Cafetalk 讲师专栏

Perks of Peer Learning

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

「對不起」跟「不好意思」

  這篇文章要來解釋台灣人最常講的「不好意思」的涵義與由來，以及「不好意思」與「對不起」的差異，並試圖解釋其使用差異。   首先，我想先分析「對不起」的文法意義與用法。   華語表現語法中，有一文...

The Cutting Edge in the Workplace

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

Learn Chinese with Lu #79 你喜欢集体旅游还是个人旅游？ 为什么？-来自外研社HSKK（高级）全真模拟试题

姐姐给爸爸拔火罐

今天我来到我姐姐家，我的姐姐是中医，她给爸爸拔火罐。视频看着可能有点儿害怕，但是为了介绍中国的”拔火罐“，拍了视频。 日文翻译（Japanese Translation）: 今日は姉の家に行きました...

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...

日记-拼音，英文，日文翻译

每当我肚子饿的时候，我都想要吃“西红柿炒鸡蛋” 英文： Whenever I'm hungry, I always crave scrambled eggs with tomatoes. 日文： ...

Learn Chinese with Lu #78 有人说：“工业化文明把人类带入了一个深渊。”你同意这种看法吗？请谈谈你的观点。-来自外研社HSKK（高级）全真模拟试题

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 ?!?                            ...

台湾人の称呼語と人間関係：フォーマルであればあるほど、親しくない

日本語では、親族や非常に親しい友人でない限り、通常「姓＋さん」で周囲の人を呼びます。また、日本には姓が多いため、このような呼び方をすれば誰が誰であるかすぐに区別できます。 しかし、華語圏、特に台湾...

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...

Seasonal UK Food Delights

  From tender asparagus to succulent lamb, the seasonal bounty of spring offers an exciting opportu...

To express present in English is nothing like present in YOUR language!

Expressing the present in English language is nothing like present in your language! Here are 2 vid...

Taiwanese's "You're Welcome": 不會（bú huì)

Have you ever heard Taiwanese people say "不會" (bú huì)?   In modern standardized Mandarin Chine...

Seasonal Recipe: Hawthorn Cordial

Seasonal Recipe: Hawthorn Cordial It’s May, the month which has a flower named after it in British ...

One common mistake made by Mandarin learners: Saying "你好" (nǐ hǎo)

華語學習者容易犯的錯誤之一：你好 教了一些華語學習者之後，發現很常見的一個共同問題就是用「你好」打招呼。 「你好」其實是一個有點難直接翻譯成外語的招呼用語，以英語或是日語為例，比較接近...

Why not start learning Japanese with ”GENKI”?

It's Golden Week in Japan right now; I am preparing a new lesson during the holidays.   You can lea...

Do you know"Edo Yoshiwara Oiran Dochu＂?

  I used to live in Asakusa a few years ago, so I will write about Asakusa festival today.   Speak...

My first week on Cafetalk

I love teaching, but what I love more than anything is the fact that I create my own lessons. I am ...

PHRASAL VERB "to know something / someone inside out"

Hello English-language lovers! For today's column, let's talk about the expression 'to know somethi...