In this episode on Samhain, otherwise known as Halloween, we will briefly look at where this festive holiday came from and learn some new words and phrases in just under 6 minutes.

Philosophical Friday

Samhain or Halloween

南辕北辙 [nán yuán běi zhé]：outh/shafts of a cart or carriage/north/trail；to try to go south by driving the chariot north,The idom means to act in a way that defeats one's purpose.
邯郸 hán dān：a city in Hebei Province
熨烫 yùn tàng：ironing
拜见 bài jiàn：pay a formal visit
精良 jīng liáng：excellent; superior; of the best quality
依仗 yī zhàng：count on;rely on
殊不知 shū bù zhī：little imagined;hardly realize

乐读中文 (Lè Dú Zhōngwén) - "Joyful Chinese Stories"

南辕北辙[nán yuán běi zhé]

This week, you’ll hear from the very first guest on the Express to Impress podcast. Allyson Plumberg, Founder of Rooted Accents: Solutions for Accent Modification, joins me to discuss accent modification. 

Allyson provides speech therapy services and accent modification coaching to students and professionals worldwide. She has a Master of Science degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Arizona State University.

The episode is the first of two with my conversation with Allison. It’s packed full of useful information for English language learners. 

We kick off the conversation with a definition of an accent and have a quick discussion about the General American English accent and micro accents.

Then, we dive into a discussion about common beliefs about accents. Allison debunks common myths that limit people from being able to speak English effectively.

We also talk about speaking speed, word stress, content versus function words, stressed and unstressed syllables, reductions, contractions, and more! 

Episode originally published February 26, 2021.

Original theme music by Lucas Knutter 

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

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

Want an American English Accent? Allyson Plumberg Debunks Accent Myths

In this episode we are going to learn 【day of the week】in Chinese. 
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As a beginner, there're some vocabularies that you didn't learn before, and native speaker's speed seems too fast to understand. But don't worry, let's do it step by step. 
1st time: listen and catch the words you know alreay, have a guess about the content.
2nd time: look at the text to check if you guessed it right. 
3rd time: listen one more time, repeat after it.
4th time: practise until you can speak as the normal speed without looking at the text. 
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今天是2022年6月9号，星期四。
jīn tiān shì èr líng èr èr nián liù yuè jiǔ hào ， xīng qī sì 。
Today is Thursday, June 9, 2022.
昨天是6月8号，星期三。
zuó tiān shì liù yuè bā hào ， xīng qī sān 。
Yesterday was Wednesday, June 8th.
前天是6月7号，星期二。
qián tiān shì liù yuè qī hào ， xīng qī èr 。
The day before yesterday was June 7th, Tuesday.
大前天是6月5号，星期一。
dà qián tiān shì liù yuè wǔ hào ， xīng qī yī 。
Two days ago was June 5th, Monday.
明天是6月10号，星期五。
míng tiān shì liù yuè shí hào ， xīng qī wǔ 。
The day after tomorrow is June 11th, Saturday.
后天是6月11号，星期六。
hòu tiān shì liù yuè shí yī hào ， xīng qī liù 。
The day after tomorrow is June 11th, Saturday.
大后天是6月12号，星期日。
dà hòu tiān shì liù yuè shí èr hào ， xīng qī rì 。
Two days later is June 12th, Sunday.
你的生日是几月几号？
nǐ de shēng rì shì jǐ yuè jǐ hào ？
What date is your birthday?
你最喜欢星期几？
nǐ zuì xǐ huān xīng qī jǐ ？
What is your favorite day of the week?

Yuli's Chinese Channel

一周 A week （for beginner）

Basic vocabulary and short sentences to describe the appearance of somebody. 

Aprende árabe con Radia 

Adjectives to describe appearance 

Um casal tentou viajar sem o filho no areporto de Tel Aviv com destino a Bruxelas

Aprenda Português Com Notícias Insólitas e Malucas -Learn Portuguese With Crazy Isoteric News 

Casal tentou viajar sem o filho para não pagar bilhete

Zorba le chat
Les archives de la police des animaux contiennent un dossier exceptionnel et peu connu. Tu sais qu’il existe des chiens policiers. Le plus célèbre d’entre eux est un chat. Eh oui ! Zorba le chat rêvait d’être policier. Il s’est présenté à l’examen de recrutement et a été renvoyé car ce n’était pas un chien. Mais Zorha est têtu ; il est revenu, déguisé en chien, et a réussi toutes les épreuves.
Sa première enquête s’annonce bien délicate : un voleur masqué a dérobé les bijoux de la reine des écureuils…

Des Milliers D'histoires

Histoire 9 - Zorba le chat

IELTS Preparation. Band 8-9 Answers. Part 1 - Your favourite place. Question 1.

The question: What place do you most like to visit?
 
Relevant vocabulary: “White Cliffs of Dover” in Kent, stunning coastline, crossing the English Channel, centuries, gorgeous, geology, dazzling, white chalk faces, sharp edges, rising 350 feet, above the sea level, along with the layers of wild and lush grasses.

I hope you can make up your own story using this example and will be inspired to create multiple answers based on ideas shared in the recording.

If you are struggling with part 1,2 and 3 of IELTS speaking - join my one-on-one mentorship to feel more confident about your answers and gain a lot of ideas how to hack the system!

Read about my class types book my classes now.

See you in 5!

IELTS-SPEAKING 8-9 BAND IS POSSIBLE. DAILY SPEAKING PRACTICE PART 1,2 & 3. Listen daily.

IELTS Preparation. Band 8-9 Answers. Part 1 - Your favourite place. Q1.

Those illuminating moments when we understand points of learning.