A quick Merry Christmas episode with Santa Claus sharing a funny holiday story, warm wishes, and useful expressions you can use in real life.

English Cup 

Wish you a Merry Christmas!

In Episode 73 of 111 Tips for Learning a Language, we explore the intersection between emotional regulation and conversational fluency through the lens of the sacral chakra. Drawing from both neuroscience and yogic philosophy, this episode demonstrates how breathwork, pelvic awareness, and emotional expression activate the vagus nerve, reducing amygdala hyperactivity and supporting hippocampal memory consolidation—crucial for vocabulary retrieval and confident speaking (Porges, 2011; Lupien et al., 2009). By cultivating awareness of the emotional body through the sacral region, language learners can overcome anxiety, improve expression, and foster greater ease and authenticity in communication.

💃🏻111 Tips for Learning a Language 

Tip 73 - How to activate the sacral chakra for language learning

【结语】
我们为什么要出走，有时是想逃逸，有时是想恋爱，有时是怀念诗意。
无论如何，总有一个理由让我们想要暂时离开熟悉的人和环境，去让自己放一下空。
那么，放下当前的平凡，试着投入和体验另一种平凡。
平凡处，亦是闪光处。

【今日话题】
在生活中，你是否经常去旅行，或者想要去旅行呢，又是什么驱使你想要踏上旅程呢？

Ruby's  Reading club of  Chinese

优雅是种力量（八）平凡，才是人生唯一的答案

In this episode, you’ll hear my voice and an audio with an Argentine accent. It’s important to get used to different accents so you can better understand movies, podcasts, series, and more. You’ll also learn a bit about the concept of the multi-species family.

Un tinto con Flora

Improve your Spanish listening skills: listen to the audio and test your comprehension with the questions.

In this episode, you will hear Daxin's experience of high school. You will find why Daxin doesn't like Beijing. Enjoy it.

大新要带妈妈去海南生活，大新的哥哥和弟弟都不同意。很多朋友也说北京更适合妈妈。北京有更好的医院，北京有更好的生活设施，北京冬天有暖气。可是，大新还是带妈妈去了海南。因为大新不喜欢北京。大新不喜欢北京，不是因为北京不好，是因为大新觉得北京不是他的地方。他总是想离开北京。大新是十七岁的时候才来北京的。那个时候，他还是一个中学生，他是高中二年级的学生。大新的学习不太好。大新上课的时候很怕老师让他站起来回答问题。但是老师还是让大新站起来回答问题了。大新的脸红得不得了，老师还要说，你们看，北京的教育比西北好太多了！西北就没有好教育！大新真的不喜欢老师的话。后来，大新在北京工作，在北京生活，可是，他就是不喜欢北京。

Dà xīn yào dài mā mā qù Hǎinán shēng huó ， Dà xīn de gē gē hé dì di dōu bù tóng yì 。 Hěn duō péng yǒu yě shuō Běi jīng gèng shì hé mā mā 。 Běi jīng yǒu gèng hǎo de yī yuàn ， Běi jīng yǒu gèng hǎo de shēng huó shè shī ， Běi jīng dōng tiān yǒu nuǎn qì 。 Kě shì ， Dà xīn hái shì dài mā mā qù le hǎi nán 。 Yīn wèi Dà xīn bù xǐ huān běi jīng 。 Dà xīn bù xǐ huān Běi jīng ， bú shì yīn wèi Běi jīng bù hǎo ， shì yīn wèi Dà xīn jué de Běi jīng bú shì tā de dì fāng 。 Tā zǒng shì xiǎng lí kāi běi jīng 。 Dà xīn shì shí qī suì de shí hòu cái lái běi jīng de 。 Nà gè shí hòu ， tā hái shì yí gè zhōng xué shēng ， tā shì gāo zhōng èr nián jí de xué shēng 。 Dà xīn de xué xí bù tài hǎo 。 Dà xīn shàng kè de shí hou hěn pà lǎo shī ràng tā zhàn qǐ lái huí dá wèn tí 。 Dàn shì  lǎo shī  hái shì ràng Dà xīn zhàn qǐ lái huí dá wèn tí le 。 Dà xīn de liǎn hóng dé bù dé liǎo ， lǎo shī hái yào shuō ， nǐ mén kàn ， Běi jīng de jiào yù bǐ Xī běi hǎo tài duō le ！ Xī běi jiù méi yǒu hǎo jiào yù ！ Dà xīn zhēn de bù xǐ huān lǎo shī de huà 。 hòu lái ， dà xīn zài Běi jīng gōng zuò ， zài běi jīng shēng huó ， kě shì ， tā jiù shì bù xǐ huān Běi jīng 。

New vocabulary:
同意     tóng yì     agree
设施     shè shī      facility
不得了      bù dé liǎo     terriblely
西北




Story Chinese

24#25

LUKE: Hello? Hi, Stephanie, how are things at the office?

STEPHANIE: Hi, Luke! How are you? Can you please stop and pick up extra paper for the computer printer?

LUKE: What did you say? Can you repeat that, please? Did you say to pick up ink for the printer? Sorry, the phone is cutting out.

STEPHANIE: Can you hear me now? No, I need more computer paper. Listen, I’ll text you exactly what I need. Thanks, Luke. Talk to you later.

LUKE: Thanks, Stephanie. Sorry, my phone has really bad reception here.

Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

Can You Say That Again

Konnichiwa! Welcome to Slow Japanese! What season is it now in your town? This time, we'll listen about the seasons in Hokkaido, north of Japan.

Usage of Slow Japanese:
STEP 1. Listen to the episode without seeing scripts.
STEP 2. Go to mochifika.com/podcast/ and check "Key vocabularies of this episode", listen again to the episode while seeing the list.
STEP 3. Check the whole script, it'll fill the gap in your understanding.

Scripts and key vocabularies of this episode are here:
https://mochifika.com/podcast-script/slow-japanese-episode-12-seasons/

Slow Japanese

Episode #12 - The seasons in Hokkaido

How to talk about ingredients and tastes of unfamiliar foods using English phrases and adjectives.

The English Toolbox

Describing Food

My English grammar is poor - how to improve that? Episode 399

Why learners think their grammar is poor:

1 .Comparison with Native Speakers
2. Fear of Judgment
3. Perfectionism
4. Focus on Mistakes
5. Cultural Differences
6. Lack of Confidence
7. Unrealistic Expectations
8. Overly Focused on Formal Grammar

Which one are you? Did you even know that ALL students do it and you are not alone in it? :)

How to correct the thinking pattern:

Reframe the Belief: Instead of “My grammar is poor,” rephrase it to something more constructive, such as: “My grammar is still developing,” “I’m making progress in my English,” or “I’m learning new grammar every day.” This shift in mindset is crucial.

Focus on Progress, Not Perfection: Celebrate small victories. Notice your improvements, no matter how subtle. Track your progress.

Embrace Mistakes as Learning Opportunities: View mistakes as opportunities for growth. Don’t dwell on errors; instead, learn from them and move on. This is a key part of the language learning process.

Compare Yourself to Your Past Self, Not Native Speakers: Focus on your own improvement, recognizing that language acquisition takes time and dedication. Celebrate your progress.

Build Confidence: Engage in activities where you can feel successful. This might involve writing, speaking, or simply listening to English. Focus on the positive aspects of your ability.

Focus on Communication, Not Just Accuracy: The most important thing is to communicate effectively, even if your grammar isn’t perfect. Emphasis should be on understanding and being understood.

Which point did you like best that you are going to incorporate in your mental image from now on?

and let me know what are your current challenges are that I can help you to overcome them step by step.

Join my 1-1 coaching classes and we'll dive deep.