xīn shì chóng chóng

意思是心里挂着很多沉重的顾虑。

Chinese idioms (中国成语)

心事重重

Listen to this short extract for A2 level English learners as part of my Learn English with Pip course.

Learn English with Pip

Reading extract: a police story (English A2 level) 

In dieser Episode von Deutsch durchdacht spreche ich über Reisen. 
Diesmal limitiere ich mein Skript und spreche so frei wie möglich. 
Ich hoffe es gefällt euch! 

Deutsch durchdacht 

Episode 8: Reisen

Nordic countries are often said to be some of the happiest in the world — and they may be some of the most sustainable places to visit too.

If you're not sure what it means to travel sustainably, the Global Destination Sustainability (GDS) Index may be able to help.

Now in its ninth year, it ranks places across the world based on things like destination management and environmental performance.

One hundred destinations were included in the 2024 index, with Helsinki in first place.

More than 50% of the Finnish capital's electricity is renewable, more than 30% of its buses are electric, and 49% of its waste is recycled.

Helsinki has also set a goal of being carbon neutral by 2030, and there are lots of green spaces around the city — almost 10,000 hectares per 100,000 people, according to Condé Nast Traveler.

Helsinki has previously ranked well in the GDS index, coming in fourth place in 2023, although this is the first time it's taken the top spot.

"Being named the world's most sustainable travel destination is proof of the long-term work that has been done in Helsinki," Helsinki Mayor Juhana Vartiainen said.

The other cities in the GDS' top five for 2024 are also in Nordic countries, with Gothenburg in second place. The city, which is in the west of Sweden, ranked first in 2023.

Copenhagen, Denmark, ranked third, Norway's Bergen came in fourth, and another Danish city, Arthus, was in fifth place.

Most of the top 20 cities were in Europe, too, with the exception of Singapore in seventh place, Sydney, Australia, in 10th place, and Goyang, South Korea, in 16th place.




Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

Finnish Capital Ranked Most Sustainable in Travel

If you're looking to make a good first impression on a dating app, from your POV, you might think it would be a good idea to send a text using lots of abbreviations to make it seem like you're BFFs with the person you're texting.

But FWIW, according to a recent study from Stanford University and the University of Toronto, nobody likes receiving text abbreviations — not even young people.

Don't know those abbreviations? "POV" means "point of view," "BFF" means "best friend forever," and "FWIW" is "for what it's worth"!

Researchers studying the use of such abbreviations did a number of studies with several thousand people, and they found that texts using abbreviations were less likely to get replies. And writers using abbreviations were more likely to be seen as insincere.

Of course, we all use abbreviations — in one survey, it was found that 99% of people said they used them. But the researchers found that people don't like receiving texts with abbreviations, because rather than making them feel closer to the other person, it felt like the other person wasn't putting much effort into the conversation.

And while young people are even more likely to use abbreviations, they still felt that people who used them were insincere. Young people were also less likely to reply to such messages.

Lead researcher David Fang said we often put different amounts of effort into our conversations to show how important the other person is to us.

So it might be fine to put little effort into, say, a quick message to a delivery driver. But Fang said his team's results are especially important for people who really want to make a good impression — like at the beginning of a relationship!

Want a Reply by Text? Don't Use Abbreviations!

Full transcript: https://japanesemayuna.com/

はい、こんにちは。今回はポッドキャストの29回目です。もうすぐ30回です。このポッドキャストは毎週更新しているので、半年以上続いている計算になります。それと、6月3日は開業記念日でした。私は2019年のこの日に、フリーランスの語学講師として税務署に開業届を提出しました。今年で3年目になります。ここまで続いているのはみなさんのおかげです。いつも本当にありがとうございます。

Hello. This is episode 29 of my podcast. It is almost 30 times. The podcast is updated weekly, which means it has been running for more than six months. Also, 3 June was my opening day. On this day in 2019, I registered my business with the tax office as a freelance language teacher. This year will be my third year. It is thanks to all of you that I have lasted this long. Thank you so much for everything.

今月末に、italki主催のウェビナーでホストを務めることになりました。日本語教育のニッチの見つけ方について話します。プレゼンテーション用のスライドを作るのは久しぶりです。今回のウェビナーは先生向けですが、先生以外の人にも役立つ内容にしたいと考えています。詳細が決まり次第お知らせします。

I will be hosting a webinar hosted by italki at the end of this month. I will be talking about how to find a niche in Japanese language teaching. It has been a long time since I have made slides for a presentation. This webinar is aimed at teachers, but I hope it will be useful for non-teachers as well. I will let you know as soon as we have more details.

大阪は暑い日が続いています。毎日最高気温が30度ぐらいあり、すっかり夏です。暑いと食欲が出ないし、筋トレも大変に感じるので、体調を崩しやすいです。鼻水は止まりましたが、家にいてばかりだと、体が重く感じます。今日は休みだったので、スーパーで買い物をした後、散歩に出かけました。

The weather in Osaka continues to be hot. The maximum temperature is around 30 degrees Celsius every day and it is totally summer. When it's hot, I don't have much of an appetite and muscle training feels hard, so it's easy to get sick. My runny nose has stopped, but if I stay at home all the time, I feel heavy. Today was my day off, so after shopping at the supermarket, I went for a walk.

私の家から近い難波駅のひとつ隣に、心斎橋という駅があります。このあたりは、デパートや外資系のブランドの路面店が多いショッピング街です。東京の新宿や表参道に似ています。午後6時ぐらいに行くと、人がたくさんいて、買い物や食事をしています。私はまず服屋に行って、それからアイスコーヒーを買いました。

Japanese Lessons with Mayuna

29. 街を散歩する

En este nuevo episodio vamos a escuchar a Enrique, un minero del municipio de Muzo, Boyacá, quien nos cuenta sobre su vida y su trabajo con las piedras preciosas más deseadas en Colombia, las esmeraldas. 
Remember this episode is a dictation activity, listen to it as many times as you need and write what you understand; when finished check the document with the transcription, you will find it in the following link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1F6-7SdhK0PzuD3gRG1XmhRf7FT3eeRXwgVI6SccX-xw/edit?usp=sharing

Real Spanish Podcast

Dictado: La vida de un minero

Live, raw, and uncut footage of English learners. Can you spot the mistakes?

AngliaEnglish

The advatages of living with your parents

The working world has changed since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, with new challenges for many employees and managers.

This year the focus of World Mental Health Day on October 10 is mental health in the workplace.

In the US, an estimated 1 million workers miss work every day because of job stress. And it's a similar situation in many countries around the world.

But there are lots of things we can do to help look after our mental health — and the mental health of our colleagues — when we're at work.

Experts from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have shared a few ideas, including simple things like saying "thank you" to others.

They also suggest practicing good "email etiquette." This means making your emails clear with an "accurate subject line," "concise summary" of what you're asking and a "clear timeline."

The mental health charity Mind says people should make sure they find time to take breaks. Many workers can take lunch breaks and perhaps other small breaks during the day and even a short time away from the desk can help you to feel a little better.

According to Harvard Business Review, managers need to understand that "work is about people, and people are messy and difficult."

This means understanding that employees all have their own challenges.

The first thing that managers can do, says psychologist Emily Anhalt, is show that they care about mental health in the workplace.

Making a difference to employees' mental health is not "a quick and easy thing," she said. It's a long journey — that might start on October 10, but it will need to last for years.