In this episode I cover a perennial question "How do I improve my English skill"?

Teacher Stan's musings

10.000 hours rule

Pillole d'arte

Pillole d'arte: introduzione

拼音

Många frågar om hur länge det tar att lära sig svenska.

Här får du veta mer om hur lång tid det tar att prata flytande svenska. 

Find out here more about how long time it may take to learn Swedish fluently. 

Prata Flytande Svenska/Speak Swedish Fluently  

Hur länge tar det att lära sig svenska?

Simon Fowler: So what do you think you will have to eat?

Eduardo Gonzales: I know you said the barbecue is good and it does look fantastic, but I see they also have curry here.

Simon Fowler: Yes, they do. It’s really good. You see there are 12 different kinds. The one at the bottom is very mild and as they go up, they get more and more spicy. The one at the top - well, phew! It’s really tasty, but a little too hot for me. There’s a lot of garlic in it, so if you choose that, you need to be brave. And you may not be popular on the plane home tomorrow (laughs).

Eduardo Gonzales: (Laughs) I do like a strong curry though. What I do is I order a dish of yogurt to go with it. It’s nice and thick and cool so if I feel it’s too spicy, I can eat some or add it to my curry to cool it down.

Simon Fowler: That’s a really good idea. I might try that in future.

Eduardo Gonzales: I also like the sound of the cheeseburger, but at the same time, I could have a good cheeseburger in a lot of places.

Simon Fowler: Oh, it’s really special here though. They bake the burgers for a little which makes them taste really good, and then they fry them quickly in olive oil. There are a lot of restaurants where they just put it in the microwave and it tastes terrible.

Eduardo Gonzales: The only thing I used a microwave for is heating up my coffee when I have left it too long. I don’t think you should ever use one for food.

Simon Fowler: Well, here comes the waitress, so it’s decision time.

English Conversation/Dialogue

Eating Out

Neste episódio, falo sobre o falecimento do escritor brasileiro Luis Fernando Veríssimo, sua importância para a literatura e para o Brasil, e apresento uma recomendação de leitura fácil e divertida para quem quer começar a conhecer sua obra. 🌟

Everyday Portuguese 

Episódio 2 - Adeus, Luis Fernando Veríssimo (EM PORTUGUÊS)

There's a video on TikTok in which a user takes a jar of seasoning called "Everything But the Bagel" and carefully separates the ingredients into small piles to find out the secret to the recipe.

The video has been viewed almost 2 million times — a sign of just how popular this seasoning mix, made by US company Trader Joe's, has become.

People like to put it on top of bagels and use it in lots of different meals.

However, fans of the mix have been finding out that it's not welcome everywhere in the world.

Signs have been posted at Incheon Airport in Seoul, telling passengers they can't bring jars of the seasoning into the country.

The reason is that one of the ingredients is banned in South Korea.

The mix contains things like sesame seeds, dried garlic, dried onion and salt — but poppy seeds are the problem.

Poppy seeds are banned in South Korea because they are narcotic-related items, according to the airport. The ban is not new but travelers have said that airports are now cracking down on the seasoning mix.

The seeds are also banned in a number of other countries, including Saudi Arabia and Singapore.

The poppy plant is used to make drugs like heroin and morphine, although the seeds don't contain any opiates.

However, the country worries that the seeds could be contaminated by opiates.

In fact, in the US, members of the armed forces have been advised not to eat products containing poppy seeds in case they affect the results of drug tests.

Drug tests can be very sensitive but experts say that it would be almost impossible to eat enough poppy seeds to feel any narcotic effect.

Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

Greece Uses Drones to Keep Sunbeds Off Beaches

Uma história sobre o susto que levei em uma viagem ao Amazonas. Descubra também nesse episódio o que é Pirarucu.

Keep Speaking Portuguese

Outro susto no Amazonas

In this episode my mom teaches me how to make blueberry pie, my childhood favorite, step by step. You can expect to learn a lot of new cooking-related vocabulary and phrasal verbs. And then, if you’re able to follow the recipe, you may even want to try baking the pie yourself!

***For English learners! – Detailed vocabulary lesson begins at 30:04***

***Full transcript available ⁠at https://american-idiom.com/f/002-making-a-blueberry-pie⁠***

Episode Outline:

Background information about pies in American culture (Starts at 2:10)
Choosing and preparing your blueberries (Starts at 2:46)
Making a pie crust (Starts at 6:52)
Making a decorative edge for your pie crust (Starts at 18:40)
Preparing your berry mixture and finishing your pie (Starts at 21:23)
Making a streusel crust to top the pie (Starts at 25:49)
Baking and serving instructions (Starts at 26:58)

Vocabulary and examples (Starts at 30:04)

To end up (used at 6:07, 13:22 and 29:02 and explained at 30:28)
To rinse off (used at 6:17 and 6:37 and explained at 32:30)
To wear out (used at 15:38 and explained at 34:05)
To look the part (used at 18:53 and explained at 35:17)
As is (used at 29:04 and explained at 38:21)

Note on native shortcuts (Starts at 40:07)

***A written recipe for the blueberry pie can also be found at ⁠american-idiom.com⁠ at the bottom of ⁠the following page: https://american-idiom.com/f/002-making-a-blueberry-pie***