Vietnamese Listening Time

Hôm nay bạn ăn gì?

Today, we’re going to talk about a common and very useful Ukrainian phrase: "Можна, будь ласка?". It’s a polite way to ask for permission or make a request, and it’s something you can use in everyday situations.

First Steps in Ukrainian

Можна, будь ласка? Can I ... , please / May I ... , please

The paradise is awaiting for you!
Do you want to retire in Mexico?


Mucho que decir

Tikin Xic Ft. Maria (Quintana Roo, MX)

Remember, if you want to score a band 7 in your IELTS speaking test, it’s important to use some less common idiomatic expressions.

The best place to slip these idioms into your speech is in part 2, because you have 1 minute to prepare. If you are a clever clogs, you will be able to sneak your idioms into your speech naturally. 

When preparing for your exam it’s best to always try to go the extra mile, because there is a lot to learn.

Firstly, you have to learn how to use linking phrases. To be honest, I have to admit these are sometimes tricky to remember. On the other hand, once you have learned them, they can be difficult to forget.

Secondly, you have to learn how to paraphrase, and use synonyms. It’s good to spend time in a thesaurus and arm yourself with lots of alternative words. If you do this you will gain ground. 

Thirdly, in order to avoid feeling lost at sea when you take your exam, make sure you have one or two idioms up your sleeve. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but you can teach an English student a new idiom. 

Now take the quiz that goes with this podcast, and book your IELTS mock speaking test with me.


IELTS Speaking Practice

IELTS preparation

Ciao e benvenuti a ITALOPOP!

Io sono Enza, insegno italiano per stranieri e oggi vi porto in un piccolo viaggio a Trieste… tra porto, mare e, soprattutto, caffè.

Sapete, Trieste non è solo il porto e le colline. Trieste è la città del caffè. Qui non si ordina “un caffè” e basta: no, no… qui ogni caffè ha il suo nome, la sua storia e… la sua personalità!
Entriamo in un bar storico, per esempio il Caffè San Marco. Il barista ci sorride: “Buongiorno, cosa prende?”
Se vuoi un nero, è semplice: un espresso nella classica tazzina.
Ma se vuoi fare il vero triestino, puoi chiedere un nero in B: sì, in bicchiere! Perché qui il bicchiere fa subito città portuale.
Hai voglia di latte? Allora arriva il capo o, se vuoi fare il raffinato, il capo in B. È un caffè macchiato servito in bicchiere, così puoi ammirare il gioco tra il caffè scuro e la schiuma bianca… quasi un piccolo dipinto!
E se proprio vuoi sentirti un esperto locale, prova il deca in B: il caffè decaffeinato, sempre in bicchiere, perché anche senza caffeina, qui il bicchiere è d’obbligo.

A Trieste il caffè è anche socialità: non è raro vedere due persone che discutono animatamente sul “nero” perfetto o sul bicchiere giusto. E attenzione alle parole: se chiedi un “caffelatte” a un triestino, sorriderà… perché qui si dice ancora “caffelatte”, non cappuccino! Piccoli dettagli che raccontano una città.

A Trieste, il caffè non è solo una bevanda: è un piccolo viaggio nella cultura, nella lingua e nelle abitudini locali. La prossima volta che entrerete in un bar triestino, ricordatevi: potete ordinare un nero, un capo o un capo in B… ma soprattutto, godetevi il momento.

𝐆𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐎

Nero → espresso in tazzina
Nero in B → espresso in bicchiere
Capo → macchiato in tazzina
Capo in B → macchiato in bicchiere di vetro
Deca → decaffeinato in tazzina
Deca in B → decaffeinato in bicchiere di vetro
Caffelatte → cappuccino (più latte che caffè)

ItaloPop - Podcast di lingua italiana per stranieri

Ep.1 - 𝑻𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆... 𝒂 𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒊 𝒅𝒊 𝒄𝒂𝒇𝒇è!

大家好，您正在收听中文播客《丹霞说》，我是丹霞。今天我给大家说说白雪的爸爸。

白雪的爸爸叫夏东海，妈妈常常叫他老夏。老夏做的菜很好吃，他有一家饭店。叫“老夏饭店”。饭店不大，可是每天都有很多客人。饭店里有饭，有面条儿，果汁，还有很多菜。

白雪小的时候，每天都跟爸爸妈妈一起去饭店，他们三个人也在饭店吃早饭、午饭和晚饭，每天都很晚关门回家。可以说，饭店是白雪的第二个家。

客人们都很喜欢白雪，喜欢和她说话。白雪有大大的眼睛和小小的嘴巴，很可爱。爸爸妈妈很忙的时候，白雪也能帮忙给客人拿筷子，水和菜单。

白雪六岁的时候开始上学，爸爸每天早上给女儿准备午饭，因为白雪觉得学校的午饭不好吃，她喜欢吃爸爸做的。下午四点多，白雪从学校回到饭店，爸爸妈妈问她今天在学校学习了什么。如果饭店没有人来吃饭，爸爸会看白雪写作业。

这些词语你明白了吗？

客人    kè rén  guest
面条儿 miàn tiáo’er  noodles
菜     cài  dish, vegetable
关门   guān mén to close door
说话   shuō huà  to speak, talk
帮忙   bāng máng to help
拿     ná  to take, to hold
筷子   kuài zi  chopsticks
菜单   cài dān  menu
准备   zhǔn bèi to  prepare; preparation
觉得   jué de  to think, feel
作业   zuò yè  homework


Today I'll tell you about Bai Xue's father.

Bai Xue's father is named Xia Donghai, and his mother often calls him Lao Xia. Lao Xia's cooks very well. He has a restaurant. It's called "Laoxia Restaurant". The restaurant is not big, but there are many guests come every day. There are rice, noodles, fruit juice and many dishes in the restaurant.

When Bai Xue was young, she went to the restaurant with her parents every day. The three of them also had breakfast, lunch and dinner in the restaurant. They closed late every day and went home. It can be said that the restaurant is Bai Xue's second home.


The guests all like Bai Xue and like to talk to her. Bai Xue has big eyes and small mouth. She is adorable. When mom and dad are busy, Bai Xue can also help bring chopsticks, water and menus to guests.


Bai Xue started school when she was six. Her father prepares lunch for her daughter every morning. Because Bai Xue thinks the school lunch is not delicious, she likes to eat what her father makes.

At time past 4 pm., Bai Xue returned to the restaurant from school. Her parents asked her what she learned at school today. If no one comes to the restaurant for meal, dad will watch Bai Xue do her homework.

 HSK3 Vocab Based - Short Story Podcast

02. 白雪爸爸有个饭店 Báixuě bàba yǒu gè fàndiàn Baixue’s dad has a restaurant

5 useful words to use when discussing animals

IELTS Vocab

IELTS Vocab - Animals

Please tell me all about the kinds of goals you have for September.
Are they realistic? practical? simple? or challenging ?

Chat to Myks!👋😎

September Goals!

Te cuento sobre mi experiencia en el complejo olímpico de Atenas. Parece que correr en falda larga no es una buena idea. 