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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 ?!?                            ...

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...

An amazing Japanese dish, Easy Okonomiyaki Recipe - It works for spring too :-)

Okonomiyaki (Savory Japanese Pancake)is a delicious savory pancake dish from Japan that can be cust...

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...

English Articles about Japan - Japan Today

https://japantoday.com Reading news in English is a great way to practice your English skills and k...

New Menu Coming! for Traditional Music Cafe

Hello! I offer a lesson where you can learn about traditional Japanese music while listening to a s...

My first Golden Week!

Hello everyone!As many of you know, I left Vancouver and moved to Tokyo in September 2023.This is m...

Experience the Charm of Budapest's Easter Market at Vörösmarty Square

Springtime in Budapest brings with it the lively and colorful Easter Market at Vörösmarty Square. T...

A Spring Festival: Beltane or May Day

As we explored in my previous column, ‘Spring Festivals: Why do we celebrate them?’  , in the tradi...

SPRING IN LONDON

As the cold embrace of winter loosens, London bursts into life with the arrival of spring. The city...

Tim Hortons turns 60!

Tim Hortons is a cafe chain that can be found across Canada and also in 12 other countries worldwid...

Celebration of Georgian Wine Culture

In late April early May in the Republic of Georgia, in its capital Tbilisi there is an annual Georg...