Do you know the difference between these words?
Answer these questions and find out.

Please look at the PDFs for the transcript.


Confusing words  (A2 - Elementary)

Success at work!
Vocabulary to help your career.  
These podcasts are from my 'ENGLISH IN THE OFFICE courses.   
If you need more help, please send me an italki message, to discuss your needs. 


English for Business

Do you know the difference between these words? 
Answer these questions and find out. 
Please look at the PDFs for the transcript.

Confusing words - intermediate 

With 26 letters, (but 44 different sounds), and not many rules, English pronunciation is sometimes difficult.
Sometimes, reading a word, does not help you to say it.  Here is some help.


Pronunciation 

A2 - B1  
Conversation Class Preparation.
Listen to the podcast and read the text. 
These podcasts are for my structured conversation class (there are over 80 topics)
(book a class to see the text).

English with Angela -  conversation 

To avoid getting rusty, and to keep up your skills, you should hear and speak English every day.  This can be expensive.  Here are some free ways to keep up your English skills between classes. 

How to keep up your English level 

Vidéo complète avec images, sous-titres, musique et traduction ici:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9KmF_WraRM

French Stories For All

Peut-on Juger Aujourd'hui?

皮特去中国朋友家吃饭，他正好要用刀叉，就直接跟旁边的人说：给我一刀！”
Peter went to a Chinese friend's house for dinner and just wanted to use a knife and fork, so he directly said to the people next to him, "give me a shot!" 

给我一把刀：give me a knife   
给我一刀：give me a shot/hurt me with a knife

开心一刻 Jokes

给我一刀 gěi wǒ yī dāo

In this episode of Italiano Chiaro, we’re talking about the challenges many of us face when trying to have conversations in Italian. Even after hours of studying, it can feel like the words disappear when you need them most. We’ll go over common struggles like vocabulary overload, fear of making mistakes, grammar difficulties, and listening comprehension, while also sharing tips to help make conversations feel more natural and comfortable!

Italiano Chiaro Grammatica

Why is it so hard to have a conversation in Italian?

おにぎりがある棚からあるおにぎりが目についた、それは明太子だ。私は漢字が少し読める。
最初の字は[明] 明日や明るいの漢字だ、次は[太]
太いや太陽の漢字だ、最後に[子] 子供や餃子(ぎょうざ)に使われている漢字だ。写真を見ても何か全然わからない。緊張するが店員に聞くことにした。一人の店員がおにぎりの棚の横で新しいサラダの商品を補充していた。その男は若くて長い黒髪を後ろで束ねていた。インナーメッシュをしてあるようで水色の髪が少し耳のあたりから見えた。

私「　すみません、、」
店員A 「はい、」
私「これはなんですか？」
店員A「おにぎりです。」
私「このピンク色の写真の物はなんですか？」
店員A「 明太子　(め•ん•た•い•こ) です。」
私「めんたいこ？？」
店員A「明太子とは魚のたらのたまごです」
私「どんな味ですか？」
店員A「塩の味が強くて、めんたいこの風味があります。」
私「わかりました、買います。どうもありがとうございました！」

私は会話が終わったとたんどっと疲れた。緊張はまだ残っているが、汗ばんだ両手で明太子と梅のおにぎりを一つずつ持ちレジへと向かった。



[単語リスト]

餃子　ぎょうざ

緊張　きんちょう

補充する　ほじゅうする

束ねる　たばねる

水色　みずいろ

梅　うめ

風味　ふうみ

汗ばむ　あせばむ



I noticed a  onigiri from the shelf with onigiri, it is cod roe. I can read a few kanji. The first character is [mei], which means tomorrow or bright, the next is [tai], which means thick or sun, and the last is [ko], which is used for children or gyoza (dumplings). I had no idea what it was even though I looked at the pictures. I was nervous, but decided to ask the staff. One of the staff was restocking new salad items next to the onigiri (rice ball) shelf. The man was young and had long black hair tied back. He seemed to have an inner mesh, and a little bit of his light blue hair was visible around his ears.


I  "Excuse me," 
Staff A  "Yes," 
I "What is this?" 
Staff A  "It's an onigiri." 
I  "What is this pink thing in the picture?" 
StaffA  "It's mentaiko." 
I  "Mentaiko? 
Staff A  "Mentaiko is the egg of cod roe" 
I  "What does it taste like? 
Staff A  "It has a strong salt taste and mentaiko flavor. 
I  "Okay, I will buy it. Thank you very much!" 

I was exhausted as soon as the conversation ended. My nerves were still in place, but with sweaty hands I took one mentaiko and one ume onigiri and headed for the cash register.




[word list].
　
dumpling   餃子　ぎょうざ

Tense　 緊張　きんちょう

restock 補充する　ほじゅうする

bundle　  束ねる　たばねる

light blue   水色　みずいろ

Plum    梅　うめ

flavor　  風味　ふうみ

to sweat　  汗ばむ　あせばむ



SAMURAI BROADCAST　侍放送

Vol.49 読む練習　日本旅行物語2 Reading Practice Japan Travel Story 2

Did you know lionesses are the primary hunters in the pride?

Did you know?

Lioness

Learn Chinese with Danny

1.城市还是乡村

Have you ever hurt your neck while watching TV and wondered if it's been mounted too high? Well, you're not the only one. In fact, there are hundreds of thousands of people who discuss the subject on Reddit every day.

From breaking news to fandoms, and from memes to life's biggest questions, Reddit is a website that encourages people to discuss any subject that interests them.

The platform has over 100,000 communities, or "subreddits," that are created by users. And a subreddit about TV placement is in the top 1% of popular communities.

The community known as "TV Too High" is among the website's largest, with over 200,000 members. Here, photos of TVs in homes, hotels and other spaces are posted and often met with hundreds of comments discussing whether or not the TV has been placed at a good height.

One photo posted to the community in September 2024 showed a TV mounted above a door, with one user commenting, "Spiders on the ceiling fan have a great view."

Another photo showing a TV mounted above a staircase received over 500 comments, with one user saying, "This might be the worst one I've ever seen."

But is there a perfect height for a TV?

One user posted a guide based on advice from the subreddit. It included things like: "If when standing the TV is at eye level, IT IS TOO HIGH," and, "If the TV is angled down, IT IS TOO HIGH."

Another user posted a photo of a guide from a TV manufacturer. It said the best height for a TV when viewing while sitting down is 107 centimeters from the center of the TV screen to the floor — although some users said this was still too high!