Can you always be a Productive Language Learner? More importantly, Should you?

It is important to be a Lazy Learner as well and it is important to mix things up when practicing any skill.

All Things English

Effective Listening: A Game Plan for Listening

大家好，您正在收听中文播客《丹霞说》，我是丹霞。今天我要给你们介绍一下儿我的朋友。

我有一个好朋友，她叫夏白雪。
夏是夏天的夏，不是下雪的下。
为什么她的名字是夏白雪？因为她爸爸姓夏，但是她在冬天出生，出生那天下雪了，所以她叫夏白雪。

白雪家有四口人，她父母、她弟弟和她。她爸爸有自己的商店，她妈妈在学校工作，是英语老师，而他弟弟还是中学生，所以和爸妈住在一起。
白雪在公司上班，有时候她工作非常忙。但周末的时候，她会回家看看家人。

这些词语你听明白了吗？

夏天Xià tiān summer     
下雪xià xuě to snow            
冬天dōng tiān  winter 
名字míng zì name         
因为yīn wèi  because          
出生chū shēng to be born    
所以suǒ yǐ  so
父母fù mǔ  parent      
 商店shāng diàn shop, store  
学校xué xiào  school    
中学生zhōng xué sheng middle school student 
公司gōngsī the company       
工作gōng zuò  to work; the work    
上班shàng bān to go to work  
周末zhōu mò  weekend    
回家huí jiā 


好，现在我们再听一次！

I have a good friend whose name is Xia Baixue.

Xia is xia in summer"xia tian", not the xia in snow"xia xue".

Why is her name Xia Baixue? Because her father's surname is Xia, but she was born in winter. It snowed on the day of her birth, so her name is Xia Baixue.

There are four people in Bai Xue's family, including her parents, her younger brother and her. Her father has his own shop, her mother works in school and is an English teacher, while his brother is still a middle school student, so he lives with parents.

Bai Xue works in a company. Sometimes she is very busy. But on weekends, she will go home to visit her family.

Do you understand these words?


HSK1&2 Vocab Based - Short Story Podcast

01. 我的朋友夏白雪Wǒ de péngyǒu xià báixuě My friend Baixue Xia

In this episode, I'll read a short story by Claudia Piñeiro, Argentinian scriptwriter and novelist. Relax and enjoy!

Your Spanish Journey

Extensive reading: Short stories to enjoy.

Poema de Federico García-Lorca del Romancero Gitano

POEMAS DE FEDERICO GARCÍA-LORCA

MUERTE DE ANTONIO EL CAMBORIO

Lettura del primo capitolo di "Fatim, Cenerentola nel 2000".
Glossario:
- lampo (del vestito): cerniere, zip
- una copia spiaccicata: una sosia, una persona uguale a un'altra
- sopraggiungere (nel testo, "sopraggiunse", passato remoto): arrivare 
- la stoffa aveva ceduto: la stoffa non ha resistito
- ciccia: grasso
- sulla soglia dei 50 anni: che ha quasi compiuto 50 anni 

If you like to practice italian, take a look at my lesson offers! :)
And stay tuned for aother episodes.

Fatim, Cenerentola nel 2000

Capitolo 1 - Due sorelle particolari

Hi everyone! Welcome back to Thai T la nid podcast. today we’re going to learn about some similar sounding Thai words.

Well, one thing to know about Thai language is that Thai is a tonal language. So, there are some words that could sound very similar, but totally have different meanings.

In today’s episode, we are going to talk about the words ขาว, เขา, ข่าว, เข่า, ข้าว and เข้า. Yeah, I know, I know they sound super similar but let’s take a look at each of them closely together.


1. ขาว (kǎao) = white
- with long vowel and rising tone.

ฉันชอบสีขาว (chǎn chôp sěe kǎao)
I like white.

2. เขา (kǎo) = he, him, mountain
- with short vowel and rising tone.

เขาเป็นหมอ (kǎo bpen mǒr)
He is a doctor.

3. ข่าว (kàao) = news
- with long vowel and low tone.

คุณได้ยินข่าวนั้นรึยัง (kun dâai-yin kàao nán rêu yang?)
Have you heard about the news?


4. เข่า (kào) = knee
- with short vowel and low tone.

ฉันเจ็บเข่า = (Chǎn jèp kào) 
My knee hurts.

5. ข้าว (kâao) = rice
- with long vowel and falling tone.

ไปกินข้าวกัน (bpai gin kâao gun)
Let's go eat!

**Thai people say "gin kâao" and the word "kâao" refers to "meal" like breakfast, lunch and dinner.


6. เข้า (kâo) = to enter, to get in, to get into
- with short vowel and falling tone.

พวกเขาเพิ่งเข้าไปในบ้าน (pûuak kăo pêrng kâo bpai nai bâan)
They've just got into the house.

All right, let’s hear these six words again.

1. ขาว (kǎao) = white

2. เขา (kǎo) = he, him, mountain

3. ข่าว (kàao) = news

4. เข่า (kào) = knee

5. ข้าว (kâao) = rice

6. เข้า (kâo) = to enter, to get in, to get into

So, short and long vowels can make it different meanings. 

Now, it’s time for you to practice more.

Don’t be afraid to say or speak Thai.

See you in the next episode. Bye-bye.

Thai - Tea La Nid (ไทยทีละนิด) Podcast

Thai - Tea La Nid (ไทยทีละนิด) - EP.4 - Similar Sounding Thai Words 1: kao/kaao (with transcript for study)

"The Story of Banaue Rice Terraces – Hagdan ng Langit"

Speak Tagalog with Ryan

001: "Self-Introduction & a Story"

Ever wondered if adverbs of frequency hold the secret to mastering language like a word-wizard? Well, hang onto your linguistic hats because Smith, our adventurous linguist, is about to take us on a roller-coaster ride through this grammar maze! From the rock-solid "always" to the mysterious "never," he's got them all covered. Picture these adverbs doing a dance routine before main verbs, or sneakily peeking after auxiliary verbs in questions, and even chilling after the verb "to be" - it's like a grammar party! And when it comes to the present simple tense, they're the cool cats effortlessly denoting routine actions. So, put on your linguistic shades and get ready to disco with Smith, because decoding adverbs of frequency just got a whole lot more fun! (Part2)

LEARN BY LISTENING

Adverbs of Frequency Part2

Egg prices are rising in America. The average cost of a dozen eggs hit a record $4.95 in January — up 53% from a year earlier. The price was below $2 in early 2022.

While the coronavirus pandemic and inflation have affected prices, experts say the real problem has been bird flu. An outbreak that began in early 2022 has become the largest in US history, affecting more than 100 million egg-laying hens.

To cope with rising egg prices, some Americans have been going straight to the source — and renting hens.

Rent The Chicken in New Hampshire is letting people rent egg-laying hens for six months at a time. For $595, you get two egg-laying hens and a guide on how to take care of them, as well as chicken feed and a coop to keep the birds in.

The birds actually aren't very difficult to take care of, explains Brian Templeton, owner of Rent The Chicken. "You just let them out and walk around and they go in at night on their own," he told CBS News.

"People really enjoy it," he added.

Rent The Chicken says two hens should produce eight to 14 eggs per week.

That comes to about $25 for every dozen eggs — so it's not really a savings.

You can also get four hens for $735, which would reduce your cost to about $15 per dozen eggs.

However, if you'd like to keep your chickens and coop at the end of your rental period, you can — for an extra $350 to $450.

According to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, hens will usually live for six to eight years, and produce eggs for three to four of those years.

So that might bring your price down over time.