Share some Chinese daily life topics , Grammars, common sayings, and  stories

Karen Mandarin

"I know a lot of words but I can't recall them while speaking." If this is a sentence you've uttered as a Language Learner, this episode is a must for you. 

Acquiring New Vocabulary in collocations is a great way to make sure you move from Passive Retention of words to Active Use.



All Things English

Vocabulary Acquisition - Introduction to Collocations

｢死に目に会う｣を重視しすぎる日本人。死に目に会えないのは不幸なんですか？

人が亡くなる時に｢もっと重要なこと｣は他にある。
Japanese people consider it is very important to be there for their loved ones at the moment of their death.


[Intermediate-Upper level] Interesting Japanese Not Taught In Schools About Japanese business culture, Japanese habits & Osaka

【Japanese advanced】Japanese people consider it is very important to be there for their loved ones at the moment of their death. ｢死に目に会う｣を重視しすぎる日本人。

Another unexpected short story by the world-famous British writer. This story will be read in one episode.  

Stories to Stimulate!

The Butler - by Roald Dahl

🎙My friend Aly is interested in learning the Kansai dialect of the Japanese language. Azumi and Aly will explore about Kansai dialect via weekly Twitch Live Streaming!!

アリー関西弁を学ぶ【 🇺🇸🇯🇵】Bilingual ENG&JP Chit-Chat:Aly Learns Kansai Dialect

#1-1🐥Standard Japanese & Kansai Dialect

Hablamos sobre que es la muy llamada "the dip"  (by Seth Godin) en el aprendizaje de idiomas y que hacer cuando nos encontramos en ella.

Hablando sobre libros en los idiomas

The dip en el aprendizaje de idiomas (1 de 3)

If you have a bad experience at a restaurant or hotel, what do you do? Do you tell the staff? Do you ask them to apologize — maybe even ask them to give you something for free?

Or do you maybe just say nothing, go online, and write a bad review about the place? Then others might see your review, and decide to go somewhere else.

If you're in Italy, however, soon you may not be able to leave a bad review without being able to prove that you had a bad experience.

In a new law being proposed by the country's government, review websites like TripAdvisor will need to make sure that the people leaving reviews have actually visited the places they're reviewing.

The law, which would be the first of its kind in Europe, would require reviewers to be verified with an ID, and show proof that they had been to the place not more than two weeks before their review.

It's already against the law to leave fake reviews in Italy, but it's not always easy to know which reviews are fake. This law would make sure that the reviewer has, at least, visited the place.

The law would also let businesses ask for bad reviews to be removed after two years if they can show that the problem mentioned in the review has been fixed.

The idea is to protect businesses and make sure reviews are honest — which also means people like influencers won't be able to be paid to leave positive reviews.

In fact, many people who agree with the law believe it should extend to all social media, not just review websites, because with so many influencers being paid by companies online, it's not always easy to know which reviews are honest.

Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

Leaving a Review in Italy? You May Need to Prove It's True

Taking care of one's mental health requires optimism and constant work and effort. Life's challenges, whether it is internal or external is only won when you are able to fix your internal mindset, when you are able to win against  the side of you that wants to give up.

FLO TALKS 

OPTIMISM IS A STATE OF MIND 

People in Switzerland eat more chocolate than anyone else in the world.

According to data from World Population Review, the average Swiss person eats nearly 9 kilograms of chocolate a year — almost twice as much as people in America.

So it might be no surprise that a Swiss university is doing research on chocolate — looking for ways to make it healthier and better for the planet!

Chocolate is made using cocoa beans, which grow in pods on the cacao tree. Each pod holds 20 to 60 seeds — or beans — that are covered in sweet white pulp.

Researchers from the university ETH Zurich have found a way to mix the pulp with part of the pod to make a sweet gel, which can be used instead of the powdered sugar that's usually added to cocoa beans when making chocolate.

Typical dark chocolate might be made of 30% to 40% powdered sugar. Testing different recipes, the researchers found they could make chocolate that was up to 20% gel and about as sweet as chocolate with 5% to 10% powdered sugar.

The new chocolate also had 20% more fiber and 30% less saturated fat than typical European dark chocolate — meaning it's healthier to eat.

Main study writer, Kim Mishra, told The Guardian that the new chocolate has a fruitier taste than typical dark chocolate — although it also tastes more acidic.

The researchers said using parts of the cocoa plant that are usually thrown away reduces waste, while using the new gel would let cocoa farmers get money not just from their beans, but by selling the pulp and pod parts needed for the gel as well.

It may be a while before we can try this chocolate for ourselves. However, ETH Zurich has already filed a patent for the recipe.

