Cafetalk Tutor's Column

The five main uses of "了"

現代華語裡面「了」主要有五個用法，其中一表示動作的完成；兩個主要表示狀態的改變；另外兩個主要表示某段持續的時間。   ❶表示動作的完成：這是最簡單的用法，但也是常常被用錯的文法。因為很多狀況之下「...

Let's celebrate international world bee day!

International Bee Day: Celebrating Our Essential Pollinator Happy International Bee Day! May 20th i...

New Vocabulary Lesson!

Dear Cafetalk Community,[Vocabulary Lesson]This is a great English vocabulary 4-pack lesson if you ...

My Family Reunions are Mundane

I am very curious what do you usually do on family gatherings. In my case, family reunions are very...

Time with my family in a relaxed space / 家族と過ごす時間と時間と空間

I visit my family several times a year. I tried to think about how I was spending my time at that t...

This short story is made for intermediate learners!

And The Ocean Was Our Sky is an illustrated book, written by author Patrick Ness and illustrated by...

Family Reunions

Family reunions are special occasions that bring relatives together to celebrate, catch up, and str...

Can you complete 60 American Idioms?

Dear Cafetalk Community,How are you? I hope you are all doing well! I'm doing just fine myself. I w...

Crazy And Funny Facts You Should Know

Four crazy and funny facts about trees  Trees play a vital role in our environment, offering more...

Talking about weather in English (verbs): Part 3

(Unfortunately, the first time I wrote this article, I lost the file, and it has taken quite a whil...

"想" (xiǎng) and "要" (yào)

  "想" (xiǎng) and "要" (yào)   In Chinese grammar, "想" (xiǎng) and "要" (yào) can both be used as au...

Study Effectively

Dear Learners, This video tells you some studying tips for you effective learning. Have a look. 

THE WORD "EVEN" and how to use it

  We can use 'even' in comparisons to say that the comparison is surprising or to make comparison ...

Recommended videos おすすめのビデオ - CNN10

10-minute news videos everyday 毎日10分間のニュースビデオ   https://edition.cnn.com/cnn10 CNN is a well-respect...

A review of Turtles All The Way Down by John Green

One-line synopsis:  A teenager's journey to rise through the hurts, battling the constant disrupt...

Perks of Peer Learning

Learning is not just about individual growth; it's also about the collective experience of sharing ...

The Cutting Edge in the Workplace

BREAKING DOWN LANGUAGE BARRIERS IN THE PROFESSIONAL WORLD   In today's globalized world, the workpl...

Do You Prefer One-on-One learning or a Group Lesson?

While one-on-one lessons offer you personalized attention tailored to your individual needs and lea...

On History (My First Attempt at Making a Video)

I'm not sure if I'm going to make this a regular thing, but it was fun experimenting with video edi...

The Ubiquitous Chinese Character: "的"

The Ubiquitous Chinese Character: "的"  "的" is a crucial grammatical element in learning Chinese. I...

Homemade! INSTANT ginger ale

  Hello everyone! Thank you for visiting Penguin column.I'm a person who drinks hot coffee all yea...

Application of Pythagorean Theorem

Given a rectangular plot, distances from 3 corners to a garden water tap are shown. Use Pythagorean...

Taiwanese Euphemistic Expression: "還好"（hái hǎo）

台灣人的委婉表達：還好我直到開始接觸華語教學才知道，「還好」在不同的地區所表示的意思不一樣。在講「還好」之前，我們先來看看「還」是什麼意思？在華語語法裡面，「還」是一個副詞，最基本的一個意思是「狀況...

Seasonal Recipe: Savoury Strawberries

It is springtime and in my garden there are many delicious, red, sweet, juicy fruits. Yes, it is st...

Idioms Explained

Since idioms can be one of the biggest challenges in learning English, I thought I'd lend my expert...

Summer seasonal food in Britain - wild raspberries

The raspberry is my favourite British native fruit - strictly speaking, it is green on the bushes j...

PHRASAL VERB: To call (something) off

Image by Markus Distelrath from Pixabay     Meaning: to cancel   Example: They called off the tenni...

Understanding Peace

Do you sometimes argue with your partner, friends or family members?Do you worry about world confli...

Is the sinking Yen driving you crazy? Get a lesson discount coupon today!

                       Bothered by the sinking value of the Yen ?!?                            ...

UPDATED - Home YOGA Workout Sheets - All you need for health and happiness!

These sheets have been a long time in the making, and this routine has been subject to much trial a...