Learn the basic French expressions you'll need to communicate in a restaurant!
Best for beginners!

Learn Basic French Podcast

Learn Basic French: Au restaurant (at the restaurant)

Idioms are phrases or expressions with figurative meanings that differ from their literal meanings. They are often used to convey a message in a creative and humorous way. 
In this episode we will look at the following idioms:
1. 'Raining cats and dogs' - It is raining hard.
2. 'All ears' - I am listening.
3. 'Bite the bullet' - Do something uncomfortable.
4. 'Caught red handed' - Caught in the act of doing a crime.

Idioms are interesting and have an interesting history. They are entertaining and learned through exposure and use. If you like this podcast or have any suggestions please leave a comment. I would like to know your favorite idiom, let me know in the comments below :)

Conversational English with Tersha

Idioms Part 1 for Conversational English

The cost of low-budget food in Britain’s supermarkets has risen by up to 50 per cent over the past year, official figures show.

The Office for National Statistics reports that the price of value pasta ranges has jumped by 50 per cent since April last year!

👉 Book a lesson with me today: www.italki.com/teacher/8719362

The Conversation

Cost of living: Supermarket value food prices up as much as 50%

As a pessimist, you might view language learning as hard work—and you’re not wrong.
Language acquisition requires effort, repetition, and managing confusion.

Here’s the beautiful part: Pessimists tend to manage disappointment better than idealists.
When you anticipate difficulty, you're less likely to be devastated by it.

In psychological terms, this creates cognitive resilience—the ability to stay in the game even when things go wrong. You expect challenges. You face them head-on. You recover faster because you weren’t expecting ease.

You might never say, “I’m going to be fluent in a year.” That’s okay.
But you might say, “I’m going to keep learning, even if progress is slow.”
And that is the spirit of persistence.
Don’t try to change who you are. Just learn to steer with it.
Pessimism doesn’t mean you’re giving up—it means you’re prepared to endure.
And that, my dear listener, is what long-term success looks like.


111 Tips for Learning a Language 

Tip 65 - How Pessimism Builds Resilience in Language Learning

La Regla del 80/20 en el Aprendizaje de un nuevo idioma. ¿Cuál es la manera más eficaz de utilizar mi tiempo?￼

The Language Journey

La manera más eficaz de utilizar tu tiempo al aprender un nuevo idioma

我就这样孤独地生活着，没有一个能真正谈得来的人，一直到六年前在撒哈拉沙漠上发生了那次故障。
So I lived my life alone, without anyone that I could really talk to, until I hadan accident with my plane in the Desert of Sahara, six years ago.
我的发动机里有个东西损坏了。
Something was broken in my engine.


当时由于我既没有带机械师也没有带旅客，我就试图独自完成这个困难的维修工作。
And as I had with me neither a mechanic nor any passengers, I set myself to attempt the difficult repairs all alone.
这对我来说是个生与死的问题。我随身带的水只够饮用一星期。
It was a question of life or death for me: I had scarcely enough drinking water to last a week.


第一天晚上我就睡在这远离人间烟火的大沙漠上。
The first night, then, I went to sleep on the sand, a thousand miles from any human habitation.
我比大海中伏在小木排上的遇难者还要孤独得多。
I was more isolated than a shipwrecked sailor on a raft in the middle of the ocean.
而在第二天拂晓，当一个奇怪的小声音叫醒我的时候，你们可以想见我当时是多么吃惊。
Thus you can imagine my amazement, at sunrise,when I was awakened by an odd little voice.

这小小的声音说道：“请你给我画一只羊，好吗？”
It said:"If you please– draw me a sheep!”
啊！
What!

给我画一只羊…
Draw me a sheep!
我像是受到惊雷轰击一般，一下子就站立起来。
I jumped to my feet, completely thunderstruck. I blinked my eyes hard.

我使劲地揉了揉眼睛，仔细地看了看。
I looked carefully all around me.
我看见一个十分奇怪的小家伙严肃地朝我凝眸望着。
And I saw a most extraordinary small person,who stood there examining me with great seriousness.

这是后来我给他画出来的最好的一副画像。
Here you may see the best portrait that, later, I was able to make of him.
可是，我的画当然要比他本人的模样逊色得多。
But my drawing is certainly very much less charming than its model.
这不是我的过错。
That, however, is not my fault.
六岁时，大人们使我对我的画家生涯失去了勇气，
The grown-ups discouraged me in my painter’s career when I was six years old, 
除了画过开着肚皮和闭着肚皮的蟒蛇，后来再没有学过画。
and I never learned to draw anything, except boas from the outside and boas from the inside.


我惊奇地睁大着眼睛看着这突然出现的小家伙。
Now I stared at this sudden apparition with my eyes fairly starting out of my head in astonishment.

小王子-The Little Prince-Read in Chinese

小王子第三章：无烟的沙漠

Scottish people eat fried what?!?

Find out the answer to this question and details about traditional Scottish food in the latest episode of my podcast about Scotland. 

Transcripts available on request. 

Scotland - Everything I've Ever Had

0004: Traditional Scottish food

Join me for 'Autumn Study Day,' an episode that captures the essence of a productive autumn day spent studying, from a peaceful walk through a churchyard to a cozy café visit. Perfect for B1-B2 English learners, this narrative offers a glimpse into British culture and the simple pleasures of a student's life.

Transcript and glossary available here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/13k8nWRgmZ2BqLBrv06M_BHk5iddDHkne_0nJS7Gxd6g/edit?usp=sharing

Tea, Talk & Textbooks: An ESL Podcast

Autumn Study Day (B1-B2)

UN PODCAST DE PUTA MADRE
En esta segunda parte, Jon (Madrid) y Joan (Barcelona) hablan con Miguel (@profedeespanol_) acerca de su vida, sus experiencias más cachondas, el español de la vida real, las palabrotas y muchas más "mierdas". ¡Relájate y escúchanos!