I talk about the phenomenon of trying to fit in despite how expensive it can be. 

Random Thoughts

Keeping Up with the Jones

小明今天过生日。他非常高兴，因为这是他十岁生日。他的爸爸妈妈准备了一个生日派对，还有很多好吃的蛋糕和水果。

派对开始了，小明的朋友们都来了。他们一起唱生日歌，一起吃蛋糕。小明还收到了一些漂亮的礼物，有玩具、有书籍，还有一件新衣服。

小明开心地说：“谢谢大家，今天是我最快乐的一天！”

派对结束后，小明和他的朋友们一起拍了很多照片，留下了美好的回忆。他们约定下次再一起玩，期待下一个生日的到来。

1.小明今天过什么节日？

    A) 圣诞节
    B) 生日
    C) 春节


2.小明的生日派对上有什么好吃的？

    A) 蛋糕和水果
    B) 比萨和汉堡
    C) 面条和汤

3.小明在派对上得到了什么礼物？

    A) 一辆自行车
    B) 玩具、书籍和新衣服
    C) 一只宠物

开口说汉语    "Chinese Chit-Chat"

小明的生日

Discover	发现	fāxiàn
Discriminate; eg as in to discriminate against someone	歧視	qí shì
Discuss	讨论	tǎolùn
Display; eg as in to exhibit	陳列	chén liè
Dispose	出手	chū shǒu


5 Verbs a Day. 每天学习五个动词。

C(18) Vocabulary Set: Discover Discriminate Discuss Display Dispose

Hablo un poco en este podcast sobre decir adiós. ¿Cuáles son las razones para decir adiós? La más triste la mu3rt3. También cuando se nos abre una nueva oportunidad tenemos que decir adiós para abrirle la puerta a lo nuevo. 

Déjame saber qué piensas y reserva una clase conmigo. 

Hablar por hablar (Listening)

Adiós: despedirse (Goodbye: saying goodbye)

Easy News📺
I introduce Japanese news in easy Japanese.
Today’s Theme is “Gion Festival in Kyoto”.
This episode is JLPT-N4 level.

I created a quiz on this episode.
After listening, please take the quiz!

Please use this audio for listening and shadowing practices.

☆Words☆
祭り（まつり / matsuri）：festival
コロナウイルス（ころなういるす / korona uirusu）：coronavirus
飾る（かざる / kazaru）：decorate
山車（だし / dashi）：festival car (float)
喜ぶ（よろこぶ / yorokobu）： be happy

日本三大祭り（にほんさんだいまつり / nihon sandai matsuri）：the Japan’s three greatest festivals
・祇園祭（ぎおんまつり / gion matsuri）：Gion Festival（Gion Matsuri is a one of the biggest festival which takes place over the entire month of July in Kyoto. The biggest event of this festival is Yamahoko. Yamahoko is the decorated float which is made by every town in Kyoto. These floats will be paraded through streets on every July 17th.）

・神田祭（かんだまつり / kanda matsuri）：Kanda  Festival（Kanda Matsuri is one of Edo’s (old Tokyo’s) great festivals. Events last one week but the highlight is the procession of more than 100 o-mikoshi (divine palanquins) from all the area’s neighborhoods to and from the shrine; experience the unbelievable atmosphere in Kanda, Nihonbashi, Otemachi, Marunouchi and Akihabara.）

・天神祭（てんじんまつり / tenjin matsuri）：Tenjin  Festival（Tenjin Matsuri is a festival held by Osaka Tenmangu shrine, Sugawarano Michizane is enshrined at and has more than 1000 years of history.）

☆Grammar☆
・～になる：become
・～ように･･･：so that / in order to
・～そうです（伝聞）：I heard that

☆Script for this episode
The scripts (URL) are listed in the overview section of the channel.

☆Quiz for this episode
https://www.italki.com/quiz/set/5966?utm_source=copylink_share&utm_medium=share_content&utm_campaign=share_quiz


Simple Japanese Listening with Meg（めぐ）Smile

#20 Easy News / 京都の祇園祭《Gion Festival in Kyoto》// N4 Level

Malayalam literature for learners — the shape of the tradition, and a practical staircase from where your reading is now to where you want it to be.

A language you cannot read is a language you only half have.

I am Dr. Reshmi R. Nair, an applied linguist from Kerala. I have taught hundreds of learners to speak Malayalam as it is actually spoken.

THE WORDS
പുസ്തകം - pusthakam - book
കഥ - katha - story
ചെറുകഥ - cherukatha - short story
നോവൽ - novel - novel
കവിത - kavitha - poem
കവി - kavi - poet
നാടകം - nadakam - play
ഉപന്യാസം - upanyasam - essay
എഴുത്തുകാരൻ - ezhuthukaran - writer
എഴുതുക - ezhuthuka - to write
വായിക്കുക - vayikkuka - to read
പ്രസാധകൻ - prasadhakan - publisher
വിവർത്തനം - vivarthanam - translation

THE TRADITION IN FOUR WORDS
മണിപ്രവാളം - manipravalam - "gem and coral threaded on one string", the medieval style that braided Malayalam with Sanskrit
കിളിപ്പാട്ട് - kilippattu - the parrot song, the verse form in which a parrot narrates the story
ഓട്ടൻതുള്ളൽ - ottanthullal - the solo satirical performance that took poetry to ordinary people
രാമായണമാസം - ramayanamasam - the month in which the Ramayana is read aloud at home, which is how most Malayalis first meet literature

THE READING LADDER
1. Children's books and folk tales, where the sentences are short and the vocabulary is concrete.
2. Newspaper human-interest columns, which use everyday syntax.
3. Short stories, because they end before you lose momentum.
4. Novels, where you finally read for the story and stop translating.

Never look up every word. Read for the shape of the sentence first.

Where are you on that ladder right now? Tell me and I will suggest your next step.

#LearnMalayalam #Malayalam #Kerala

The Story of Malayalam | History, Words and Linguistics

Malayalam Literature — A Reading Ladder You Can Actually Climb | Learn Malayalam #312

Today I noticed something unusual in the water where I was planning to grow a plant. At first, I didn’t know what these small moving creatures were. I was a bit confused, so I asked ChatGPT, and I found out that they were mosquito larvae.
Mosquito larvae are the early life stage of mosquitoes. They usually live in still or stagnant water, such as buckets, ponds, or containers left outside. At this stage, they look like tiny worms and move in a wriggling motion near the surface of the water. They breathe through small tubes and often come up to the top of the water to get air.
After learning this, I understood that the water I was using was actually an ideal environment for mosquitoes to grow. This is because mosquitoes lay their eggs in still water, and within a few days, those eggs hatch into larvae.

The life cycle of mosquitoes has four main stages:

Egg – The female mosquito lays eggs on or near still water.
Larva (wriggler) – The eggs hatch into larvae that live in water and feed on tiny organic particles.
Pupa (tumbler) – This is a resting stage where the mosquito transforms inside a protective case in the water.
Adult mosquito – The fully developed mosquito emerges from the water, flies away, and the cycle repeats.


Shirin English Podcast

Mosquito Larvae in Water

Live, raw, and uncut footage of English learners. Can you spot the mistakes?

AngliaEnglish

Protecting animals

You can read the podcast here>> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xtm_gM4yQ1hzFd8tTfL3G-4Ors2UCOCr/view?usp=sharing