We look at the grammar of this popular, philosophical question. Grammar shows us that it CAN'T be half full or empty. These are "absolute" words.

The Social Evolutionary

A Glass Half Full... or Half Empty???

Primo capitolo del libro di Luis Sepulveda , una storia di amicizia nella differenza

I Libri In  Pillole di Federica

Primo capitolo, Storia di un Gatto e del Topo  che divento' suo amico

In this episode, we talk about the pleasure we get from hearing stories, and I share with you a beautiful tale about the joy that comes from helping others. Listen now, and then read the (shortened) transcript below to check your understanding.

This story takes place in a hospital, many years ago. And there was a room where there were two men, both seriously ill. One of those men was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour a day to drain the fluids from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window. The other man had to spend of all his time lying flat on his back. He couldn’t see anything, except the ceiling.

The men talked for hours on end. They spoke about their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, where they’d been on vacation, and the things they’d learned in their lives. And every afternoon, when the man in the bed next to the window, could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the wonderful things he could see outside the window.

The man in the other bed would live for those one-hour periods when his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and the colour of the outside world. The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake, the man had said. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Lovers walked arm in arm amid flowers of every colour of the rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance. As the man by the window described all of this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene.......... 

If you'd like to read the rest of the transcript, send me a message on italki and I will gladly send you a copy. Or better still, book a lesson with me now, so that I can help you on your English learning journey. 

Learn English with Cambridge David

The one about storytelling

先週月曜日に近所のスーパーに行くと、新しく寿司コーナーが出来ていました。私は寿司コーナーができることを全然知らなかったのでとてもびっくりしました。思わず寿司コーナーの写真を撮り、パートナーに送りました。
このスーパーはREWEという名前のスーパーで、ドイツ中にあるスーパーです。私は大きな町のREWEには寿司コーナーがあることは知っていました。でも私の住んでいる町は小さく、田舎なので、寿司コーナーができると思っていませんでした。
この寿司コーナーには2、３人の寿司を作る人がいて、そこで作って冷蔵庫に並べて売っています。サーモンやアボガドの寿司、最近人気のポケも売っています。
ドイツ人の生徒にREWEの寿司について聞くと、「ポケがとてもおいしい。」と言っていたので、近いうちにポケを買ってみたいと思います。
皆さんの町ではおいしいお寿司が食べられますか？どんなお寿司が好きですか？よかったら私のレッスンに来て教えてください。

寿司コーナー：すしコーナー　shushi section
びっくりしました：I’m surprised
思わず：unintentionally
ドイツ中：どいつじゅう　throughout Germany
田舎：いなか rural area, country side
〜ができる：〜come up
並べる：ならべる　arrange
ポケ：Poke（Hawaiian dish）
人気：にんき　popular
最近：recently

Nihongo Short Story by Noriko

近所のスーパーに寿司コーナーができました

Nick discusses this unusual IELTS question. 

IELTS with Nick - World Knowledge 

What are the benefits of uniforms at work? 

En este episodio te invito a explorar la belleza y la diversidad del estado de Yucatán en México a lo largo de las estaciones del año con las experiencias únicas que ofrece Yucatán, desde la historia y la cultura hasta la naturaleza y la gastronomía.
Descubrirás cómo cada día de la semana en Yucatán es especial, con actividades que van desde la exploración de ciudades coloniales hasta la inmersión en la música y la danza tradicional. 
Si estás planeando visitar Yucatán o simplemente deseas explorar este hermoso estado desde la comodidad de tu hogar, este podcast te proporcionará información valiosa y te inspirará a experimentar la diversidad de Yucatán durante todo el año mientras practicas español usando los dias de la semana, los meses  y las estaciones año. 
Te invito a contestar las preguntas y no olvides suscribirte al canal.
Espero que lo disfrutes,


Yuca-talk

Los días, los meses y las estaciones del año

When you attend a business meeting, you might want: 
•	to make a suggestion
•	to ask if people agree with your suggestion
•	to make alternative suggestions
•	to brainstorm ideas
•	to agree and politely disagree with other people’s ideas
•	to know how to politely interrupt someone, to correct something they have said, (if you think they are wrong)
•	to know how to ask for clarification (if you don’t understand what someone has said)
•	to offer your advice
•	to report back to the meeting (on what you have done since the last meeting) 

This podcast contains some very simple, useful phrases for each of these areas.  There are many more phrases, in my PDF course. Contact me through italki if you want more details.  

Podcast transcript :  https://drive.google.com/open?id=1zDAVXRHTG2lU8TlRv_Ti1qAvAH3f3KYa&usp=drive_fs 


English for Business

Attending a business meeting

Did you know Shakespeare invented words…

Did you know?

Shakespeare’s invented words

Understanding the most common prefixes and suffixes in English is a great way to build your vocabulary. In this blog post, I cover the prefixes "dis-" and "mis-." They may seem the same, but there are some subtle differences.

For the full text of the article, go to
https://www.difficultenglishexplained.com/what-is-the-difference-between-dis-and-mis-making-negative-words-in-english/

Visualizer: https://youtu.be/ZE2AaUxq2n0


