Do you feel like you sound like Siri?
Do you still have that robotic intonation?
Well, that's a thorny issue. 
Listen to this episode  and learn how to handle that !

James Unlocks IELTS

Stop Sounding Like a Robot

In this brief retelling of the fairy tale about Six Brothers under a magical spell and made to live as Swans, we look at a few different kinds of commonly used phrases so that we can understand them in context.

A Stone's Throw Podcast

The Six Swans

"Suivez les aventures de Ploum et Ploumette qui vous apprends à compter de 1 à 20 en français." Extrait de 5 pages sur 10. Voix off Sunhi Sight. [FR]

"Follow the adventures of Ploum and Ploumette who teach you how to count from 1 to 20 in French." Extract from 5 pages out of 10. Voiceover Sunhi Sight. [ENG]
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Écrit par Lise Marin aux éditions Nathan de 1989. Livre pour les enfants de plus de 3 ans. [FR]

Written by Lise Marin published by Nathan in 1989. Book for children over 3 years old. [ENG]

Sunhi Sight's - Childhood Reading - [FR] [JP]

J'apprends à compter (I'm learning to count)

When was the last time you made a joke? Would it be funny in other languages? What makes sense of humour specific to a culture? So many questions. Let's figure it out.

The Age of Humans

Episode 2: Sense of Humour

The people you meet might respond to uncertainty differently than you. Consider seeing things from their point of view and adapting a little. Listen to this story of Nicole and Susan. 

Nicole likes routines and likes to plan in advance. Every Sunday she spends the afternoon and evening at her parents’ house. Every Monday she meets her best friend for lunch and every Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings she goes to a café and reads. Having some control over what’s going to happen makes her feel safe. Then one day Nicole meets Susan. Susan never plans things in advance, is always late, and prefers to be flexible. She likes to make decisions based on how she’s feeling that day and feels that doing the same thing is limiting. Nicole tried to make plans to meet for coffee in advance, Susan sounds uninterested, but she never gives her definite answers. Her behavior really annoys Nicole. 

With people who don’t mind uncertainty …

Remember that you can learn a lot from the unknown and the unfamiliar.
Show flexibility.
For example:
For me, either way is fine.
Let me know what you’re comfortable with.


With people who avoid uncertainty …

Offer details when making decisions.
Provide a context with background information. 
For example:
The reason I do it this way is…
Let me explain why (I’m doing this).

Show you understand the importance of structure and plans. 
I understand the (structure/flexibility) is important / means a lot to you.
I can see why you (spend time on planning).

Follow me for more Everyday English.

Everyday English with Teacher Alyse

Adapting to different ways of dealing with uncertainty

Beginner Chinese Listening：结婚 Get married

Beginner Chinese Listening

Today I’m going to talk about "boshi-techo", "Mother and child health handbook". According to the newspaper, it's the first renewal in forty years. Now I have 2 hand books. One is for my son, and the other is for me. I feel very nostalgic. I tried to look inside them after a long time.

母子手帳　Mother and child health handbook

先日、新聞を読んでいると『「母子手帳」パパも書いてね／４月から約１０年ぶりにリニューアル』という記事がありました。
母子手帳というのは、女性が妊娠すると市からもらう健康手帳のことです。妊娠中から赤ちゃんが生まれて数年の記録を書くことができるようになっています。例えば、妊娠中のお母さんの体の変化、つまり体重やお腹周りのサイズを測って記録するページ、赤ちゃんとお母さんの出産したときの状態、赤ちゃんが生まれてから６歳までの健康状態や予防接種の記録のページなどです。そのほか、子どもの月齢や年齢ごとのアドバイスが書かれた育児のしおりなどがあります。　今、私の手元には２冊の母子手帳があります。一つは私の息子と私のもの、もう一つは私と私の母のものです。　手帳の厚みはぜんぜん違って、息子と私の手帳のほうがかなり分厚いし、表紙もかわいらしいイラストが描いてあります。　でも、これらは　母親になる女性だけが、使っていました。
息子が生まれてからでも、すでに２０年以上が経っています。今、母子手帳は紙からスマホに変わろうとしているようです。そして、母子手帳とは別に父親向け、祖父母向けに別の手帳を作っている自治体もあるそうです。
出産は女性しかできないけど、「子育て」は父親、母親が　いっしょにしましょうということなのかな、と思います。　子どもを育てるのは大変だけど、楽しいことも　うれしいこともたくさんあります。こうして、久しぶりに母子手帳を見ていると、当時のことが昨日のことのように思い出されます。



やさしい日本語（にほんご）

母子健康手帳（ぼしけんこうてちょう）Mother and child health handbook

In today’s Chillchat, we talked about different life habits, lifestyles and how to care for our physical and mental health based on our experience. We also included some funny and interesting habits as well. One very useful grammar pattern as usual. Let’s go! (As the title suggests, we are not doctors so please consult your doctor for any medical advice.)

Note: This podcast is intended for language learning ONLY. Not for promoting or criticizing any political party or ideology. Let’s keep it friendly and accessible to all :)

Also, all of the experiences are the hosts’ own experiences so please do your own research if you need more information.

Chillchat (Learn Chinese and Chill)

We Are Not Doctors... But Here’s How to Talk HEALTH in Chinese!

Documentary mentioned:
https://youtu.be/lb3dyPgv5vU
https://youtu.be/sHG1uAy2ON4