During the New Year holidays, I spent a lot of time with my family, and it became a very special memory for me. At the end of the year, we went to the Yoshimoto Theater in Makuhari. It was my first time visiting that theater with my family. The comedy show was extremely funny, and we laughed from the beginning to the end. I felt very happy because it had been a long time since we enjoyed something together like that. At night, we watched the Kouhaku Uta Gassen on TV. There were many singers I didn’t know, but it was still interesting to see different performances. I enjoyed watching the show with my family while relaxing at home. On January 1st, we ate traditional New Year’s food called osechi. Each dish has a special meaning, and eating it made me feel the start of a new year. After that, we went to our first shrine visit of the year. The shrine was crowded, but the atmosphere was peaceful. I prayed for a healthy and happy year. On January 2nd, we visited my grandfather’s house. We ate osechi again, and it was very delicious. I was happy to spend time with my relatives. Later, we made an apple pie together. It smelled wonderful while baking, and when it was ready, everyone enjoyed eating it. Sharing homemade food made the day feel even warmer. Overall, my New Year holidays were full of laughter, good food, and family time. I hope I can make many more happy memories this year.

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想暑假找一个老师教孩子英语，小学四年级，基础差，英语字母发音不标准，只认识几个单词，单词背不下来，默写不出来，不喜欢学英语，不愿意开口说英语！有没有适合的老师，上课全英文听不懂，想找中英文授课方式，可以先教自然拼读和音标之类，让他学会拼读后带着他学口语，语法之类

Do these two sentences mean the same? Did you get any of that? Did you understand anything?

There is a funny joke says that if one is starving, he has only one problem, but if he has enough money and food, he has endless problems. It's the beginning of the new year of 2026. Many of us have might set some goals for this year. Next, we will try our best to achieve them. Then we definitely set some new goals for 2027, and so on. It's really great to enjoy the excitement of achieving a goal, but we always feel tired in other times. Maybe you think that what I talked above is not related to the topic. In fact, I just express that many pains actually come from our strong desires. It's just like the character in my joke. When a preson tries his best to get enough money, he would feel bored and lose goals of his life. In that case, he might do something very special which normal people can't do. These things become his new goals and can help him to be different from others, such as eating a fin of a shark. He may feels great, but he is just a joke in other's mind. No trade no killing is absolutely right, but what we should do to prevent the trades? The trades come from human's desires.

Although it is the first days of the year and we are having 4 days off, I have spent a small mount of time for meeting people and going out. I have spent a lot on working and learning. I feel satisfied since I had been lazy for so long. I hope I can be a person who act more than talk.

Being able to talk on a wide variety of topics is really helpful for getting a higher mark on the IELTS test. In this podcast I will help you to form opinions and ideas for Speaking Part 3 and Writing Part 2. You can also book a private lesson with me on my profile. Hope to see you in a lesson soon!

The AI Giveaway: What Recruiters and Educators See That You Don’t What do an experienced interviewer, a senior lecturer, and a creative writing tutor have in common? They can spot AI-produced work a mile away. AI can be a great tool, but when you start letting it think for you, it can be obvious to those evaluating your work. AI sounds like...AI. It uses stock phrases and homogenises content. To experienced readers of CVs, essays, reviews, dissertations, research projects etc, it is obvious which have been produced largely/entirely by AI and which are the results of human endeavour. Authenticity shines through and that is what these people value over AI-produced ‘bland perfection’. There are situations in which your very HUMANNESS is the quality that will get you the job, or well-deserved success in your exams, or touch hearts by telling the unique stories that can only have come from you and your lived experience. I understand why some might be tempted to allow AI to think for them. However, the end result may be that they end up losing the elements that make them stand out from the crowd. I’m not saying don’t use AI, just use it wisely. It is an authentic YOU that organisations want to hire, not some pale Grok/Gemini/Claude version of you. It is an authentic YOU that will have to defend your thesis or research project. It is an authentic YOU that will touch people’s hearts and make connections. In a world increasingly filled with digital noise, your unique voice is your most valuable superpower. While AI can do wonderful things with words, only a human being can truly connect with others. A human teacher - me or one of the many great teachers on Italki - can help you find the words you need to keep your humanness and uniqueness at the heart of everything you do and make sure the authentic you stands out from the AI crowd.