I support adult, independent English learners to learn more effectively. This podcast answers your questions and covers vocabulary, pronunciation issues and self-study strategies. 

Birdsong English Explains

1 minute exercise 2 improve speaking

Can you improve your speaking in one minute? 

Certainly not, however, if you do it daily for the duration of 90 days (not 21day) but 90, you'll get great at 

a) expressing your thoughts
b) will ad various vocabulary which may or may not be relevant
c) you'll develop new neural pathways in your brain that will set forth new patterns of behaviour making you more special in your unique way.

Give it a try, help yourself, there is no one else to do it but you, right?

If not now then when, If not me then who?

Enjoy it and come over to be trained by me personally. I help adults to improve their confidence and get my students learn to (THINK) in English, not to learn the language itself!



One minute speaking challenge - Challenge yourself to speak English daily!

1 minute exercise 2 improve speaking

Full transcript: https://japanesemayuna.com/

はい、こんにちは。今回はシーズン2の6回目です。2023年明けましておめでとうございます。１月１日の午前中、家の周りを散歩しました。去年の正月はとても静かでしたが、今年の正月はなんだか賑やかでした。家の周りの公園やカフェやレストランに外国人観光客がたくさんいたからです。日本では家や近所で正月を過ごす人が多いですが、他の国では海外旅行をする人が多いですね。私も海外旅行に行きたいですが、今の航空券の値段が高すぎて驚いています。

Hello. This is episode 6 of season 2 of my podcast. Happy New Year! I hope you all have a wonderful 2023. On the morning of 1 January, I took a walk around my neighbourhood. Last New Year's Day was very quiet, but this New Year's Day was somewhat lively. This is because there were many foreign tourists in the parks, cafés and restaurants nearby my house. In Japan, many people spend New Year's at home or in their neighbourhood, but in other countries, many people travel abroad. I would like to travel abroad too, but I am surprised at how expensive airline tickets are nowadays.

今日は日本語のアクセントについてお話ししたいと思います。例えば日本語では「箸」と「橋」の例が有名です。この二つの単語は「は」と「し」で出来ていますから、ひらがなで書くと全く同じです。読み方で意味の違いを表現します。「箸」のように「は」を「し」よりも高いピッチで発音すると、chopsticksの意味になります。もう一度発音します「箸」。そして、「橋」のように「は」を「し」よりも低いピッチで発音すると、bridgeの意味になります。もう一度発音します「橋」。箸を使って、寿司を食べます。ロンドンブリッジは有名な橋です

Today I would like to talk about pitch accent in Japanese. For example, the well-known examples in Japanese are ‘Hashi' (chopsticks) and ‘Hashi' (bridge). These two words are made up of 'ha' and 'shi', so when written in hiragana they are exactly the same. The way they are pronounced expresses the difference in meaning. If the 'ha' is pronounced with a higher pitch than the 'shi', as in 'Hashi', it means 'chopsticks'. Pronounce it again ‘Hashi' (chopsticks). And if you pronounce the 'ha' lower in pitch than the 'shi', as in 'Hashi', it means ‘bridge’. Pronounce it again, ‘Hashi' (bridge). Use ‘Hashi' (chopsticks) to eat sushi. London Bridge is a famous ‘Hashi' (bridge). 

Japanese Lessons with Mayuna

S2 Ep6. 日本語のアクセント

How often do you see these 4 delegation mistakes in the workplace? 

Not delegating enough
Not setting clear expectations
Micromanaging
Not reviewing the final results carefully
Delegation mistakes have huge consequences--they can kill a person’s motivation, hurt morale, and create inefficiencies. 

But done correctly, delegation offers huge benefits to people and organizations. Tune in to the latest Express to Impress Podcast episode to learn how to delegate effectively and achieve better results. 

Episode originally published May 20, 2021

Original theme music by Lucas Knutter 

Read the transcript at https://www.express-to-impress.com/how-to-delegate/ 

Join the Express to Impress community on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/express-to-impress/.

See infographics for this episode on Pinterest at https://www.pinterest.com/ExpresstoImpress/_created/.

Express to Impress

How to Delegate Effectively and Achieve Better Results

I don't like you. - Sikupendi.
I need to rest now. - Ninahitaji kupumzika sasa.
I want to eat. - Ninataka kula.
I would prefer this. - Ningependelea hii.
Stop lying to me. - Acha kunidanganya

Austine Sikuku

Swahili Phrases

Мой старый друг, мой верный Дьявол,
Пропел мне песенку одну:
— Всю ночь моряк в пучине плавал,
А на заре пошёл ко дну.

Кругом вставали волны-стены,
Спадали, вспенивались вновь,
Пред ним неслась, белее пены,
Его великая любовь.

Он слышал зов, когда он плавал:
«О, верь мне, я не обману»…
Но помни, — молвил умный Дьявол, —
Он на заре пошёл ко дну. —

1906 г.

Нескучные истории - Not boring stories

"Умный дьявол". Николай Гумилев.

Breve dialogo donde una persona cumple años y hablan sobre ello.

Diálogos Guiados en Español (Guided Dialogues - Spanish Practice)

Cumpleaños (A1)

Language lovers, tune in!

I hear this question, “How can I sound more like a native English speaker?” all the time, and I always give the same response. Use the shadowing technique!

Shadowing involves repeating someone's speech immediately after they say it. It's like you're following them as your shadow follows you. The beauty of this technique is that anyone can do it alone. Since most people learning a second language don't have the opportunity to speak with native speakers often, speaking it on your own is the next best thing. This method isn't only for English learning; it will work for all languages!

Tune in to the latest Express to Impress podcast episode to learn how to implement the shadowing technique. Learn about its origins and get tips to implement it effectively.  You’ll be inspired by the stories I share of people who have attained near-native English fluency and pronunciation by using this technique. By the end, you’ll be convinced the shadowing technique is an incredibly powerful English learning tool!

Episode originally published on September 11, 2020.
Transcript at https://www.express-to-impress.com/english-learning/.

Introducing the Shadowing Technique for English Learning

In this episode, Karen taught Baiwei some authentic Dongbei dialect, including “annoying”, “what should we do”, “what are you looking at”…