My story began in London 3 decades ago, but my travels into the teaching world would not take long to begin...

Stories from UK to China

Grammar and English tips for kids, beginners and intermediate students. 

Learn English with William

Stories and Questions to help you practice listening and writing skills. 

English Stories & Questions

Halo semua! 
Apa yang kalian lakukan di akhir minggu? 
Saya menonton seri televisi Indonesia berjudul "Badai pasti berlalu". 
Sinetron (sinema elektronik) ini diadaptasi dari novel terkenal oleh penulis Marga.T. 
Kalau kalian tertarik, silahkan baca bukunya atau nonton ya! 

Kalian tahu artinya "Badai pasti berlalu?" 
"Badai pasti berlalu" adalah peribahasa yang punya arti, 
masa-masa sulit yang dialami oleh seseorang tidak akan terjadi selamanya, pasti punya akhir. Setelah itu akan ada perubahan atau keadaan yang lebih baik di masa depan. 
Di Bahasa Inggris, artinya "The storm will pass", di Bahasa Jepang saya sering dengar 
嵐が過ぎ去る 。
Kalian percaya peribahasa ini? Saya percaya. 
Jadi siapa pun yang sekarang sedang mengalami masa sulit, percayalah badai pasti berlalu! Semangat ya! 

Selamat hari Senin! Selamat beraktivitas semua! ^^


Akhir minggu

Badai pasti berlalu

MARK: Excuse me. Could you tell me where the library is?
NANCY: Yes, it’s that way. You go three blocks to Washington Street, 
then turn right. It’s on the corner, across from the bank.
MARK: Thanks! I’ve only been in town a few days, so I really don’t 
know my way around yet.
NANCY: Oh, I know how you feel. We moved here a year ago, and 
I still don’t know where everything is!



LANGUAGE NOTES
• Could you tell me … is slightly more polite than “Can you tell me …?”
• Could you tell me where the library is? Notice that “library” is stressed here because 
it is the word with the important information. This is an indirect question, so the subject 
(the library) comes before the verb (is). The word order is reversed in a direct question 
(Where is the library?).
• Yes, it’s that way. Notice the stress on “that.” The speaker is pointing in a certain 
direction and wants to emphasize that direction.
• I know how you feel is a way of saying “I understand.” Notice the emphasis on “feel.” 
The speaker wants to show empathy and understanding.
• I still don’t know where everything is! Notice the word order of where “everything 
is.” The subject (everything) comes before the verb (is). This word order is different from 
the direct question (Where is everything?)

English Conversation practice (30-day challenge)

Day 12: Asking for directions

Script

おはようございます。日本語だんだんポットキャストのゆかりです。

みなさん、「さようなら」は聞いたことがあると思います。

でも、じつは、日本人はさようならをあまりつかいません。

私も、こどものころは、さようならをつかっていました。
先生や、自分より年上の人に言っていました。

いまは、さようなら、じゃなくて、ほかの言葉(ことば)をいいます。

ともだちや、家族(かぞく)には、

「じゃあね。」
「またね。」
といいます。

また、会いましょう、という意味(いみ)です。

ほかにも、
「バイバイ。」もいいます。

あわせて、
「じゃあ、またね。バイバイ！」
といいます。

私の弟はよく、
「はーい、またな。じゃあなー。」
といっています。

会社(かいしゃ)の人とはどうでしょうか。

「失礼(しつれい)します。」
「おつかれさまです。」

と、よくいいます。

私は会社で「さようなら」をつかったことがありません。

みなさんはどうですか？


では、今日も最後まで聞いてくれて、だんだんです。

また、明日！

Japaneseだんだんpodcast

38.「さようなら」はあまりいわない！？/Japaneseだんだんpodcast/

Note: This podcast is intended for language learning ONLY. Not for promoting or criticizing any political party or ideology. Let’s keep it friendly and accessible to all :)


Also, all of the experiences are the hosts’ own experiences so please do your own research if you need more information.

Chillchat (Learn Chinese and Chill)

Chinese Zodiacs (Symbolism & Superstitions) 十二生肖（象征意义和迷信）

农历 nóng lì：The traditional Chinese calendar; the lunar calendar
元宵节 yuán xiāo jié：The Lantern Festival
正月 zhēng yuè：The first month of the lunar year
月圆 yuè yuán： full moon
五福 wǔ fú ：five blessings (longevity, wealth, health, love of virtue, and natural death)
鸿运 hóng yùn：good luck; great blessing
圆满 yuán mǎn：satisfactory; perfect
连连 lián lián：repeatedly;again and again; one after another
今天是2024年2月4日星期六，农历正月十五。
在中国农历正月是元月，古代称夜为“宵”，所以是一年中第一个月圆之夜。正月十五名为“元宵节”也叫“上元节”。正月十五，祝你五福临门，鸿运当头、事事圆满、好运连连！

“龙”年中国话（“ lóng ” nián zhōng guó huà）

The Lantern Festival 龙年元宵节

From fast-food counters to Michelin-starred restaurants, the hamburger is much loved in the Western diet, but where did it come from?

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a hamburger as both "ground beef" and "a sandwich consisting of a patty of hamburger" on a bun. Although these might be the simplest forms of a hamburger, the sandwich is often eaten with other things added, such as lettuce, cheese, sauces and even other meats.

But this popular food didn't start out with all the extras. In fact, it's thought that one of the earliest forms of the hamburger was closer to a steak tartare — raw minced steak mixed with egg.

While a recipe from the Roman Empire suggests the earliest version of this meal, some believe that it came from Mongolian horsemen, who would place beef under their saddles while riding, so that by the end of the day it was tender enough to eat raw.

However, others say these riders placed meat under their saddles only to help heal their horses' sores, and any meat prepared this way would be too dirty to be edible.

A later version is thought to have come from the German city of Hamburg, where chefs around the 17th or 18th century cooked minced beef with onions and breadcrumbs. This came to be known in English as the "Hamburg steak," and made its way to the US during the 19th century, where it was later called the "hamburger."

Although it isn't known who first thought to put this minced meat on bread, adding a bun made the hamburger popular as a sandwich in the US. The first fast-food hamburger chain — named White Castle — was opened in 1921, and still sells its famous square-shaped hamburgers to this day.

Now, hamburgers can be found worldwide thanks to popular American fast-food restaurants such as McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's. In 2012, PBS reported that an estimated 50 billion hamburgers are eaten in the US alone every year.

Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

From Rome to Rochester: The History of the Hamburger

（1）“点”and“分”are used to express time in Chinese, observing the principle of “the bigger unit preceding the smaller unit”.
“点”means “o’clock”, indicating a whole hour. For example：
9:00 →九点(jiǔ diǎn)
11:00 → 十一点( shí yī diǎn)
2:00 →两点(liǎng diǎn )

*Note: The counterpart of 2 o'clock in Chinese is “两点(liǎng diǎn)” instead of “二点(èr
diǎn)”.

（2）If it is not a “whole-hour” time, “分” is used. The pattern is “……点……分”. For example:
5:30→五点三十分(wǔ diǎn sān shí fēn) 
11:10→十一点十分(shí yì diǎn shí fēn) 
2:05→两点零五分(liǎnɡ diǎn línɡ wǔ fēn)
 
（3）To distinguish atime before noon from one afternoon, the pattern“上午(morning)点(……分)”or“下午(afternoon)……点(……分)”is used. For example:
8:00am→上午八点(shànɡ wǔ bā diǎn) 
5:25pm→下午五点二十五分(xià wǔ wǔ diǎn èr shí wǔ fēn) 

JOJO CHINESE

Expression of Time

Explora la Reserva Biológica Huilo Huilo, un paraíso oculto en la Patagonia chilena. Descubre cómo este impresionante lugar combina conservación, turismo sostenible y la rica biodiversidad de los bosques templados del sur de Chile. Acompáñanos en Latido Latino y conoce uno de los tesoros naturales más mágicos de Latinoamérica."

Es concisa, atractiva y refleja el enfoque del episodio. ¡Perfecta para captar la atención de tus oyentes!