How many words do you know?  500?  1000?  10000?  Does it even matter?  You’re learning a language…you just want to be able to speak.  Well, if that’s the case, you’re going to need to know words.  And let’s be real, if you’re not having fluent conversations, it probably has nothing to do with you not understanding English grammar.  Besides, native English speakers use very simple grammar in daily conversations.  More often than not, not being fluent is caused by the lack of words in that brain of yours.  But not to worry, this problem is fixable.

Modern language learning enthusiasts…you know, these Internet Polyglots, talk a lot about word frequency and this idea of your first 1000 words.  Let’s talk a little about where that comes from.

Context Clues

Episode 001: The Road To A Thousand Words

Jon (Madrid) y Joan (Barcelona) hablan con Miguel, un profesor de ELE experto en pronunciación y muy conocido por su presencia en las Redes Sociales. ¡Relájate y escúchanos!

¡Qué Pasa! Podcast en Español

VIS A VIS Con MIGUEL PÉREZ (@profedeespanol_) | La VIDA SECRETA de un profe 'INFLUENCER' (PARTE 1)

In many of the world's richer countries, young adults feel they can't afford to start a family. They also see the idea of buying a house as an impossible dream.

So, they're going on holiday instead!

And Elizabeth Currid-Halkett from the University of Southern California told CNN that young people are happy to take on some debt to go on a trip.

That's because it feels like a very small amount of debt compared to the cost of college or a house.

In fact, a May 2024 survey by US money website WalletHub found that two out of five Americans agree: they think it's worth going into debt to be able to have a good vacation.

Some call it "doom spending" — spending money on short-term pleasure, not saving it for something bigger in the future.

People point to the fact that house prices have increased much faster than wages, and so young adults today feel that saving for a home isn't realistic.

They feel the money would be better spent on a nice vacation.

There are also airlines that let customers book a flight but pay for it later, something that may appeal to these younger travelers.

However, experts say doom spending is a risky way to use your money, especially if it becomes a habit.

Money expert Louise Hill told Sky News that spending on short-term pleasure also makes it even harder to save for big things in life like a house or a family.

She said: "By the time you've saved enough for it, think about whether you still really want it."

Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

Many Americans Happy to Go into Debt for a Vacation

Staying safe online is important. But a lot of us are making mistakes with the passwords we use for our different accounts.

Password manager company Bitwarden found that a quarter of people use the same password for at least 11 sites or apps. And more than one-third of us use personal information in our passwords.

Personal information isn't a good idea to use, because it's quite easy for others to find it out.

But here's something else that isn't a good idea: using the name of your favorite celebrity, band, singer or superhero!

A company called Mailsuite has been looking at the most dangerous pop culture passwords you can use online.

Mailsuite made a list of more than 2,600 pop culture terms and almost 64,000 different ways of writing them.

It then looked at something called the Pwned Passwords database, which gives information about hundreds of millions of passwords that have been exposed in online data breaches.

The pop culture password that came up most was "Superman." It appeared in almost 585,000 data breaches.

In second place was the US band Blink-182. Used as a password, it appeared in more than 482,000 data breaches.

"Batman," "Star Wars" and "Eminem" were also in the top five.

Bitwarden says you should choose a long password that includes letters, numbers and symbols.

You should also have a different password for each app you use. Sites like Bitwarden also let you check how strong a password is before you choose it.

Worst Online Passwords Revealed

Uyghurche Learning FM/ئۇيغۇرچە تىل ئۆگىنىش

Chapter 1, Exercise 12

¡Hola, hola! Acabo de volver de mi viaje a México y tengo muuuuchas cosas que contaros. En este primer capítulo os hablo del viaje en general, de qué sitios visité y de cómo me moví. ¿Queréis acompañarme?

La vida de Héctor (Spanish Podcast)

¡México!

This is a short podcast where I talk in simple past about how did I get my first job.

My Life 

How did I get my first job?

こんにちは。

みなさんはどんな洋服を着ていますか。

日本は少し暑くなってきました。
蒸し暑いです。
今日の私はロングスカートにTシャツの組み合わせです。

最近、日本ではロングスカートが流行っています。
少し大きめのサイズをダボっと着るのが、流行っているんです。
夏は特にぴったりとしたサイズよりも、少し大きめでゆったり着る感じが流行っています。その方が涼しいです。
ロングワンピースなんかも流行っていますよ。

ジーンズはオールシーズン履けると言われていますが、日本の夏には暑いです。

日本の夏はすごく暑いです。
クールビズということで、ビジネスマンはノージャケット、ノーネクタイですが、ワイシャツは着ます。一方、働く女性は男性よりも自由です。女性はブラウスにパンツを合わせたり、スカートを合わせたりします。もちろん、ワンピースも着ます。

みなさんの国ではどんな洋服が流行っているか。


「のぞみ」の日記

今日の洋服

This episode of English Learners Boost explores the real reasons many learners still struggle with English despite years of study. You'll hear practical tips, mindset shifts, and an inspiring story based on real experiences. Plus, find out how personalized iTalki lessons can help you gain the confidence to speak English fluently and naturally. Tune in for the motivation and tools you need to finally move forward!

