We discuss interesting language facts, explore cultural difference, practice 4 language skills and investigate how language develops from the earliest years to adulthood. Welcome!


Language Tales

In this podcast we are going to learn the sounds of the letters

-Letra C: before e , i like in thing, everywhere else like K 
for example : 
celeste
casa
-Letter CH: like cherry
for example : chocolate- Chile
-Letter G: before a, o, u is pronounced soft, as in English good
for example : gato
In the combination gue, gui is not pronounced u and g is pronounced soft.
for example: Miguel
Before e, i is pronounced strongly like ch in German "Bach" (creek)
for example: gelatina- magia
-Letter J : like Ch in "Bach"(creek)
for example : jugo- jirafa
-Letter LL: like in  you 
for example: llave- lluvia 
-Letter Ñ: like in cognac
for example: niño
-Letter Y: like in you and at the end of the word ,like i
for example: ayer-hoy
-Letter Z: like in thing.  
for example zorro. 
-Letter R : strong at the beginning of a word or when it is double(like perro) soft between vowels and before consonants (like in pero but)
for example: rosa- carro -Perú.
-Letter Q: like k 
for example: queso 
Vocabulary: 
celeste: sky blue / casa: home/ chocolate: chocolate/Chile:Chile / gato: cat/ Miguel:Miguel /gelatina:jelly / magia:magic / jugo:juice/ jiraja: giraffe/ llave:key/ lluvia:rain/ niño:child/ ayer:yesterday/ hoy:to day/ zorro:fox/ rosa:pink/ carro:car/Perú:Perú/ queso:cheese/

Spanish  for Beginners

Pronunciación en Español.

腰を上げる：立つ、立ち上がる　・　何かに取りかかる

△私はその怖い先生によばれてすぐに腰（こし）を上げました。
〇私はその怖い先生によばれてすぐに立ちました。




・よく使われる表現（ひょうげん）
重い腰を上げる
例）
その仕事はずっとやりたくなかったが、重い腰を上げてすることにした。


洋平先生　N3～N2クラスの生徒へ　(^^♪

腰を上げる

This episode gives students of English some advice about how to answer a common question type from Part 3 of the IELTS speaking test. Students will focus particularly on different forms of the "there is"/"there are" structure which will help them to compare advantages and disadvantages (in this case, relating to working from home).

Please send me your own answers to this question, and I'll give you some advice about how to improve.

IELTS-style speaking questions

IELTS Part 3: "What are the advantages and disadvantages of working from home?"

Text1
学生: 您好！请问，地铁站在哪儿？
xuésheng: nín hǎo！qǐng wèn, dì tiě zhàn zài nǎr ？
Student: Hello! Excuse me, where is the Metro station?

路人: 一直走，第一个十字路口往左拐。
lùrén: yīzhí zǒu,dìyī ge shí zì lùkǒu wǎng zuǒ guǎi.
Passerby: Go straight, and then turn left at the first crossing.

学生: 是银行前边的路口吗？
xuésheng: shì yínháng qiánbian de lùkǒu ma ？
Student:  Is the crossing in front of the bank?

路人: 对！
lùrén: duì !
Passerby: Yes！

学生: 好的，谢谢！
xuésheng:  hǎode，xièxie ！
Student: Ok, thank you！

New words：
走 zǒu：walk
一直 yī zhí：straight
第一 dì yī：first（第dì+num：auxiliary word for ordinal numbers）
十字路口 shí zì lù kǒu：crossing
往 wǎng：towards（～+directions）
左 zuǒ：left
前边 qián bian：ahead/in front
拐 guǎi：turn
地铁站 dì tiě zhàn：railway station；metro station；subway station
银行 yín háng：bank

Text2
学生: 您好！请问，附近 有 洗手间吗？
xuésheng: nín hǎo！qǐng wèn，fùjìn yǒu xǐ shǒu jiān ma ？
Student: Hello! May I ask, is there a restroom nearby?

路人: 有的！
lùrén: yǒu de！
Passerby: Yes！

学生: 怎么走？
xuésheng: zěnme zǒu ？
Student: How can I get there?

路人: 往前走500米，然后往右拐，洗手间在公共汽车站旁边。
lùrén: wǎng qián zǒu 500 mǐ, ránhòu wǎng yòu guǎi, xǐshǒujiān zài gōnggòngqìchē zhàn pángbiān.
Passerby: Walk 500 meters forward, then turn right. The restroom is next to the bus stop.

学生: 知道了，谢谢！
xuésheng: zhīdào le, xièxie！
Student: Got it, thank you!

New words:
怎么 zěn me： how；how could
知道 zhī dào：know
附近 fù jìn：nearby；close to
前 qián：front
右 yòu：right
旁边 páng biān：beside；next to
米 mǐ：metre（Length unit，num+～）
洗手间 xǐ shǒu jiān：restroom；bathroom；toilet
公共汽车站 gōng gòng qì chē zhàn：bus station；bus stop; motor park

Welcome to visit China ”欢迎来中国!“

L8 问路[wèn lù]～Asking the way

Speaker one: I’ve had many language lessons over the years. My lessons at school were mundane and a waste of time. They involved rote learning which meant we just repeated everything the teacher said, and we had a lot of grammar lessons! However, when I started university, everything changed. The classes were engaging and practical. I remember a grammar lesson about conditionals in my first term. The teacher introduced the language through a funny picture story and included many engaging activities to help us work out the rules for ourselves and practice the language in a meaningful way. Not only was it enjoyable, but it was also effective as I left the class feeling like I’d really learned something.


Speaker two: Honestly, I think my most enjoyable English classes were at primary school. Our teacher, Miss Hinker was wonderful and very musical. She loved singing and taught us new songs all the time. She gave us musical instruments that we could use too. I’ll never forget the time she taught us a new song called ‘There was an old lady who swallowed a fly.’ I must have been around eight at the time. It was a song about a lady who ate many animals, finishing with a horse. It was hilarious. First, she showed us all the actions and then we sang the song many times and played the instruments. We laughed a lot, and I still remember the words to this day. I never wanted those lessons to end.

Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

Enjoyable Lesson

Oggi vediamo la storia della "vespa" il famoso  scooter italiano, brevettato il 23 aprile del 1946, su progetto dell'ingegnere aeronautico Corradino D'Ascanio.


Parte del testo: 
La storia della Vespa comincia nel 1945. È la storia della famiglia Piaggio, ma è anche la storia dell'Italia che rinasce dalla guerra e di un prodotto italiano che conquista il mondo. La Vespa non è solo un mezzo di trasporto, ma è anche uno dei simboli dell'Italia all’estero, uno dei prodotti di design industriale più famosi al mondo al punto di essere esposta nel museo MoMA di New York. Ma facciamo un salto nel tempo. Siamo nel 1945, al termine della seconda guerra mondiale. La fabbrica di aerei militari di Enrico Piaggio a Pontedera, in Toscana, è distrutta e i suoi operai sono disoccupati. Enrico Piaggio ha una grande idea: produrre non più aerei ma un mezzo di trasporto a due ruote piccolo, robusto, semplice ed economico per far ripartire la sua azienda e anche l'economia del Paese. Piaggio chiede all’ingegnere della sua fabbrica, Corradino D’Ascanio, di disegnare il mezzo. Deve essere leggero ma al tempo stesso capace di trasportare persone e qualche bagaglio non troppo ingombrante. Deve essere anche un mezzo adatto alle donne, perché dopo la guerra anche loro lavorano e hanno necessità di spostarsi e di andare in fabbrica o in ufficio. Quando, nel 1946, l'ingegnere Corradino D’Ascanio presenta il nuovo mezzo di trasporto, è Piaggio in persona a inventare il nome Vespa, perché il suono del motore e la forma della carrozzeria assomigliano a un insetto. La moto ha i fianchi larghi per accogliere il guidatore e il vitino stretto per appoggiare le gambe. 


Italiano espresso

La storia della motocicletta italiana "vespa": lettura livello B1/B2

Today's vocabulary words are the noun subsidy and the verb to subsidise.

DAILY Business English VOCABULARY builder

Don't worry, someone else will pay for it!

In today's podcast I'll go into sharing ways to answer these questions from IELTS Speaking Part 1.

Q. 1. Do you enjoy reading? [Why/why not?]
Q. 2. What types of books do you read more often?
Q. 3. Tell me something about your favourite book.
Q. 4. How has your reading habit changed since your childhood? 

What was your way of answering these questions if you did prior to listening?

how different would your answers be if you'd do it now?

Do you need assistance?

Let me know how I can support you in your IELTS Speaking preparation.

To Your Success!