A Language Learning Story // His Journey and a Transformative Stay in Japan

Hello I'm Akari, I'm a online Japanese teacher and tour guide in Kyoto.
I've been teaching Japanese since 2013, and thanks to this job I met amazing people along the way.
Today I interviewed Akira, who took my lesson around 2020, then came to Japan and spend three month from autumn 2024 to winter 2025. 
He's learning Japanese journey is not only language learning, but it's related to his dad's family history and his future wife.

Akari's online Japanese lesson:
https://www.italki.com/teacher/916033

Akari's information:
linktr.ee/akari.japanese

Akari Talks Japan

A Language Learning Story with Akira // His Journey and a Transformative Stay in Japan

Dies ist eine Entspannungsreise, um den Körper und Geist zu beruhigen.

Versucht das loszulassen, das hinter euch liegt und konzentriert euch auf das, was vor euch liegt. 
Lasst Altes los. Lasst Neues zu. 
Es geht weiter.

Entspannung 

Altes geht, Neues kommt

안녕하세요! 영쌤이에요!
여러분은 한국 사람들이 여름에 즐겨먹는 음식을 아시나요?:)
오늘은 한국의 여름과 더위를 이겨내는 음식에 대해 이야기해 볼게요! 




<C1-C2> *마지막 한걸음! The last step!*

(고급) 한국의 여름과 더위를 이겨내는 음식

我在北京
我一直都很喜欢中国的文化。今年一月我离开家，离开了我的爸爸、妈妈，一个人坐飞机来北京学习汉语。老师和同学们对我非常好，他们帮助我提高汉语听、说、读、写能力，还告诉我北京人的工作和生活。
北京的春天天气很好，不冷不热，也很少下雨。我最喜欢北京的早上。每天早上五点半，我都会去跑步。在路上，我常常看见很多做运动的人。有的人在前面跑，他们的小狗在后面跑。人跑到哪儿，狗就到哪儿，太有意思了!很多商店很早就开门了，水果和菜就放在桌子上。卖东西的人坐在椅子上，手里拿着杯子，喝着茶，等着客人来买。晚上是我很喜欢的时间，我可以和朋友一起逛街、喝酒、吃好吃的东西。如果10点左右回家也没关系，因为中国是一个很安全的国家。

Wǒ zài Běijīng
Wǒ yìzhí dōu hěn xǐhuan Zhōngguó de wénhuà 。 Jīnnián Yīyuè wǒ líkāi jiā ， líkāi le wǒ de Bàba 、 Māma ， yí gè rén ZuòFēijī lái Běijīng xuéxí Hànyǔ 。 Lǎoshī hé Tóngxuémen duì wǒ fēicháng hǎo ， tāmen bāngzhù wǒ tígāo Hànyǔ de tīng 、 shuō 、 dú 、 xiě nénglì ， hái gàosu wǒ Běijīngrén de gōngzuò hé shēnghuó。 
Běijīng de Chūntiān tiānqì hěnhǎo ， bù lěng bú rè ， yě hěnshǎo xiàyǔ 。 Wǒ zuì xǐhuan Běijīng de Zǎoshang 。 Měitiān Zǎoshang Wǔdiǎnbàn ， wǒ dōu huì qù pǎobù 。 Zài lùshang ， wǒ chángcháng kànjiàn hěnduō zuòyùndòng de rén 。 Yǒude rén zài qiánmian pǎo ， tāmen de xiǎogǒu zài hòumian pǎo 。 Rén pǎo dào nǎér ， gǒu jiù dào nǎér ， tài yǒuyìsi le! Hěnduō shāngdiàn hěnzǎo jiù kāimén le ， shuǐ guǒ hé cài jiù fàng zài zhuōzi shàng 。 Mài dōngxi de rén zuò zài yǐzi shàng ， shǒu lǐ ná zhe bēizi ， hē zhe chá ， děng zhe kèrén lái mǎi 。 Wǎnshang shì wǒ zuì xǐhuan de shíjiān ， Wǒ kěyǐ hé péngyou yìqǐ guàngjiē 、 hē jiǔ 、 chī hǎochī de dōngxi 。 Rúguǒ 10 diǎn zuǒyòu huíjiā yě Méiguānxi ， yīnwèi Zhōngguó shì yí gè hěn ānquán de Guójiā 。


Learn Chinese through stories - HSK3  （more podcast：https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk_Q-vfEdpBJCRJviEEY0KQ）

HSK3 - My life in Beijing

This episode is about 【Zheng Qinwen's interview speech after winning the tennis women's singles gold medal】, you will learn how to say 【unparalleled,Honor,Inspire】 ect. The material helps you get used to different voice and accent. 
--------------------------------------------------
It is recommended that you study in the following ways:
Step 1: Gist listening. Listen to get the main idea. (more times if necessary)
Step 2: Read the text to find out words you didn't get, then look up the dictionary. 
Step 3: Listen and imitate as much as you can without looking at the text.
Step 4: Write down what you hear if you want to practise writing.
-------------------------------------------------- 
郑钦文：有点得意，就是我很少有得意的心情，但是这次拿到奥运会冠军，虽然说不想承认，这不太符合中国人谦虚的气质，但是内心真的有点得意，也有点骄傲，也有点无与伦比的开心。因为我是一个不太喜欢把表情表现到脸上的人，但大家可以看到这次奥运会其实我真的很多的情绪都外露了，包括我在赢下科贝尔那一场，不知道为什么就哭了。（然后呢）也包括那么多场倒地的瞬间，都足以证明了我对奥运会的热爱。（我）觉得这个金牌对我来说意味着一切。
记者：你觉得奥运会的金牌会是你一生当中最重要的金牌吗？
郑钦文：我觉得肯定是的，因为这不是我个人的，这是我为国家的荣誉而战，甚至我打破了历史，成为中国网球第一个拿到单打金牌的人，这是我小时候一直的梦想。然后我知道这一直以来是我爸的梦想，（然后）他从小就激励着我，（然后）终于可以骄傲自豪地跟他说：“老爸我这次终于光宗耀祖了一回，你终于可以好好地炫耀了。希望以后我打不好的时候，不要给我那么大压力，因为这块金牌代表着一切。”
（来源：抖音“中国之声”）
--------------------------------------------------

得意/dé yì/pleased with oneself
承认/chéng rèn/admit
谦虚/qiān xū/modesty
气质/qì zhì/temperament
无以伦比/wú yǐ lún bǐ/unparalleled
外露/wài lù/exposed
瞬间/shùn jiān/moment
足以证明/zú yǐ zhèng míng/Enough to prove
荣誉/róng yù/Honor
为···而战/wéi ··· ér zhàn/Fighting for
打破历史/dǎ pò lì shǐ/Breaking History
激励/jī lì/Inspire
光宗耀祖/guāng zōng yào zǔ/bring glory on one's ancestors
炫耀/xuàn yào/Showing off




Yuli's Chinese Channel

郑钦文获得网球女单金牌后的采访发言 （Advanced level）

나의 생일
어제는 나의 생일이었어요.
아침에 엄마가 말했어요.
“생일 축하해!”
나는 웃었어요. 기분이 좋았어요.

엄마가 케이크를 주었어요.
케이크에 초가 있었어요.
나는 초를 켰어요.
소원을 빌었어요.
그리고 초를 껐어요.

엄마가 음식을 만들었어요.
김밥, 불고기, 미역국이 있었어요.
나는 많이 먹었어요.
정말 맛있었어요.

오후에 친구들이 왔어요.
친구들도 말했어요.
“생일 축하해!”
나는 고마웠어요.

친구들과 게임을 했어요.
웃고, 이야기했어요.
사진도 찍었어요.
정말 재미있었어요.

친구들이 선물을 주었어요.
나는 선물을 열었어요.
책, 인형, 카드가 있었어요.
정말 좋았어요.

나는 말했어요.
“고마워요! 정말 행복해요.”

어제는 특별한 날이었어요.
나는 생일이 너무 좋았어요.
다음 생일도 기다려요.



한국의 문화

나의 생일 (한국어 1)

Forget what everyone else says—this tip is all about empowering YOU to embrace the learning methods that work for you, no matter how unconventional they may seem. Research shows that confidence and personal relevance are key to successful learning. So why let someone else dictate your path? When it feels wrong, then it is probably wrong for you. That is also why this podcast is about 111 Tips for Learning a Language and Not 111 Must Do Methods for Learning a Language.

💥 Know that you are allowed to break Free from Convention:
Teachers might tell you that memorizing sentences word-for-word isn’t the best approach. Sure, there’s logic behind understanding sentence structure to expand your conversation skills. But what if you just want to start speaking now? What if memorizing phrases helps you get that plate of food, navigate a new city, or simply break the ice in a conversation? Guess what? That’s totally okay!

Studies indicate that personalized learning strategies—no matter how unconventional—can enhance motivation and retention. So, if memorizing a few key phrases helps you feel confident and ready to speak, go for it! It’s your learning journey, and every step counts.


💃🏻111 Tips for Learning a Language 

Tip 40 - Whatever Goes, Goes! 🌟

It is recommended that you study in the following ways:
1st time: listen without looking at the text.
2nd time: look at the text and write down the new words, then look up the dictionary. 
3rd time: listen again without looking at the text.
4th time: shadow reading without looking at the text.
https://www.purpleculture.net/chinese-english-dictionary/

In this episode we will talk about “冷”, you will learn different meanings of “冷”.
大家好，我是Yuli。这是我的第3期播客。
今天想和大家聊一聊“冷”的话题。
大家都知道冷是温度低的意思，它的反义词是热。如果今天只有8度（°C），我们可以说今天好冷啊，我要多穿几件衣服。夏天的时候，大家喜欢喝冷饮，例如冰可乐、冰啤酒、冰奶茶。还有夏天必不可少的冰淇淋。大家可能会说，冬天我们也喝冷饮吃冰淇淋啊。
这里要告诉大家一个文化小知识。在中国，大家在吃的方面比较讲究。小时候天气冷的时候，妈妈会告诉我们：“不可以吃冷的，对身体不好。”所以我们长大后也是这样的习惯。不过啊，现在年轻人越来越不在乎这些了， 他们想什么时候吃就什么时候吃。
冷还可以表示一个人的态度。例如，他对我很冷淡，一点儿也不热情。也可以说：她总是冷冰冰的。如果两个人吵架了，互相不说话，我们可以说：他们在冷战。如果你的朋友很激动，你可以告诉他：你冷静点儿。
冷还有其他有意思的用法。例如冷门，冷门专业是指那些很少人会选择学习的专业，它的反义词是热门专业。很多年前，计算机在中国是冷门专业，过去十几年变成了热门专业。
大家听过冷笑话吗？如果你的朋友告诉你一个笑话，你觉得不好笑，那你可以说：好冷啊。冷笑话就是bad joke，lame joke。
你听过什么中文的冷笑话吗？留言告诉我吧。我们下期见。

冷饮	lěng yǐn	cold drink
必不可少	bì bùkě shǎo	indispensable
讲究	jiǎng jiū	be particular about 
在乎	zài hū	care about
态度	tài dù	attitude
冷淡	lěng dàn	give the cold shoulder to
热情	rè qíng	enthusiastic
冷冰冰	lěng bīng bīng	icy （attitude） 
冷战	lěng zhàn	cold war
激动	jī dòng	excited
冷门	lěng mén	unpopular
热门	rè mén	popular
冷笑话	lěng xiào huà	lame joke


冷 cold

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