A podcast for learners of English by an Australian English teacher, spoken in slower English, on a range of topics from coffee to Japan!

Comprehensible Australian Podcast

Around 3,200 years ago, the Mediterranean and Near East regions were home to a vibrant, interconnected Bronze Age civilization marked by prosperous trade and grand palaces. Prominent kingdoms like the Egyptians, Babylonians, Minoans, Mycenaeans, and Hittites thrived. However, by 1177 B.C., this flourishing culture faced a rapid collapse, leading to a "Dark Ages

AnsuR

Late Bronze Age Collapse

In today's episode we learn an anecdote about the American tourists who once met the Queen and had no idea who she was. Here's the story. 

Key Vocabulary:
An anecdote   /ˈanɪkdəʊt/   noun  = a short, interesting story about a real incident or person.
To play a prank on someone = To carry out a trick, deception, or practical joke on someone.
To pull someone's leg  =  to deceive someone playfully; tease someone.
Cantankerous	/kanˈtaŋk(ə)rəs/ adjective   = bad-tempered, argumentative, and uncooperative.
To be a fly on the wall =  you would like to hear what will be said or see what will happen while not being noticed

Former Royal Protection Officer, Richard Griffin said he and the Queen met the American hikers one day while they were walking near Balmoral Castle, her holiday home in Scotland.
"The Queen would always stop and say hello," Griffin said. "And it was clear from the moment we first stopped that they hadn't recognized the Queen."
Griffin said one of the Americans asked the Queen where she lived.
"She said, 'Well I live in London, but I've got a holiday home near here,"' Griffin recalled. 
The hiker then asked if she had ever met Queen Elizabeth.
"Well I haven't, but Richard here meets her regularly," the Queen replied.
The hiker then turned to Griffin and asked: "Oh, you've met the Queen? What's she like?"
"I decided to pull her leg, so I said, 'she can be very cantankerous at times, but she's got a lovely sense of humour".
The American then got his camera out, and gave it to the Queen, asking if she could take a picture of him with the royal protection officer. "Then we swapped places and I took a picture of them with the Queen and we waved goodbye". "The Queen said to me, 'I'd love to be a fly on the wall when he shows those photographs to their friends —  hopefully someone tells him who I am.'"

Learn English with Cambridge David

The Queen and the American tourists

Español con Vero

La abeja Sofía

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IELTS Insights📚📝

IELTS INSIGHTS READING TITLE

🎙My friend Aly is interested in learning the Kansai dialect of the Japanese language. Azumi and Aly will explore about Kansai dialect via weekly Twitch Live Streaming!!

アリー関西弁を学ぶ【 🇺🇸🇯🇵】Bilingual ENG&JP Chit-Chat:Aly Learns Kansai Dialect

#1-1🐥Standard Japanese & Kansai Dialect

Watching series can help you gain competence in a language, improve your vocabulary and learn new expressions. So, in this episode of your Spanish Journey, I'll talk about the benefits of watching series and learning with them. Also, I will recommend some Spanish TV series that you can find on Netflix and you can't miss! Are you ready?

Your Spanish Journey

Watching series to learn Spanish (and three series you can't miss!)

2024年に始めたことやしたことについて😊

Nihongo Hiyori | Japanese Podcast

[EP083] 2024年振り返り | Reflections on 2024

Hello！I'm Yuko Nadani, Japanese teacher.
Today I'm going to talk about school bag 'Randoseru'. We had only red and black color Randoseru when I was a child, but now a days there are a lot of color variation for them.
Most of Japanese children are looking forward to have their own Randoseru when they enter an elementary school. 
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ランドセル
ランドセルは小学生が学校に持って行くかばんのことです。
日本では、学校や会社の新しい年度が４月にスタートしました。　ちょうど今から一か月くらい前のことでした。　おかあさんが　桜の花をバックに　子どもの写真を撮っていました。
子どもは、よそ行きのきれいな服を着て、真新しいランドセルを背中に背負っていました。私が住む関西では、最近、桜の花が咲く時期が早くなっています。そのため、入学式のころには、桜の花が散ってしまっていることが多いのです。それで、桜が咲いている間に　子どもの記念写真を撮っているのです。
　先日、あるランドセルを製造する会社のことが新聞に載っていました。　その記事には、このようなことが書かれていました。　「ベビーブームが去った後、一度は潰れかけた会社だったが、質の高いランドセル作りと地道な販路拡大の努力を続けた結果、2010年に2万７千個だったランドセルの販売数が、１０年で３倍を超えるまで増えた。今ではランドセルの流行を引っ張るようになった」とありました。
ランドセル・・・とても懐かしい感じがします。　私は小学校に入学するとき、真っ赤なランドセルを買ってもらいました。ランドセルに教科書やノートを入れて、学校の準備をするのが好きでした。　小学1年生の途中で転校した学校では、ランドセルは使われていませんでした。当時、大人からちらっと聞いた話では、ランドセルが戦争中の軍隊を思わせるからということでした。それでも、私はランドセルが気に入っていたので、1年生から6年生まで、卒業するまでの６年間使い続けました。今は戦時中を思い出すとかそんな話はちっとも聞きません。
最近のランドセルは本当にいろいろな色があります。でも、私の子どものころは、黒と赤ぐらいしか色はありませんでした。だから、男の子は黒、女の子は赤を使うのが普通でした。でも、息子が小学校に上がる頃には、ピンクや黄色、パステルカラーの水色、茶色などいろいろな色のランドセルが売られていました。それでも、息子は黒がいいと言ったので、黒のランドセル買いました。息子も小学校の6年間、ずっとそのランドセルを使っていました。　今25歳になった息子のランドセルは今も家にあります。大事にしているというわけではありませんが、捨てるのはなんだか寂しくて、クローゼットの中に置いてあります。　いつか、息子が結婚して、子どもができたら使うかもしれませんね。
