In this episode of English Learners Boost, Teacher Ian explores how humor varies across cultures and why a joke in one country might fall flat—or even offend—in another. With a special look at Filipino humor, practical tips for using jokes appropriately, and an inspiring story of language growth, you'll gain the confidence to connect with others through laughter—without the cultural confusion.

💬 Book a lesson with Teacher Ian on iTalki and experience personalized, practical English learning today!

English Learner's Boost

Laugh or Offend? The Misinterpretation of Humor Across Cultures.

A small article to introduce the rooms of my house.

Chinese Learning with Lily

我家的房间

If you like to write, you're in luck. Writing is also great for your SPEAKING. 

Listen to learn more, and follow this podcast if you're interested, because I'll be talking about this a lot! 

Hear and There

5. Write to speak 

Beginner Chinese Listening：我是谁？Who am I？

Beginner Chinese Listening

HSK2

Talk about sport

Recommended to listen repeatedly until you understand. Key words and Commonly used phrases, Please read after me. You can record the phrases you read and send it here, I'll correct the pronunciation for you. Follow me ,you will learn more Chinese.

 Key words:
椅子、桌子、医生、学生、电视、出租车、水果、苹果、电脑、小姐、听、读、写、说话、冷 
   

Merry's voice (HSK一）

Key words 5 , Please read after me

If you're looking to make a good first impression on a dating app, from your POV, you might think it would be a good idea to send a text using lots of abbreviations to make it seem like you're BFFs with the person you're texting.

But FWIW, according to a recent study from Stanford University and the University of Toronto, nobody likes receiving text abbreviations — not even young people.

Don't know those abbreviations? "POV" means "point of view," "BFF" means "best friend forever," and "FWIW" is "for what it's worth"!

Researchers studying the use of such abbreviations did a number of studies with several thousand people, and they found that texts using abbreviations were less likely to get replies. And writers using abbreviations were more likely to be seen as insincere.

Of course, we all use abbreviations — in one survey, it was found that 99% of people said they used them. But the researchers found that people don't like receiving texts with abbreviations, because rather than making them feel closer to the other person, it felt like the other person wasn't putting much effort into the conversation.

And while young people are even more likely to use abbreviations, they still felt that people who used them were insincere. Young people were also less likely to reply to such messages.

Lead researcher David Fang said we often put different amounts of effort into our conversations to show how important the other person is to us.

So it might be fine to put little effort into, say, a quick message to a delivery driver. But Fang said his team's results are especially important for people who really want to make a good impression — like at the beginning of a relationship!

Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

Want a Reply by Text? Don't Use Abbreviations!

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/easy/k10012832221000/k10012832221000.html

いっしょにNHK News Web Easyを読もう📢Reading News Articles

Sumo inspires name of big deep-sea fish

Level :  A1 & A2 
Nivel de dificultad : A1 & A2

Eating with our parents in law is an interesting experience . 🤯 Comer con nuestros suegros es una experiencia interesante.
