This episode is my take on what I think is missing from the education curriculum - the essential skills all students should have in my opinion before they leave school. 
Please let me know in the comments your thoughts!

British English with Maria

Ep 7 - What they don't teach you at school....

En este nuevo episodio te enseñaré otras palabras que puedes usar en lugar del típico "muy" en diferentes situaciones

Spanish Shortcut

EP 46. NO USES “MUY”

Story = '2000 most common words in English'. 

It was 10am on a cloudy Friday when Bobby was struck by inspiration.  It was a day like any other. Bobby was sitting on his bed, curled up in a ball and Afsane was nearby reading a new book.

Bobby was deep in thought. His eyes were closed but his mind was active. His little tail was wagging softly. Occasionally he got up, turned around and sat back down again. This was part of his creative process. 

Then Bobby’s eyes shot open. “Yes! That’s it! I’ll… I’ll…” Then he rested his head again on his paws.  “No… it’s gone.” 

Asfane turned her attention back to her book and turned the page. The book was called, How to Live with An Extraordinary Dog. She wanted to better understand Bobby’s gift.

“You’ve done so many projects,” said Afsane. “Why don’t you revisit an old idea and explore it from a different viewpoint?” 

All over Bobby’s room were his photographs. They were all in special frames. He had taken photos of almost everything: parks, sports, markets, transportation, roads—whatever Bobby saw, he snapped a photo. But he didn’t know what to do for his next photography project. 

Bobby needed to refresh his mind. He jumped off the bed and walked over to his food area. On the wall in front of his red drinking bowl was a picture of his previous drinking bowl, a blue one. 

“I’m looking for a special subject, Afsane,” said Bobby after drinking some water. “Something which speaks to my soul. Something which lifts my spirits.” 

Afsane shrugged her shoulders and put down her book. “That sounds very serious, Bobby. Why don’t you just take a photo of… oh, I don’t know, that.” 

Afsane pointed to the open window. 

Bobby felt curious, so he jumped up and looked out the window. He didn’t see much. He watched the traffic and the dark clouds. But then, something caught his eye. 

Bobby barked and howled! “That’s it! That’s it!”

“See, I told you. There’s nothing boring about windows,” said Afsane.

“No. There! Children!”

Being a Cloud

Bobby the Dog

The Step Pyramid of Djoser

A

The pyramids are the most famous monuments of ancient Egypt and still hold enormous interest for people in the present day. These grand, impressive tributes to the memory of the Egyptian kings have become linked with the country even though other cultures, such as the Chinese and Mayan, also built pyramids. The evolution of the pyramid form has been written and argued about for centuries. However, there is no question that, as far as Egypt is concerned, it began with one monument to one king designed by one brilliant architect: the Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara.

B

Djoser was the first king of the Third Dynasty of Egypt and the first to build in stone. Prior to Djoser’s reign, tombs were rectangular monuments made of dried clay brick, which covered underground passages where the deceased person was buried. For reasons which remain unclear, Djoser’s main official, whose name was Imhotep, conceived of building a taller, more impressive tomb for his king by stacking stone slabs on top of one another, progressively making them smaller, to form the shape now known as the Step Pyramid. Djoser is thought to have reigned for 19 years, but some historians and scholars attribute a much longer time for his rule, owing to the number and size of the monuments he built.

C

The Step Pyramid has been thoroughly examined and investigated over the last century, and it is now known that the building process went through many different stages. Historian Marc Van de Mieroop comments on this, writing ‘Much experimentation was involved, which is especially clear in the construction of the pyramid in the center of the complex. It had several plans … before it became the first Step Pyramid in history, piling six levels on top of one another … The weight of the enormous mass was a challenge for the builders, who placed the stones at an inward incline in order to prevent the monument breaking up.’

Part 2 will be added later today. Stay tuned.


The Habits of Highly Effective English Communicators

Cambridge IELTS Reading & Comprehension

👇Find Us:
Youtube/Discord/Podcasts platforms: Blabla Chinese
Website: www.blablachinese.com

Blabla Chinese 

25. Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋节

PHRASES and VOCABULARIES USED:
• place an order
• take your order
• What would you like to order?
• menu
• a moment to
• take your time
• decided
• drink
• medium
• great choice
• additional items
• anything else?
• that's all
• the total comes to
• proceed to
• counter
• Enjoy your meal!

Language Lab: Conversations with Teacher Rose - Unlocking English Fluency

How to Order Foods at Mc Donald's

TRANSCRIPTION (explanation included)
These expressions of happiness and contentment span a spectrum of formality and tone. In everyday conversation, one might simply say they are "happy," "content," or even use the term "pleased" to express satisfaction. When the feeling is particularly strong, phrases like "I am genuinely happy" and "I am overjoyed" convey the depth of joy. In informal settings, a more relaxed approach may be taken with expressions like "on cloud nine" or "over the moon," indicating extreme happiness. For matters necessitating decorum, a formal approach may involve phrases like "I am pleased to inform you" or "I am delighted to announce," emphasizing the importance of the news. Politeness tempers the happiness in expressions such as "I'm really happy for you" or "That's wonderful news," demonstrating a genuine celebration of someone else's success. A touch of wit adds a layer of playfulness to the joy, as seen in expressions like "doing the happy dance" or "grinning from ear to ear." In more refined circles, the upper class might communicate their contentment with statements like "I'm quite content" or "I find myself in high spirits," maintaining an air of sophistication. For royalty, joy is conveyed with grace and dignity, as in "It brings me great joy" or "I am genuinely pleased," underscoring the formal nature of the response. Ultimately, the choice of expression hinges on the context and the level of decorum required for the situation at hand.

LEARN BY LISTENING

How to say happy in various registers of English

https://linktr.ee/atsushi_japanese

こんばんは！
Japanese daily life podcast のAtsushiです。
このPodcastは、日本語を勉強しているみなさんに向けたPodcastです。

今日は、言語の勉強について話します。

最近、日本語のレッスンで、いろんな人と話をします。
ビギナー、これから日本語を勉強しはじめる人もいれば、N5、N4レベルの人もいますし、N3からN1までの人もいます。それぞれのレベルで勉強の仕方は変わるなと思います。

僕も英語を勉強しています。タイ語も少し勉強しています。来年、ドイツとオランダに旅行することにしたので、ドイツ語とオランダ語も少しだけ勉強しています。

文字が違う言語は学習するのが大変ですね。
文字を覚える必要もあるので、なかなか進みませんが、楽しいですね。文字を覚える時は、書くのが良いと思います。と言うより、書くないと覚えられないと感じています。
体で覚える感じがします。運動と同じですね。タイ語や韓国語は、書くことで文字を理解するようにしています。

日本語はひらがな、カタカナ、漢字とアルファベットに相当するものがとても多い言語ですね。はじめは書いて書いて書いて、なれるのが良いと思います。

発音が違う言語も大変ですね。
日本語の発音は口の前の方で話す感じがありますね。1語ごとに切るような感じです。でも母音も子音もそんなに多くないので、慣れるとできる、かもしれません。
英語は口の奥の方、喉のあたりを開けて話すようなところが特徴ですね。ストレスを置くところ、あまり発音しなくても良いところなどありますね。
日本人は学校の英語ではカタカナ発音から入ってしまうので、後からの改善は結構難しいですね。日本人が英語を苦手と感じる根深い問題かもしれません。最近の日本の英語教育がどう変わっているかはわかりませんが、カタカナ発音をなくすことを期待します。

日本語の発音で難しいところってどこですかね。
オンラインレッスンをしている人で聞いてくれている方もいると思うので、また教えてください！

ちょっと長くなりそうなので、今回はこれまでにします。
言語について話すことや考えることはとても楽しいですね。
オンラインでも言語の話題だけで30分が終わったりすることもよくあります。

またこのトピックについて話しますね！
最後まで聞いていただき、ありがとうございます！
ではまた！







Atsushi のJapanese podcast (travel/news /文法・漢字・語彙/Osaka/Hokkaido/🇹🇷🇬🇪🇦🇲🇪🇸🇵🇹)

# 155   言語の勉強について

こんにちは！
Japanese daily life podcast のAtsushiです。
このPodcastは、日本語を楽しく勉強しているみなさんに向けたPodcastです。

ぼくの日常生活の話を聞くことで、日本語のリスニングをよくしたり、新しい言葉を知ってもらえたらいいなと思います。


みなさんお元気でしょうか。
今日もジョージアでPodcastを録っています。

前回のPodcastでは、3.11について話しました。
2011年の3/11、東日本大震災がありました。

それまでも日本は地震が多い国でしたが、この震災をきっかけにさらにいろんなことが変わりました。

建物の耐震基準を強化しました。
耐震は地震に耐える、ということです。

既存の建物の耐震性の診断と改修が促進されました。
今ある建物が大丈夫か調べます。問題があればなおします。

防災意識が高まりました。
防災訓練を真剣にしたり、家に水などを備蓄、置いておいたりして、いつ震災があってもいいように準備をします。


地震と聞けば怖い、と思いますが、大きな地震でなければ、日本は全く問題がない、安全な国です。

安心して日本へ旅行してくださいね！

ということで、今回は以上です。

最後まで聞いていただき、ありがとうございます！
ではまた！




