Is it easy to make friends?

Listen to how I answer this particular question, and get some short English explanations about some vocabulary and expressions I use in my answer.  Try to answer the questions in the vocabulary examples using the new vocabulary and expressions.

Speak English With Muki

Episode 7: Making Friends These Days

Have you ever been kicked out of home to live on the streets? Our protagonist finds herself on the street in a beggarly neighbourhood. She has to make her way in life - and knows only of one way of keeping alive: prostitution. What will she do? How will she navigate her new life and go to her beloved school?
The first story of the book Pocket Rainbow is called by the same name. The first chapter is Prism. 
Note" 'pap' is corn porridge

Pocket Rainbow

Pocket Rainbow - Prism

In a world where almost everything is instant,  what moves the needle are traits and values that are not usual to many. In today's podcast, we will talk about the importance of work ethics.

FLO TALKS 

DON'T ERASE THE WORK ETHICS PART

In this episode for upper-intermediate and advanced English learners, I’ll talk about vocabulary and idioms related to sleep. 

It’s a topic that can come in especially handy if you find yourself engaging in small talk, especially since so many of us are sleep-deprived.

The idioms we’ll cover are:
-hit the hay/hit the sack
-to sleep like a rock/to sleep like a baby
-out like a light
-to catch some Zs
-to sleep on it/to sleep on something

 (Music by Lesfm from Pixabay)

Conversations With a Friend

How to Talk About Sleep

Le Français en deux minutes

Episode5: Concours de plongeon dans une piscine

"If you were an ice cream flavor, which one would you be, and why?"

This may be your idea of a nightmare interview question — and yes, employers really use it.

Your answer won't reveal anything about your ability to, say, use Microsoft Excel or drive a forklift truck. But it may tell your potential boss something about your "soft skills."

It's been said that hard skills will get you an interview, but soft skills will get you a job.

Hard skills are things you might learn at university, like how to write computer code or speak French.

Soft skills are the things you might not be able to prove with a qualification, but that will help you succeed in the workplace.

These could include being good at things like problem-solving, time management, and communicating with others or understanding how they feel — even being a good listener.

Employers say soft skills are more important than ever as the world adapts to remote and hybrid working patterns, because being able to communicate clearly and adapt to new situations is even more vital to success.

Some have called soft skills innate. But can we learn them or at least improve them?

"Yes," says jobs website Indeed.

It says the keys are to communicate regularly with the people on your team, be open to feedback, and pay attention to the way others overcome challenges including how they interact with people to do so.

Indeed also says it's important to simply get to work on time. This will help with time management, and also helps you achieve your goals and stand out from your colleagues.

Amanda Vickers, CEO of training company Speak First, told The Guardian that it's also important to try to understand what other people's needs and motives might be. This will help you adapt and work successfully with different people.

So, which ice cream flavor are you?

Well, the flavor isn't important but your answer could demonstrate soft skills such as creativity, quick thinking and even self-awareness.

Just don't choose vanilla.

Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

Succeed at Work by Developing Your Soft Skills


El Gato y el Ratón

Había una vez un gato llamado Tomás. Tomás vivía en una casa grande con su dueño, Juan. Tomás era un gato muy curioso y le gustaba explorar todos los rincones de la casa.

Un día, Tomás vio un pequeño ratón corriendo por la cocina. El ratón era marrón y se llamaba Miguel. Miguel estaba buscando comida porque tenía mucha hambre. Tomás decidió seguir a Miguel para ver qué hacía.

Miguel encontró un pedazo de queso en la esquina de la cocina y empezó a comerlo. Tomás se acercó silenciosamente, pero Miguel lo vio y salió corriendo. Tomás persiguió a Miguel por toda la casa, pero el ratón era muy rápido y se escondió en un pequeño agujero en la pared.

Tomás se quedó mirando el agujero, esperando que Miguel saliera. Pero Miguel era muy inteligente y no salió hasta que Tomás se fue. Desde ese día, Tomás y Miguel se convirtieron en amigos. Cada vez que Tomás veía a Miguel, no lo perseguía, sino que lo observaba desde lejos.

Miguel ya no tenía miedo de Tomás y juntos exploraban la casa. A veces, Miguel encontraba comida y compartía con Tomás. Otras veces, Tomás encontraba un lugar nuevo para jugar y mostraba a Miguel.

Y así, el gato y el ratón vivieron felices y en paz, disfrutando de sus aventuras juntos.

¡Anímate a reservar una clase conmigo! No te vas a arrepentir

Podcast en español para principiantes - Vocabulary (Podcast in Spanish for beginners)

El gato y el ratón (historia para principiantes)

CHISTES MEXICANOS

LA OPERACION.

It's no secret that Hawaii is a favorite destination for Japanese tourists. In 2023, the islands welcomed around 573,000 visitors from Japan — the most from any country.

But did you know there's a connection between Japan and Hawaii that goes beyond travel and into clothing?

Aloha shirts, also known as Hawaiian shirts, have roots in Japanese culture, beginning with Japanese immigrants in Hawaii.

In the late 1800s, Japanese immigrants in Hawaii started importing Japanese clothing as well as rolls of fabric to make clothes with.

In the 1920s, locals in Hawaii saw these fabrics and started using them to make casual dress shirts with Japanese patterns on them. These shirts became popular with tourists to Hawaii.

Soon after, aloha shirts were made in bulk, but instead of using fabric made for Japanese clothing, stores in Hawaii started bringing in printed fabrics made just for aloha shirts.

And by the late 1930s, the designs had changed from Japanese patterns to the Hawaiian inspired patterns we're used to today — images of Mount Fuji and Japanese pine trees were replaced with things like coconut trees, surfers and fish.

But even though today's aloha shirts don't look very Japanese inspired, they still remain popular within Japan.

Yosuke Seki, an aloha shirt aficionado who goes to Hawaii every year, told CNN he wears his shirts daily, and hopes to inspire others to try them.

"Right now, I'm wearing a replica of one of the expensive designs," Seki said, adding that his shirt cost between $130 and $200. The more expensive shirts can cost thousands of dollars, he explained.

And for some fans, aloha shirts are not just clothing — they're collectable items, or even considered art.

Yoshihiro Nakano is the brand director of Sun Surf, a Japanese company that has been making aloha shirts for about 50 years. Many customers don't even wear the aloha shirts they buy, and instead just collect them or frame them, Nakano told CNN.