If you want to sound more fluent and natural, in this episode you'll discover how your first language influences your English and why it affects how you're understood. Get practical tips to start speaking with more confidence and better fluency.

Real English Skills

How Your First Language Makes Your English Hard to Understand

✕この店でせめて8000円ぐらいです。
これはおかしな文です。”せめて”は at least なので『at least 8000円ぐらい』
英語にすると、The products in this store cost at least 8,000 yen.でOKかな？と思いますが、まちがいです。
”せめて”は「お願い」や「～てほしい」「ルール」などの時に使います。
"At least" is used in situations expressing "request",  "desire,wish, hope" or “ rule”.


・お願い
A：今日は食べ物全部売り切れました。
B：え！？せめて小さいオニギリでもないですか...？

・～てほしい（そうなったらいいなぁ）
A：今日のバスケットボールの試合、全然スタートメンバーがいないな。
B：ああ、せめて山田がいたらいいんだけど... 

・ルール
A：800円持って行ったけど、何も食べられなかったよ。
B：あのレストランに行くんだったら、せめて1500円は持って行かないといけないよ。


事実（じじつ）の事で”せめて”は使えません。
"You can't use 'at least' for matters of fact."

✕この店はせめて1000円のものがあります。
〇この店は安い物で1000円の商品があります。
〇この店で一番安い商品は1000円ぐらいです。
〇この店の商品は最低（さいてい）でも1000円はします。


洋平先生　N3～N2クラスの生徒へ　(^^♪

せめて≒at least　

Oggi vi racconto la storia della mia vita in relazione alle lingue che conosco.

Bedside Italian

Bedside Italian #14 - Le lingue che ho imparato. Part 1

In this episode, you’ll learn how to place a food order and handle delays. Useful phrases for your daily life are waiting for you!

Merhaba Türkçe 

Episode 3: Where’s My Order?

Life can be tough, but staying motivated makes all the difference! In this episode of English Learners Boost, Teacher Ian shares practical strategies to help you stay inspired and push through challenges. Learn how to find your "why," break big goals into small steps, embrace failure, and stay positive—all while improving your English skills! Plus, don’t miss the chance to book an English lesson with Teacher Ian on iTalki and experience his unique teaching approach. Tune in and stay motivated! 🚀🎧

English Learner's Boost

How to Stay Motivated When Life Gets Tough

TELL ME ABOUT YOUR DREAM JOB - Stay away from a specific job. You cannot win. If you say the job you are trying to get, you strain credibility. If you say another job is it, you plant the suspicion that you will be dissatisfied with this position if hired. The best is to stay genetic and say something like: A job where I love the work, like the people, can contribute and can't wait to get to work. / WHAT KIND OF PERSON WOULD YOU REFUSE TO WORK WITH? - Do not be trivial. It would take disloyalty to the organisation, violence or lawbreaking to get you to object. Minor objections will label you as a whiner. / TELL ME ABOUT A PROBLEM YOU HAD WITH A
SUPERVISOR, TEAM LEADER, MANAGER, OR BOSS - The biggest trap of all. This is a test to see if you will speak ill of your boss. If you fall for it and tell about a problem with a former boss, you may well below the interview right there. Stay positive and develop a poor memory about any
trouble you might have had.

All Ways Business

3 Interview Questions (4)

This episode is about the book Dreamrunner, by Clare Jay. It's about a family being torn apart by the dad's violent nightmares. 

Vocabulary:
repressed memory: a memory from the past which the mind has hidden away
traumatic event: a violent and shocking event that has a huge, negative effect on a person's life
sleepwalking: when someone walks around while they're sleeping
nightmare: a scary dream

Learn English with Stories

Book: Dreamrunner

日本語の先生のTinaです！
今日は、「喜怒哀楽（きどあいらく）」という言葉と、オノマトペを紹介します。

レッスンの予約もお待ちしています♪
いっしょに、日本語の勉強をがんばりましょ〜！

Tina Japa Go!

Episode 36. 喜怒哀楽（きどあいらく）とオノマトペ

These 16 whole-word syllables cannot be broken down into small chunks. We pronounce each of them like a word. Please try your best to practice till you master the pronunciation.