ideas better, how can I make my meetings easier. This is what we’re going to discuss today. 

For non-native English speakers, speaking in meetings can be a challenging and daunting task. Whether you’re presenting in front of a large group or just participating in a small discussion, it can be difficult to feel confident in your ability to express yourself. However, with a few simple tips, you can start speaking more confidently in meetings sooner rather than later.

At the same time, we’re going to look at some useful vocabulary and sentence structures that we can use to do this. So if you want to grab a pen to take some notes, feel free, and let’s get started.

Oh, and right at the end we’ll review a couple of the more interesting pieces of vocabulary I’ve included in today’s podcast.

Breakout Business English

Speaking in meetings. How to become more confident!

안녕하세요! 오늘은 한국 전통 공연 예술의 매력을 살펴보겠습니다. 최근에 종영한 드라마 [정년이], 들어보셨나요? 
이 드라마는 여성 국극을 소재로 큰 화제를 모았는데요. 오늘은 여성 국극이 무엇인지, 그리고 판소리와 창극과는 어떻게 다른지에 대해 이야기해 보려고 해요.

먼저, 여성 국극이란 뭘까요?
우선, 여성 국극은 1940~50년대에 인기를 끌었던 독특한 한국의 공연 예술이에요. 이름에서도 알 수 있듯이, 여성 배우들이 남녀 모든 역할을 맡아 연기하는 것이 가장 큰 특징이고 한국적 정서를 담은 스토리와 감정 표현이 더해져 독자적인 형태로 발전했어요.
특히, 여성 국극은 대사가 많고 극적인 스토리 전개가 특징인데요. 여기에 화려한 의상과 무대가 더해져 보는 재미를 극대화했죠.

이번에는 판소리와 창극의 차이점을 볼게요.
여성 국극과 더불어, 한국 전통 예술 하면 판소리와 창극을 빼놓을 수 없죠.
판소리는 한 명의 소리꾼이 이야기를 풀어가는 독특한 형태의 음악극이에요. 소리꾼은 노래와 말, 표정으로 극을 이끌고, 옆에서 고수가 북으로 장단을 맞추죠. 판소리는 극도로 간소한 형식이지만, 듣는 사람들에게 엄청난 몰입감을 줘요.
그런데 창극은 판소리의 이야기 구조를 그대로 가져오면서도 여러 명의 배우가 등장하고, 서양 연극의 요소를 추가한 공연이에요. 오케스트라와 무대 장치까지 더해져 더 웅장하고 극적인 느낌을 주죠.


이 세 가지 공연 예술의 매력은 정말 뚜렷한데요.

여성 국극은 여성만의 섬세한 연기와 극적인 스토리가 강점이고요,
판소리는 간소하지만 강렬한 몰입감을 주는 감정 표현이 매력적이에요.
창극은 여러 배우와 음악, 무대를 활용해 더 다채롭고 시각적인 즐거움을 제공해요.
최근 한국에서는 [정년이] 같은 드라마 덕분에 여성 국극이 재조명되고 있어요. 한동안 잊혀졌던 여성 국극의 아름다움을 다시 느끼게 된 계기가 되었죠.

오늘은 한국의 전통 공연 예술, 특히 여성 국극, 판소리, 창극에 대해 이야기해 보았는데요. 여러분은 어떤 형태가 가장 흥미로우셨나요?
이 콘텐츠가 한국 문화를 더 이해하는 데 도움이 되었으면 좋겠습니다. 다음 에피소드에서는 또 다른 재미있는 한국 문화 이야기를 들려드릴게요. 감사합니다!