Hi! In this podcast, I take you with me in a journey through memory lane and tell you how it was for me to grow up in The Netherlands, my travels, what is typically Dutch, and much more! Subscribe now

Dutch with Rick

It's pretty interesting even okay is different from every country.
Please enjoy my first podcast! Thank you!

Aaron's Podcast 

Show you how the pronunciation of "okay" is different in 5 different languages

What is data? It's information which is stored (= kept) on your computer.

What's a search engine? It's a computer program like Google which searches the internet for information.

What's a network? It's a set of computers that are connected and can exchange information.

What's a username? It's the name or special word you use that allows you to enter a computer program or system.

What's a login? When you start to use the computer, you usually type in a name or word that you've chosen. You log on when you start the computer, and you log off when you finish.
When you want to use a particular app or website, you log in and then log out to leave it.
What is software? It's the programs which are used to to operate a computer.

What's an app? An app is a piece of software that you can put on a smartphone or tablet. You can use it to get information or to play a game.

What happens if my screen freezes?  You can't move text or images (= pictures on a computer) because there's something wrong with the equipment or programs.

English Mini Lessons

The internet 

EP 20# Summary_ Review of Lessons from 11 to 19 (Free Chinese Lesson) 

Who says Chinese is hard？ 谁说中文很难

In many parts of the world, summer has kicked in, and people are really feeling the heat.

But people in one city in the Middle East may have more reason to complain about the heat than anywhere else in the world.

This place is so hot that birds fall from the sky, some streets are air-conditioned, and, allegedly, fish boil in the sea.

This is Kuwait City, the capital of Kuwait, often called the hottest city in the world.

Temperatures often get as hot as 50 degrees Celsius in the summer — and sometimes even higher. In July 2016, the temperature reached 54 degrees Celsius in the north, which is the highest temperature Kuwait has experienced.

People are rarely seen walking outside in the summer, and many residents leave the city while it's this hot.

Kuwait has always been hot, but climate change has made the summers hotter and longer.

According to the Emirates Policy Center, between 1962 and 1999 there were 18 days when the temperature in Kuwait was 50 degrees Celsius or higher. Between 2000 and 2021, the number of days was 80 — and 64 of those were between 2010 and 2021.

The country is also getting less rain than before. As a result, it's experiencing more frequent and intense dust storms.

Living in these high temperatures is not good for humans. A study by the University of Roehampton in London found that the human body has an upper temperature limit of between 40 degrees and 50 degrees before it starts to malfunction.

At higher temperatures, a person may start to experience "heat stress," which can cause things like confusion, nausea, dizziness and fainting — and can be fatal.

Some may say that Kuwait is contributing to its own problems, since it's one of the world's largest emitters per capita of carbon dioxide, and uses only fossil fuels for energy.

But things may be changing. According to the International Energy Agency, the country plans to generate at least 15% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030.

Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

Life at 50 Degrees: Kuwait City May Be World's Hottest City

Psychological Training for Language Learners (IELTS, Job Interviews, Confidence Building).

I started this recording with IELTS learners; however, it's something that ALL language learners CAN benefit from NOW.

It is something that isn't talked about by English teachers (very few teachers do), the psychological aspects of success behind IELTS speaking, job interview successes, and confident communication in English or other languages.

It is something about your head—how you think, feel, see, and hear; therefore, how you interpret reality—that is the key, the essential ingredient for a language learner's success and life overall.

Please allow me to guide you along the process of softening towards your goals (sometimes people are too strict and too intense about it).

My voice is gentle and deep, which will help you relax and feel at ease.

Enjoy the journey and have fun.

If you'll resonate with some of my ideas and you'll feel compelled to book my class, do so; no hesitation is needed; you are in safe hands with me.

Be well and feeeeel good now...

IELTS-SPEAKING 8-9 BAND IS POSSIBLE. DAILY SPEAKING PRACTICE PART 1,2 & 3. Listen daily.

Psychological Training For Language Learners (IELTS, Job Interviews, Confidence Building).

For the past few years, companies around the world have been testing out a four-day work week. In many cases, this means allowing employees to spread their work hours over four days instead of five.

Many of these tests have been successful, and people in the UK may soon get more rights to ask for a four-day work week.

Since April, employees in the UK have had the right to ask for more flexible working conditions, but companies do not have to agree to it.

But under the government's plans to increase flexibility for workers, companies may have to offer flexible working hours from the day the employee starts working — although it's not yet clear what this means.

"One possibility is for the government to make it more difficult for employers to refuse such requests, because at present it is quite easy for them to do so," Charlie Thompson, an employment lawyer who works for law company Stewarts, told Sky News.

Education Minister Jacqui Smith said more flexibility could be better for productivity.

"You're still doing the same amount of work, but perhaps you're doing it in a way that enables you, for example, to need less child care, to spend more time with your family, to do other things, that encourages more people into the workplace," she told LBC Radio.

But not everyone is happy with the idea of a four-day work week, and some tests weren't as successful as others.

UK supermarket Asda tested a four-day week, but changed back to the five-day week after staff said the longer work days were too demanding.

Another supermarket, Morrisons, also tried a four-day work week at its head office, but to make it work, staff sometimes had to work on Saturdays, which they weren't happy about.

UK Workers May Get More Rights to Four-Day Week

In this episode of The Streetwise English Podcast I talk about my top pet peeves. https://italki.com/teacher/1947582
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