February 2021

CBI Travel Diaries 2.03 | Terza tappa: la fredda Bolzano

February 26, 2021February 26, 2021 by Coffee Break Languages

It’s time for another episode of the Coffee Break Italian Travel Diaries, and this time, Simone and Anna head to Bolzano, the capital of Italy’s northernmost region of South Tyrol. Here, they explore the market and taste polenta for the first time, before taking the cable car to the mountains to enjoy the view of the snow-capped city. In this episode Mark and Francesca pick up on some interesting vocabulary such as funivia and tetti a punta, and discuss the difference between mattina and mattinata.

The podcast episodes will be published weekly from 12th February. However, if you’d like to binge the entire season then you can access all 10 episodes on the Coffee Break Academy. Our premium version includes lesson notes with additional examples and explanations of the language in each lesson, and a pronunciation practice video to help you improve your speaking. Click here to access the course on the Coffee Break Academy.

CBF Travel Diaries 2.03 | Impressionnisme et impressionnés

February 25, 2021 by Coffee Break Languages

We’re back with another episode from Season 2 of the Coffee Break French Travel Diaries. After a delicious breakfast at their BnB, Charlotte, Théo and Lucas visit the Musée des Beaux-Arts before getting back in the car and heading to the enchanting city of Honfleur. In this week’s travel diary entry, we hear some indirect object pronouns and Mark and Pierre-Benoît discuss many useful expressions including avoir droit à qqch and être au tour de qqn.

The podcast episodes are published weekly from 11th February. However, if you’d like to binge the entire season then you can access all 10 episodes on the Coffee Break Academy. Our premium version includes lesson notes with additional examples and explanations of the language in each lesson, and a pronunciation practice video to help you improve your speaking. Click here to access the course on the Coffee Break Academy.

CBE 1.19 | Breakfast time!

May 5, 2021February 23, 2021 by Coffee Break Languages

¡Bienvenido a Coffee Break English! En este episodio, Susan de Londres nos hablará del desayuno inglés tradicional. Mark y Maria nos enseñarán vocabulario de la comida y nos enseñarán a usar some y any. ¡Únete a ellos!

CBSw 1.22 | Jag har ont i huvudet

February 22, 2021 by Coffee Break Languages

In Lesson 22 of Coffee Break Swedish, we explore the words used for different body parts and learn how to describe any aches or pains we may feel in those body parts so that we can cope with a trip to the doctor or pharmacy. As health issues are at the forefront of everyone’s mind at the moment, it’s important to mention that this topic is standard in all of our Coffee Break courses across the languages we produce. We hope that you won’t have to use this vocabulary in a Swedish-speaking area, but sometimes we have to visit the doctor or a pharmacy and explain our aches and pains.

CBI Travel Diaries 2.02 | Il fantasma di Castel Thun

February 20, 2021February 19, 2021 by Coffee Break Languages

Welcome back to another episode of the Coffee Break Italian Travel Diaries. This week, Simone and Anna are taking a break from skiing to visit the medieval castle above the town of Thun where they have a frightful encounter with a ghost! Listen out for the useful grammar points which Mark and Francesca discuss in this episode, including the indirect object pronoun ci, the irregular plural of the word muro, and the da + infinitive construction.

CBF Travel Diaries 2.02 | Voyage dans le temps à Rouen

February 20, 2021February 18, 2021 by Coffee Break Languages

It’s time for the second episode in Season 2 of our virtual travel series, the Coffee Break French Travel Diaries. Charlotte, Théo and Lucas make their way to Rouen, the historic capital of Normandy, and begin to discover everything the Medieval city has to offer. In this episode, we encounter some interesting expressions such as prendre des forces, manger sur le pouce, and s’imprégner de qqch. Of course, Mark and Pierre-Benoît are on hand to help you understand the language used in this travel diary entry.

The podcast episodes will be published weekly from 11th February. However, if you’d like to binge the entire season then you can access all 10 episodes on the Coffee Break Academy. Our premium version includes lesson notes with additional examples and explanations of the language in each lesson, and a pronunciation practice video to help you improve your speaking. Click here to access the course on the Coffee Break Academy.

CBE 1.18 | My hobbies

May 5, 2021February 16, 2021 by Coffee Break Languages

¡Hola y bienvenido a Coffee Break English! En este episodio, escucharemos a dos amigos hablando de su tiempo libre. Únete a Mark y Maria para aprender a usar verbos como ‘like’ y ‘hate’, y a usar ‘can’. También aprenderás vocabulario útil para hablar de tus aficiones.

Chapitre 17 – On ne sait pas à qui on a affaire …

February 15, 2021 by Coffee Break Languages

In the latest instalment of La Vérité éclate toujours, we hear a dialogue between James, Yvette, Claire and a brand new character. James, Yvette and Claire take some time to calm down after their narrow escape at the bank before planning their next move and making their way to Geneva. After getting settled in a safe location, Claire reveals the mysterious contents of the box she took from her ex-husband’s safety-deposit box. What has she uncovered? Listen to the episode to find out! Some interesting expressions to look out for include: tu parles ! and être dans la lune.

CBI Travel Diaries 2.01 | Madonna di Campiglio: finalmente in vacanza!

February 12, 2021 by Coffee Break Languages

Welcome to Season 2 of the Coffee Break Italian Travel Diaries for intermediate learners. In this 10-episode series, we follow the adventures of Simone and his wife Anna as they enjoy una settimana bianca (a white week of winter activities) in the Trentino-Alto Adige region. In Episode 1, Simone and Anna make the most of their first day on the slopes. We hear lots of winter and skiing related vocabulary including works like: sciare, gli sci and pista. Join Mark and Francesca as they break down the language featured in Simone’s first travel diary entry. Andiamo a sciare!

CBF Travel Diaries 2.01 | Paris: un jour, une nuit

February 20, 2021February 11, 2021 by Coffee Break Languages

Welcome to Season 2 of our Coffee Break French Travel Diaries! This time, we’re following the adventures of Swiss student Charlotte and her friends Lucas and Théo as they take a trip through historic locations in northwestern France. In each episode, teachers Mark and Pierre-Benoît discuss Charlotte’s travel diary and look at interesting vocabulary and expressions for intermediate learners of French. In this first episode, we join the trio on the first leg of their trip as they take the train from Geneva to Paris before setting off on their adventure. Listen out for adjectives of nationality, the conjugation of venir in the present tense, and the conjugation of aller in the future tense. C’est parti !

The podcast episodes will be published weekly from 11th February. However, if you would like to binge the entire season then you can access all 10 episodes on the Coffee Break Academy. Our premium version includes lesson notes with additional examples and explanations of the language in each lesson, and a pronunciation practice video to help you improve your speaking. Click here to access the course on the Coffee Break Academy.

CBE 1.17 | My house

May 5, 2021February 9, 2021 by Coffee Break Languages

¡Bienvenidos a Coffee Break English! Únete a Mark y Maria para aprender vocabulario útil para describir tu casa. En esta ocasión, Isabel de Edimburgo nos hablará de su casa. ¡También aprenderemos a usar there is y there are en inglés!

CBSw 1.21 | Vad är det för väder?

February 20, 2021February 8, 2021 by Coffee Break Languages

Hanna and Mark back after our short break and in this week’s lesson we are covering a topic which everyone loves talking about – the weather! Hanna teaches us how to describe the weather in Swedish, both in the present tense and in the future tense. We also get to look at some sentences describing the weather in different parts of Sweden.

CBE 1.16 | My family

May 5, 2021February 2, 2021 by Coffee Break Languages

¡Hola a todos y bienvenidos a otro episodio de Coffee Break English! En este episodio, escucharemos a Ryan, de Canadá, que habla de su gran familia. Únete a Mark y Maria para aprender a usar los determinantes posesivos en inglés, y para aprender más vocabulario útil para describir los miembros de la familia.

Chapitre 16 – On a eu chaud !

February 1, 2021 by Coffee Break Languages

We’re back with a brand new episode of La Vérité éclate toujours! As James, Yvette and Claire arrive in Zurich, Claire suggests they visit the bank in an attempt to look for clues in her ex-husband’s safety-deposit box. Everything is going smoothly as Claire succeeds in accessing the box, when all of a sudden she starts to panic and quickly leaves the bank. What went wrong? Find out in Chapter 16! We hear many examples of the following relative pronouns: dans laquelle, sur lequel, que and qui, as well as an example of the ne explétif in a comparative structure.