Friendships come in all shapes and sizes...Please do share your views and experiences in the comments

British English with Maria

Friendships

Ciao e benvenuti a tutti! 
Per la prima puntata del mio mini podcast ho scelto un’espressione semplice ma amatissima: “Mamma mia!”.
È una frase antica, che nasce dalla tradizione popolare italiana, ma ancora oggi è molto viva e usata in tantissimi contesti.
💬 Spiegazione con esempi
 “Mamma mia” è davvero versatile.
 👉 Puoi usarla quando qualcosa ti annoia o ti dà fastidio:
 — Mamma mia, che traffico oggi!
👉 Puoi usarla per esprimere sorpresa o stupore:
 — Mamma mia, non ci credo!
👉 Puoi usarla anche quando assaggi qualcosa di particolarmente buono:
 — Oh mamma mia, che buono questo dolce!
👉 E perfino per indicare paura o preoccupazione:
 — Mamma mia, che spavento!
In realtà, quello che conta non è tanto la frase in sé, ma l’intonazione. A seconda di come la dici, può cambiare completamente significato.

📜 Curiosità e origini
L’espressione nasce letteralmente come invocazione alla madre, ma anche come richiamo religioso alla Madonna. In passato, infatti, dire “Mamma mia” significava affidarsi alla protezione materna, sia quella terrena sia quella celeste.
 Col tempo, questa invocazione è diventata sempre più comune e quotidiana, perdendo il senso religioso e trasformandosi in una semplice esclamazione di emozione.
Oggi è talmente famosa che persino all’estero “Mamma mia” è considerata una tipica espressione italiana: pensiamo al musical e al film Mamma Mia!, che hanno reso questa frase riconoscibile in tutto il mondo.
🌟 Frase finale
 Insomma, “mamma mia” è un piccolo jolly della lingua italiana: imparalo bene e sembrerai subito più italiano!


Mini scheda riassuntiva –🎙️ Episodio 1 – Mamma mia!
Espressione tipica italiana
Usi: sorpresa, rabbia, gioia, paura
Tono della voce = cambia il significato
Da evitare: usarla troppo spesso (può sembrare una caricatura)


5 minuti per diventare più italiano!

e1 - mamma mia

In this episode, I'll be sharing a snapshot of my week, from the moment I wake up to my daily routine at work. I'll take you through the tasks and activities that keep me busy during the weekdays and how I unwind in the evenings. On weekends, I'll talk about how I spend my time with friends, engage in various events.

  Fluent in Azerbaijani

Mənim Həftəm (My Week)

Jorge is shopping at a clothing store.

Salesperson (Lily):
This jacket fits you really well! Would you like to size up and try a bigger size?

Customer (Jorge, confused):
Size up? You mean bigger size?

Lily (nodding):
Yes, exactly! "Size up" just means trying a larger size than the one you have.

Jorge (scratching his head):
Hmm… Size up? You mean, when I grow bigger?

Lily (laughing):
Haha, no, no! "Size up" just means trying a bigger jacket. Not growing, just a bigger size!

Jorge (still confused):
So… Size up means I wear bigger clothes, but I don’t grow taller?

Lily (smiling):
Yes! "Size up" means getting a bigger size of the same jacket. You don’t need to grow taller for that!

Jorge (nodding, still unsure):
Okay, okay, I try bigger size jacket. I think I understand!

Jorge (curious):
By the way, your English is really good. How do you speak so well?

Lily:
Well, I took speaking lessons with Teacher Smith on italki! She’s amazing for improving English.

Jorge:
Really? How I book  lesson with her?

Lily:
It’s super easy, just click on her profile on italki and book a speaking lesson!

Jorge:
Wow, easy? I book it now!

LEARN BY LISTENING

Have You Ever Sized Up?

Любите ли вы спорт? Как вы думаете во что превращается  современный спорт?

А поговорить?!

Спорт это благородное дело или грязный бизнес?

JOHN: Hi, Alice, it’s John. How are you? 
ALICE: Oh, hi, John! I was just thinking about you.
JOHN: That’s nice. I was wondering if you’d like to go to a 
movie tonight.
ALICE: Sure, I’d love to! What’s playing?
JOHN: I was thinking about that new comedy Lights Out. What do
you think?
ALICE: Sounds great!
JOHN: OK, I’ll pick you up around 7:30. The movie starts at 8:00.
ALICE: See you then. Bye!



LANGUAGE NOTES
• Hi, Alice, it’s John: Hi, ____, it’s ____ is a casual and friendly way to say hello on the 
phone. Although “it’s” means “it is,” it is used to mean “I am” here.
• Oh, hi, John! Notice the rising intonation here. Alice is excited to hear from John and is 
very pleased that he called her.
• I was wondering if you’d like to ... This is a polite and indirect way of asking “Do you 
want to …?” John is nervous and does not want to appear too direct or bold. Notice 
how the question goes up at the end, which shows that he is not overly confident.
• Sure! I’d love to means “Yes, I would love to.” Notice that Alice is very enthusiastic 
and friendly. She wants John to feel comfortable about asking her out on a date.
• I was thinking about … / What do you think? Again, John does not want to appear 
too bold. He wants to give Alice a chance to suggest a movie.
• Sounds great! Is an informal way of saying “That is a good plan.”
• I’ll pick you up is an informal way of saying “I’ll come to your house so that we can 
go together.”

English Conversation practice (30-day challenge)

Day 6: A Telephone Call

lesson on italki 
https://www.italki.com/ja/teacher/9451959/japanese

https://linktr.ee/atsushi_japanese

こんばんは！
Japanese daily life podcast のAtsushiです。
このPodcastは、日本語を勉強しているみなさんに向けたPodcastです。

さて、今回も旅行の続きですね。
ドイツで思った日本と違うことについて話します。

いろいろ調べてみるとヨーロッパの他の国も多いみたいですが、日本とは圧倒的に違うことがありました。

それは車です。
今、日本の車はほとんどがオートマーautomaticです。
ドイツでは、ほとんどがマニュアルーmanual、stickでした。

はじめ、知り合いの方の車に乗せてもらった時に、マニュアル車でビックリしました。よっぽど車の運転が好きなんだなと思って話していたのですが、彼だけでなく、ほとんどの人がマニュアルに乗ってるよ、ということでした。

それで、翌日の朝、歩いている時に駐車されている車を何台も見ました。見た車のほとんどがマニュアル車でした。それは本当におどろきでした。

日本では、今マニュアル車を探すのは結構むずかしいと思います。

あともう1つ感じたことは、ものを長く使う文化がある、ということです。車ももちろんそうですが、街の中でも、新しくないけど、ずっと使われているような雰囲気がありました。

ドイツ人と日本人は似ているところがある、と聞くことがあります。ぼくもそう思うこともあります。ですが、たぶん1つ違うことは、日本人は新しいものが好きです。古いものももちろん好きですし大切にしますが、それよりも新しいものが好きな人が多いと思います。ドイツ人は古いものや昔からあるものを大切にしているんじゃないかな、と思いました。

個人的にはそこが違う部分でおもしろいなと思いました。


はい、ということで、今回は以上です。
最後まで聞いていただき、ありがとうございます！
ではまた！


Atsushi のJapanese podcast (travel/news /文法・漢字・語彙/Osaka/Hokkaido/🇹🇷🇬🇪🇦🇲🇪🇸🇵🇹)

#221 海外旅行について！ 15

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wK0G8WyYbQlRx4_p5hzmb8B9Sx92lsXo/view?usp=drivesdk

Teacher Joseph's Podcast

Meditation (with transcript)

To be fed up means to be bored or a little depressed.  Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1p14A3_eBXZQD9bTOqN8s5NxSrtF9wwNFwX-5lncg0Sg/edit?usp=drivesdk