1st Session

1. Introduce yourself.

2. Exams are over! How did you enjoy your freedom last week?

3. This Thursday is Labor Day. Do your professors have classes on Labor Day?

4. What’s your go-to small talk topic? (go-to : something you usually choose as a favorite or safest option)

How to Sound More Natural when Speaking English

When you begin learning English, you probably just want to be able to order a coffee and find the bathroom. But the longer you study, you'll probably want to really sound like a native speaker.

So how can you make your speech sound more natural?

First of all, make sure you know your grammar, says Emile Dodds from the Leonardo English website. "Bad grammar will hold you back," he says.

However, that doesn't mean you have to speak like the King of England. In fact, sometimes you should do the opposite!

When native speakers talk naturally, they use things like contractions and filler words.

And contractions aren't just things like "can't" and "won't." Native speakers also shorten "going to" to "gonna" or "got to" to "gotta." You wouldn't use these in writing, but they sound natural when speaking.

Filler words ― words that fill space ― are great because they sound natural, but also give you time to think. These are little words like "so," "um" and "you know."

For example, you might say: "So, I was thinking, um, are you doing anything later?"

According to the website Dan's Real English: "It's really important to use fillers ― but not too often!"

And while you might have learned in school to answer questions in full sentences, it's not something you need to do in casual conversation.

Of course, learning to speak naturally takes time. You can learn by listening to native speakers on the internet or in movies to hear how they speak, and you might even hear some useful phrases and idioms!

1. Do you think to make natural sound is important when speaking in English?

2. How often do you get the chance to speak English in your day-to-day life?

3. Which methods do you use to practice your English (or to learn other languages)?

4. What tips would you give to someone who wants to sound more natural in your language?

2nd Session

1. Introduce yourself.

2. Do you have any plans for the holidays-Children’s Day and Buddha’s Birthday?

3. Is there a job you’d never do, even if you were paid a lot?

4. Is there someone who seems really happy with their job?

'Groovy' Music Helps You Work Faster

A search on YouTube ― or any music platform ― will find lots of music made to help you work or study. But while you'll find that a lot of this "focus" music is very calm, new research suggests that "groovier" songs might actually be a better choice.

Researchers in the US looked at how four different types of sound affected how 280 participants completed a task. The study compared two types of "focus" music, as well as pop music and, to represent a more natural working environment, "calm office noise."

The two types of focus music were called "work flow" and "deep focus." "Work flow" came from a music therapy app, and had a moderate tempo. "Deep focus" came from a playlist of the same name on Spotify, and was slower and calmer. A "Hot 100" playlist from October 2021 was used for pop music, and the office noise was made using an online sound generator.

Study participants were put into four groups, one for each playlist. They were asked questions about their mood, and then asked to do a "flanker task" while listening to one of the playlists. A flanker task usually asks participants to say which way an arrow is pointing when it's surrounded by other symbols added to confuse them. This is used to test attention levels. When the task was finished, participants were asked about their mood again.

The choice of music didn't affect accuracy in the flanker tasks, but it did affect speed. In particular, participants who listened to the "work flow" playlist finished the task 7% faster, and they also experienced more improved moods than the other groups.

According to the study authors, this suggests the best music to help get work done is music that puts you in a good mood and makes you feel energized. In the study, "work flow" was both widely liked and had a good "groove." "Deep focus" was liked, but was slower and had less of a groove. Pop music, while groovy, was less liked. Office noise was the least liked.

1. Do you usually listen to music while working or studying?

2. What kind of music do you prefer when you’re working or studying?

3. Do you think listening to music helps you focus better?

4. Do you make playlists for different moods or activities?