Question for English language learners. English tutor Alice here. If you could speak to someone from the United States what would you want to talk about? What's something that you'd love to learn about the US? What topics do you love to talk about with your friends? Do you know what small talk is? Is small talk with strangers common where you live? Here in the US it is very common. We do small talk with strangers. We talk about the weather, hobbies, sports, food and more! We talk to strangers in grocery stores, book stores, libraries and more places. My hobbies are knitting, writing, diamond art and photography.

English is so easy to learn. Right? #LearningEnglish #vocabulary

Choose the correct answer.

Hello everyone! Naru Sensei here! 🇯🇵✨ ​My Hokkaido adventure continues! Today, I want to share some truly wild and unique experiences from the deep nature of Hokkaido! 🚗🦌 ​1️⃣ Look at this! At a roadside station, they were selling REAL deer antlers! They started from just 1,500 yen ($10)! I held one, and it was so heavy! 🦌😲 2️⃣ Driving at night can be wild here—a big deer with huge horns suddenly appeared right in front of my car! 🚘✨ 3️⃣ I also took a dip in "Kuma no Yu" (Bear's Hot Spring), a natural outdoor hot spring, and tried local deer meat BBQ! Delicious! ♨️🥩 4️⃣ To top it off, I saw a majestic deer under the sunset at Notsuke Peninsula and the powerful Oshinkoshin Waterfall! 🌅🌊 ​Have you ever touched a deer antler or tried deer meat before? Let me know in the comments or let's chat in our next lesson! 🗣️💬 ​#italki #LearnJapanese #JapaneseTeacher #Hokkaido #WildJapan #JapanTravel #NaruSensei

Today is Friday. Tomorrow is the weekend. I’m feeling really good. But I have a part-time job starting at noon tomorrow. Once that’s over, I don’t have any plans, so I think I’ll just relax at home all day. I’ve started to realize I probably won’t be able to relax too much, though, since I also have to study English. Lately, I’ve been going to the English Lounge at my university a lot. I’ve had plenty of opportunities to speak English recently, so I’m really motivated. I’m going to study hard so I can start speaking English fluently as soon as possible.

I went to get a flu shot at the pediatric clinic yesterday. With their child, parents can also receive vaccinations at the pediatric clinic at the same time.As the doctor was giving me a shot, he said "By the way, didn't you say last time that you wanted to get the shingles vaccine? Have you had it yet? If not, shall I make an appointment for you?" I remember now! The last time I was at this clinic, I said him that I wanted to get the shingles vaccine. But the cost is so high, about 20000 yen per dose, and because I have to get it two times, that's 40000 yen in total, so the plan was up in the air....... Anyway, I noticed that the doctor started sounding like a top performing salesman. It means that the number of children in Japan is clearly on the decline. If he don't also turn mothers and fathers into his customers, it becomes impossible to earn a living. With that thought in mind, I left the clinic. 昨日、インフルエンザの予防接種のため、小児科へ行った。子供と一緒だと、親も小児科で同時接種ができます。先生は私に注射をしながら、こう言った。「お母さん、そういえば前回、帯状疱疹の予防接種をしたいと言っていましたよね？まだしていませんか？していないなら、予約をとりましょうか？」思い出した。前回この病院に来た時に、この先生に帯状疱疹の予防接種を受けたいと話したことを。でもね、料金が高い。一回２万円で、２回接種しなくてはいけない。それで、そのまま宙ぶらりんの状態になってしまったんだっけ。先生はいつの間にか、敏腕セールスマンみたいな口ぶりになっていた。それだけ日本の少子化が深刻、ということなのだ。顧客を母親、父親まで広げないと、稼ぐ場所がなくなってしまうから。そんなことを考えて、病院から家に帰った。

English tutor Alice here. A question for American English language learners.... How well do you know American English phrasal verbs? Do you know a lot of them? Do you use a lot of them? What about prepositions? Do you know them? Do you use them? Can you say them comfortably? Vocabulary? Can you say enough when someone asks you a question? Or do you give just a one sentence answer? Do you ever elaborate or say more? Do you feel 'Limited' in your ability to speak? Do you say the same phrases? Do you just 'Stick to what you know.'? Are you wanting to really get better with your speaking? Have you had a lesson with someone from the United States? Someone to teach you phrasal verbs, vocab, prepositions, slang and more?

I decided to take language learning this last month seriously for the challenge. It’s been so much fun! Very happy with my results and the routine it’s now created for my week.

On Tuesday, I went to my part-time job for the first time in a while. My friend came to eat at the restaurant. I work at an Italian restaurant called VANSAN. You can choose the type of pasta, and you can also choose between two types of pizza. 🍝🍕 Also, there have a very popular dessert called grilled cheesecake. The food is very delicious, so I recommend this restaurant‼︎ On Wednesday, my university friend and I went to the restaurant when my friend was working. We drank alcohol, but I got a little tipsy from the wine. I thought maybe wine was still a little too much for me.💦

🍂 日本の秋まつりについて知りましょう！ Discover Autumn Festivals in Asia! 🌕 東アジアにはアメリカやカナダのようなサンクスギビングデーのように秋を祝うイベントがあるのをご存じですか？ Did you know that many East Asian countries celebrate an autumn festival similar to Thanksgiving 中秋節は中国が発祥ですが、年月とともに主に東アジアを中心に広まっていき、現在では各国特有な祝い方をしています。 The Mid-Autumn Festival originated in China and spread across East Asia. Today, each country has its own unique traditions and ways of celebrating this special occasion! Tsukimi: Japanese Moon Viewing (中秋の名月) 旧暦の８月15日にあたる日が中秋の名月を祝う日です。 The 15th day of the 8th month in the traditional Chinese lunar calendar is associated with the Mid-Autumn Festival. 日本では、月見という満月を眺める文化があります。美しい月を眺めながらすすき で飾りつけされた月見団子を嗜みます。 In Japan, we celebrate Tsukimi (月見), or moon viewing, by admiring the beautiful full moon while enjoying tsukimi dango (月見団子), special rice dumplings, and decorating with susuki (ススキ), Japanese pampas grass. 🌾 旧暦は日本では使われていませんが、このような伝統文化などは旧暦を用いて祝う文化が根付いています。 Although Japan no longer uses the traditional Chinese lunar calendar for everyday purposes, this seasonal tradition continues to follow the lunar calendar. 知っていますか？Did you know? 日本では昔から月で、うさぎが餅つきをしていると言われています！ In Japanese folklore, people say that a rabbit lives on the moon and is pounding rice cakes called mochi (餅)! 中秋節はすでに終わっていますが、あなたの国の秋特有の文化があればぜひコメントしてみてください！！ Even though this year's Mid-Autumn Festival has already passed, we'd love to hear from you! 💬 How do you celebrate autumn in your country? Share your traditions in the comments below! 🌏 📚 Japanese Vocabulary of the Day 中秋（ちゅうしゅう） — mid-autumn; the middle of autumn 月見（つきみ） — moon viewing 団子（だんご） — sweet rice dumplings ススキ — Japanese pampas grass ✨ Follow me to discover more about Japanese culture and learn Japanese along the way!