Today, I went to the supermarket to buy some groceries. When I walked around the store, I noticed a sign saying, “2027 is just around the corner!” I was surprised because I felt like this year had only just started. To make things even more surprising, the supermarket had already started taking reservations for osechi, the traditional Japanese New Year’s food. I couldn’t believe it. I thought, “There are still two months left in this year!” It feels strange to think that we are already preparing for the New Year when there is still plenty of time before the end of the year. Time really flies. Seeing the osechi advertisements made me realize that 2026 is coming to an end much faster than I expected.

Phrasal verbs from A to Z #day7 - G

Today I went to the university’s English Lounge for the first time. I spoke English and played games—it was a lot of fun. I went to school for my first class today, so I’m really sleepy right now. But I have a part-time job starting at 5:30 p.m. To be honest, I really don’t want to go. I just want to go home right now and get some sleep. I can’t believe I have my first class again tomorrow. Since my second class is the only one I have tomorrow, I think I’ll head home early and get some sleep.

Here’s the answer to my question from last time about whether I can write about what I studied: What wasn't allowed was simply dragging out long quotes with tiny comments, or padding the word count with unnecessary repetitions and lists. So it turns out sharing English phrases is totally okay! That means I'm going to write about the things I learn. At my part-time job, we get international customers, mostly from Asian countries like China, Korea, and Vietnam. We communicate in English since it's our best common ground, but we both struggle a bit, which sometimes leaves us puzzled. Times like that make me want to learn other languages too. For now, though, I'll focus on handling customer service in English so I’m prepared whenever a native speaker walks in! Then again, I've had a lot of night shifts lately, so I barely see any foreign customers these days...

ESL students try this. Topic: Time Collocations

Choose the correct answer.

There are lots of ways to describe boredom in English, and simply saying ‘I’m bored’ doesn’t always tell us exactly how we feel. Here are some useful words and expressions for talking about different kinds of boredom. If you are bored to death, you are extremely bored: ‘The lecture was so boring I was bored to death.’ You can say you are bored with something when you have stopped finding it interesting: ‘I’m bored with watching the same TV shows.’ If something is dull or uninteresting, it isn’t interesting or exciting: ‘The book started well, but the middle was really dull.’ Sometimes something is boring because it is repetitive – it involves doing the same thing again and again: ‘My job can be quite repetitive.’ When you have had enough of something, you no longer want to continue doing or experiencing it: ‘I’ve had enough of this meeting. Let’s go.’ Similarly, if you are fed up with or are tired of something, you are annoyed because it has continued for too long: ‘I’m fed up with doing the same paperwork every day.’ Boredom can also affect your attention. If your mind wanders, you start thinking about other things instead of what you should be concentrating on: ‘I tried to listen, but my mind kept wandering.’ You might zone out or lose concentration, especially during a long or uninteresting activity. And if you yawn, it can be a clear sign that you’re tired or bored. Some people can’t sit still when they’re bored. They feel restless and need to move or do something. Finally, if you feel desperate to escape, you are so bored or uncomfortable that you really want to leave: ‘After three hours of small talk, I felt desperate to escape.’ What tends to make you bored most quickly?

30-day Grammar Challenge (B2) #day25

Hello! I’m Naru, a Japanese teacher on italki! 🇯🇵✨ ​Today, I’d like to share photos from my trip to the northernmost part of Japan! 🗾❄️ ​I visited Soya Misaki (Cape Soya), the northernmost point of Japan, and Sarufutsu Village! "Saru" in Sarufutsu means monkey, so my monkey friend Naru and I took a photo together in front of the monument. 🐒📸 ​Sarufutsu is also famous for its delicious scallops, so I had an amazing scallop bowl (Hotate-don)! 🦪😋 ​Have you ever traveled to the edge or extreme points of your country? Let's talk about travel and food in our Japanese lesson! 🗣️💬 ​#italki #LearnJapanese #JapaneseTeacher #Hokkaido #SoyaCape #Sarufutsu #JapanTravel #NaruSensei

The Great Languages Challenge can be completed during a planned lesson or also set as a language-themed homework task