This podcast is aimed at advanced learners as I aim to be as "authentic" as possible and will speak as I would to other natives. This should be good for those of you who are C1 and who want to be C2. 

Kev's English Podcast

Welcome to the 10th episode of The Grammarian Podcast! In this milestone episode, we’re tackling a common issue many English learners face: the usage of "to" with verbs. Understanding when to use "to" and when to leave it out is crucial for sounding more natural and grammatically correct in English.

We’ll dive into:
- When to use "to" with verbs (after certain verbs, adjectives, and to show purpose)
- When NOT to use "to" (modal verbs, causative verbs, and verbs of perception)
- Common mistakes and how to avoid them
- Practical tips and exercises to help you put your knowledge into practice

Feel free to comment your answers below—I’ll be checking and providing feedback to help you improve. Let’s make this your best episode yet!

Be sure to stay tuned for my daily quizzes, community posts, and podcasts on italki. If you’d like to receive The Grammarian Newsletter, just contact me through the link below. I send it out every Wednesday for free to all my students.

If you’re looking for a more personalized, task-based approach to your language learning goals, don’t hesitate to reach out. I’d be happy to provide a needs analysis, discuss your objectives, and create a custom learning plan to help you achieve your dreams!

I’m currently offering $10 trial lessons to give you a taste of the premium lessons that have helped students achieve their goals. In this exclusive trial, we’ll dive into practical, task-based activities tailored to your needs—whether you’re aiming for a new job, furthering your education, or preparing for life in an English-speaking country. This special offer is available until February 28th, so don’t miss the chance to get started for just $10!

https://www.italki.com/en/teacher/10897638

And always remember: Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground.

The Grammarian Podcast

Common mistakes made by English Language Learners Part 6:  When and When Not to Use "To" with Verbs

大家好，您正在收听中文播客《丹霞说》，我是丹霞。你知道“笑一笑，十年少”吗？

        “笑一笑，十年少”，这是中国人常常说的一句话，意思是笑有很大的作用，笑一笑会让人年轻很多。
        只有常常笑，才能使自己年轻，不容易变老。所以我们每天都应该在工作、学习中，多想想高兴的事儿，多做做能让自己开心的事儿，试着让自己更快乐。
        所以，今天你笑了吗？

少 [shào] young
作用 zuòyòng  affect ; function
让 ràng  let; make
年轻niánqīng  young
应该yīng gāi should; ought to; must
事儿shì er  matter; affair, thing; business
试 shì  to try  

"Smile, ten years younger" is a saying often used by Chinese people, which means that laughter has a great effect, and a smile will make people younger. Laughing often can we make ourselves younger and not grow old easily. So we should think more about happy things, do more things that can make us happy, and try to make ourselves happier in our work and study every day.

So, did you laugh today?

 HSK3 Vocab Based - Short Story Podcast

03. “笑一笑，十年少”[xiào yi xiào，shí nián shào] Smiles keep one young 

欢迎收听全新一集的Chillchat全中文播客。在这集播客里，Karen介绍了中文名字的结构，父母取名的方法和中文姓氏的起源。


Chillchat (Learn Chinese and Chill)

(全中文) 中文名字是怎么取的

В этом подкасте я рассуждаю о том, нужно ли делить людей на интровертов и экстравертов и если да, то по каким критериям. Приятного прослушивания!

Привет, это Наташа!

Эпизод 13. Интроверты и экстраверты

⭐ In this A2-level podcast I will talk about common illnesses, covid, vaccines and the mistrust of vaccines, as well as alternative medicine such as homeopathy, aromatherapy and phytotherapy. We will practise the superlative and questions with subject-object inversion, we will review the vocabulary for the body parts, symptoms and illnesses, and much more!

⭐ In the first part of this podcast I will speak French only, and in the second part I will translate and explain everything I said in English. 

Learn French with Anthony

#09 (A2) Maladies, vaccins et médecines alternatives

👉 This episode of Stairway to English is a very special conversation edition! This is Part 1. Part 2 will be available very soon! 

👉 Marisa and I talk about her life, her background with language learning, where her family is from, and growing up as an English language learner. Marisa speaks with a Texan accent. I hope you enjoy the episode!

👉 Vocabulary
Commute - Travel some distance between one's home and place of work on a regular basis

Stay put - To stay in one place

Public Relations - A type of employment where you work with companies to help them in the news or stay out of the news

Birth certificate - A certificate received at birth to show where you were born

Immigrant - A person who moves to and lives in a different country

Pull out - Take something out

Drop off - Leave someone or something somewhere

Hand me over - Give someone something or someone

Siblings - Brothers and/or sisters

Pick up - Collect a person or a thing from a place

Accelerates - Move quickly

Y’all - You all. This is used mainly in the southern part of the USA.

Carried on a long distance relationship - Dated while living far apart from one another

No brainer - An easy decision

Ma’am - A polite way to address women

Sir - A polite way to address men

Mannerisms - The way you act and handle yourself

👉 Have questions about the episode? Comment below or send me a message!

👉 If you would like to take a lesson with me, send me a message here on italki! Right now, I can't accept new students because my italki schedule is full, but I will be able to very soon! Get on my waiting list now so you will be first in line for lesson openings!

Stairway to English: Short easy to understand episodes to improve your English grammar and fluency

Part 1: Conversation Edition: Language Learning, Families, and Immigration with Marisa Vallbona

Two people talk about things they like and dislike.

Beginner 

Likes and Favorites

With many teens spending almost all of their time online, parents are concerned that social media is exposing them to harmful content. Faced with growing pressure to stop online harm, Instagram has introduced a major new update to protect young people and give parents more control.

Under 18s now signing up for Instagram in the US, UK, Canada and Australia will be automatically enrolled into a restricted teen account. Existing accounts will be transferred by mid-November.

The European Union will get teen accounts later this year, and the rest of the world in January. Other Meta services like Facebook will get teen accounts next year.

What limits will teen accounts have?
Instagram already prohibits anyone under 13 from signing up.

Now, teen accounts will automatically be set to private, so they'll have to accept or reject new follower requests. Other users won't be able to see their posts or tag the account.

Teens will also only receive direct messages from people they're following or who follow them.

Teens won't be shown content involving sensitive topics and an anti-bullying feature will screen out offensive words in comments and message requests.

To reduce their screen time, teens will get a notification to stop using the app after it's been open for over an hour — which they can ignore.

Sleep mode between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. will mute notifications and send auto-replies to direct messages. However, they can still use Instagram and answer messages if they want to.

Are there workarounds?
These limits will be turned on automatically for all teens, but 16 and 17-year-olds can turn them off. Kids under 16 will need permission to do so and parents can make changes and approve or deny any requests.

However, if parents want to use teen controls, they'll need an Instagram account.

New controls for parents

