Welcome to "The Power of Slang and Idioms in English." Join us as we explore how informal language shapes communication and enhances language skills. Uncover popular phrases' origins, meanings, and usage, empowering you to incorporate them effortlessly. Connect with others on a new level with "The Power of Slang and Idioms in English" podcast.

English Learner's Boost

The Power of Slang and Idioms in English: Understanding and Incorporating Informal Language

Almudena: 24 años de crisis. Clarence: 25 años y medio de crisis. 

Nivel del episodio: Español Intermedio y Avanzado. 

Este es el primer episodio de P.O.S.T (Poniendo nuestra mi*rda junta), también en Spotify o YouTube. Esperamos que lo disfrutéis :) 

P.O.S.T Podcast

Crisis existenciales, rayadas y otras mi*rdas.

・BTSの日本語曲を引用し、東北弁で表現しよう！
・主に北東北で使われる方言に置き換えて紹介
・「すごく」の色々な東北弁の紹介
・まとめ


Nihongo tokidoki Inaka hougen with Megumi Na

BTSの日本語曲「Film out」の歌詞を東北地方の方言へ変換！「すごく」ってどう表すの？Learning Tohoku dialect

В этом подкасте я даю лексику, которая необходима, чтобы говорить об отдыхе.

Привет, это Наташа!

Эпизод 39. Говорим об отдыхе.

Beginner Chinese Listening：大雪  Heavy Snow

Beginner Chinese Listening

Let's talk college football. Saturday afternoon. Big day. Feet up, beverage. Game starts at noon. Be ready.

English My Way

College Football

What do you think is the most expensive place in the world to live? New York? London? Maybe Tokyo?

While Japan has long had a reputation as an expensive place to live, its cities have been getting cheaper in recent years — with some big changes coming just in the last 12 months.

American consulting company Mercer recently released its 2024 Cost of Living City Ranking, which compares the costs of over 200 items in 226 cities around the world. The results are based on a March 2024 survey, and include things like housing and transportation, as well as food, clothing and entertainment.

All five of the world's most expensive cities are unchanged from last year, with Hong Kong and Singapore again in first and second place. These two Asian cities are followed by three Swiss cities: Zurich, Geneva and Basel.

Bern, another Swiss city, has risen from seventh to sixth place, while New York City has fallen one place to seventh.

However, Tokyo has dropped 30 places to 49th — putting it right after San Juan in Puerto Rico. And Osaka has dropped 53 places to 146th — just ahead of Wuhan in China.

However, the biggest drop since last year was for Lagos in Nigeria, which fell 178 places to 225th. And the least expensive city is now Abuja, Nigeria's capital, at 226th.

Mercer wrote that many big drops were caused by changes in exchange rates. Japan's yen dropped to a 34-year low against the US dollar in March — and hit a 38-year low in early July.

The ranking was also affected by inflation — especially in housing prices — as well as increasing political uncertainty around the world.

Mercer says it's important for companies to look at its cost of living ranking when thinking about sending staff to live abroad.




Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

Japan Tumbles on Expensive Cities Ranking

With many teens spending almost all of their time online, parents are concerned that social media is exposing them to harmful content. Faced with growing pressure to stop online harm, Instagram has introduced a major new update to protect young people and give parents more control.

Under 18s now signing up for Instagram in the US, UK, Canada and Australia will be automatically enrolled into a restricted teen account. Existing accounts will be transferred by mid-November.

The European Union will get teen accounts later this year, and the rest of the world in January. Other Meta services like Facebook will get teen accounts next year.

What limits will teen accounts have?
Instagram already prohibits anyone under 13 from signing up.

Now, teen accounts will automatically be set to private, so they'll have to accept or reject new follower requests. Other users won't be able to see their posts or tag the account.

Teens will also only receive direct messages from people they're following or who follow them.

Teens won't be shown content involving sensitive topics and an anti-bullying feature will screen out offensive words in comments and message requests.

To reduce their screen time, teens will get a notification to stop using the app after it's been open for over an hour — which they can ignore.

Sleep mode between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. will mute notifications and send auto-replies to direct messages. However, they can still use Instagram and answer messages if they want to.

Are there workarounds?
These limits will be turned on automatically for all teens, but 16 and 17-year-olds can turn them off. Kids under 16 will need permission to do so and parents can make changes and approve or deny any requests.

However, if parents want to use teen controls, they'll need an Instagram account.

New controls for parents



Instagram Introduces New Teen Accounts Settings

In this episode of English Learners Boost, Teacher Ian explores how humor varies across cultures and why a joke in one country might fall flat—or even offend—in another. With a special look at Filipino humor, practical tips for using jokes appropriately, and an inspiring story of language growth, you'll gain the confidence to connect with others through laughter—without the cultural confusion.

💬 Book a lesson with Teacher Ian on iTalki and experience personalized, practical English learning today!