With 26 letters, (but 44 different sounds), and not many rules, English pronunciation is sometimes difficult.
Sometimes, reading a word, does not help you to say it.  Here is some help.


Pronunciation 

Do you know the difference between these words?
Answer these questions and find out.

Please look at the PDFs for the transcript.


Confusing words  (A2 - Elementary)

Do you know the difference between these words? 
Answer these questions and find out. 
Please look at the PDFs for the transcript.

Confusing words - intermediate 

To avoid getting rusty, and to keep up your skills, you should hear and speak English every day.  This can be expensive.  Here are some free ways to keep up your English skills between classes. 

How to keep up your English level 

A2 - B1  
Conversation Class Preparation.
Listen to the podcast and read the text. 
These podcasts are for my structured conversation class (there are over 80 topics)
(book a class to see the text).

English with Angela -  conversation 

Success at work!
Vocabulary to help your career.  
These podcasts are from my 'ENGLISH IN THE OFFICE courses.   
If you need more help, please send me an italki message, to discuss your needs. 


English for Business

¿Dormimos o no dormimos la siesta los españoles? ¿Será el eterno estereotipo español un mito o una absoluta realidad? En este episodio, Isma y Jon tratarán el tema de la siesta en España y todo lo relacionado con esta famosa tradición, su enlace con la cultura y el clima y los datos reales que explican este fenómeno. Esto y mucho más aquí, en ¡Qué Pasa! ¡Relájate y escúchanos!

¡Qué Pasa! Podcast en Español

La SIESTA en España - Parte 2

Full transcript: https://japanesemayuna.com/
はい、こんにちは。今回はポッドキャストのシーズン２の４回目です。大学の授業が始まりました。授業はオンラインです。日本でオンラインの授業が一般的になったのは、コロナウイルスが始まってからです。教授はまだZoomの操作に慣れていなくて、生徒の中には70代ぐらいの人もいたので、最初の授業ではトラブルがたくさん起こりました。
Hello. This is episode 4 of season 2 of my podcast. University classes have started. The classes are online. Online classes became common in Japan after the spread of the coronavirus. The professor was not yet familiar with how to work Zoom and some of the students were in their 70s, so there were a lot of technical problems in the first class.
今は仏教の歴史について勉強しています。ブッダの人生についての話です。ブッダについて書かれているインドの古い本では、正確な年号や情報がわからないため、仏教の研究は難しいそうです。インドで生まれた仏教の教えは、中国で翻訳されて、それから日本に伝わっています。そして京都や奈良にたくさんお寺が建てられました。なので、日本語にはインドから伝わった言葉が少しあります。ヨーロッパの言語とインドの言語は同じ言語から派生していますね。「派生する」とは、一つのものから生まれて、いろいろな種類に分かれることです。歴史を勉強すると、いろんな国の文化は同じルーツを持っているということがよくわかります。
Now I am studying about the history of Buddhism. It is about the life of Buddha. It is said that it is difficult to research Buddhism because the exact dates of events and the accuracy of information in the old Indian books about the Buddha are unclear. The teachings of Buddhism, which originated in India, were translated in China and then introduced to Japan. Then many temples were built in Kyoto and Nara. So the Japanese language has a few words that came from India. So European languages and Indian languages are Hasei-shiteiru from the same language. ‘Hasei-suru’ (to derive) means to come from one thing and divide into many different kinds of thing. Studying history, it is easy to see that the cultures of various countries have the same roots.
そして、今日はレッスンでAIの話をしました。生徒さんに、論文を作るAIの話を聞きました。このAIはプログラミングのバグを見つけたりするのに便利だそうですが、記事や、メールや、論文を書くこともできます。生徒さんに実際にAIが書いた論文を見せてもらいました。不自然なところはほとんどありませんでした。しかも、論文は日本語で書かれていました。とても驚きました。将来、学校の課題はなくなってしまうかもしれません。最近日本では、漫画やアニメのイラストを作るAIが人気ですが、著作権などが問題になっています。

Japanese Lessons with Mayuna

S2 Ep4. 論文を作るAI

最近日本は暖かくなって春だな～って感じる日が多くて、桜も咲いてきたよ！みんなが住んでいるところはどうかな？そういえば、桜がどのくらい咲いているかは特別な数え方をするの知ってる？桜が咲き始めたころは「開花宣言」っていうよ。

It's getting warmer and warmer in Japan these days, and the cherry blossoms are blooming! How about where you live? Oh, by the way, did you know that there is a special way to count how much cherry blossoms are in bloom? When the cherry blossoms begin to bloom, it is called "Kaika sengen" (declaration of blooming)

今年、2022年は3月17日に福岡で「開花宣言」があって一番早かったよ。そして、その次に3月20日に東京で「開花宣言」があったんだよね。北海道は4月20日ごろに咲く予定らしいよ。毎年「さくら開花予想」っていう地図があるからググって見てみてね。

This year, 2022, Fukuoka was the first to declare the blooming of cherry blossoms on March 17. The next earliest was Tokyo, which declared the blooming of cherry blossoms on March 20. Hokkaido is scheduled to bloom around April 20. There is a map called "cherry blossom forecast" every year, so please Google it and check it out.

桜が半分くらい咲けば50％咲いているの意味になる「五分（ぶ）ざき」っていうんだよね。だいたい80％咲いたら「満開」って言ってお花見をしたりする人が多くなるよ。なんで80％は「八分ざき」じゃなくて「満開」かっていうと「今、桜は100％咲いています！」っていうともう散り始めるかららしいよ。

If half of the cherry trees are in bloom, it is called "gobu zaki," meaning that 50% of the cherry trees are in bloom. When 80% of the cherry blossoms are in full bloom, it is called "mankai," and many people go cherry blossom viewing. The reason why 80% is called "full bloom" and not "hachibu zaki(80% bloom)" is because "100% of the cherry trees are in full bloom now!" means the cherry blossoms will already begin to fall.

ちなみに「開花宣言」があったらニュースでは「さくらの便りがありました」っていうんだよね。「便り」っていうのは「手紙」って意味だよ。例えば「本日、福岡から桜の便りがありました」みたいな。だいたい「開花宣言」から1週間くらいかけて満開になっていくから、もし日本のニュースを見ることがあれば注意して見てみてね

By the way, when the "blooming of cherry blossoms" is declared, the news says "there is a "tayori" of cherry blossoms". The word "tayori" means "letter".  For example, "Today, we received "tayori" of cherry blossoms from Fukuoka". It usually takes about a week after the "bloom declaration" for the cherry blossoms to be in full bloom, so if you watch the news in Japan, pay attention to it.

ガチ日本語 - Everyday Japanese -

Ep.6 さくら...percentage??

Gauge your listening comprehension with this simple story of a trip to Mombasa

Jifunze kusikiliza na hadithi hii kuhusu safari ya kuenda Mombasa 

Swahili With Shaz 

Safari Ya Mombasa | Trip To Mombasa 

In this episode, we discuss two (often-not-talked-about) ideas surrounding language learning. Going beyond grammar & vocabulary!

Motivation Monday

Exploring Self-Confidence in Language Learning

“I really love the great outdoors, so going for long walks is something I enjoy doing on a regular basis. The one walk that really stands out was actually a spur of the moment idea that turned into a much longer walk than I expected.  It was sometime last March, and the weather was absolutely perfect for some outdoor adventure. 




There's a beautiful national park only a stone's throw from where I live, that is very secluded and a great place to escape the hustle and bustle of the city. The park is full of tracks and trails that go through the jungle, as well as a small  mountain, which is famous for its wild monkeys and other wildlife.




As it was a spur of the  moment decision I decided to go alone, and set off about 6am, as the route I took was really off the beaten track, and was not going to be a walk in the park. Looking at the distance on google maps, I guessed it would take me about 3 hours to complete, but I hit a few snags along the way. The first track I took was completely overgrown, and slowed me down to a snail's crawl, and it took me almost 2 hours longer than I expected to reach the mountain.By the time I reached the mountain I was already dead tired and I remember I had to spend some time sitting under the shade of the trees to catch my breath, and decided the best thing to do was call it a day, and make my way back. It was also now getting very hot, and i was already covered in sweat, which was going to make the walk back even harder.




Although the walk was totally exhausting, and left me dead on my feet, I did in fact enjoy most of it, especially the beautiful scenery, and the feeling of being at one with nature. However , I think next time I should maybe  plan my route a little better, and be better prepared.




Thank you …”

IELTS 85 Speaking

Describe a long walk you had

In this episode I share a mysterious story with you. "The neighbors knew the stories of the old house. They knew the rumors. Everyone agreed that the house was haunted."

You can read the transcript here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oO7AwlFQOcxsC3hriMh14KXUSqt7SheH/view?usp=sharing

Find the podcast on Anchor: https://anchor.fm/teatimewithtayvin

My Twitter Profile: https://twitter.com/TEA_Time_Tayvin


T.E.A. Time with Tayvin Bayless 

TEA Time Story #4 The ghost in the garden 

A lo largo de la historia de España ha habido diferentes movimientos literarios con estilos y características bastante definidos. En el episodio de hoy te hablo de uno de ellos, La Generación del 98. En el te hablo de cómo se creó, sus características y algunos de sus representantes más conocidos.

Después de escucharlo no te olvides de darle una valoración y de pasarte por mi Instagram para decirme qué te ha parecido este episodio y si habías escuchado hablar sobre este movimiento literario y/o sobre alguno de sus representantes.
