Complete the questions with a suitable word.
1 Can couples have a religious ceremony or a ......................................... ceremony in a
......................................... office?
2 Does the ......................................... usually wear a dress of a particular colour? If so,
what colour?
3 Is there usually a ......................................... after the ceremony?
4 Do people often ......................................... speeches7 If so, who does it?
5 Is it the ......................................... for the wife to wear a wedding ring on her left hand?
6 Do couples often go on a ......................................... after the wedding?
7 Do couples usually ......................................... their wedding ......................................... every year?
8 Do most ......................................... last forever in your country?
9 Do couples usually get  .................. before they get married?

English Mini Lessons

Weddings

Dil öğrenmenin en iyi yollu bol bol dinleme yapmaktır.

ALL ABOUT TURKıSH

B1 PODCAST

This episode serves as an introduction to the genre and format of the LIC podcast, and also to myself as its host. Hopefully after listening, you will be able to decide if this podcast is of any interest to you.

Languages in Context

LIC #1 - Introduction

こんにちは。
私は最近「ユニコーンに乗って」というドラマにはまっています。
けっこう面白いんです。日本で就職したい留学生の人、多いですよね。このドラマ「必見」ですよ。特に、ITに就職したい、スタートアップ企業に就職したいという人は、絶対見てくださいね。面接場面も出ていますし、丁寧すぎない丁寧語がたくさん使われているんです。すぐにまねできます！
ドラマの内容を話しすぎてしまうと、みなさんの楽しみを取ってしまうので、注意しないといけないのですが、ドラマの中に小鳥さんというおじさんが、出てくるんです。なんとも日本人らしいビジネスマンなんです。そして彼の言葉がとても心温まる感じなんです。相手を常に察するというか、うーん、良い感じなんですよ。
第9回に、ゴウという青年が「小鳥さん、転職するとき怖くなかったんですか」って聞くんです。そして、小鳥さんが言うんでよ。「人生の醍醐味だと思っています。怖いと感じることは新しいことに挑戦しているということです。毎日、ジェットコースターに乗っているようですよ」って。素敵だと思いませんか。

みなさんも毎日ジェットコースターに乗っていますか。ドキドキ、わくわくすることありますか。
私も「ジェットコースターに毎日乗りたい」なんてね。本当にジェットコースターに乗ったら、大変ですよね。でも、毎日新しい人や物に出会い、刺激があって、心が常にわくわく、ドキドキするっていいですよね。

このドラマに出てくる人物の名前もおしゃれで今時の名前なんです。 主人公の佐奈（さな）、功（こう）、そして小鳥さん。「さな」も「こう」も最近はやりの二文字です。そして、かわいい名字の「小鳥（ことり）」さん。これは珍しい名字です。
最近の名前と言えば、「キラキラネーム」というものがあるんですよ。これは、 伝統的でない当て字、外国人名、創作物の登場人物名などを用いた奇抜（きばつ）な名前の総称（そうしょう）なんです。この間、生徒さんに「銀河（ぎんにさんずいのかわと書いて）」はなんと読みますか」と質問されたんです。わたしは「ぎんが」だと思います。たぶん男性だと思いますと応えたのですが、なんと「きらら」さんという女性だったんです。これぞ、「きらきらネーム」って思いました。
名前も20年前と比べるとずいぶん変化しているですよね。
当て字の名前、色々あるんでしょうね。
で、私も少し当て字を考えてみたんですよ。
「愛道来（あい　みち　来ます　と書いてアイトオキ）」いいと思いませんか。
「愛道来のぞみ」です。どうですか。何かコメントがあれば、メッセージをください。

「ユニコーンに乗って」のドラマも見てみてくださいね。

では、また。


【語彙（ごい）】
はまる：大好きで熱中する。のめりこむ。
必見：必ず見るべき
人生の醍醐味：人生の本当の面白さ。
奇抜（きばつ）：とても変わっていること。目立つ。


※「須崎功（すざきこう）」君でしたね。ポッドキャストの中では「こう」言ってしまっていると思います。ごめんなさい。



「のぞみ」の日記

「ユニコーンに乗って」

Describe a story somebody told you and you remember

You should say:

Who told you the story
What the story was about
Why do you remember it

And explain how you felt about it.







“I guess I probably heard many stories back when I was a little kid, but the one that has always stuck in my mind is a story my grandfather told me when I was maybe about 7 or 8 years of age. My grandfather, who was an incredibly kind and loving person was however,  a man of few words…but when he had something to say, it was usually something worth remembering, and something very interesting about his own life growing up back in the day.

I remember it was Christmas time when he told me this story about his life, when he was about the same age as I was at the time, and how life was so different back then. He told me how when he was growing up, the family were very hard up and often strapped for cash, and were not able to have a proper Christmas dinner like most families today. 

He went on to tell me how both of his parents had to work every god given hour, pinching every penny, so they could just put enough food to survive on the table.

It’s a story I have always remembered, and often think about, even today. It reminds me of how lucky and privileged I was growing up, in a pretty well off family, never wanting for anything. I still feel thankful to this day, when i stop to think of the sacrifices that my grandparents and their parents before them had to make so we can live the lives we have today.


Thank you…”


IELTS 85 Speaking

Describe a story somebody told you and you remember

The price of bitcoin hit more than $100,000 for the first time as the value of the cryptocurrency continues to soar following the election of Donald Trump.

This came just hours after the President-elect indicated he'd take a lighter regulatory approach to the crypto industry during his presidency.

It climbed from $69,374 on the day of Trump's election on November 5 and rose as high as $103,713 on December 4, according to CoinDesk.

Just two years ago, bitcoin dropped below $17,000 following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX.

However, experts aren't sure how long the value of bitcoin will remain high as cryptocurrency is highly volatile.

Some are hopeful of future gains, but others continue to warn of investment risks.

Trump, who was once a crypto skeptic, has said he wants to make the US "the crypto capital of the planet." His campaign accepted donations in cryptocurrency and he has also launched World Liberty Financial, a new project with family members to trade cryptocurrencies.

Many in the crypto industry have welcomed Trump's victory, hoping that he'll be able to push through changes that they've long lobbied for — which, generally speaking, aim for an increased sense of legitimacy without too much red tape.

Trump has already made a move in that direction, saying he intends to nominate cryptocurrency advocate Paul Atkins to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Under current chair Gary Gensler, the SEC has cracked down on the crypto industry, penalizing a number of companies for breaking securities laws.

But what is cryptocurrency, really?

In basic terms, cryptocurrency is digital money. It is designed to work through an online network without a central authority — meaning it's typically not backed by any government or banking institution — and transactions get recorded with technology called a blockchain.



Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

Price of Bitcoin Soars, Boosted by Election of Trump

You walk in to a restaurant and the hostess says, "You can sit everywhere!" Is this correct? Can you actually physically sit everywhere? Not really! Learn what she should have said in this episode of Stairway to English. Learn the differences between everywhere, nowhere, somewhere, and anywhere.

Listen to the end to learn how to receive a special downloadable sent to you on italki chat!

👉 Book class with me! https://italki.com/teacher/8476284 
👉 My students receive bonus podcast content! 
👉If you don't see an opening on my calendar that is ok for you, send me a message!

Stairway to English: Short easy to understand episodes to improve your English grammar and fluency

Are you everywhere, nowhere, somewhere, or anywhere?! Learn the difference between these 4 words!

Today’s Theme is “不眠（ふみん）《sleeplessness》”.
This episode is JLPT-N3 level.

Please use this audio for listening and shadowing practices.

☆Script for this episode
The scripts (URL) are listed in the overview section of the channel.

Simple Japanese Listening with Meg（めぐ）Smile

#12 不眠（ふみん） // N3 Level

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/11jcxR3gxex8GKbcaswqp2g1txJwM47czLNFpGY2yXLw/edit?usp=sharing

Today, I want to tell you all about emotional support chickens. It seems that a nursing home here in the UK has been offered chickens by a local school in order to take away the loneliness of it’s residents and help them feel better.

Nursing Homes and Care Homes are places where we put older people who cannot look after themselves.

It's hoped that the chickens will bring residents a number of benefits. From fostering a sense of community to reducing mental health problems. Now, I'm not sure about you but for me, I'd probably rather have the cash or if  there’s perhaps other opportunities, maybe I’d prefer to talk to someone. These chickens don't actually have to be bought.It looks like they were given free to this nursing home. 

But still, if they're going to give away chickens, I'd rather have the cash.
