Thoughts and discussions of the topics that come up during the in-person and online teaching as well as real life

Vlad's teaching tales

¿Qué tan popular es tener mascotas en tu ciudad/país?
¿Generalmente son los perros o los gatos lo más frecuentes?
¿Tuviste mascota alguna vez? ¿De chico o de grande? ¿Qué aprendiste de ellos?


CHARLEMOS DE TODO ESTO, Y MÁS.

Dale play, y practica un poco de español conmigo hoy!

Te saluda CAMILA - DESDE BUENOS AIRES - ARGENTINA

Disfruta de aprender

¿Tenes mascotas?

Circes has turned Odyssea's crew into birds. Will Odyssea figure out how to get them back to their human form?

https://saracasalino-books.weebly.com/blog/the-adventures-of-odyssea-ch-21-circes

Learn English with Stories

The Adventures of Odyssea: Chapter 2.2 - Circes

In this episode I talked to Laylla, a Portuguese teacher for foreigners and creator of the project "Portuguesing". She is from São Paulo and in this conversation in Brazilian Portuguese we talked about the cultural differences between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. We also talked about the difference in accents and words between our cities.

You can find the audio transcript of this episode at this link: https://unclebrazil.com/podcast/a-carioca-talking-to-a-paulista-uncle-brazil-podcast-02/

Uncle Brazil Podcast

A Carioca talking to a Paulista

En este episodio te daré algunos consejos para mantener tu nivel de español cuando estás en tiempo de vacaciones y no tienes una rutina estricta para practicar

Spanish Shortcut

EP 27. CONSEJOS PARA TU ESPAÑOL DURANTE VACIONES

Borders between countries sometimes change after wars or international agreements, but part of the border between Italy and Switzerland is changing because of melting glaciers.

Large sections of the border are defined by different parts of the glacier, for example the lines of ridges in the ice.

But climate change has caused glaciers across Europe to melt and this has changed the positions of the glaciers' ridges and the natural boundaries between the countries.

The two countries have been talking about the new borders for a number of months. Switzerland signed the new border agreement at the end of September and it's waiting for Italy to do the same.

Part of the border is close to the popular Swiss ski resort of Zermatt. Some of the slopes will be affected by the border change, although skiers shouldn't need to worry about carrying their passports up the mountain!

In fact, both countries are in the Schengen area, so anyone with a visa to visit one of them will usually be able to visit the other without any problems.

The changes have been made so that it is clear which of the two countries is responsible for maintaining certain areas.

But both countries' economic interests were also considered when the new borders were agreed, Bloomberg said.

According to 2023 data, Switzerland's glaciers lost 4% of their volume in 2023, after losing a record 6% of their volume in 2022.

The region has had less snow and warmer summers in recent years.

Some glaciers have no ice left, and the situation will only get worse if nothing is done about climate change, experts say.

According to a 2023 study, up to half of the world's glaciers could disappear by 2100, even if we make progress with targets limiting climate change.

Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

Italy, Switzerland Change Borders as Glaciers Melt

Spain has said it wants to introduce a tax of up to 100% on property purchases for anyone from outside the European Union (EU) who is not a resident in the country.

That could mean a lot of potential buyers from places like Asia, the UK and the US being priced out of the market.

And that's exactly the idea.

Many Spaniards have said that they can't afford to buy property because of the number of homes being bought by foreign buyers.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez recently shared the plan, saying that in 2023, 27,000 apartments and houses around Spain were bought by people from outside the EU.

He said these buyers didn't purchase the homes to live in, but to make money from them.

Spain is a popular vacation destination for people around the world, and many like to buy holiday homes for themselves.

But other buyers put their properties on the short-term rental market, using sites like Airbnb.

This has meant that there are fewer homes for local people to buy. The shortage of properties in popular areas has seen prices increase, with many locals unable to afford higher prices.

Sánchez also said he wants to increase taxes on landlords who rent their properties with companies like Airbnb.

However, the prime minister's plans may not become law; for now they're just ideas.

British people who spoke to the BBC after hearing the news weren't happy with these plans.

Michele Hayes from Manchester, who has been looking at properties in Spain, said: "How many working Spanish people want to live in holiday homes in these tourist areas anyway?"

Spain Considers 100% Tax for Foreign Property Buyers

الرِيَاضَة تْسَاعِدْنَا نِبْقَى بِلَيَاقَة وصَحَّة جَسَدِيَة وَعَقْلِيَة جَيِدَة.
Sports help us stay fit and in good mental and physical health
مُمَارَسَة الرِيَاضَة مُمْكِن تْقَلِّل التَوَتُر و كَمَان تْزِيد التَرْكِيز فِي المَهَام اليَومِيَة.
Practicing sports can reduce stress and also increases the focus in the daily tasks
والرِيَاضَة تِلْعَب دَور مُهِم بِنَجَاح الإِنْسَان لأَنَهَا تْعَلِّم الإِنْسَان عالإِنْضِبَاط 
And the sport plays a main role in the success of the person because it teaches discipline to the person 
والرِيَاضَات الجَمَاعِيِة تْعَلِّمْنَا كَيف نِشْتَغِل كَفَرِيق.
Group sports teach us how to work as a team.
بِالإِضَافِة, الرِيَاضَات مُمْكِن تْسَاعِدْنَا نْكَوِّن أَصْحَاب جَدِيدِين
In addition, sports can help us make new friends
بِالمُقَابِل, مُشَاهَدَة الرِيَاضَة تُعْتَبَر طَرِيقَة جَيِّدَة للتَوَاصُل مع العَائِلَة والأَصْحَاب.
On the other hand, watching sports is considered as a great way to connect with family and friends.
بِشَكِل عَام, إِضَافِة الرِيَاضَة بِرُوتِينَنَا اليَومِي يْزِيد السَعَادَة بِالَحَياة.
In general, including sport in our daily routine increases the happiness in the life