【北海道Hokkaido生活】
〈#131〉11月2日水曜日　天気/晴れ　気温/12℃ 

札幌市/さっぽろし
大通公園/おおどおりこうえん
・冬の前に花壇を撤去する作業
・毎年春に、公園の中に30箇所ぐらいの花壇を設置
・手作業で撤去した


［単語］
花壇/かだん…花がある場所
撤去/てっきょ…かたづける
作業/さぎょう…仕事
箇所/かしょ…場所の数える方法。一箇所、二箇所、三箇所。
設置/せっち…置く
手作業/てさぎょう…手を使って仕事をする


北海道Hokkaido生活 for Japanese learners

〈#131〉11月2日水曜日　大通公園でお花を撤去

Welcome English learners! Today we’re continuing the conversation between Jennifer and James. In the last episode, James had just met Jennifer while he was walking in the park. Her dog had fetched a ball and had come close to him. Jennifer was in the middle of telling him why she started dog sitting for her friend. Listen to the story in this episode to grow your vocabulary and listening skills. Enjoy!
“I was having coffee with my friend, Sarah, and we were talking about how difficult it is to live up to the standards of being a “modern woman.” Jennifer started her story.
“Oh, that sounds like an interesting conversation…” James responded. “I’ve always felt like it must be almost impossible for women to balance career and family. Especially single women.”
“Well, yeah, that’s what we were saying to each other. There’s a lot of pressure on women to be “independent,” as if they don’t need men in their lives. I think marriage and family are great and I hate the stigma that is sometimes given to housewives in our society.”
“That’s an interesting perspective to hear from a woman.” James replied. “You wouldn’t know that based on what you see in the media.”
“Exactly. Anyways, Sarah is married, so she and her husband are taking a trip this weekend. She works as an accountant, so she stays busy, but she wants to have kids, too. That’s why we were talking about “modern women.” Anyhow, I offered to watch their dog for the weekend, so here I am!” Jennifer explained.
“I see. That’s nice of you to do for her!” James appreciated this small act Jennifer was doing for her friend. He wanted to learn more about her, but she had a question for him.
“So, what brings you out to the park on a Saturday morning?” Jennifer inquired.
“I like to go for a walk when I’m thinking about something.” James told her.
“Ah, ok. So, can I ask what’s on your mind?” Sarah asked with an inquisitive look on her face. 
James was more than happy to tell her.


Stories in English

Why Jennifer is Dog Sitting

La migración en Latinoamérica requiere la atención de todos. Hoy te comentaré un poco más acerca de algunas políticas que se manejan hoy en América. Empecemos. 

Español con todo 

 Migración en Latinoamérica- PARTE FINAL

The Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal (pronounced /ˌtɑːdʒ mə'hɑːl/) is a famous mausoleum next to the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. A mausoleum is a building where people bury the dead. The name Taj Mahal means 'the crown of palaces'.

1. 
The most famous part of the Taj Mahal is the large white dome in the centre. It is 35 metres high and is surrounded by four smaller domes. The rooms inside the building are decorated with beautiful archways and precious stones in the walls. The buildings are surrounded by gardens with pathways, pools, fountains and green gardens.

2.
The construction of the Taj Mahal began in 1632 and finished in 1653. It was built with materials from all over India and Asia, but the main material is white marble. Historians believe that the materials were transported by over 1,000 elephants for the construction.

3.
The emperor Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal as a burial place for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. According to legend, he wanted to build another Taj Mahal in black on the other side of the river, but this never happened. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, many parts of the Taj Mahal were damaged by British soldiers, who took some of the precious stones from its walls. Over the years, the Taj Mahal has suffered from environmental damage, and there have been many government attempts to conserve its beauty.

4.
The Taj Mahal is one of India's most famous landmarks. There are millions of visitors to the mausoleum every year. The Taj Mahal is almost always included in lists of famous buildings to visit and is considered one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Habits of Highly Effective English Communicators

Daily Reading & Comprehension. Taj Mahal

it's all Greek to me!

Verb to be 

Velar consonants are sounds you make with the back of your tongue touching the soft palate, also called the velum. It's the fleshy bit at the back of the roof of your mouth, near your uvula (the little dangly thing).

Production:
Raise the back of your tongue up to touch the velum. Airflow is blocked completely for a moment.

Examples in English:
/k/: This is the voiceless velar plosive, the sound at the beginning of "kit" or "cat."
/g/: This is the voiced velar plosive, the sound at the beginning of "game" or the "g" in "going."
/ŋ/: This is the velar nasal, the sound at the end of "sing" or "long." Notice how air can flow out your nose while making this sound.

Other interesting facts:
The sound /k/ is actually one of the most common consonant sound across all human languages! Velar consonants can be influenced by nearby vowels. They might move slightly forward in the mouth (called "fronting") before front vowels like /

i:/ or /ɪ/ or move back (called "retraction") before back vowels like /u/ or /ʊ/.

Some practice tongue twisters:
Kate keeps giving up in the morning
My gran’s going to see the king in the Congo
Can a king conquer a sinking kangaroo
Kick the giggling goblins guarding the gold
Kevin clung to the clinging kangaroo

Book a lesson for access to the most comprehensive materials library and practice system you will ever find, anywhere.

Target: British Accent 

Velar Consonants 

Each week I read an interesting news article from the BBC. Listen along to the words and pronunciation and I will also share with you the link to the story so that you can read along as well. This week's news article can be found here:  https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-63245150

The Breaking News Podcast

E-waste: 5 billion phones to be thrown away in 2022

This week Karen and Baiwei are chatting about their childhood! Are there any differences? And what about the childhood of kids nowadays?

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)

Our Childhood!

Learn about the benefits of doing yoga! We're covering sports, health, and mindfulness-related vocabulary!
Best for upper-intermediate and advanced English learners!
