If a literal translation doesn’t work, find out why. Delve into the cultural and historical aspects that make the phrase unique to your native language. This examination can provide a fascinating insight into both languages.

💃🏻111 Tips for Learning a Language 

Tip 34 - Find out why Literal Translations Do NOT work, ok? 

In this episode, we explore why Swahili is one of the easiest languages to learn, from clear pronunciation to consistent grammar and familiar words you already know. You’ll be speaking in no time.

SWAHILI WITH JANE

WHY LEARNING SWAHILI IS ACTUALLY EASY

       Nǐ jiā yǒu jǐ kǒu rén?
A：你 家 有 几 口人？
   Wǒ jiā yǒu sān kǒu rén.
B：我  家 有 三  口 人。


HSK Standard Course Level 1 Audio of the textbook

Lesson 5 text 1

In questa seconda puntata riflettiamo sul titolo del romanzo di Domenico Starnone, Lacci, e sul suo significato simbolico.
I lacci diventano metafora dei legami familiari, dei fili invisibili che uniscono e, a volte, soffocano. Attraverso la storia di Aldo, Vanda e dei figli Sandro e Anna, scopriamo come gesti quotidiani, come allacciare le scarpe, possano racchiudere emozioni profonde, responsabilità e memoria affettiva.

Durante l’episodio esploriamo anche parole, modi di dire e lessico italiano utili per studenti:

Seguire le orme di qualcuno → imitare il percorso o l’esempio di qualcun altro.
Allacciare / riallacciare → sia letterale (scarpe) che figurato (legami, rapporti).
Arraffare tutto → prendere tutto con avidità, senza pensare agli altri.
Lasciare le briciole → lasciare pochissimo, quasi nulla.
Torturarsi reciprocamente → soffrire insieme in maniera dolorosa, spesso riferito a conflitti familiari.
Sciogliere i nodi → liberarsi da vincoli o problemi del passato.

Riflettiamo insieme su come gesti piccoli e quotidiani possano raccontare storie di affetto, distanza e responsabilità, e su come la lingua italiana esprima queste sfumature attraverso verbi, immagini e modi di dire.

Se vuoi approfondire Lacci e imparare l’italiano leggendo e discutendo, continua il viaggio con Bookclub & Cappuccino.

BookClub e Cappuccino: libri italiani contemporanei

02. Bookclub & Cappuccino – Lacci: il senso del titolo

In todays episode we discuss the Idioms used when visited doctors.

Let's have a chat (Discussions In English) 

Episode 27 : Idioms for visiting a doctor

Super Casual Japanese with Teppei

🎌Useful Japanese phrase | “Did you sleep well today?” 

En este episodio hablo un poco sobre las comidas y sus horarios. In this episode I speak a little bit about meals and meal times. (You can find more information about this podcast on https://minutopodcast.carrd.co/)

Minuto Español

Las comidas (Meal times)

Many of us know that learning a second language isn't easy — it takes a lot of time and practice. It can be very rewarding, but also very frustrating, so many people might not even think about trying to learn a third language.

But it may not be as difficult as you think.

In fact, many polyglots — that is, people who speak many languages — say that learning a third language is actually easier than learning the second.

But why?

One reason could be that, when learning a third language, you have a better understanding of different language structures.

When we learn our first language, as children, we don't really learn how the language works — we just naturally start using it.

But when you learn a second language, you start getting used to language structures, including ones that might be different from your first language. In some languages, for example, nouns are often either masculine or feminine — while in English, there's no such difference.

Learning these things in our second language often makes it easier for our brains to recognize different structures like this in other languages.

When you learn a second language, you also develop different skills, like memorization techniques. These skills can then be used when learning your third language, making the process faster and more efficient.

Finally, learning your second language might have felt scary at first, but you did it! This may give you more confidence when learning your third language, because you have more of an idea of what to expect.

If you'd like to learn a third language, it might be helpful to choose one that's part of the same language family as one of your other languages, because the similarities could make the process a lot easier.