* In this episode, we learn how commitment is vital to reach our goals and be a disciplined person to get over monotonous life

**Book Podcast lesson to discuss the topic and access the texts

English Psychology Podcasts

Commitment and love

In this episode, I recorded my recent live Q and A session with my Iranian students in my Telegram group. We were talking about various strategies for IELTS along with some general chat. 

If you want lessons, click here
 ⁠⁠⁠https://www.italki.com/en/teacher/1078268⁠⁠⁠

If you want to see my videos, click here 
https://www.youtube.com/@TheEnglishNative

Transcripts for all episodes available here
https://kevsenglishpodcast.com/




Kev's English Podcast

KEP episode 26: IELTS Q and A Live with Iranian Students!

How to end a phone call in a polite way and at the right time.

The English Toolbox

Ending a Telephone Call

Learn English with ease! Conversations, language tips & cultural insights. All levels welcome. Your friendly tutor Zia helps you build confidence & fluency.

Zia English Corner

Welcome to my English Corner

Bedside Italian

Bedside Italian #36 - 100 iscritti!

The number of couples getting married in South Korea increased by almost 15% between 2023 and 2024.

That's the biggest percentage increase in marriages since the government began collecting this data in 1970.

More than 222,000 couples got married in South Korea in 2024. That's good news for a country with one of the world's lowest birth rates.

The government has been trying to encourage people to get married and have children to help boost the country's shrinking population.

It may just have worked. However, not all young people are convinced that marriage is the right thing for them.

According to The South China Morning Post, many young people in the country are still choosing an "unmarried lifestyle" for personal and financial reasons.

Some said that getting married and doing things like buying a home and having children are too expensive.

Others felt they would be more likely to find happiness on their own.

The government data also showed that the number of marriages between South Koreans and foreign nationals has increased for the third year in a row.

There were almost 21,000 of these marriages last year. That's an increase of more than 1,000 from 2023, although still not quite as high as it was before the coronavirus pandemic.

Almost three out of 10 foreign husbands were from the US. And about a third of foreign wives were from Vietnam, while many others were from China and Thailand.

The number of divorces among couples of different nationalities also decreased last year, according to Yonhap News Agency.

Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

Big Rise in Number of Marriages in South Korea

❥ In this podcast, Melo reads from The Aesop for Children found for free online at: https://www.read.gov/aesop/001.html
❥ Listen and learn the moral of each story.
❥ Practice listening and/or reading comprehension by answering the quiz questions.
❥ Today's fable is called "The Oak & the Reeds" and can be found here:
https://www.read.gov/aesop/011.html
❥The moral of today’s fable is: 
“Better to yield when it is folly to resist than to resist stubbornly and be destroyed.”

❥ 在这个播客中，梅洛朗读了《儿童伊索》，可在网上免费找到：https://www.read.gov/aesop/001.html
❥聆听并学习每个故事的寓意。
❥ 通过回答问答问题练习听力和/或阅读理解。
❥ 今天的寓言叫"橡树与芦苇"，可以在这里找到：
https://www.read.gov/aesop/011.html
❥今天的寓言故事的寓意是： 
"在抵抗无用的情况下屈服，总比顽强抵抗而被消灭要好"。

Life Lessons from Aesop's Fables

Episode 10: The Oak & the Reeds

Новый год – самый любимый праздник россиян. У нас есть весёлые новогодние традиции и ритуалы. Некоторые традиции такие же, как европейские, но есть и особенные.
Большинство россиян предпочитают праздновать Новый год дома.  Конечно, мы ставим дома ёлку и украшаем её, под ёлку кладём подарки. 
На праздничном столе много вкусной еды. Оливье и «Сельдь под шубой» - два салата, которые в России всегда готовят на Новый год. Говорят, что следующий день эти салаты ещё вкуснее. 
Другие традиционные блюда на празднике – бутерброды с красной икрой или с солёной красной рыбой. 
Чтобы в новом году исполнились мечты или желания, в последние секунды старого года пишут их на бумажке, а потом эту бумажку сжигают. Пепел нужно положить в бокал с шампанским и выпить. Тогда желание обязательно исполнится. Чтобы не было старых проблем в новом году, люди пишут на бумажке все проблемы и тоже её сжигают.
Еще одна традиция – ходить в баню 31 декабря. Эта традиция возникла по мотивам известного фильма «Ирония судьбы, или С лёгким паром!». В фильме главный герой рассказывает о традиции ходить в баню с друзьями каждый год 31 декабря. Благодаря этой фразе поход в баню перед Новым годом также стал русской традицией. 

По-русски легко!

Короткие истории. 5. Новогодние традиции в России.

Today's idiom is to demonstrate how we talk about information which is transparent and very clear, which is designed to make people react.