Some of the typical mistakes made by my students and how to avoid them.

Darrell the language therapist

Common English mistakes 01

佐々木仁子・松本紀子（2010年）『日本語能力試験」対策＿日本語総まとめN3（語彙）』アスク出版
テキストを読んでいきます。
一回に1日ずつ読んでいきます。

きょうは２日目です。

きょうの一言「流しはいつもきれいにしておきましょう」。




N3合格

N3　語彙　第1週2日目

Tonight, hundreds of thousands of snowflakes are floating above a cute village. 

Among these snowflakes there’s one the size of a small pot plant. It’s twirling and spinning like a beautiful ballet dancer. This snowflake’s name is Lola. She has just been joined by her rich green fairy friend named Fairy. 

“Lola, I’m sorry to disturb you right before sleep... But I had to come see you. The wedding date has been moved. We must have it in one week’s time. Do you think the dress will be ready?” 

“One week? Sure thing,” says Lola. “I’ll work on it during the (yawn) weekend. You have nothing to worry about.” 

“Oh Lola, you’re the best! Thank you! Here, let me take you to the ground—you’re tired—I can take you there in a few minutes.” 

Fairy takes Lola in her arms to flies towards the village. But something isn’t right. The wind is becoming stronger and colder. Fairy is trying her best to fly straight, but the wind is pushing her to the left and to the right. The little green light is struggling against the wind.  

A storm is coming. 


Being a Cloud

Lola the Snowflake 

Feeling stuck or unmotivated? In this episode, we share practical tips to help you stay motivated, no matter what challenges come your way. Learn how to set achievable goals, celebrate small wins, and build habits that keep you moving forward. Whether you're studying, working, or pursuing personal goals, these simple strategies will inspire you to keep going. Tune in and find your motivation boost today!

LEARN BY LISTENING

Getting Out Of A Funk

Learn how to sound like a native Japanese speaker by using the word 「おく」

Two Wise Monkeys Japanese Podcast

Ep.2 「〜おく」

In the first Just Chatting podcast, we discuss the heatwave and coping with the summer heat.

How do you cope with working during a heatwave?
What do you do to stay cool during the summer?

Just Chatting

Just Chatting Episode 1 | Heatwaves

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

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