Whether one should learn an American or British accent is a constant debate among English learners. Here's my take on it. To give me suggestions for future podcast episodes follow me on Twitter @tanatswaforever.

Slice of English 

Do I Really Need an Accent Part 2

Сегодня читаем отрывок из прекрасного произведения Ремарка. Объясняю некоторые слова и фразы, а остальное, надеюсь, вы поймете сами!

Слова из эпизода:
отры’вок - часть из произведения, книги, речи - fragment, snippet;
това’рищ - человек, близкий по общим взглядам, деятельности, условиям жизни; синоним “друг” - comrade, companion;
слыха'л (просторечие) - слышал - I've heard;
произноси'ли - выговаривали - pronounced;
мимолё'тными - быстро исчезает, проходит, не длительный - fleeting, ephemeral, momentary;
бе'гство - бег, уход от чего-либо, откуда-нибудь - escape, getaway;
отча'яние - состояние крайней безнадёжности -  despair, hopelessness, desolation;
пустота' - когда нет интересов, стремлений - emptiness, vacuum, blank;
полага'ться - надеяться на кого-то, быть должным - rely;
оттого', что - потому что, потому как, благодаря тому что - because;
вду'маешься - внимательно обдумать что-нибудь - ponder;
бесконе'чно - что-либо без конца, завершенности - infinitely, endlessly, eternally;
бу'ря (переносное значение) - о сильном, бурном проявлении чего-либо - storm, windstorm, hurricane;
преобрази'ть - изменить, улучить образ, форму, вид чего-нибудь - transform;
не'что - что-то - something.

Пишите в комментариях, какие произведения или каких авторов вы хотите почитать вместе со мной?

И помните, что чтение по-русски углубляет ваши знания языка! 
Хороших вам книг, друзья!

Reading Russian

Отрывок из "Три товарища" Э.М. Ремарк

RYAN: I’m so happy this week of midterm exams is finished.
TYLER: Same here. I’m looking forward to relaxing in the mountains 
this weekend. I’ve planned a little hike in the woods. 
And I’m gonna take a canoe trip down the river if the 
weather cooperates.
RYAN: Oh, fun! I’m going to Michigan. I’m taking my camera 
because fall is coming fast. The leaves are already turning 
all shades of red and orange. It will be awesome.
TYLER: Next time you go there, I’ll join you. I’ve heard Michigan is a 
great place to go canoeing


LANGUAGE NOTES
• Midterm Students at universities in the United States often take exams midsemester, 
around October or March of every year. These exams are called midterms. Exams at the 
end of the semester are called finals or final exams and are usually in May.
• Gonna is a colloquial form of “I’m going to.” Other similar constructions include 
“wanna” [want to] or “hafta” [have to]. These are examples of transcriptions of spoken 
English and should not be used in a formal context. Some of these examples are now 
seen in text messages as a means of shortening sentences.
• Awesome: is a colloquial way of saying “excellent,” “cool,” “great.” Last night’s rock 
concert was awesome

English Conversation practice (30-day challenge)

Day 28: Hobby

Convergent Thinkers vs. Divergent Thinkers: Is One Better Than the Other?

verybody is capable of both convergent and divergent thinking, depending on the situation. However, it’s natural to lean more toward one or the other when approaching problems and projects.

“Some people have a natural preference for divergent thinking. They are the people in organizations who love to come up with new ideas,” says Manning, “They are also the people who are most useful when solving daunting, complex challenges because they are more likely to articulate ideas that are new and useful.”

The real issue lies in becoming too reliant on one method of thinking. “Too much divergent thinking can lead to endless ideation and no solutions. Too much convergent thinking can lead to no new ideas and ‘analysis paralysis,’”

Project Management and the Lure of Convergent Thinking
That’s a trap that project management professionals—who are notoriously married to their plans and processes—can fall into easily.

Let’s break this all down with some examples. Divergent thinking starts with an objective—perhaps you need to generate 1,000 new leads within a month. You start by brainstorming creative ideas and solutions to satisfy that goal: happy hours with famous speakers, direct mailers including $100 gift cards, a man in a gorilla suit on the corner of Times Square.

From there, you move into evaluating those options and settling on the one(s) that works best. This is an example of convergent thinking.

Let's continue later today on this topic and explore it further. See you soon.

The Habits of Highly Effective English Communicators

Business English For Project Managers. Reading & Comprehension

So if you and your brother were bored and had nothing to do because it was raining outside, you might say to him, "I've been in the doldrums ever since the rain started."



English Vibes

Have You Ever Been 'In the Doldrums'?

Learn English with Rachael Professional English Teacher

Rachael English Teacher Podcast

皆さん、お久しぶりです！！
しばらくポッドキャストを休んでいましたが、また月１くらいのペースで更新していこうと思います！
今回は、最近気になっている新語について話します。

It’s been a while!
We have been taking a break from podcasting for a while, but we are going to start updating it about once a month again!
This time, we talk about new words that have been on our minds recently. 

♤ キーワード
・絡む（からむ：hang out）
・素行が悪い（そこうがわるい：behave badly）
・湯船に浸かる（ゆぶねにつかる：soak in the bath）
・出汁（だし：broth）
・属す（ぞくす：belong to）
・あるある（common things）
・黒装束（くろしょうぞく：dressed in black）
・積読（つんどく：the act of leaving a book unread after buying it, typically piling it up together with other such unread books）
・物騒な（ぶっそうな：dangerous）

♧ 理解度チェッククイズ
1. フミが最近気になっている言葉は？
2. それはどういう意味？
3. 元々どこで使われていた言葉？

♢ 前回のクイズの答え
1. フミが朝顔を育てようと思った理由は？
→ ２、３年前に育ててみたら、思いの外きれいだったから
2. 小学生用の朝顔の種にはどんな工夫がされている？
→ 子どもでも育てやすいように一手間加えてある 

BGM special thanks：MusMus

アヤさんとフミさんの日本語雑談（Aya and Fumi’s Japanese Chit-Chat）

Episode 29：最近気になっている新語（2024）

Quest’anno sembra che tutti aspettiamo il Natale in anticipo.
I negozi sono già pieni di prodotti natalizi, dolci tipici come il Panettone e il Pandoro. E le vetrine sono luminose e addobbate.


Irene in Italia

7dicembre2023_Natale in anticipo

Wanna make friends in Chinese?　How do you greet other in Chinese? How do you ask their name in Chinese?